Last minute end of the year post

I have been thinking about what to write for my last post of 2013 for a few days now. I keep saying "I have to update my blog" but just haven't been able to get into it. I thought I would be blogging
like crazy after my surgery but truth is, I have gotten lazy. I have been enjoying the pajama wearing life style, watching mindless television and playing Sudoku (<--I just learned how to play thanks to my friend Diane's care package). Another truth, I am a procrastinator. I am NOT going to make a resolution to stop procrastinating. I actually feel I do some of my best work when I procrastinate. I also don't do resolutions. I set goals and challenges and since I cant seem to turn down a challenge, I usually reach my goals. So I suppose this blog will be just another blog updating on my progress since the removal of baby fibroid.


Triplets

First, this has been a challenging situation but slightly less challenging than I thought it would be. I was terrified for surgery. I REALLY didn't want to be cut open. The morning of the surgery my doc had a little heart to heart with me and told me that he had reviewed my MRI over and over and felt that he needed to make a vertical incision to give himself more room to work. He was afraid that baby fibroid was lodged under stuff (like bowel stuff) and needed some elbow room. That was the worst case scenario. I think he was excited to see what my insides had in store for him. I was okay with the news but still didn't like that there was a last minute game change. I shrugged it off and repeated my mantra-expect the worst, hope for the best. My positive thinking paid off when I woke up and he told me that he didn't have to do the vertical incision.(Baby fibroid was also smaller than expected and there were two smaller ones that were removed as well. So it was more like a small orange and a couple small grapes-triplets.)  He explained that once I was out, he was able to do another examination and since I was "out" he was able to root around a little and found that baby fibroid was most likely not trapped under bowel and so it was a horizontal incision and when he got in there it was a very simple procedure. Its a good thing I felt comfortable with the doc and my surgical team or I would have felt a little violated with the way he described the pre-op examination!  Anyhow, I also didn't need staples. I had dissolvable stitches and glue. That meant one less trip up the hospital, one less favor I had to ask of my friends since I wouldn't have been able to drive myself. Expect (prepare) for the worst, hope for the best.

I did have to drive myself back to the hospital a week later due to strange happenings in the swelling and fluid. I had an air bubble, gross...weird. The doc couldn't pinpoint what was happening. Since I was off the painkillers (which did make me feel a little buzz) and I was feeling pretty good, I was able to drive myself the hour up to the hospital. Of course the swelling wasn't as bad by then but the doc assured me that as long as I wasn't experiencing a list of side affects that the fluid will subside and there was nothing to worry about. The appointment took 5 minutes. 1 hour drive, 5 minute appointment. I decided to start my Christmas shopping...6 days before Christmas, one day after I sent my care package to Michigan. I should back track and say that earlier that week I freaked out because I wasn't able to be creative and make and buy special presents for my family like I typically like to do. Control freak in full force. So, I was able to do some shopping for my NH peeps and quickly learned that even though I felt okay, my abdomen was sensitive. I drove the hour back home and sat around the rest of the day and start my Holiday cards. I take pride in being creative and making them from scratch and I was NOT going to give that up! That was Thursday night and the cards finally got in the mail Saturday morning. Christmas was on Wednesday. I was feeling good about getting them done, sore from sitting hunched over for so long but good.

Unfortunately, I am still having some GI issues but I do think the surgery has helped a little. I have an appointment with my GI doc in a couple of weeks and I will go in with my dukes up, ready for a fight. I am still not satisfied with the IBS diagnosis. I am sure that its partially a factor but there is no way what is going on is totally IBS-I will spare you the details and end this discussion.

I have been to the gym 3-4 times now since my surgery and I have ran 3 times (3 days in a row)-1.5 miles, 1 mile, 2+miles!  I felt amazing on last night's run and thought for sure I was running at regular pace...ha ha. I was about 30 seconds slower than that but it still felt good.  I am off to the gym again today, I probably wont run but will sit and do some cardio on the bike.

One thing that I have been doing a lot of is thinking...
I am getting myself psyched up to start enjoying running again. I was starting to get a little burned out before the surgery so I guess it was a good time to take a break. I am putting together my training schedule and am waiting to see the dates of some of my favorite races before I post my schedule. I have been saying that my big goal this year is to train more and race less. Really it is more like just TRAIN. I am horrible at following a training schedule and pushing myself in my training. So this year I want to train harder and better and possibly race a little less so I can focus more on my training. My dilemma is there are sooooo many races that I want to do! The problem with racing so much is that I want to focus on distance this year with my big race being the Hampshire 100. 100k of running in my back yard! Run Strong. NO regrets!

Okay, time to get out of my PJs and start the day. I wish everyone a safe and happy New Years. May you have no regrets in 2014!

 

The year of the Fibroid

This is how I started my day...

Pre-Op liquid diet

I am hoping that tomorrow (Wednesday) is the beginning of the end for me! I am having surgery. Basically I am having a C-section to remove a large (baseball/softball) sized fibroid that is sitting in the back of my uterus pushing all my parts around-my girlie parts and my pooping parts.

"Baby Fibroid"

This darn thing has been giving me issues since March and tomorrow...tomorrow it will be evicted from my body!

 

Most of my friends have heard me agonize, complain, and obsessively talk about my lower GI issues. Its been a huge part of my life. It has affected my work, my personal life, and caused me to be emotionally drained. It started with diarrhea and my intestines growled louder than your average stomach growl. I was bloated, I felt like you could pop my abdomen with a pin. I always felt like I needed to go poo.  I would go from bouts of diarrhea to messed up, crazy, abnormal bowel movements. I finally went to see my GI and she said it was IBS. I was diagnosed with IBS several years back after a period of constipation, firm stools,  blood, and discomfort. I did not buy that what I was going through this time was only IBS. I tried the Low FODMAP diet. At first I loosely followed it and my BM issues started to clear up but I still had crazy GI stuff going on. A LOT of discomfort. I asked my GI and my primary about girlie issues and whether or not that could affect my GI. They both basically said "maybe, but I doubt it". I finally had a yearly examination with a doctor who ended up not being my primary. SHE listened to me. She was not sold on my theory but she felt like it was worth a shot to have it checked out. She prescribed a transvaginal ultrasound. I will let you figure that one out. Long-story short...Fibroids were discovered. They couldn't tell how many or how large...2 doctors later and I was signed up for an MRI. The girl parts specialist was doubting that this fibroid was causing my issues, she didn't think it was big enough. Then she read the MRI results. WOW! I am not an expert but I could clearly see that baby fibroid was sitting back on/near my rectum as well as pushing my uterus and all my other parts out of the way. yep. THIS is probably what has been the source of the nagging pain on the left side of my abdomen that I have had for close to year. Baby fibroid sits on the right pushing everything to the left. I have a good understanding of my body. I know my body and am keen to when things are going wrong. Since March I have been able to sense and feel everything going on...its weird. I can feel bubbles, pains, rumbling, you name it in my abdomen. I feel like I can almost trace my food as it leaves my body. I am ready to not notice this stuff any more. While I have no doubt that the initial signs could have been IBS, I feel the IBS was triggered by the stress baby fibroid is causing my body. I think the LowFODMAP diet helped. I have reintroduced foods back into my diet and even try wheat on occasion and while I don't get instant diarrhea my GI tracts gets a little messed up but it did from time to time when I was on the diet. I am hoping that once baby fibroid is out and my parts are settled back in I will start to get some answers about my diet etc. I am hoping that diet will be one less thing I will have to worry so much about with my training. Don't get me wrong. I will still work towards eating smart and healthy but I hope to be able to go back to eating healthy and not have to worry about every little thing I put in my mouth and how it might affect my GI. It tends to drive ya a little insane after awhile.

 

I laugh because lately I have had similar symptoms as to what I have been told pregnant women have: Irregular bowel movements, what I call "fireworks" in my lower abdomen that could be similar to baby movements, bloating (I look a little preggers) and indigestion. Its time for Baby Fibroid to go!

 

I want to thank all my family and friends for your support. A BIG thank you to my running friends as my GI issues was often the topic of conversations on our runs. I hope that the next time I am asked  "how are you feeling?" I don't have to come back with some poop related story and I can truly and honestly say "I feel great"!