Monday Dec. 5th's Procedure (not for those who get grossed out easily)

Hi All -

Sorry it has been so long since I have posted and have not kept you up to date on Monday's procedure.  This post may be too much information for some - stop reading here if ya can't take it.

Prior to them putting me under on Monday, I got a chance to talk to the doc (usual practice).  I asked him if he was going to hurt me more or less than the last procedure and he replied way more.  Jeez - thanks a million.  As I sit here posting this, I am sitting on an egg crate donut.  Last procedure was scalpels and stitches - this time laser.

Lasers burn away tissue - this is where it is about to get really ugly.  I had precancerous lesions on the inside and out.  About half way up the vaginal canal, I had thick scar tissue from radiation.  He had to pull it apart and stretch it before it could laser it.  Having tissue lasered up inside of you isn't so bad.

I was still healing from the last procedure when he did the wide area incisions on the outside and still had dissolvable stitches that had not yet dissolved.  No biggie.  He burned so much of the outside parts away that I woke up and wanted to hurt somebody badly.  I am so raw and burned - not even joking.  I bled like heck the first day.  The bleeding has slowed down but there is still plenty of it.

Tried my first Sitz bath yesterday.  Jury is still out on that one.  Prescriptions and instructions I left with:

1.  Leave in packing for 10-11 hours
2.  Pickup Ocean something from a pet store
3.  Pickup a Sitz bath from a specialty pharmacy that carries supplies
4.  Hydrocodone (with a refill - refills on this is rare for outpatient procedures because the pain is usually gone before you need a refill - so I took this as not so good of a sign)
5.  Morphine
6.  Burn cream - twice a day

In between times of the burn cream, I coat the outside with Vaseline so that it does not burn so bad to urinate.  And unfortunately with the radiation damage to the bladder, I urinate at least once every hour to an hour and a half.  Happy peeing - NOT.

Taking out the packing was PAINFUL - it had to pass the area he stretched out and then lasered - must of been thirty feet of it - it went on and on.  I grinned and I bared it (more like three feet of it) and cried through it.

I take pretty high doses of morphine for the bladder damage so I did not even fill that script - I had bigger guns at home.  Did fill the hydrocodone as the two drugs work differently and they work better together (no I am not a druggie - just take them as prescribed and it usually works although I do have morphine for break through pain).

So to sum up Monday's procedure - it stunk and is still taking it's toll.

I have been down until today.  Had to see the urologist as there has been blood in my urine.  My mom took me and I took my donut (if you do not know what a donut is, ask any women that has had a child vaginally and she can explain it to you or google it).  The urologist was not concerned about the blood in my urine - typical of bladder radiation damage.  Check that off the list.

After the doc, we had to make a quick stop at HEB.  Mom did most of the work.  I was dying when I got home even though I had taken my prescribed meds at the prescribed times.  Time for break through pain morphine.  I will not lie - I have a pretty HIGH tolerance for pain - but this takes the cake and the icing and the ice cream and anything else you can think of - cool whip maybe?.  Thank God for my mom, that I did not wake up with a poop or pee bag and for just giving me another day.  I am going back down for at least 3-4 more days!

Thanks to all the prayer warriors out there - I soooo appreciate the prayers.

I am due for a PET/CT scan which will show if the cancer has moved anywhere else.  I will keep you posted on that one.  Hopefully my next post will be more merrier - tis the season to rejoice.

More later -