So the appointment went well if not as slow as ever. Got there right at 2:45pm scheduled time and left around 4:30pm. At least this time I had my Mom with me so the time went by more pleasantly since I had someone to talk to and keep me company.
They drew blood and I met with the doctor’s nurse, Bonnie. She’s really sweet. She hugged me and asked how surgery went and how I was feeling so I went over some of that with her. Then, she said my hemoglobin was down a bit from pre-op on the 30th (10.-something today versus 11.2 last time.) Additionally, my ferritin (the stored iron) were a little lower too. Makes sense though given that you lose blood during surgery. And, interestingly, though my hemoglobin count is down from pre-op levels, it’s up from the counts done at the hospital which put me at a 9.-something. (Proves my body knows how to make red blood cells, just that when I run low on stored iron, I run low on available building blocks as it were to making red blood cells.)
Next Tuesday I go for my first of 6 weekly iron IV infusions. This will basically refill my nearly empty reserves so my body can successfully make red blood cells in normal quantity again and fix my chronic anemia. My Mom has to take me again because to help offset any allergic reaction to the iron, they also give you Benedryl in the IV which can make you loopy/sleepy and unable to drive. They require someone to drive you home until you know how you react. The good news is that they are almost positive this will be the last time I will ever need to be reloaded on the iron since, without periods anymore, I’ve also solved my excessive blood loss problems and eliminated the cause of my anemia. (See? My hysterectomy was win-win.)
Unfortunately, they were really slow again. I got there right at my 2:45pm appointment time and we left around 4:30pm. The problem is that my belly button has gotten really sensitive and painful with anything touching/rubbing/pressing against it lately. And though I wore low-rise denim capris that are fine when standing, when sitting, they press into my tender incision. So two hours of that were just miserable. So much so that my blood pressure was elevated from the stress and irritation. I actually drove home with my pants unbuttoned and folded over so it would stop touching my belly button.
The sensitivity only started a few days ago. It was really sensitive before, back when it was scabbed, but once the scab came off, it was a lot better. Then, all of a sudden, it got really sensitive again – in fact, worse then before. It’s not pain-pain, it’s like this hard to describe irritation/aggravation/rubbing/aching/GRRRR kinda stop touching it!!! kinda of feeling. Like, it makes me really on edge and then the low-grade ache lasts for hours. (Like, it still is really aggravated now, five or so hours after I changed into comfy pants that are soft and loose-fitting. This belly button thing is so irritating!!
Oh, get a kick out of this. They actually did a pregnancy test today. (In the bloodwork.) Seriously?? Seriously?? Forget the fact I haven’t had sex because hello, recovering from surgery and I’m not cleared for anything like that yet, but, the surgery was to remove my uterus. I no longer posses the required equipment to be pregnant! The nurse Bonnie laughed and said she knows it’s crazy, but it’s required for the IV next week just for legal reasons. (I guess it can cause birth defects so they MUST test before clearing me.) I just couldn’t believe how absurd that was.
But anyway, that was the day.
Donation Shop: http://PhoenixFunds.etsy.com
My Shop: http://PhoenixFireDesigns.etsy.com