Pre-Op Appointments

So today I had a few doctors appointments to get ready for the big day on Monday.  I haven't been able to drive because of my pain meds, so my sister Heather who is in town from Virginia Beach, was my DD (designated driver) today.

First stop this morning was to get an MRI done of my abdominal area for better picture of "Goliath."  Right now it's measuring at about 8 cm by 6 cm (a little bigger than the size of a kiwi fruit).  A standard ovary is usually the size of an olive.  The strip of pictures below are from my MRI.  I asked for a picture and they gave me a CD full of them.  Of course, I don't really know how to read these, but my doctor went over them with me a little.  Everything in these images is flipped, but you can see "Goliath" in most of these.  It's the big white thing.  You can also see my poor left ovary and how tiny in comparison it is.

Back in high school, I got an MRI because I was complaining of shin splints.  I'm not sure why I even got one because they just told me to stop marching so much.  Anyways, that was not bad at all.  They strapped my leg down, gave me ear plugs and I just sort of hung out for a while while the machine did its banging thing.

Today was completely different.  I had to change into hospital clothes and get an IV put in.  When I got on the table, they had me lift my arms above my head and put a cage over my abdomen.  I got ear plugs and they covered me with a blanket to keep me warm.  The table started sliding into the machine and then it stopped so the lower half of my body was in the really narrow part and my head was in the less narrow part.  I thought, "Oh this won't be bad."  I assumed that I was going to stay this far in because it wasn't like my head was getting scanned.

Then I started sliding in further until my head was in and THEN my elbows which were sticking up slightly because the arms were above my head were scraping on the top of the machine.  I had to close my eyes because I had a little freak out moment.  I'm not even claustrophobic.  The top of the machine was only about 4-6 inches away from my face and my elbows were uncomfortably touching the top of the machine.  No part of my body was outside of this narrow tube.  I was instructed to stay this way without moving for...

 25 minutes!!!

I don't think I had mentally prepared myself for this.  I really figured that my head wouldn't have to go inside because it wasn't getting scanned.  The machine knocked and banged for quite some time and all I could do was sit there and focus on my breathing.  After what seemed like forever, I heard a speaker come on and a woman asked how I was doing.  She told me that I may feel something cold in my arm because they were going to inject the dye.  She told me I was about done and it would only be about three more minutes.

I felt the cold dye coming into my arm and got this metallic taste in my mouth.  I think I could smell it too, but I'm not sure.  I started counting VERY slowly to sixty three different times to get myself to the end of it.  It actually ended up being more like 6 minutes before she started moving me out of the tube.  They removed my IV which didn't have any ink color in it, so I'm not sure what color it was.  I didn't ask, but I wondered if my pee was going to be blue. (it didn't)

My next appointment was with a nurse from the hospital that gave me my schedule and did a surgical interview over the phone.  It only took about 15-20 minutes with a lot of questions about medical history that I was luckily able to say no to.

My sister and I then took an extended lunch at Panera Bread.  We sat and talked for probably three hours.  I love having sisters because you can basically talk about anything for any amount of time and not feel bored at all.  I was really worried about all of the extra time that we had before next appointment and I guess I didn't need to be.

My last appointment was with my gynecologist who is going to be doing the surgery on Monday.  She is really an amazing doctor and I'm really glad that she's taking care of me.  She said that all of the blood work and the MRI that I was able to get really helped her feel better about the mass.  She had initially been so concerned that she booked my surgery in an inpatient room next to where the cancer doctor operates.  Eek!  (It's still there just in case.)

So they did a whole work up from the blood I had drawn on Tuesday, but she really only explained the CA-125 test out of like 15 different tests that were done.  An elevated level (<35) on this test is a possible sign of ovarian cancer.  My levels were only very slightly elevated at 36.79.  She wasn't too concerned because a slightly elevated CA-125 level supported a new theory of hers.  She think that my tumor may actually be what is known as a chocolate cyst which you can get when you have endometriosis.

The GOOD news is that women with endometriosis can get pregnant!  So, I may not be a hopeless cause after all. :)  She said if that is the case, we will talk about it more in detail at my post op appointment.

We're still not sure EXACTLY what the mass is, but we'll know by Monday at 1:30pm when I'm on the surgical table.  She going to try to do it all laparoscopically, but she may have to make a bigger incision if there are issues.  She's really going to try to keep my ovary if possible.  One weird part is that they're going to be filling my abdomen with carbon dioxide so she'll be able to navigate easier!  Now my image of me on the operating table includes me being blown up like a balloon!  If there are no issues and she can do it all laparoscopically, I'll be able to leave that night.  If she has to make a bigger incision for any reason at all, I'll probably be staying the night and leaving whenever I'm released.

I'll be on a clear liquid diet (water, chicken broth, apple juice, clear jello, etc) starting Sunday and I'll need to drink some pretty awful stuff that will basically clear me out, so my bowels are completely out of the way for surgery.  My doctor said that the operating table would be slanted so my head would be facing down and my feet up.  This will make it so that my internal organs get out of the way and won't get nicked during the surgery. 

I'm a little nervous because she said I will be in A LOT of pain afterward.  When I asked her how it would compare to the pain that I was currently feeling, she said that what I was feeling was a "dull ache" compared to what I would be feeling.  She said that I would hate her the day afterward and want to throw darts at her picture.  She prescribed even stronger painkillers for me to use after the surgery.

So I know that basically all sounds terrible, but I feel better.  I just like being informed... and now you are too!  Please keep the prayers coming my way!