Post Surgery

First and foremost, Nick and I want to thank everyone for your thoughts and prayers this past week!  

Everything went smoothly, thank goodness!!! They did end up finding a few quite a bit more than just endometriosis once they got in there!  

I ended up having a few endo spots that they zapped for me... that's right a few- that was kind of a relief- at least it wasn't overtaking my insides!!! But, they ended up finding gallstones as well as a cyst on my right ovary that was larger than the ovary itself... gross! But they "deflated" the cyst (sorry that's kinda gross sounding but that's what they did)!  My amazing doctor also went in and severed a few nerves that control the pain that is caused by cramps this = heaven on earth for me... hopefully!!! The doctor also noticed a HUGE adhesion that was linking my ten-year-old appendectomy scar to the tissue that covers my intestines (which explains a lot)! The adhesion was gigantic and it also had endo spots on it!

I'm going to be meeting with my friend Dr. Metersky who is a general surgeon (that I nanny and work for) hopefully tomorrow to discuss whether or not I'll be removing my gallbladder... I have the symptoms that go along with Cholecystitis, which is the inflammation of the gallbladder, and Cholelithiasis, which is an infection in the gallbladder.  But, I didn't know that I was experiencing symptoms that were related to the gallbladder because they are so similiar to the symptoms that I thought were being caused solely by the endometriosis!  So I'll keep you posted on how that talk goes!

I have some pictures that the doctor took for me (I asked for the video- so I could see all of my insides-- but they didn't make a video) so I'll post a few pictures... but I want to let you know some of these are super gnarly! 

This is the adhesion from my appendectomy scar to the tissue around my intestines. The black spots are endometriosis.

After they zapped the endo off, getting ready to burn the adhesion off.

After they burned it off.

This is my HUGE uterus and my two ovaries... notice how large my right ovary is... just wait to see the GIGANTIC cyst that is hiding on it!  This is pre-nerve severing.

Post-nerve severing... and some endo removal.  My uterus looks smaller now that some of the endo is gone, but the right ovary is still big!

HUGE cyst!

The doctor getting after the cyst... thank goodness it only was full of a benign clear liquid! I was nervous about what he would find in the cysts that I had.

Still working on that dang cyst.

Ovary afterwards... I know you can't see the left one but they are almost the same size! 

That's all I have for today but I will be sure to keep you updated after I talk to the doctor about my gallbladder!! Thank you again for all the thoughts and prayers they mean the WORLD to Nick and I! 

Ashley