Hollow Roz

Hysterectomy November 2013

After another random bleed, I went to see the gynae cosultant, Mr Wynn. We chatted about the pros and cons of a hysterectomy. He suggested that though there was no physiological reason to have the op, he felt that the psychological implications would be great enough to warrant the op. In other words, it was a few more organs that the cancer couldn't grow back in. There is an increased risk of endometrial cancer with Tamoxifen, so it was a bit of a no brainer really. He gave me aonce over and said that unfortunately for me, i have dainty girlie bits and would have to have open mabdominal op and not the Egyptian method where its all whipped out with a knitting needle type thingy. Mr Wynn asked me when I would like to have the op done.  He suggested a date a fortnight later but i would have been laid up over Christmas. We opted for early January.
Once again, the op went well.  They gave me self medicating morphine on a drip. You just press the button when you need a boost. They took it off me in the end. The nurse said i kept stopping breathing. Anyhows, i was out in 2 days with a bag full of codeine and paracetamol. I was told to return in 5 days to have my stitches out.
I had a thoroughly lazy couple of weeks. I was spaced out most of the time and did bugger all. Nothing new there then.
I am glad to say that i didn't have any womb loss sadness  or feelings of being less of a woman. Just the joy of yet another menopause and feeling about 4lb lighter. I have decided that instead of dieting, I shall continue to have nonessential organs removed. Ange has christened me Hollow Roz. 😅
It also appears that i have had cysts covering my fallopian tubes and ovaries for some time. Aahhh genetics. The gift that just keeps on giving. 😆
After about 8 weeks, all was back to normal,well as normal as it gets around here.

Catch Up

Crikey. I just had a quick check on my blog and realised that i hadn't posted for over 2 years!! Procrastination. Maybe talk about that later. 😆
Anyhows, last time you visited,i had been for my new boobs pre op. The op passed without incident. Woke up with even sided boobs and a little more pert than they were before. No drains for this one.
I was disappointed with the'lipo'. They only take a few ml of fat, which is nothing when you have a 'Spanish apron ' like mine. Plus i had stitches in my abdomen. I did offer a donor service for people who need fat filler but sadly they couldn't oblige. The fat filler didn't really work. Still got my abscess crater. Got another scar for the collection too. The biggest disappointment after all that is loss of sensitivity. Its weird really. The boob that tried to kill me regained feeling,even though the nipple had been removed and sewn back on. The new lesser boob  has a huge anchor scar and no sensitivity.
So for now, all is good.
Keep checking!!!

Periodic periods are doing my head in!!

Mid September 2013 and the peiod pains are back with a vengeance. Cramps and back pain, gggrreatt!! By the 18th,I am once again bleeding. Fortunately my Doctor has rung to say she wants to see me after some contact from my hospital, so I'll just wait a day instead of sitting for another 7 hours in A&E. I know i've said it before, but I just wish my body would make up it's mind!! Am I post  menapausal or not? Jeez....
Anyhows, saw the Doc on Fiday 19th. My gynae chap, Mr Wynn has written to my Doc saying that although there isn't really a medical need for a hysterectomy ( apart from having Hysteroscopys every 6 months!!) he feels there is a psychological one and although it is a small risk, there is a risk of endometrial cancer with Tamoxifen. Anyway, she has written to him to say I would like to go ahead with the op. Downside is, I won't have any more children. However seeing as I was sterilised nearly 20 years ago and my fella was snipped long before that, it was never really on the cards.
I also received my letter for my pre op appointment for my new boobs yesterday. Am a little bit nervous about it. Not the right one, cos she is still numb on the side and I can't see it hurting at all. Plus, it's because of her lumpiness, I am getting a bit of lipo!! No, it's the leftie that's going to hurt. She has a full set of working nerve endings and that equals pain :-(.  Still, I'm sure it will be worth it. After nearly half a century, they are heading South a bit, so I may get a couple of perky years out of them. George, the lovely registrar had suggested I give up smoking at least two weeks before the op. Spurred on by my daughter, I purchased an e-ciggie. That was a month ago and I am now on nicotine free vapour. I do believe that makes me an official non smoker!! Seriously, it is the way forward. I haven't missed smoking at all.
Well, thats about all for now. I shall do some 'before' and 'after' pics and keep the posts during this next ( and hopefully last) stage. In the mean time everyone......KEEP CHECKING!!!!!!!

Trying times

More Polyps!!

It's been 6 months since the hysteroscopy and I start 2013 with more bleeding. The doctor and nurse both said " give it 24 hours, and if no change, go to A & E. 24 hours later and no change (other than it getting worse!) off we go to Wythenshawe hospital again. I really do spend too much time there!!
After a examination by the gynae doctor ( who I first met when I was rushed in with chest pains during chemo. She has since chosen her specialty. It was oddly quite comforting to see a familiar face)
They told me that I would be kept in overnight so they could stop the bleeding. The scan showed that my uterus is cystic again, so, more polyps. Blimey, they grow quickly. They said there is also a follicle on my ovary, which would indicate ovulation. So despite enforced menopause...twice, my ovaries want to work again. You can't keep a good ovary down!!. Anyway the end result is another hysteroscopy on Feb 19th and my consultant and I will be discussing hysterectomy after that. I am quite comfortable with the idea of that. I no longer have use for a womb or ovaries and on the plus side,it's 2 more places that the cancer cannot return to.
I have decided that it's about time I started to take some exercise. My normally strong and chunky legs were somewhat wasted after chemo ( sadly, the strength was affected but not the chunkiness). Starting off with some sensible walking. Did 3.5 miles in the snow yesterday. My back is not impressed.
Will update after the hysteroscopy. Until then............KEEP CHECKING!!!!!!

Hysteroscopy

Well, they sent for me quite quickly. The 6am start was a bit rubbish. Didn't know there were 2 6 o clocks in a day! As usual, my 2 troopers were by my side, well at least until I fell asleep on an examination couch in the waiting room. They struck a vein first time...very impressed. Maybe they are improving? I think I was only in theatre for about an hour or so. Came around at about 1.00pm because I heard the words 'sandwiches and tea' Emz arrived a while after and insisted on force feeding me glasses of water so I would pee and be allowed home, which I eventually did. Had a few stomach cramps for a couple of days but nothing too painful. The most painful part is waiting for results. Read lots of internet posts about polyps and Tamoxifen. On every page I looked at, the word Cancer seems to jump out. Tamoxifen apparently can cause cancer of the womb lining. I really don't remember them telling me that!!
After what seemed like weeks, I had a letter from the hospital. Panic over. The cysts they took are benign and I am officially discharged. I still don't know if the Tamoxifen caused the problem but so far so good.
I am off to a funeral tomorrow of a dear friend taken way too soon. It's a long drive, but I would like to say my goodbyes. The lovely Dennis lost his battle against this god awful disease. I am one of the lucky ones. Still here to tell the tale and to keep nagging you all to KEEP CHECKING!!!!!!!

02/08/2012 OK. That's not supposed to happen..

Quick update...Had another mammogram in July and all seems ok still. The soreness in my armpit is as bad as ever. Mr Gandhi just apologised and said that it was at the site of surgery and wouldn't really improve. The heat and redness on my breast...well that's radiotherapy damage and won't improve. I must be still cooking!! And the chest pain is damage to ribs from radiotherapy. Not complaining...I'm still here. The thing that's really upset me this week is that my ovaries appear to have burst into life after nearly 2 years!! It was one of the few good things that came out of all the crap.....that I was officially post menopausal. I was worried about it and phoned the breast care nurse to see if it was 'normal'. It would appear not! She gave me a couple of possible causes and told me to see my GP and get an urgent gynae referral. She says it maybe the Tamoxifen causing it, but to keep taking it, which I find a bit worrying. I have also discovered that the NHS and I have differing ideas on what is urgent! Hmmmm. I am wondering if reading 50 shades of Grey has given my pituitary glands a kick up the bum?? I didn't even particularly enjoy it much either! Will update on the 'Menopausal/ Post menopausal' issue. However in the mean time, I will refrain from reading female erotica, just in case. Oh.....and KEEP CHECKING!!!!!!!!