to baguio and back
First off, thank you, everyone, for your concern and your prayers.
I thought I should write an update right now (really, I'm so tired of this) as some seemed to think that I'm a terminal case (cuz Djin put my name alongside dead people. hehe) Btw, condolences to the Alamag and AGS family. I wish we can all read 90-Minutes in Heaven. It is really a good book to help us process the lost of a loved one. It makes it easier to accept death when you are reminded what heaven is really like and how the people who are already there are incomparably happier than any of us down here and that they are waiting for us.
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I woke up last Wednesday with a sharp and shooting pain in my right lower abdomen--the kind that makes you grit your teeth and try to keep the tears from falling (the pain has been constant eversince the surgery but it was worse this time. AJ saw me stood up like a bent 90-year old lady and she asked me if I'm ok. I don't remember what I said. I think I just kept saying, I don't know. It was then decided that I should be brought to Baguio to see a specialist. AJ called friends in Baguio who know a good gynecologist. We arrived in Baguio at around 4pm and went directly to Notre Dame Hospital. I was admitted at around 6pm and was wheeled down long corridors then in to a room a little bit afterwards. Consultant and resident drs. alternately took a look at my incision and exclaimed that infection has definitely set in. The skins around my wound are black and gangrenous. Honestly, I do not know how it got that way while in fact a new and fresh dressing is applied every morning for the last three weeks. I was still on antibiotic and so the dr just instructed to continue the antibiotic treatment for the wound. Routine labworks were also done with the results to be seen the next day. Before the consultant dr left, she ordered that I should also undergo an ultrasound to check for pelvic mass or anything that might be causing my pain.
The next morning, they made me drink a lot of water from 5:30 to 6:20 then when my bladder was up to its bursting stage, a very kind nurse wheeled me into the ultrasound room. It was very very cold in Baguio but that particular room was even colder. I was trembling to the bones like a wet cat, and the trembling was even aggravated by the full bladder.. I waited and waited there for nearly two hours until the ultrasonographer showed up. The first thing she said was, "You may empty your bladder now." I thought they needed that water to visualize things or whatever. I saw pregnant women undergo unltrasound before when a dr would run a small flat-iron-like thing in the patient's abdomen; and so when the dr told me to strip from the waist down, I was very surprised. I never heard of transvaginal ultrasonography. In short, the procedure was horrrrrible.
During the procedure, the ultrasonographer joked that I have a lot of black pearls inside my body. She turned the monitor towards me to show me what she was talking about. True enough, I saw a string of black dots on the screen. She took the relevant shots and proclaimed that she's done with me. :) I was wheeled back to my room and waited for the gynecologist.
She came after a few hours and explained to me the results of the procedures. But before the explanation, she asked a lot of questions first: Dati ka na bang mataba? (Were you always heavy?) Have you had pimples for a long time? Are yo usually depress? Do you suffer a lot of hairfall? Do you have little skin flaps on your body? Is your skin color uneven in some parts of your body? Are your periods irregular? Are hairs growing in places they have not grown before? Does your back hurt a lot for no reason? I answered yes to all the questions except the first cuz I only started gaining weight when I got married.
My condition is medically called Polycystic Ovaries Syndrome (PCOS). The black pearls are actually multiple cysts--immature follicles that are supposed to mature and detach themselves from the ovary during ovulation and become a mature ovum. My follicles seldom mature, hence the difficulty in conceiving. Because of lack of female hormones, the follicles just solidify and become cysts, said the doctor. She said it's a fairly manageable condition but that I should work with a doctor if I want to have a child and that if we are still planning to get pregnant, it should be in the next two years. After that, it would be nearly impossible. The ultrasound also showed that the inner lining of my womb is abnormally thick. The dr said, let us hope that it only came about because of my other conditions and that it can be controlled by hormone replacement. The other possibility is kind of scary. She said if the thickening is not brought about by my other conditions, it might be the kind of thickening that leads to cancerous or benign tumors. I stared! Of course, who wants even a benign tumor?
The treatment for PCOS is for me to be on hormones for a long time (six months minimum) but it cannot be started until my surgical wound is completely healed. At the rate that the healing is going, I'm afraid I'd lost all my hair before that day comes. 'hope not!
My blood sugar level is also higher than normal and the dr. predicted that 6-10 years from now, I will be a Type 2 Diabetic. Right now, I am on that stage they call pre-diabetes. AJ and I have been surfing the net and reading up on this subject and there is so much to learn and 'to change, to do and not to do, eat and not eat.' Wheeew!
There I was thinking that I am the healthiest living being in all the face of the earth. The last time I saw a doctor for my health was when I was in third grade. I was 7, but now that I am 30, I spent the first two months of a new year in and out of the doctor's clinic. That stresses me. I am the kind of person who would put off everything if a reason to do it has not bitten me in the heel. I haven't been able to conceive for more than 3 years and everybody keeps telling me to see a doctor. But since I'm busy, I feel no pain, and I generally feel good (except for my moods, and losing the looks I used to have when I was younger, haha), I did not even bother to heed anyone's advice. So when I think about it now, I really needed the push of an unsuccessful pregnancy to pay attention to my health. (As I told the dr in Notre Dame (Baguio) who told me that she'll have me on an IV drip, I said to her, if it's not a matter of life or death, I'd rather not be subjected to that!) Well, it's probably high time to change my attitude and approach to life. Btw, I was so thrilled to have something to blame my depression on, instead of my belief that I am either born depressed or that I am really a psychiatric case!
The doctor said that having a polycystic ovaries makes me at risk for many other conditions such as Type 2 Diabetes (which for me is now in the pre-diabetic stage because my blood sugar is high), infertility, miscarriage, endometrial cancer, etc. The risks are dizzying but for now, I'll thank God that I've been correctly diagnosed and that there are many things that can be done to avoid or at least delay the onset of these unavoidable possibilities. It's going to be a drag and a drain watching your diet, trying to conceive, taking meds on time, etc...
......but at the end of the day, it is obvious that God still deserves my thankfulness, worship, faithfulness and service. He knew how to get my attention and He's been at work.
I also want to thank the people who have been with me, especially my B, and UB and AJ (UB joked one time that God must have brought them here this time because so many things are wearing out... even people, which is true) :-) I don't know what I could have done without you AJ, and your 'how-are-you-doing, are-you-ok' questions. hehe. The delicious meals are very much appreciated. Thank you so much UB&AJ for ministering to me and B in a lot of ways, both tangible and intangible.... :-) I live and breathe thankful to you, so much so that I wish there is another word more meaningful than thank you. But since there is none... i'll just say HALAMAT ni GANDET ni PETEG ni NAYON tan INGGATOD INGGA!
Thank you, all of you who are always interested in what is going on with me and who's been faithful in your prayers for me.
Thank you also, Ninang B for 'nagging' me into promising to heed all your tips and advice. :)
I thought I should write an update right now (really, I'm so tired of this) as some seemed to think that I'm a terminal case (cuz Djin put my name alongside dead people. hehe) Btw, condolences to the Alamag and AGS family. I wish we can all read 90-Minutes in Heaven. It is really a good book to help us process the lost of a loved one. It makes it easier to accept death when you are reminded what heaven is really like and how the people who are already there are incomparably happier than any of us down here and that they are waiting for us.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I woke up last Wednesday with a sharp and shooting pain in my right lower abdomen--the kind that makes you grit your teeth and try to keep the tears from falling (the pain has been constant eversince the surgery but it was worse this time. AJ saw me stood up like a bent 90-year old lady and she asked me if I'm ok. I don't remember what I said. I think I just kept saying, I don't know. It was then decided that I should be brought to Baguio to see a specialist. AJ called friends in Baguio who know a good gynecologist. We arrived in Baguio at around 4pm and went directly to Notre Dame Hospital. I was admitted at around 6pm and was wheeled down long corridors then in to a room a little bit afterwards. Consultant and resident drs. alternately took a look at my incision and exclaimed that infection has definitely set in. The skins around my wound are black and gangrenous. Honestly, I do not know how it got that way while in fact a new and fresh dressing is applied every morning for the last three weeks. I was still on antibiotic and so the dr just instructed to continue the antibiotic treatment for the wound. Routine labworks were also done with the results to be seen the next day. Before the consultant dr left, she ordered that I should also undergo an ultrasound to check for pelvic mass or anything that might be causing my pain.
The next morning, they made me drink a lot of water from 5:30 to 6:20 then when my bladder was up to its bursting stage, a very kind nurse wheeled me into the ultrasound room. It was very very cold in Baguio but that particular room was even colder. I was trembling to the bones like a wet cat, and the trembling was even aggravated by the full bladder.. I waited and waited there for nearly two hours until the ultrasonographer showed up. The first thing she said was, "You may empty your bladder now." I thought they needed that water to visualize things or whatever. I saw pregnant women undergo unltrasound before when a dr would run a small flat-iron-like thing in the patient's abdomen; and so when the dr told me to strip from the waist down, I was very surprised. I never heard of transvaginal ultrasonography. In short, the procedure was horrrrrible.
During the procedure, the ultrasonographer joked that I have a lot of black pearls inside my body. She turned the monitor towards me to show me what she was talking about. True enough, I saw a string of black dots on the screen. She took the relevant shots and proclaimed that she's done with me. :) I was wheeled back to my room and waited for the gynecologist.
She came after a few hours and explained to me the results of the procedures. But before the explanation, she asked a lot of questions first: Dati ka na bang mataba? (Were you always heavy?) Have you had pimples for a long time? Are yo usually depress? Do you suffer a lot of hairfall? Do you have little skin flaps on your body? Is your skin color uneven in some parts of your body? Are your periods irregular? Are hairs growing in places they have not grown before? Does your back hurt a lot for no reason? I answered yes to all the questions except the first cuz I only started gaining weight when I got married.
My condition is medically called Polycystic Ovaries Syndrome (PCOS). The black pearls are actually multiple cysts--immature follicles that are supposed to mature and detach themselves from the ovary during ovulation and become a mature ovum. My follicles seldom mature, hence the difficulty in conceiving. Because of lack of female hormones, the follicles just solidify and become cysts, said the doctor. She said it's a fairly manageable condition but that I should work with a doctor if I want to have a child and that if we are still planning to get pregnant, it should be in the next two years. After that, it would be nearly impossible. The ultrasound also showed that the inner lining of my womb is abnormally thick. The dr said, let us hope that it only came about because of my other conditions and that it can be controlled by hormone replacement. The other possibility is kind of scary. She said if the thickening is not brought about by my other conditions, it might be the kind of thickening that leads to cancerous or benign tumors. I stared! Of course, who wants even a benign tumor?
The treatment for PCOS is for me to be on hormones for a long time (six months minimum) but it cannot be started until my surgical wound is completely healed. At the rate that the healing is going, I'm afraid I'd lost all my hair before that day comes. 'hope not!
My blood sugar level is also higher than normal and the dr. predicted that 6-10 years from now, I will be a Type 2 Diabetic. Right now, I am on that stage they call pre-diabetes. AJ and I have been surfing the net and reading up on this subject and there is so much to learn and 'to change, to do and not to do, eat and not eat.' Wheeew!There I was thinking that I am the healthiest living being in all the face of the earth. The last time I saw a doctor for my health was when I was in third grade. I was 7, but now that I am 30, I spent the first two months of a new year in and out of the doctor's clinic. That stresses me. I am the kind of person who would put off everything if a reason to do it has not bitten me in the heel. I haven't been able to conceive for more than 3 years and everybody keeps telling me to see a doctor. But since I'm busy, I feel no pain, and I generally feel good (except for my moods, and losing the looks I used to have when I was younger, haha), I did not even bother to heed anyone's advice. So when I think about it now, I really needed the push of an unsuccessful pregnancy to pay attention to my health. (As I told the dr in Notre Dame (Baguio) who told me that she'll have me on an IV drip, I said to her, if it's not a matter of life or death, I'd rather not be subjected to that!) Well, it's probably high time to change my attitude and approach to life. Btw, I was so thrilled to have something to blame my depression on, instead of my belief that I am either born depressed or that I am really a psychiatric case!
The doctor said that having a polycystic ovaries makes me at risk for many other conditions such as Type 2 Diabetes (which for me is now in the pre-diabetic stage because my blood sugar is high), infertility, miscarriage, endometrial cancer, etc. The risks are dizzying but for now, I'll thank God that I've been correctly diagnosed and that there are many things that can be done to avoid or at least delay the onset of these unavoidable possibilities. It's going to be a drag and a drain watching your diet, trying to conceive, taking meds on time, etc...
......but at the end of the day, it is obvious that God still deserves my thankfulness, worship, faithfulness and service. He knew how to get my attention and He's been at work.
I also want to thank the people who have been with me, especially my B, and UB and AJ (UB joked one time that God must have brought them here this time because so many things are wearing out... even people, which is true) :-) I don't know what I could have done without you AJ, and your 'how-are-you-doing, are-you-ok' questions. hehe. The delicious meals are very much appreciated. Thank you so much UB&AJ for ministering to me and B in a lot of ways, both tangible and intangible.... :-) I live and breathe thankful to you, so much so that I wish there is another word more meaningful than thank you. But since there is none... i'll just say HALAMAT ni GANDET ni PETEG ni NAYON tan INGGATOD INGGA!
Thank you, all of you who are always interested in what is going on with me and who's been faithful in your prayers for me.
Thank you also, Ninang B for 'nagging' me into promising to heed all your tips and advice. :)
Comments
d naman terminal ate..it was jaz that i recieved those 'bad news' the same day kc;-)..yngatz lagi.