The after pains

I reieved the okay frm my surgeon to remove the pressure bandages that I have had on since my surgery on the 18th.  It was kind of strange seeing them for the first time. They are the largest surgically scars i have to date at e age of 30, they are both about the size of my pointer finger.

Either way they still hurt, I go in for my post op on Tuesday.

The good news about the past two weeks is that I have completed one baby blanket and now am working on a scarf. If nothing else, I ave been productive in the crafting department. Ext is updating photos and scrap booking the old ones.

I did leave the house today and went to my roommates field hockey game where they had a Huge win.

Other than that my entire goal is to take it easy and try and recover as best that I can.

I know I have had a lot of great friends pulling for me in all of this, but even with that being said, I still think this has been one of the loneliest times of my life.

It has been one week

I haven't blogged much in the past week, so I wanted to try and get caught up on my thoughts and what things have been like.

Last Monday I left and went down to Silver Spring, Maryland, where my surgery was going to take place. I got down there in the afternoon and just had time to relax and hang out with my friend.

Tuesday morning was a super early morning. Surgery was scheduled at 7 am which meant I had to be at the surgery center at 6 am. I got up at 5 a.m. and showered with Hibiclens before heading in for surgery. Then I got there and filled out the usual paperwork along with the other preparation work that they do for you when you are about to get cut open.

After going through things with the nurses, the doctor arrived and went over to what they were going to be doing to me. So I had three nerves cut in my pelvis and groin. I will look up the technical terms to all of this later. The surgery lasted a little over two hours.

I woke up from surgery in complete and total pain. Nothing seemed to be taking me down to a manageable level. I was in recovery longer than I was in surgery and I felt absolutely miserable. I was also dreading the getting up to go to the bathroom, because of how bad I hurt. So that was excruciating even with the nurses helping me move.

We did get things calmed down and I was able to leave, I had asked the doctor for crutches which he agreed to, because putting weight on my left leg was just so painful I couldn't do it. The doctor agreed to the crutches to help me get around for the reasons that they would stabilize me and also slow me down.

So going back to my friends Brooke and Mike they took great care of me all week, even though I could hardly get around. I felt pretty helpless. I was taking a lot of pain medication those first few days trying to keep my pain at bay.

On Friday I was able to get a ride home which was a little rough, but I was so glad to be home.

All weekend I spent laying around and sleeping as much as possible. I did have a friend help take me grocery shopping, I am trying to remember that I have to ask for help... and I must use help.

So for now I am icing my abdomen and taking the medications as prescribed by the doctor  and taking it as slow as possible so that I can try and heal.

What I can say is this surgery was painful and my biggest hope is that after the surgery wounds heal, that I will feel like a completely different person.

Just a few more hours

Well I am trying to get to bed, I went out for a great dinner with friends and have spent most of the day relaxing.

I am still very unsure about tomorrow and what this brings but I sure hope once I get through it that I will see and feel a huge difference.

I must say a huge thank you to ll of my friends who have been supportive and have sent well wishes. The most surprising was my friend who is currently in Switzerlnd sent me a text.

Either way I will get through this because I am strong... I have made it this far, an I will continue to keep the faith moving forward, because there is a light at he end of the tunnel and I am not alone in this.

Getting ready for surgery... is not fun at all

Life lately has been so overly stressful, it is crazy. I am trying to get things together in my life at home, at work, and with myself.

Well trying to make sure your house is in order for when you get back from surgery is just plain frustrating. I spent most of Saturday running errands and picking up medications and all other forms of things needed for the house to make sure that  everything is ready when I return.

Trying to find some new furniture is also not helping at all which we are in need of since my roommate moved out so there are definitely some blank spots in the house which are just plain annoying to me right now.

Work is stressing me out, I know I have an event on November 3rd, but most of what is going on won't be going on for a few weeks either way.

So far this morning getting some laundry done, then more cleaning of the house to come this afternoon and picking up all of my prescriptions which is going to be one huge bill that I am not looking forward to at this point.

Either way I have to get through this and I can because I am strong and I have to keep telling myself that. I don't need to breakdown, even though I know that I will between now and Tuesday. Either way I can do this, it is just going to be really, really hard.

Anxiety... Wow

Due to unforscne  circumstances I ended up have two appointments today: one for my injections and installations and he other for physical therapy.

I have been in ugh pain lately that the nerve blocks hurt much worse than usual. My doctor knows of he anxiety I'm having with he surgery so I need to find some constructive ways to relax this weekend to get through it all.

I did get a few phone calls from old friends which made me miss home a lot.

One thing is that i have actually old more people about this surgery and people have been so sweet and supportive. That really means a lot, I just dont know what I would do without my friends.

So here is to getting through Friday.

Epic Fail so far this moring

We all know Monday's can be a bit of a drag, well especially after that loss the Steelers had last night, no I am not yet over it. That is ok we will get them back.

Anyhow so off to work today, this is my last week before I head in for surgery so a lot needs to get accomplished. 

As I sit here in pain I realize that I forgot to pack my pain pills, so there is my epic fail of the day so far. I can't believe I did that. So ibuprofen it is for me for the day I guess, which won't touch me at all.

Now someday's I really wish what makes me feel worse, because I haven't really been able to figure that out just yet but I really hope that this surgery helps me with the pain levels. 

I sent an email into my local news station this weekend, hoping to get them to run on health segment on IC, I will follow up with them here this week, awareness is key! 

That is all for now... back to work as I have a lot to get done.

Also my reports are back and it looks like all of my test done last week to be cleared for surgery are good to go.

2012 Proclamation Wording! | IC Awareness

2012 Proclamation Wording! | IC Awareness

Fact #7 on IC

IC affects not only the patient but also the extended family. Parents with IC worry about their ability to support their family. Children wonder why their parent cannot attend normal daily functions, like baseball games, and often mistakenly assume that a parent is dying. Tragically, some family members and friends don’t believe that IC is a real condition and/or that the patient needs support and encouragement. Research presented at AUA 2010 demonstrated that patients with a spouse who was not supportive had a poorer outcome. The ICN has some great videos that can help educate family members. Find them at: http://www.ic-network.com/videos/

Today is that BAD pain day

So I woke up this morning at 5 a.m. in horrible pain. I got up and went to the bathroom and then laid back in bed and grabbed onto my pillows.

The odd thing my pain was on my right side which is highly unusual for me. Either way it has yet to be a good morning. I took all of my medications including a full dose of pain medication this morning, after I got out of the shower I had to lay down with my heating pad before getting ready for work. Thank God I can wear sweatpants to work, so I threw on my Under Armour Gear and walked out the door, if nothing else I look stylish, in black and yellow.

So here I sit attempting to get work done, with a heating pad and my Empi unit on trying to drive my pain down. This is just the worst feeling ever. It probably does not help that my stress level has been bad lately. Trying to coordinate this surgery is just so hard, but I know that my body needs it.

Yes, I realize it is only going to fix one part of my probably but if I can get my pain to more manageable levels I feel like I can be my  normal self again.

I would give anything to feel normal again...

The highs and lows of life

Labor Day... the official end of summer. Well I spent it laying in bed and on the couch, but I will say my Thursday and Friday night activities were completely worth it. I can definitely tell that my depression takes some high and low swings lately, which I should probably talk to my doctor about.

It was amazing being able to be part of two of my dearest friends wedding on Friday night. I met some wonderful new people and saw some old friends as well. It was a great time and I made sure to live it up as much as possible. It was great to see so many happy people together celebrating two of my old roommates getting married. (Mental note to self, dancing seems like a great idea, but in the end makes my body feel so much worse) I was just so happy to share in this day and meet all of their awesome friends and family that for a little bit it helped me forget that I felt so miserable.

That is me in the middle, proof that you can look pretty darn good and feel absolutely miserable all at the same time.

That decision though I regretfully paid for all weekend as I felt miserable and could barely move, going into work on Tuesday was rough.

In the mean time I am trying to logistically put together this whole surgery process and how all of it is going to work. I must say I thank God that I have great friends who are going to help me get through all of this.

The two week countdown!

Alright well one thing I know is that I do plan events for a living, I have decided what is even harder, is planning your own surgery out of state and trying to figure out how to make it all work.

My surgery is scheduled for September 18th at 7 am, I am no where near ready for this an my anxiety is building.

• Today I am going to get clearance from my family doctor.
• Tomorrow I plan to get all of my required blood work at the hospital.
• I need to figure out the days off work and the coming back to work plan.
• I need to work on transportation there and transportation back.
• Plans while in the DC area are solid so that is the good thing at the moment.
• I need to pick up prescriptions given to me by the doctor specifically for the surgery.
• I need to make sure I have all of my normal medications as well.
• In the mean time I still have my normal doctor appointments on top of all of this.
• Call the insurance and figure out what is covered/not covered (this one scares me the most).

Anyhow needless to say I am stressed and not sure what direction is up.

Also today is my dad's birthday, so shout-out to my dad who will spend his entire day teaching 5th graders.

Well time to get some work done and try and concentrate for a little bit.

In honor of IC Month

I thought it might be interesting to share a few facts that affect my everyday life living with IC:

•  I go to the bathroom what seems like all the time.
• I have to base the clothing I wear depending on how I feel.
• I don't think anyone fully understands what it feels like to have this problem unless they have it.
• I denied for a long time that I had IC, because I had the test done and it came back negative. However, I have learned that in 10% of people with IC can take the test with negative results, apparently I really am special.
• IC and bladder problems effect more women in this country than most would think, however many women do not seek treatment.
• The multitude of problems I have... took me months to be able to talk about without crying.

If you think you have a problem, do some research, there are some great websites out there  and talk to your doctor. One thing I have learned through this process is not to be afraid to say or ask whatever you may think while you are at the doctor. 

You yourself are the best advocate for YOU! Read here for more information on IC.