A Successful Hysterectomy
So, Thursday I had a full hysterectomy. Yes, I am only 36 years old, but as a mom to four I know that I am done having children and with the past 7 years that I have been living in hell since the youngest was born, it is nice to know that in a few months there will never be another problem associated with my uterus.
Since Adeline, the youngest, was born on December 5, 2011, I have had some serious medical struggles and have not felt like myself. My entire life, except when I was pregnant, I had weighed between 135 and 170. I was happy in this weight range and always just thought of myself as a size 12. Fast forward to the first few months following Adeline's birth and it was like I physically could not lose weight. In fact, I struggled with my end of pregnancy weight which was the same as the first three children around 256. I knew that I needed to lose weight but oddly was clueless in how to do it because after the first three, the weight just kind of came off and I would lose to around 170-175 without any problems. However, this time something weird happened. I actually gained weight after Adeline was born and would find myself in an uphill battle with my weight that I would fight for over 6 years. At my heaviest I weighed 298 and I knew that I needed a change.
Last January I was tired of feeling ashamed of how I looked and was so depressed each time that I looked into a mirror when I saw the out of shape, overweight version of myself staring back at me. I did not know what to do, but knew that I had to do something that was going to make me feel better. I needed a way to increase my confidence was losing the weight so that I was healthier for my children and family.
I started working on it and slowly the weight came off. I am one year into my journey and have had a 50 lb weight loss. Could I have lost more? Definitely, but I had a new attitude and a new lifestyle and was not ever going to go on a "diet" again because let's face it when we diet, we fail. Or at least this had been my experience and was a bit part of the reason why my weight seemed to be out of control. I won't lie, knowing that I had the upcoming surgery, I did slack off on my healthy lifestyle and enjoyed the holidays to the fullest. The lowest weight that I had seen on my scale since starting was 246 and even after the holidays and traveling, when I checked into the hospital for my hysterectomy, I was weighing in at 249 lbs. So I had maintained that 50 lb weight loss and was doing well. I am excited to report that I only see myself getting better from here.
The hysterectomy was not easy. It was horrifically painful and I was stuck in recovery for 4 hours while they tried to get my pain management under control. I do not really even know how to describe how horrible the pain was except that it was like those last final horrific contractions before you have a baby, only the pain never stopped. It was a consistent deep abdominal pain and one that I wanted relief from. I was given a wide range of medications and it actually appeared that I would never be pain free again (okay, so I will admit to you all now that I sometimes have a flare for drama). However, by day 2 it was getting a little better except that I moved around too much and woke up this morning, day 3, in quite a bit of pain again. I have so much that I want to get done this last week after surgery that I am hopeful that I will continue to heal today and tomorrow and that I can work on things slowly over the next week before I return to school and work.
I am eager to step on that scale and see where I am but know that after surgery is not the time to do it because you are pumped so full of fluids that you end up weighing more. So my first post surgery weigh in will be next Friday and I am working on my goal to continue to clean up my lifestyle and see weight loss and goals met. I realize that I have a long way to go to meet my goal of being able to fit into a stunning vintage dress when I graduate with my MA in History in May 2021. I will be graduating this May with a second BA in History.
Being able to pursue goals was my biggest push to take back my life. I had always dreamed of a higher education and greater things, but had not decided what I should go back to school for. My first time in college I had initially started as a History major but had fallen in love with Sociology along the way and changed things up. I now know that my initial dream was the right dream for me and will be working on pursuing higher education until I receive my History PhD.
No one ever told me that life was going to be easy and like the fact that I evicted my cunt of uterus, I know that I will be able to face challenges and move forward with ease. Heck, if I could go from wearing a size 22/24 jeans last winter to a size 16/18 jeans this winter...I know that I can do anything that I put my mind to and 2019 is going to be no different.
Since Adeline, the youngest, was born on December 5, 2011, I have had some serious medical struggles and have not felt like myself. My entire life, except when I was pregnant, I had weighed between 135 and 170. I was happy in this weight range and always just thought of myself as a size 12. Fast forward to the first few months following Adeline's birth and it was like I physically could not lose weight. In fact, I struggled with my end of pregnancy weight which was the same as the first three children around 256. I knew that I needed to lose weight but oddly was clueless in how to do it because after the first three, the weight just kind of came off and I would lose to around 170-175 without any problems. However, this time something weird happened. I actually gained weight after Adeline was born and would find myself in an uphill battle with my weight that I would fight for over 6 years. At my heaviest I weighed 298 and I knew that I needed a change.
Last January I was tired of feeling ashamed of how I looked and was so depressed each time that I looked into a mirror when I saw the out of shape, overweight version of myself staring back at me. I did not know what to do, but knew that I had to do something that was going to make me feel better. I needed a way to increase my confidence was losing the weight so that I was healthier for my children and family.
I started working on it and slowly the weight came off. I am one year into my journey and have had a 50 lb weight loss. Could I have lost more? Definitely, but I had a new attitude and a new lifestyle and was not ever going to go on a "diet" again because let's face it when we diet, we fail. Or at least this had been my experience and was a bit part of the reason why my weight seemed to be out of control. I won't lie, knowing that I had the upcoming surgery, I did slack off on my healthy lifestyle and enjoyed the holidays to the fullest. The lowest weight that I had seen on my scale since starting was 246 and even after the holidays and traveling, when I checked into the hospital for my hysterectomy, I was weighing in at 249 lbs. So I had maintained that 50 lb weight loss and was doing well. I am excited to report that I only see myself getting better from here.
The hysterectomy was not easy. It was horrifically painful and I was stuck in recovery for 4 hours while they tried to get my pain management under control. I do not really even know how to describe how horrible the pain was except that it was like those last final horrific contractions before you have a baby, only the pain never stopped. It was a consistent deep abdominal pain and one that I wanted relief from. I was given a wide range of medications and it actually appeared that I would never be pain free again (okay, so I will admit to you all now that I sometimes have a flare for drama). However, by day 2 it was getting a little better except that I moved around too much and woke up this morning, day 3, in quite a bit of pain again. I have so much that I want to get done this last week after surgery that I am hopeful that I will continue to heal today and tomorrow and that I can work on things slowly over the next week before I return to school and work.
I am eager to step on that scale and see where I am but know that after surgery is not the time to do it because you are pumped so full of fluids that you end up weighing more. So my first post surgery weigh in will be next Friday and I am working on my goal to continue to clean up my lifestyle and see weight loss and goals met. I realize that I have a long way to go to meet my goal of being able to fit into a stunning vintage dress when I graduate with my MA in History in May 2021. I will be graduating this May with a second BA in History.
Being able to pursue goals was my biggest push to take back my life. I had always dreamed of a higher education and greater things, but had not decided what I should go back to school for. My first time in college I had initially started as a History major but had fallen in love with Sociology along the way and changed things up. I now know that my initial dream was the right dream for me and will be working on pursuing higher education until I receive my History PhD.
No one ever told me that life was going to be easy and like the fact that I evicted my cunt of uterus, I know that I will be able to face challenges and move forward with ease. Heck, if I could go from wearing a size 22/24 jeans last winter to a size 16/18 jeans this winter...I know that I can do anything that I put my mind to and 2019 is going to be no different.
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