On Monday, I had my cryosurgery.I woke up around 10/10:30 and decided that after an entire month had passed, I should go to the grocery store. I also needed gas for the Honda so I figured I’d kill two birds with one stone. It took all of an hour and so I headed to the post office to look for the three Fall Out Boy cds I had ordered from Amazon. Two were there and that was ok.
Then I went home and starved myself for lunch, which is my latest and not so greatest, trend. I watched The People’s Court and soon it was 2:00. I headed off to the Allentown Office of my OBGYN. The waiting room alone is three times the size of the Laurys Station one. And when I got there it was filled with everything from teenage girls to pregnant women. I settled into one of the chairs and happily picked up a copy of Jane magazine which had Zooey Deschanel on the cover. Fantastic!
Minutes later I was called in. I followed the nurse down a bunch of winding, mauve hallways until we reached the room. She weighed me (i always close my eyes for that) and then took my blood pressure. I hadn’t been nervous but I was getting more and more as I waited. Then she left and told me to disrobe bottoms only. I pulled the sheet over my lap and waited. It should have been a little larger because I am a modest person. Soon my doctor came in and he re-explained the surgery with one new fact, the cervix can not feel hot or cold so I won’t feel that. But I will feel uncomfortable. That’s to be expected.
I laid down and waited. The nurse had some problems with the machine (i guess it was her first time) but soon we were on our way. The entire procedure lasts three minutes. As my doctor put it, the longest three minutes of your life. Reminds me of a pregnancy test, a home pregnancy test. Not that I know. The most amazing part of the three minutes was when my doctor, who I see once a year for about 5 minutes at the most, said I could help pass the time by singing a song. I declined but was glad that the ice was broken. And after I counted to 1,000,000 the time was up.
I was handed a list of instructions and told to make an appointment for a month from now for post-surgery follow up. They also gave me a feminine product because I would need it. For three weeks my body will be healing. I got dressed and headed to the appointment station. When it was my turn I leaned against the wall. I had suddenly become very warm and felt dizzy. The woman told me to take a seat and soon a nurse was at my side. She gave me a glass of water and said she would check on me in a few. When she came back I was cold but not dizzy anymore. But I had started cramping. She asked if I had taken Tylenol or anything before I came and I didn’t know I should have. She said it should be the first thing I do when I get home. Then she made me stand to prove I was ok. On the way home I drove with my seat partially reclined because it hurt so bad. They said I could drive myself and I really had nobody go with me so I did.
When I got home I took the pills and laid down. After awhile the pain did not subside and I was given a heating pad to lay on my belly. It helped for a few hours. Then I got up and ate some dinner. By that time the pain had gone away. It was probably the Caesar Salad that helped. For the rest of the night I was ok. I told only a few people about the surgery and they all asked about me. Then I went to sleep. I was half hoping for cramps so I could skip out of work the next day and sleep in again. That didn’t happen. The only other time I cramped up was on Thursday.
Three weeks of healing is a very long time. I’m not even done with week one yet and I desperately wish I was. For my first procedure, the biopsy, all the other stuff never happened. I was hoping that would be true with this procedure but sadly it’s not. I am quite literally a fountain. Ugh.
In July, the day before Live Earth, I return for my post-surgery checkup. He will take a new Pap Smear and it comes back ok I will be free until next year. I really hope it comes back clean.
