I knew I wasn't Crazy!!

So....When I had my breast surgery......I remember waking up in the post op room, and looking up at my vitals.......and I remembered seeing that my temp was 94 point something...............But when I talked to the surgeon after surgery, she said that she didn't remember anything about my temp dropping and that if it was 94 degrees, I'd be dead...........And I figured since I was just waking up from some surgery, I had probably misread something or something. But my instincts told me otherwise..........So last week I went down to the records department and requested copies............And today, they came in the mail...............And WELL.......I couldn't feel better. See, I had read it right!! And just in case you can't read the numbers......they were:
91.1 at 9:30
93.3 at 9:35
93.7 at 9:40
and
94.1 at 9:45
.....and I'm not dead!
So, unless there is some other explanation for this.........I might be on to something here. Don't worry....this is just another one of those things that goes along with having Dysautonomia, I think, but I'm wondering if anyone else with this has ever seen the same pattern with having surgeries? Any anesthesiologist out there seen this in another patient? Just wondering....

But I will say this one more time before I go....
It's so good to know that I'm not crazy, and that I wasn't seeing stuff. And feels even better to be right, lol! Can I do my happy dance now??

Oh....and while I have the report in my hand....

My mass biopsy report reads:

"Focal biopsy site changes with stromal fibrosis and fibroadenomatoid change"

and that simply means.....Benign hormonal changes....((i think))

OK.......that's enough excitement for one day:)

Until Next time....

Update on that stitch

If you read my last post, You'll know that one of my stitches was giving me problems......so....I did my homework, looked online enough to learn what they are, and how long it should take for them to go away. And seeing as I have had mine for a little over a month, I figured it was time for it to go. First......let me gross you out and let you read part of what I read:

­http://health.howstuffworks.com/question611.htm
To your body, stitches are a foreign substance, and the body is programmed to destroy foreign substances. Dissolvable stitches are made from natural materials, such as processed collagen (animal intestines), silk and hair, ((OK, Now that's just nasty!!))as well as some synthetic materials that the body can break down. This allows the body to dissolve the stitches over time. Usually, by the time the stitches are dissolved, the wound is completely healed.

Occasionally, a stitch won't dissolve completely. This usually occurs when part of the stitch is left on the outside of the body. There, the body's fluids cannot dissolve and decompose the stitch, so it remains intact. A doctor can easily remove the remaining piece of stitch once the wound is closed.

So, first thing this morning, I called the dr. office and spoke with the nurse who told me to come on in, and she'd pull it out for me. So, off I went, was there all of 5 minutes........and she pulled most of it out, and cut it. She said that my body would either dissolve the rest of it, or it would push it out. Fun! I will say, my boob is a little sore, and the area is a little red. So I will keep me eye on it and see what it does. Time will tell, huh!

And while I'm here.......I've also been doing a lot of research on information I will need to make the final decision on hormones/verses surgery. I will say this I DO NOT want to go back on Lupron shots- it shuts down your cycle and throws you into a temporary menopause. I have to done 2 cycles of these in the past....and from what I've read, I should of only done one cycle. There's some more tests I want run.....for example, a simple blood test to check and see if I'm anemic. I know when you bleed internally, that it can cause problems, and I want to know if mine is causing this kinda problem. I also need to get a bone density test done to see where my levels are with that. With those 2 cycles of Injections, I was suppose to get tested and I never did, so I'd like to know where I'm at to see how much damage there is, and if I can handle any more damage. Am I making sense.....I sure hope so. See, this is what goes on in my head.......Questions, questions, questions. But, I have them all written down, actually they're typed up now.....And separated into 3 sections. One is general questions that any OBGYN could answer...another section for hard questions, that I think only the Professor Dr could answer, and another section for all those weird symptoms I'm having. I also have lots of little notes written in the margin. I want to make the best out of the time I get with these doctors so I can make a very informed decision as to what I want to do.

I do know this much. I really don't want to try hormone therapy again. It only post-pones the final decision, and there's no real benefit to taking it other than to hopefully shrink the cyst, and from what I've read it really isn't meant to be used for treatment of cysts. I'm really not ready to lose my only ovary, however......this thing hurts. And I truly believe that my bowels are somehow involved. And I'm really not trying to go through what I went through back when my insides came out. No one has been inside my abdomen since that surgery, and I'd be curious to know what kind of damage having that Foley balloon in my abdomen for a month could of done. I've got so many questions, my head hurts!!

So......until then I will keep trying to read every thing I can get my hands on. I want to make sure I am making the best choice! Well, the best choice for me that is!

OK....until next time:)

....Oh, and one more thing. I know a few of you out there have read my blogs enough to know that this surgery was number 18 for me. And yet, I've never had to have stitches taken out! This was a first for me, mine have always dissolved......and most of my surgeries were laproscopic, so my incision were really tiny. As they say, there's a first time for everything!!

Pictures of my scar.....

So...

At first, I wasn't going to share these, I felt it was a little too personal to post 'online'. And Now....well, it's gotten a little weird, so I thought what the hell........ Plus, if you ever need to have a mass removed and your in the Tidewater area of Va....I can recommend a great surgeon, just email me! She does really great work....remember now, this is my second surgery......she went right over the original scar, and you can't even tell....

So...Here's day one. Bruising hasn't started yet....But everything is swollen!

...one week post surgery, and everything started bruising up.

And here we are 1 month post surgery, and my scar looks great! Well....except that little white thing over there on the right. It's a dis-solvable stitch that doesn't want to dissolve. Last night I was scratching what was left of my scab.......

and this came out.....

Kinda looks like thin fishing line. Anyways....I scratched one out...and I seem to still have one stuck in there~ the one in the picture above. Kinda new to me....not to sure what to think of it....it's just weird and it itches. We'll see what it does over the weekend and if it's still there Monday, I'll call the nurse to see how long before it actually dissolves or see if they can just pull it out. I have tried to pull it, but it seems to be in there pretty good. And I'm really trying hard not to mess with it....but it itches, darn it!

And on another note.....cause I just feel like complaining right now........ My freaking insides are killing me! Lots of pressure, and pulling. I go Wednesday to talk to the '2nd opinion doc', and I've got my list of questions ready. Hopefully I can get her to run some tests, so I can be better informed as to the decision I have to make. I want to know whatevery thing else is doing, so I know how much this cyst is effecting me. I will be back with that list when I get it written down....for now....it's still in my head. So.......

I'm off to go write down whats on my mind before I forget!!!

Talk to you soon! :)

Dysautonomia, Body Temp and Surgery.

OK....So yesterday, when I had surgery, I was surprised to see that they have a new policy where they have to monitor your temperature during surgery. It's this little disk that has a sticky side that they put in your armpit, and it has a cord that attaches to their machine. I had no irritation with it, so that was nice. But here's the thing. I do remember waking up after surgery, still really 'high' and looking around the room. And I do believe I was reading the monitor that had the recordings from surgery.....and if I'm right, my temperature dropped to 91 degrees. I'm definitely going to have to see if I can't track those records down, cause I'm really interested in how a dysautonomia patient differs from a regular patient on the OR table. I know I have internal temperature issues.....and I've been told I sweat on the OR table. I also get the night sweats, and my under arms always seem wet.....and I've even tried prescription strength deodorants with no good results. I sweat if I'm too warm, and I sweat when I'm too cold. So, back to surgery........last night, I decided to do a little research on line to find out what happens with your temp when you have surgery, and I found that it does drop a degree or 2, but that's it. Anything under 95 was considered hypothermia~ feel free to correct me if I'm wrong!

OK, so before I forget....the anesthesiologist knew what dysautonomia was!! I must say it was nice not to have to explain it.........


So here's my question......how do patients with dysautonomia differ from regular patients when they are on the OR table. Has anyone else ever experienced any of this? Have any doctors ever experienced other patients with dysautonomia doing that in the OR? I'm just curious to see how it works for other people.

On another note....I'm doing pretty good today. My breast doesn't hurt anymore than it did before surgery, so that's nice. And actually it probably hurts less now than it did before. Hence, that's why I went ahead with this, cause I'm tired of the pain it caused me. So hopefully, this is all signs of good news:)