Hi All,
Happy New Year!
I’ve mentioned to a lot of people that January so far has been incredibly peaceful, but also very scary and chaotic. I’ve had quite a few upheavals this month that I’m still trying to process, hence not posting.
I started the month off with quite a bit of abdominal pain. I had a follow up transvaginal ultrasound to check the status of persistent uterine fibroids, as I was told in the past that the pain to the right of my bellybutton was a fibroid. The pain was so bad that I was in the ER not once, but twice this month already.
I followed up with my gynecologist who is starting me on a new medication, but doesn’t believe the pain is fibroid related. The ER didn’t provide any insight—maybe gastro related, maybe not.
In this time, I haven’t had any more physical therapy visits approved for the hip. It’s been tight, but overall feeling better.
Part of me thought the abdominal pain was from my pelvic floor and abs being destroyed from all of the hip surgeries. I decided to take a yoga class this past weekend and was pleasantly surprised at how much my body could do. However, in certain postures I had abdominal pain and almost “numbness” in my RLQ—pain similar to psoas pain, but overall “different.”
My anxiety got the better of me this past week and I decided to make an appointment with a general surgeon to rule out a hernia. My hip surgeon and I discussed the possibility before, but all MRI’s, CT scans, and exams from him, my chiropractor, my PT, and ER doctors always came back negative. Still, I just needed to ease my mind and get a definitive “no.”
That appointment was on Monday. The general surgeon was kind and seemed capable, but I didn’t feel “humanized.” He came into the room, spoke to me for barely 2 minutes, examined me, found a R inguinal hernia, and immediately started “discussing” surgery. He didn’t care to see any past testing, didn’t seem to want to get to know me, and essentially, wanted his confidence to silence my nerves, fears, and endless questions.
He had an opening for surgery this Tuesday, 1/14 and originally I had scheduled, just wanting to get this over and done with. I called my hip surgeon after the appointment, updated him with everything, and spent all of Monday night with endless panic attacks. I have grown quite comfortable and found of my orthopedist and this generalist, while capable, just gave me the “icks.” Needless to say, no surgery for me this week.
When I called my hip surgeon, we spent about 20 minutes on the phone (bless him!) talking everything through. He gave me the name of one general surgeon and also a sports hernia specialist located in NYC. I’m still not convinced I have a true “sports hernia,” but I think misalignments in the pelvis, inguinal canal, and adductors could have caused the inguinal hernia.
For now, I have my next follow up with my hip surgeon on the 30th. I’m hoping to talk with him more before scheduling any more appointments related to the hernia. And as silly as it sounds, it absolutely breaks my heart that I have to find another surgeon to address all of this. When you find one amazing doctor, you wish they could just do everything!
Truth be told hippies, I’m also just mentally and emotionally exhausted. My hip is feeling better, but I basically had a “breakdown” this past week—I just don’t feel like myself anymore. I had a long overdue appointment with an NP to get some help for depression and anxiety and just need more “boosts” in my life, not more surgeries.
If you’ve made it this far, thank you for the long read. I’m off to rest and nurture myself.
Wishing everyone safety and wellness—Sammy-Am.
United States
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