february 23rd, 2009
so a quick update on myself and my health. i found out on february 19th (dirk's birthday) that i had a huge uterine fibroid which was making me rather sick. i had gained a couple of pounds but chalked it up to not working and the fact that i had been making full meals each night for dirk and i. i knew something was wrong but as all nurses may do at one time or another, i diagnosed myself and did nothing about it for longer than i should have. so after two doctors visits and much discussion on whether i should have the surgery in singapore or the states, we decided to do the myomectomy as soon as possible in singapore.
the surgery went great! dirk actually got to see our pride and joy (febe the fibroid and her friends). i cannot say enough good things about the healthcare system in singapore or about my wonderful doctor (dr. brenda low)! i was left with a bikini line c-section incision and 5 lbs lighter. the fibroid was almost 7 inches long and weighed 2 lbs. i cannot believe how much better i felt after the surgery. i ended up staying only one night in the hospital, which dirk endured with me, and a week and a half in singapore until i boarded a plane back to houston.
fortunately my parents were able to come over for the surgery and we all arrived back in houston together. while in houston, some of you know, i was having some more symptoms and was a bit worried. i did go to my normal ob/gyn while back in the states and he diagnosed me with another fibroid the size of a peach and was planning on taking me back to surgery as soon as possible. this was devastating!
i had so much faith in my doctor in singapore that i was hesitant to believe my doctor in the states. after all, my doctor in singapore did my ultrasound ($80 SGD) and explained everything she did point by point. my doctor in the states had a tech do the ultrasound ($500 USD), not even sure he looked at the picture. i had been seeing him for 4 years and it was apparent that he did not remember me or even bother to look at the chart before he discussed my options... he asked me who i had been seeing that they did not see this fibroid sooner... i replied quickly with, your self doc for 4 years prior to moving to singapore.
so with all that said. i waited to go back to singapore before believing anyone. dr. low did another ultrasound (free) and explained to me that it was not another fibroid but a hole, or what looked like a hole on an ultrasound. the surgical technique she used to repair the large hole that the fibroid left in my uterus looked like a fibroid at first glance but if you printed out the ultrasound picture you could see the different layers and clearly see it was not. i tried to go back to dr. rockman's office and retrieve all records to bring with me to singapore. they don't even print out ultrasound pictures nor do they keep them on file (point being he let a TECH diagnosis me with this fibroid)
i just want to say a couple of things about healthcare.
1) you should always follow up with the doctor who did the surgery, they know what they did and are the best to answer questions about the surgery
2) doctors are sometimes WRONG, always get a second opinion! defiantly when they want to cut you open again!
3) trust your gut feeling and listen to your body! doctors are not God and they are not YOU
4) something about the U.S. healthcare system HAS to change- my surgery in singapore cost $8,000 SGD ($6,000 USD) if i were to have had it in the states it would have been over $30,000 USD.
all in all, the surgery was a very positive experience for dirk and i as a married couple along with our trust and faith in the singapore healthcare system.
i have been seeing dr. low regularly to record my progress in healing. the fibroid made my uterus measure the same as 16 week pregnant uterus, as of today it still measures 10 weeks causing my stomach to look and feel larger than it really is. hopefully as my uterus heals it will go back to normal size and allow me to wear my skinny jeans again!
introducing FeBe the fibroid
3 comments:
Oh my goodness! You know, I was just thinking about you this week and wondering what's been going on since you hadn't posted to the blog in a while. I am SO glad you are alright and that everything is taken care of. That stinks that you had such a bad experience with the doctor in Houston. That's the thing about medicine, EVERY doctor is different. I'm glad the doc in Singapore was such a help. And praise God that you're doing okay! That's one crazy big fibroid!
That's a really interesting experience. I like your advice about second opinions. I'm glad everything turned out okay.
Hi Christina,
It's been great to come across your blog! I just visited the same Gynae and found out that I need a myomectomy too. Just wondered why you were told to wait a couple years before having kids; as I was told only 6 months. I also wondered how your recovery was? Were you back to normal after 2 weeks? Any info you can share would be very much appreciated...thank you!
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