Tuesday, November 6, 2012

I Waited Six Weeks for This?

I'll never forget meeting her. She walked into the exam room, introduced herself, and shook my hand. "Hi. I'm Dr. W."  She was a very pretty blond. I couldn't help but hope she'd take me seriously. We talked. She asked about me and what brought me in to see her. I told her I was a homeschool mom. I was only really feeling "normal" one week of every month. My periods made my life difficult. I felt bad that my kids and husband had to deal with me. I tried to put on a happy face and just deal with it, but it's kind of hard when the only thing that helped was a good nap. Not very practical for a homeschool mom.  

After that "introduction to my life," the visit went something like this after a "why are you here, seeing an OB/GYN" question:

Me: "Well, I certainly wasn't going back to the practice I went to when I had my babies. Dr. G.                          recommended you."

Dr. W: "Oh, I see. What can I do for you?"

Me: "I'd like to have an endometrial ablation done."

Dr. W: "Hmmm. Heavy periods, low energy, no interest in sex, mood swings... Are you sure you're not dealing with depression?"

Me: "I've dealt with depression. This is something else entirely. I think, if my periods were just normal my life would improve."

Dr. W: "You're 34. This is totally normal. Are you sure you don't want to try an antidepressant? I could also put you on birth control pills to regulate your cycle. That might help."

Me: "I'm not interested in going on any drugs. I've heard wonderful things about the ablation. I'd like to have that done."

Dr. W: "OK. Well, you can't swim or have sex for two weeks after the procedure. This is summertime, so I recommend waiting until the fall to have the procedure done; after school has started back up and there's no chance of you needing to go swimming with your children. Most of the moms that have NovaSure done go on birth control for the summer, just until their procedure."

Me: "I'm not going on birth control. Swimming is not an issue. I want to have everything done as quickly as possible."

Dr. W: "I'll need you to schedule an ultrasound so we can make sure that you're a good candidate for this. Make sure everything is normal with your uterus and ovaries. If that turns out normal, then you'll come back for a pelvic exam and I'll take a sample of the endometrium to check for cancer. Your cervix will need to be dilated. That's pretty painful, but if you do OK, it will mean we can do the procedure in the office. If not, we'll do it in the hospital with general anesthesia."

Me: "That's fine. I'm OK with all that."

The whole appointment took all of 15 minutes. She gave me two brochures about endometrial ablation, one provided by NovaSure, one with general information. She never asked about the deliveries of my babies. Never really went over the possible risks- she'd done around 600 and never had anything bad happen. Never inquired if I'd ever tested positive for Group B Strep. Didn't ask if I had family close to help me out after the procedure. Really, she didn't press the issue. Just looked at and said, "Sure, if that's what you want, we'll do it. You're so lucky you have this as an option. It used to be that women with heavy periods had to have a hysterectomy."

I made the appointment for the ultrasound.

It was only a 3 week wait to get in for that.

 


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