Monday was my post-op appointment with Dr. Hickox. He removed my stitches and commented on how "strained" my incisions looked, but other than that, said I should be completely healed in another 6 weeks.
Kevin asked Dr. Hickox "is there a reason she should still be in pain?" And he said (Dr. Hickox reminds me of a funny gay guy who should have been in The Hangover) "Well, yeah! She had major surgery through little holes!". His attitude was hilarious! But it was relieving that I'm still supposed to be uncomfortable, since I am.
He also said that without treatment, I stand a 50% chance of my endometriosis coming back in a year, and my abdoninal/lower back pain, and the pain I have when I relieve myself, will return with no warning - even if there is no endo!
There is an agressive treatment that would keep me pain free for about 8-10 months and endo free for a year. Here is the catch: if I take this treatment, there is a 75% chance that my endo will retun in 2-3 years.
We (kevin and I) elected to go with the treatment - at least it can gaurentee me being pain-free for a while and that sounds marvelous to me. The treatment is Lupron injections every 4 weeks for 6 months. These shots will basically slow my ovarian production of estrogen down so much that my body will think I'm going through menopause. To combat menopausal side effects (hot flashes, mood swings, etc) I will have to take supplimental hormones (basically estrogen) in pill form.
I'll definitely be in prayer about all that! Sounds like a lot to be going through, especially at such a young age! But, God is in control, and will be with you every step of the way! Lean on His strength, because we are all too weak to do it on our own!
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