Chapter 4:

Ouch!

Since the car accident, I continued to have various kinds of pains. The whiplash and back ache were going away. I tried to do physical therapy (PT), but my blood pressure was too high for the care team to treat me so it was hard to schedule an appointment and at the time, I didn’t have a car when I started to go to PT so I stopped going. I intended to go after buying a car, especially since the hip pain was on and off.
One night, I felt a sharp pain on my lower right side of the abdomen as I rolled around the bed and remembered asking my doctor back in April if it was related to the car accident. She said she didn’t think so as the MRIs came back fine and it was probably just muscle strain. It was now June so I went back in for a check up and told her I didn’t think it was just muscle strain; it felt different, it was sharp. I knew it wasn’t appendicitis because it was removed back in 2002. So I made a comment about the fibroids that we had been “monitoring” and asked if that could be related to the pain I was having. She noted it had been 3 years since the last ultrasound and recommended and recommended to take a look at the fibroids.

Fibroids are masses that grow slowly and are benign. But while a lot of women don’t feel any symptoms, those that do can experience back pain, heavier menstrual cycles, abdominal pain, pain during sex, miscarriages, and more. To learn more about uterine fibroids, click here.

I showed up to the scheduled ultrasound and sure thing, the largest fibroid had grown significantly. It’s painful just with a bit of pressure. It is almost as big as my uterus and it’s the reason why my cramps are getting worse every month. I met with a few specialists and the surgeon, who explained that I needed to get a biopsy prior to surgery and went over my options. I’ve gotten one before, it is painful! I asked if I could get anesthesia for it but all I could get was valium to help me ease into the idea of getting a piece of my uterus out while fully conscious. Ouch!

Another decision I need to consider is what type of surgery I want to get to remove the fibroids. Do I want to just remove the fibroids and risk them growing back, because they will grow back it’s just a matter of time. Or do I want to remove my entire uterus and ensure they don’t come back and I don’t have to go through the surgery again? I needed some time to decide. Of course, the latter means no children of my own. I’ve always been ok with adopting, and considering that I’m 37 yrs. old, single with no kids, puts things into perspective a bit. The idea of giving birth just makes everything hurt inside me so I’ve always said that I’ll adopt and give children out there a good and safe home. On the other hand, a little mini me running around being creative and goofy would be fun. Yes, let’s be real, there are tears as I write this because WTF.

My future husband will be ok with whatever comes from this. It’s now October and I’m still thinking about it. I’m not one to rush into things.