Untitled by Renita Dixon
I am the friend who is slightly unlike the other girls in the group. My friend once described me as “Hippy Meets Saks Fifth Avenue,” because I am the “green” friend. I am the one who loves the smell of dirt, gets upset when people don’t recycle, and gets excited when I see the bees at work. I enjoy our planet, it is filled with beautiful things and I appreciate it, but I don’t see a reason to wear a burlap sack while tree hugging. Earth Day is April 22nd, so it’s only fitting that you hear from the Chic Hippy.
I planned to write an encouraging piece on environmentalism for the urbane, but in the true spirit of life a curve ball was thrown my way a couple of weeks ago. I went to the hospital for an outpatient laparoscopic uterine fibroid myomectomy. If you don’t know what fibroids are Google it and be happy that you don’t have them.
I am a firm believer that everything has a time and place. Nothing happens until all of the right pieces and people are in place. I’d known about my five fibroids for years, it wasn’t my first time; I’d had them removed before. I had no motivation to remove them, ‘cause surgery ain’t fun and it has risks. Besides, Ronny, Bobby, Ricky, Mike and Ralph were benign; they were not harmful. I guess that depends on how you define harmful.
For the most part they did not hurt and there was a possibility that I could still conceive, assuming that I met my James Evans (he had his flaws, but James was hard working, protective, loyal and loved his family). Instead of having surgery I prayed, changed my diet, I cut out chicken, drank green smoothies, exercised, and even wrote the word healed across my lower abdomen everyday. Funny, the more attention I gave them the bigger they got. They started to show through my clothes! I got frustrated and yelled at God because He is a healer, but refused to heal this. Oh well…I wasn’t havin’ surgery.
The majority of this happened over Spring. I was a very active person, I went to the gym before work, I was a Zumba addict, and I have good eating habits. Then the summer came, I took up hiking. My first hike was eight miles and I loved it. I went on vacation in Hawaii and hiked Volcano National Park with my friend. I noticed that I was singing as we hiked back. I only sing when working out because I am tired and I am trying to push. Then, an elderly couple passed me! “What the heck is going on?” Fast forward to Fall. I was trying to do Zumba and that became the longest hour of my life and I’d quit my morning workouts. I was tired…all of the time. It got so bad that when I’d walk up one flight of stairs I had to lie down. What was happening to me? In addition to other things, I am a bit of a workaholic. My mom always reminds me that people in their thirties have heart attacks, and that I could have one if I didn’t slow down. One day I heard my heart pounding after walking up the stairs. I ignored it. After a couple of weeks, I started to hear swishing in my ear. Oh crap! I was having a heart attack! Not really, but it was enough to get me to go see the doctor.
I hadn’t seen the doctor because the conversation didn’t make sense in my mind, “Doctor I am tired all of the time. I get up at 4:45 every morning, spend 3+ hours in the car, work 9-11 hour days and keep moving on the weekends.” “ Why do you think I am tired all of the time?” Duh! The solution seems pretty obvious, go to bed, stop working so much and rest on the weekends. Long story short, the weekend after I finally saw the doctor I was in the hospital having a blood transfusion. My harmless fibroids led to severe anemia. In my own defense, I’d seen my gynecologist several times, she’d only asked me if I was constipated or in pain, these questions could not have led her to think I may have been anemic. Here are all of the weird symptoms I had that my gynecologist did not ask about and I did not think to share:
- Constant salty taste in my mouth
- Sore tongue
- Loss of appetite
- Floating poop (I know it’s nasty, but you’ve gotta check, it could save your life)
- Crunchy hair
- Confusion followed by irritability
- Bleeding gums
- Increased floaters (the stuff you see floating across your eyes)
- Itchy skin
- Fatigue
- Loss of concern for appearance
If you experience these for days, weeks or months please write a list and see your doctor, insist on a CBC to have your hemoglobin level checked. If you have uterine fibroids make sure that your gynecologist checks your blood, he or she most likely will not bring it up, but you should.
The transfusion clarified that I had to get the fibroids out. I refused to have a second open surgery, that’s when there is a large incision made to access your uterus. I also wanted to maintain my fertility. My gynecologist never recommended laparoscopic surgery, because she didn’t do it. I had to ask for it. She did give me a referral to a great surgeon who specializes in minimally invasive procedures and fertility.
Fast-forward again to the recovery room after surgery, imagine the sound of a monitor beeping, “Is it time to go to work?” I asked. I really didn’t want to go to work I was tired and for some reason it really hurt when I tried to breathe and I couldn’t stretch. The doctor said, “No, you’re not going to work, you’re really an over achiever. The surgery is over; we removed 25 fibroids and repaired your uterus. You lost about a liter of blood so we gave you three units.” I said, “Wow, that’s a lot. I still have a uterus?” The doctor replied, ”Yes.” I then said, “Thank you, I am going to sleep now.”
The lesson here:
- Talk about what’s wrong with you to the right people. Your friends and family mean well, but they are not a good substitute for medical care.
- Research everything! Your diagnosis, your doctor, and your treatment options. There are many options for the treatment of uterine fibroids; I chose this method because of the low down time and maintenance of my fertility. You have to pick what’s best for you.
- Cheat on your doctor. If my gynecologist saw that I had 25 fibroids instead of 5, I don’t believe I’d have a uterus. Get referrals, because like other professions some doctors are better at different procedures than others.
- Green smoothies, breathing and yoga don’t shrink uterine fibroids. They are good for you, but they don’t shrink fibroids.
- Recycle and stop buying junk that you don’t need because it’s cheap…that’s your green tip…Happy Earth Day
Stay healthy! Take care of you.