For Women Only - A Long One

I am so glad that today is over. It has been a long one; I made it through without a major breakdown, thought I do have to admit, I had a few mini melt downs.

Sometimes I wonder if what I write is TOO MUCH INFORMATION at times. But there are not enough people out there who talk about what it is like to go through peri-menopause, or what to do when the body is starting to break down, and how to go about the health care system in such a way that is honorable and the least invasive. We have to be our own best advocates and do a lot of research.

Some of you may not know this, but before I went back to school for my BS and MS in art education, I worked in the medical field for years. I got anesthesiologists and many surgeons their money because I knew how to bill insurance companies. I am fairly literate regarding medical terminology, coding, reading operative reports etc. I worked in the operating room of one of the local hospitals as a secretary for a while, scheduling surgery, while billing insurance companies.

I saw a lot. I learned a lot. I got really upset when I saw people go into the OR and never come out. Or depressed when I had to shake people down for money, sometimes people who had lost their loved ones or were battling with their own life threatening illnesses.

The insurance companies were pigs many times, though I have to give credit to the doctors I worked for. If I gave the facts straight...and gave them the picture of the desperateness of the situations, they often reduced the balances, or gracefully wrote them off.

Anyhoo...I have spent a lot of time "gathering" a group of doctors who are mainly women. You can go online through various websites and get ratings for most any doctor.

I chose my GYN due to the people in the office as Helen, my ex-neighbor, a mid wife and advocate of alternative medicine, worked there. She did my endometrial biopsy, and was a pro... Today's procedure, a hysteroscopy, was something she could not do. It more more invasive, and I have a problem with putting things in something that things should be coming out of. I called the office, told them of my fears, and Helen said she would be in there right along with the doctor to be there with me.

They gave me my 10 mg. of valium, but the situation was quite complicated by the fact that I have been very sick with......severe intestinal distress. I was crying this morning, after a week of running to the bathroom, and ended up taking 4 immodium trying to stop the trots. I took a few moments to breathe, and envision peace in my body. A few friends of mine had horror stories about this procedure, and I tried to envision it to be one of ease for me.

The doctor was such a kind woman..I had just met her for this procedure. She said she would not start till Helen came in....When Helen came in she held my hand and helped find my elusive cervix so that they could even START the procedure. Once done, they had to give it a local, which meant needles in it. The thought of it was much worse than the actual needle. Once done, they got the camera in and started exploring the world of my uterus. I had to look at the camera screen, as it was fascinating.

They have to lavage the uterus with saline so that the camera can see the interior. What an interesting world that was. I saw things floating around in it, and I asked what that was. "Cobwebs" Helen declared. "Got to keep using it Patti". I had a good chuckle, and kidding aside, it was just loose tissue (microscopic actually) that was floating about.

I will get into part II of this tomorrow...as it contains some important info about a procedure that is far less radical than a hysterectomy.

Oh, and my digestive problems that I have been dealing with for a year now? Probably my gall bladder. Have an emergency visit with my female gastro doc on thursday.

Hope I haven't bored or disgusted you. If you are over 60, you are probably glad that you are done with all of this, but then again, there are no guarantees. If you are my age, it may be quite informative. If you are younger, well, tis better to be informed for future reference.

Patti O Procedure

PS and thanks to my fabulous gentle husband who drove me there, would have come in had I wanted him there, and took me out for a bite to eat and came back to check on me in between jobs. You rock.

Comments

loelbarr said…
Well, honey, I'm so glad that's over with...looking for part 2...and soon you'll get that pesky gallbladder handled and before you know it you'll be sexysixty and rarin' to go again...

love you
Andrea said…
Patti,
Thanks for sharing your medical troubles. I've never even heard of a hysteroscopy, and I consider myself fairly well-informed! We need more "TMI" medical info so we can make INFORMED medical choices.
Thanks and kitty healing vibes from Gracie, which are guaranteed to work,
-Andrea
I am happy that you share. I think as younger women start to age, we have no idea what the hell is going on and then feel very alone or confused as to what to do when something comes around that changes.

Hope you are feeling better!

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