Happy Hysterversary to Me!!!


OK. I'm a little late but ... TWO YEARS!! And I've never felt better. Sometimes I can't even remember what it felt like to have a period and, believe me, that's a good feeling.

Nine Months!

Plus 6 days. I can't believe it's been 3 months since I posted here. The reason is that there's really nothing new to report. I feel so good I can't believe it. I have more energy than I thought was possible a year ago. Actually, a year ago is when I started feel so bad that I knew I was going to have to go to the doctor whether I wanted to or not. It doesn't seem as if it was a year ago. It seems like a lifetime ago! Who would have thought getting rid of a uterus and a cervix would change my life ... for the better?

So, now that I'm very close to my one year hyster-versay (as the Hyster Sisters say), I can tell you this: Now, more than ever, I'm glad I had it done. It's worth it. It really is.

Six Months!

I can't believe it! I really can't. In fact, I hardly ever think about it anymore. The only times I do are when I get swelly belly. Because of my job, I'm on my feet a lot, which causes a lot of swelling everywhere. But, know what? It's not really all that bad. All things considered, I feel wonderful! I didn't really believe people who told me how much better I would feel at six months. But, I'm tellin' ya, it's amazing! Seven months ago, I was having a hard time working 16 to 24 hours a week. I just finished working a 47-hour week ... and I feel great! Part of that, of course, is that I love my job but, still, no matter how much I love it, I wouldn't have been able to work 47 hours and feel great seven months ago.

And no periods? I can't even tell you how great it is to not even have to worry about that. The only time I ever even think about that anymore is when I blog here. Oh yeah. lol There was one other time I thought about it. Someone dropped a tampon (unused) outside the back door of the building at work. It sat there for days. I was waiting for someone to ask if someone was going to pick that thing up. I was just waiting to say, "It's not mine. Ha!"

Anyway, happy six month hysterversary to me! And thanks to everyone who helped me get here :)

I Knew I Was Right

It seems like forever ago that I knew I wasn't going to be able to go back to work after just six weeks. I just wasn't ready physically or mentally. But then when I did the play and worked part-time at the Red Cross for those few weeks, I was tired, but felt I probably could go back to work full-time.

Well, now that I've worked two 40-hour weeks, I know I was right, and there was no way I could have gone back to work after just six weeks. I mean, it's been 5 and half months and I'm still exhausted after work. Honestly, I work then go home and go to bed 'til morning. Luckily, I don't have to be at work 'til just before noon, so I can get things done in the morning. Anyway, if I'm this tired now, I can't even imagine how I would have felt 4 months ago if I'd gone back to work then.

But I do love my job and the exhaustion is totally worth it. One of the cool parts, hysterectomy-wise, is that I don't have to worry about any period-related stuff at work. Yay! That's especially nice since I work with mostly guys.

So, all in all, except for being extremely tired, I'm feeling wonderful! I was never more glad than I am right now that I had the surgery.

Five Months

Five months ago at this time, I was in the recovery room and the nurses were getting ready to take me to my room. Most of the time, it's hard for me to believe any of it really happened. It seems like so long ago, and it seems like a dream or something.

But then there are the times I get angry with myself for being so tired that I can't do anything but sleep. It's those times that I have to remind myself that it's only been 5 months and the average recovery time is 6 months to a year.

But, I am at the point where the good far outweighs the bad. That is never more clear to me that when I pass the feminine hygiene section of the store. In fact, last week when I saw all that stuff and realized I'll never need it again, I giggled. A weird thing about that is that for so many years my period was on my mind almost constantly because I never knew when I was going to get it, or what was going to happen when I did. Now I don't even think about it at all except when I'm in the store passing that aisle. Hallelujah!

More of the Same

Actually, a few things have changed since my last post but, the bottom line is I'm still tired. I'm not complaining, though, I'm simply stating a fact. When I think about how tired I am, I get frustrated. Then I remember it's only been four-and-a-half months since the surgery and it's perfectly normal for me to be this tired, considering everything I've been doing.

Besides looking after my Mom, I started a new job. It's only temporary and part-time but it's very hectic right now, and will be for a while. I'm doing PR-related stuff for the local chapter of the Red Cross, so I'm sure you can imagine how chaotic it is.

I'm also part of the sound effects crew for a play our local community theater is doing. And it's not just pushing buttons to get the effects. We're doing them "live" so the audience can see how we create the effects. There's a part toward the end of the play where I'm doing so much that I actually sweat. But I'm having a blast!

Anyway, we had rehearsal yesterday morning (and this morning) instead of at night. So, when that was finished I took my Mom grocery shopping. After getting everything put away at about 3:30 p.m., I took a nap. I woke up at 7:15 p.m. I ate dinner and went back to bed. I woke up at 4 a.m., went to the bathroom and didn't wake up again until the alarm went off at 8 a.m. And, I could go back to bed again and sleep for the rest of the afternoon ... if there wasn't a Bills game to watch.

I'm thankful, though, that being tired is my only complaint. Before the surgery, there's no way I could have handled all of this. I would have been too tired, in too much pain, and constantly worried that I'd have some kind of flooding "accident." So, I really am starting to enjoy my uterus-free life. Yay!

Tired, Tired, Tired

Anyone who's read my other blog knows that I'm working on a play for our local community theater. I didn't think an extra two hours a night would take such a toll on me, but it has. I'm having fun but I'm exhausted.

Then, on top of that, I did something stupid. I volunteered to work a day at the Red Cross (Meals on Wheels) on the same day I had an AAUW meeting. That means I didn't get an afternoon nap. Actually, I didn't get one for three days in a row.

All I was planning to do yesterday was sleep. But I woke up at 6:10 a.m. and, when I went to the bathroom, I noticed that my Mom's oxygen tube wasn't in the hallway going into her bedroom, so she must have been awake and downstairs earlier than normal. I went down to check on her to see if everything was ok. She was in the kitchen. Her hands were full of blood, there was blood all down the front of her nightgown and all over the floor. She was having another gushing nose bleed. When it didn't stop after 10 minutes, we went to the ER. Her blood pressure was 201/76. I'm sure everyone knows that's not good. An hour and a half later, after they took care of her, I took her home. But I couldn't go back to sleep because I had to go to her doctor's office and pick up some blood pressure pills for her. An hour later, when the doctor's office opened, I went down and learned that they'd changed their policy and they don't just give out the drugs anymore, even if you've been getting free samples for two years, as my Mom has. So the receptionist took the phone number and said she'd call when the drugs were ready. I figured I'd try to get some sleep while we waited for the phone call. But the phone rang just about every half hour for the next few hours. It wasn't the doctor's office, though. They didn't call until 2:45 p.m. When they did, my Mom said she also needed a prescription for a problem she was having with her eye. They said they'd call it into the pharmacy. So, I went to the doctor's office and picked up the blood pressure medicine. Then I went to the pharmacy, hoping the prescription would be ready. It wasn't, so I went to the bank while I was waiting. When I got back to the pharmacy, the pharmacist told me that they don't carry the eye drops the doctor ordered. She called the doctor's office to see if there was something else he could order. He was gone for the weekend. So then she called another pharmacy to see if they carried the drops. They don't either. She called another pharmacy. Thank goodness they had the drops. So, the orginal pharmacist made a deal with the third pharmacist. I paid for them at the first place but had to go to the other place to pick them up. Sheesh! What an ordeal!

By the time I got home and got my Mom all taken care of, I was too wired to sleep, although I was more tired than I was when I woke up 10 hours earlier. So, I went grocery shopping. Well, it really wasn't "grocery" shopping. I'm on the hostess committee for next month's AAUW meeting and I want to make these cookies I saw a recipe for a few months ago. But, since I never made them before, I want to try them before I offer to bake them for the meeting. I mean, I don't want my first time on the hostess committee to be a bad experience, for me and the poor women who would have to be polite and tell me the cookies are good even if they suck.

So, on a day I planned to catch up on sleep, I finally got back to bed at 6:50 p.m.

Oh yeah. I forgot to mention this. A woman at the Red Cross, who had a hysterectomy a few years ago, told me it's perfectly normal for me to still be so tired at this point in my recovery. She told me she still has to take naps after work sometimes, and she's two years younger than I am.

I also told her I wanted to take the Red Cross Disaster Relief Course and go to the Gulf Coast to help out. She told me there's no way I'd be up to doing that until at least January. But she said she's sure they'll still be sending people then.

Anyway, although I had some really strange dreams last night, I did get some sleep. I could use some more, though. But I will get an afternoon nap today. I have to. Big Brother 6 isn't on 'til 10 p.m. and I can't fall asleep during that, can I? ;)