One down, one to go

I had my oophorectomy on the 17th. It went well. Pathology on my ovaries and tubes came back clean.

Recovery hasn't been bad. I took a week off from my part-time job because it has me on my feet 6-9 hours per day. I worked from home for a week for my day job. The pain was mainly on my right side, which is apparently where most of the work is done. I did have a bit of the should pain the day after due to the gas used to inflate my abdomen during surgery. It went away quickly, though. I couldn't sleep on my side until two days ago. I'm a side-sleeper, so I'm so glad I'm able to do that again. I only took Motrin after my surgery, though I was given a prescription for Norco too.

I haven't really had menopausal symptoms yet. I did have what I think were two hot flashes on Sunday of this week. They made me feel weird but weren't bad and didn't last long. I'm hoping the symptoms stay minor or don't appear at all. I'm not on HRT of any kind. Dr. P. said we'll talk about it at my follow-up at the end of the month.

So now the countdown is on to "the big one." My prophylactic bilateral mastectomy (PBM) with DIEP flap reconstruction is on February 2. I am getting anxious about it. I will be grateful to get it done, but I am definitely anxious. I'm still confident that it's the right decision for me and for my family. But I'm not looking forward to the surgery itself, the hospitalization, the recovery, and how it's all going to affect my kids.

Between today and February 2, I have eight doctor appointments. Not all are related to the PBM. Some are related to my bladder cancer (first of many maintenance cystoscopies), a mammogram that is both the annual one I'm due for and serves as a pre-op one, pre-op visits with my breast surgeon and plastic surgeon, pre-op assessment, post-op with my onc gyn, CT of my abdomen and aorta, and a couple of other things. Lots to keep my mind occupied and lots to worry about.

I guess my biggest wish this upcoming Christmas season is peace in my mind and peace for my family. We need the relief and break.