In the 2020 physical examination, I was diagnosed with uterine fibroids. Fortunately, the fibroids were not too big at the time, and the medical examiner advised me to follow up, and if the fibroids grew too fast or were too large, surgery was needed.
However, due to the epidemic, the "follow-up" that was said to be good has become "has been dragging on without going to the inspection".
As a result: Last year, I had an open abdomen. So, I drew the whole process of the operation.
Uterine fibroids grow to the point where they can be touched with the hand,
I was still a little hesitant
One day at the end of March 2021, I was watching TV at home and suddenly felt a bulge in my lower abdomen, and I felt a bulge in the position of the uterus, and my small belly looked a little large, and sometimes it hurt a little.
Although I didn't have any other symptoms, I also quietly broke out in a cold sweat. I started to worry about "is this going to require surgery?".
I haven't had a single surgery in my life, and I still feel a little nervous thinking about it.
Also, ever since I can touch the fibroids with my hands, I've always felt something different in my lower abdomen.
In fact, I don't know how the feeling at that time was different from normal people, and it was even more difficult to describe what was wrong with this "abnormality", but it was difficult not to care.
After thinking about it, the only solution left for me was to walk my leg into the hospital and see if I really needed surgery.
In fact, since I was a child, I have been very afraid to see a doctor, always feeling that "it is my fault to be sick", because I did not take good care of my body, and as a result, I caused trouble for others (including doctors, family members, and friends).
So I kept hesitating, I couldn't muster up the courage to go to the hospital, and I didn't know how to tell the doctor.
But on the other hand, I believe in doctors and science, after all, as an ordinary person without professional training, there is really no way to let his body go ill, or to leave the problem to some less professional people.
Therefore, I also understood that in the circumstances at that time, going to the hospital to see a doctor was the most important choice I should make.
Under the game of two ambivalences, I dragged on for a while, and finally went to the hospital to hang up after my roommate Teacher Ge's half-severe reprimand and half-gentle persuasion.
My attending physician is a deputy chief physician with the words "Specializing in the treatment of benign uterine fibroids."
On the day of the visit, after seeing my ultrasound results, she said to me:
"Your fibroids, big and numerous, you know?"
again! big! again! many!
Her tone was so relaxed that I felt for a moment as if the condition was not very real.
There is a sense of ridiculous absurdity that "the fruit on the tree is big and many.".
Fortunately, her series of consultations and examinations are very professional.
Now I think back to her pompous tone and unhesitating examination, which seemed to dispel my fear of doctors to some extent. For me, the experience was unprecedented and difficult to explain.
do surgery,
It made me feel my gender again
Eventually, the doctors concluded that open surgery was needed.
Because I had a large number of fibroids, and one of them grew to eight centimeters, the laparoscopic surgery was likely to be unclean and produce a lot of blood, so I agreed with the doctor and chose open surgery.
After confirming the operation, I inevitably asked the question that all patients ask.
"May I ask, is this surgery risky?"
My doctor's expression immediately became exaggerated, and she said:
"Oh my God, this surgery has been going on for hundreds of years, and the risk is very low."
Well, this kind of pompous confidence can really make me put my mind at ease for some reason.
Although I know that this operation is not difficult, it is inevitable that some pressure and anxiety will arise in my heart when I walk out of the hospital.
There was another thing that impressed me: when discussing surgical options with doctors, my gynecologist prioritized and discussed with me a lot of the impact of surgeries and diseases on future fertility.
Because there are two years of absolute contraception after the uterine fibroid surgery, the doctor first asked me if I had a pregnancy plan, and repeatedly stressed several times that if I do surgery now, it will affect the pregnancy preparation.
In my view, at all times, priority should be given to the health of the patient himself.
Under this priority, let's explore the future impact on fertility.
In short, in the days of preparing for surgery, I began to re-perceive my uterus and rethink my life as a woman.
In the past thirty years of life, by chance, I have not recognized myself with "second sex", nor have I ever used society's requirements for women to demand myself.
In my long-standing view, all of us should be recognized as human beings first, and we should cultivate ourselves with the qualities and responsibilities of a person. And it is not to demand of one gender.
But this time, I was genuine, dealing with a disease that only my gender could have. This experience made my feelings about life more three-dimensional.
Before surgery,
The hardest part is the ass
Two days before the operation, I was admitted to the hospital early, did some necessary tests and preparations for the operation, electrocardiogram, MRI, several blood tests, and nucleic acid tests in advance.
The doctor explained to me the possible risks of surgery, such as heavy bleeding, malignant tumor biopsy, the need to remove the uterus, intraoperative urinary tract adhesions, and so on.
The doctor who explained it was very serious and described the possible risks very realistically, as if it were bound to happen.
Intellectually I know very well that this is a matter of probability, but emotionally I hope to be comforted.
I never imagined that the day before the operation, the "adventure" would begin.
In the afternoon, the nurse brought two large packets of laxatives and told me to mix them in two liters of water and drink them within two hours.
Although I usually think that two liters is not too much, but I really tried, I found out: two liters of water is really, I can't drink it at all!
Eventually I drank a bottle and a half for five hours, and during that time, I had to run to the toilet almost every twenty minutes.
After ten o'clock in the evening, I could not eat or drink as required, and just when I thought that the emptying was over and I could finally rest, another nurse came.
She said to me: You're going to have enemas twice.
In the hospital, as a patient, when confronted with doctors and nurses, I seem to have become less concerned about physical privacy, which is probably the intrinsic motivation to believe in science.
In short, throughout this operation, my ass took on too much.
Eyes closed and open, the surgery is complete
Then there was the next morning's surgery.
I was the first one in the morning, and the nurse pushed me into the operating room at eight o'clock. The paramedics kept coming in and out, repeatedly confirming my name, bracelet, and the name of the procedure.
This kind of confirmation, although a little cold, but careful and repetitive, is also reassuring.
The operating room was cold, and shortly after the attending doctor came in, I was anesthetized. Then I was completely unconscious.
When I woke up again, I was told "four hours had passed".
I could feel some tubes in my body, needles in my hand, and then I passed out again.
On the first day after surgery, a lot of fluids were given and a lot of injections were given.
Over and over again to check the name, the bracelet, whether there was any drug allergy, etc., during which I kept waking up and passing out again.
Because of the effect of the analgesic pump, I slept so groggy on the first day after the operation that I almost didn't feel anything abnormal.
The day after the operation, I really started to feel the pain.
The pain of the wound, the pain caused by the catheter and the urinary catheter, these are all tolerable.
What is most unbearable is the pain caused by the undrafted gas flowing in the abdominal cavity.
When doctors and nurses come to check the room, they are also most concerned about the problem of "whether to exhaust", to put it bluntly, "whether there is a fart out".
I didn't release it for a whole day.
Later I farted at night, and sure enough, it was much better after exhausting.
In the last few days of the hospital, there was nothing special, and on the third day after the operation, the catheter was pulled out, and under the advice of the doctor, he insisted on moving down to the ground to prevent intestinal adhesions.
The nurse aunt helped me clean my body and also had liquid food arranged by the hospital. The doctors and nurses came to check on time and did not pay special attention to me.
Later, I understood: the doctor did not pay much attention to you, which meant that your problem was not big.
Life in the hospital is quiet, and doctors and nurses are busy in an orderly manner.
Perhaps because it is a maternity and infant hospital, the overall atmosphere is not as chaotic and complicated as the hospital I remembered, but it made me feel a little vacation.
I was discharged from the hospital on the fourth day after the operation, and then I recuperated at home.
After the operation, I still followed the doctor's advice and walked around more actively, so I recovered quickly. After a week, I can move freely, and after three weeks, I will walk on my own to go to the follow-up clinic.
The experience of this hospital surgery made me cherish my health and real life even more, and I am grateful for Mr. Ge's care for me and the advice and concern of my friends.
postscript
By now, it's been almost a year since I had surgery. During this time, my physical condition has been very good.
After the wound was no longer painful, I began to exercise again, but it was still much less frequent than before the operation.
For female friends who see here, I would like to say: please be sure to have regular physical examinations, pay attention to diet, eat more meat (supplement protein), eat less sugar, strengthen fitness, after all, more muscles, after surgery, healing is relatively fast.
After posting this article on my public account, I also received a lot of comments from readers.
Many people have told me: After reading your article, I finally plucked up the courage to go to the operation! I was also told that although surgery was needed, my family did not agree.
I would like to say: the body is our own, and we all have to learn to make decisions for our own body.
In the end, the total cost of my surgery was about fifteen thousand, the medical insurance reimbursed about twelve thousand, and the out-of-pocket part was more than three thousand.
Doctor reviews
Liu Haiphong | Deputy Chief Physician of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University
The author of this article is an unmarried and childless woman who suffers from multiple uterine fibroids in this capacity, and it is indeed difficult to decide the timing of surgery.
After all, many people's concept is: if you use a knife in the womb, isn't that hurting the uterus? What if I can't get pregnant later?
In fact, our doctors will analyze from another perspective: if so many and such large fibroids can be cleaned up in time, it is also the protection of the uterus, that is, the protection of female reproductive function.
Because, with such a severe polymyomercoma, the hope of direct pregnancy is very slim.
Moreover, with the prolongation of time, fibroids are likely to grow longer and longer, longer and larger, and then there may be increased menstruation, secondary anemia, compression of the bladder or rectum leading to abnormal bowel movements, etc., the impact on physical health is obvious.
As the authors themselves understand, "At all times, priority should be given to the physical health of the patient himself."
Under this priority, let's explore the possible impact on future fertility", which also coincides with the concept that "the right to life is greater than the right to fertility" that our doctors have always advocated.
Imagine if a woman can't even guarantee her basic physical health, how can she talk about childbearing? And how can you give birth?
Uterine fibroid excision surgery is one of the most common surgical procedures performed by gynecologists, both in terms of technical difficulty and perioperative treatment, it is relatively easy and clear.
The hospitalization and surgical process the author went through also attested to this, and her recovery after surgery was also very fast, leaving no sequelae.
This true story also tells everyone that the disease is not terrible, do not hide the disease and avoid medical treatment. Those surgeries that must be done, do what should be done, do not delay if they should be done early!
About the author: There is a face and a brain and more material, pay attention to the health of modern women's life, just in tencent medical code she knows! （ID：TXydtazhi）