Thursday, November 04, 2010

My Experience: The Uterine Artery Embolization

First off, let me say that God is awesome, great and has blessed me far above, and beyond my expectations.
Yesterday I underwent a procedure called uterine artery embolization. This procedure was done to reduce the size of my uterine fibroids, one of which are very large in size. The large fibroid has caused so much problems with menstrual bleeding. I bleed like a stuck pig, no worse. I bleed like Niagra Falls...it's horrible. The pain is excruciating and my stomach is poked out like a 5 month pregnant woman. I've been carrying around uterine fibroids for years, however in the last 9 months, they have grown larger.
Back to the procedure...A catheter was inserted in my groin and into the artery that is connected to the large fibroid. A hollow wire was inserted in the catheter to disperse the particles that would embolize the artery. The artery that is connected to the fibroid gives it blood. The blood makes the fibroid grow larger, so the particles released in the tube removed that artery that feeds the fibroid.
The procedure was difficult for the doctor. He had a hard time inserting the wire in the artery because the artery had a lot of curves, but he managed to get it in to disperse the particles in the left artery. The right artery, not so much. After many attempts to get the wire in the artery, he couldn't because the artery was too bunched up and curved. The right artery was not embolized. However, the doctor said that he embolized the entire left artery that covered the fibroid, and it would still be effective. I definitely hope so. I remember the room being cold. I was lying on the table face up, seeing the X-ray machine move from side to side every now and then. Every so often, I would look over at the monitor to see what the doctors were doing inside of my body. I saw the contrast in my artery and I saw the wire going inside the artery on the monitor. I also remember asking if I could get a picture of the fibroid, then the smart ass male nurse said something like, "yes, but not now, later..." I was thinking, well I know not now, I'm not an idiot, I'm just sedated....whatever, what a punk....I'm going to ask about the picture when I call tomorrow.

The nurse and the doctor described to me what I should expect after the procedure. The effects of having the uterine artery embolized is cramping, nausea, some dizziness, and a light fever. Last night I had some nausea and I threw up after eating a little dinner. Right after the procedure was over, I had some cramping, more in my back than anything. They hooked up the morphine machine so I could be relieved of my pain...it worked well :) They also gave me Tylenol 3 to help with the pain, on top of the morphine. Let's just say that I slept a lot. I can't even remember everything that happened after the procedure because I was so "in and out," it was a foggy blur. I mainly remember drifting off to sleep a lot, thanks to all the meds! I do remember them having to move me to another bed because the original bed I was in didn't work. The top of the bed didn't raise up. When I arrived in my room, the nurses had to move me, it was about 6 of them I think. I remember making a remark about me being a big girl and I was heavy, or something like that. I think I was trying to make a joke LOL.

So later I began to wake up a little more after my naps. Travere (my brother) came to visit me, which was cool. Then my friend Shortel came by, they both kept me entertained. About 8:00 pm I started getting sleepy again, and started dozing off.....again. Travere left right before 9:00 pm, which is when visiting hours are over. I was glad to have him there and Shortel too. It's a blessing to have family and friends there for you when you need them. A REAL BLESSING! I'm at home now, resting up and trying to avoid pain and taking it easy. I am so thankful to have loving family and friends who care about me.

So yeah, that was my experience. The nurse said it will take about 3 months to see some improvement in my menstrual period. I pray that it really helps considering I had one side of the fibroid embolized. I will stay prayerful no matter what and I have to improve my health by eating right and exercising. In order to do this, I have to change my mindset about my health. It cannot be just about losing weight, it has to be about improving my overall health. I have to take control now, and stop making excuses if I want to live a better life. It's just that simple.

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