Thanks for sharing your experience Nat, it was really good to read. Our circumstances were very similar, weren't they?!
Well, I thought I'd do an update, because whenever I search for info on the net I get really frustrated when I read the beginning of a story but never find out how it ended. So, here it is...
I went in for my surgery to remove my 7cm left ovarian cyst 9 days ago. The operation was a full laparotomy which included me being fully anesthetized. I was extremely nervous on the day but was also really beginning to look forward to it being over. My operation went well, my obstetrician removed the cyst and was able to reconstruct the part of my ovary that was affected (so it didn't have to be removed). I woke up and the first thing I was told was that the baby was fine. First hurdle over.
The operation hurt way more than I was expecting, but I really didn't care, as long as the baby was fine. The pain started to get better each day. I was in the shower the morning after the operation (with a nurses help) which was a shock to me! By the second day I was able to shower on my own. My ob came to see me 2 days after the operation and told me that the pathology was back and the cyst was benign. She also said that the incision was looking good. They began monitoring the baby's heartbeat a couple of times a day after the operation. The first 48hours was looking good - 2nd hurdle over.
5 days after my operation, my ob came and took my stitch out and I went home. I was still quite sore and very very glad that my husband's boss has been so amazing and gave him 2 weeks off as carers leave to look after me. It took me a little while to get comfortable at home, but I was really glad to be there.
The pain was easing each day, but I must admit that you have to expect ups and downs. You feel pretty good for a while, then some nausea might set in, or back ache from having to sleep on your back without moving. But generally I am getting better each day. 2 days ago I celebrated 1 week clear from the operation - 3rd hurdle over.
I am sitting here now waiting for the next 2 hurdles (by the way, these 5 hurdles were explained to me by my ob and I liked the clarity of the timeline, so that's why I'm using it). The next hurdle is 2 weeks from the operation, and the final hurdle is 4 weeks from the operation. She said that all of these time intervals indicate 'less posed risk'. Obviously the operation itself was a HUGE hurdle, as was the first 48 hours. The chance of going into preterm labor at this time is high. They kept asking me if i'd felt any contractions, which was hard to answer because I've never been pregnant before and I had all this weird pain from the operation (and I'd never had an operation before either!!!).
I am very pleased with how things have gone so far, but I am unable to be completely sure until I clear the final hurdle. I am not in the clear yet and am careful not to get ahead of myself. I just wanted to let you know how i'm going, thank you once again for your well wishes, and say to anyone out there that if you have to go through this yourself, I hope my story helps you.
I will post again with further updates at 2 and 4 weeks post op.
All clear! Best feeling in the world. Now that I'm on the other side of this, I can finally begin to enjoy my pregnancy and get excited about meeting my baby in 19 weeks time!
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