Despite taking the vitex daily, I've been spotting over the last two weeks (thanks, depo shot). That could be due to several things: a tolerance to vitex, stress (which I've had plenty of recently), or an interaction with the Myrbetriq (OAB medication). If it was because of the Myrbetriq I'll know soon since I quit taking it two days ago. While it definitely helped with my urgency and frequency it gave me horrible nausea, upset stomach, dizziness, exhaustion, diarrhea, etc. I have a follow-up with the urologist next week, but after talking to Dr. Dawson this week, he anticipates I may have to go to the pain clinic up in Salt Lake for steroid injections in my nerves. Considering the extent of my endo, it makes sense that the nerves leading to my bladder are very angry and irritated (and probably have been for a decade).
I'm becoming more and more certain that I've never ovulated before (or that I do, but very rarely). Since I've had bad reactions to every kind of birth control I've tried so far, I've been looking into a type of FAM (Fertility Awareness Method) called the Sympto-thermal method. It tracks fertility and ovulation by charting signs of ovulation, and the more I've learned, the more I've realized I haven't seen any of those signs in me. Obviously I'm not ovulating now because of the shot, but Dr. Dawson thought it was certainly possible (considering what my body's been through) that my periods have been primarily anovulatory in the past.
As far as my scarring, even though I've kept my one butterfly closure on the left incision I'm starting to see that incision widening just like the others which don't have the closures. It's interesting that my right side seems to be healing slower than the left. It's more irritated and definitely itchier, and I wonder if that's because my endo was much worse on the right than the left. My next step is trying steri-strips and/or possibly steroid injections. Dr. Dawson is going to refer me to a specialist to figure out why my skin is so weak. There are several collagen disorders, and I may need a biopsy of my skin and ligaments (yeah, another scar to diagnose my abnormal scarring), but for now I'm waiting for Dr. Dawson to call me back with the referral and next steps. Until then...
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| September 1: Getting better every week. The irritation from last week is less too. |
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| Left incision. This one is healing up really well! |
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| Right incisions. You can see these are wider and pinker. |
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| Bellybutton incision. This one is starting to fade quickly now. |
**TMI sex update**
Last of all, I also attempted sex twice this week. Attempt number 1 felt about the same as last time and left me sad that surgery didn't magically fix sex. Attempt number 2 was far from comfortable or enjoyable, but we finally made it from start to finish! The last time that happened was probably 5 months ago, so this is definitely an improvement! One thing that made it possible was adjusting positions (angling my hips up) and plenty of lube. Since surgery I've had 1) an easier time getting in the mood, 2) no horrible sharp pains inside, and 3) no improvement in my enjoyment of sex, but now penetration is possible if we take it really slow and I focus on deep breaths. Right now my discomfort is primarily a stretching and a burning sensation. Due to a urinalysis and culture I had at the urologist's last week, I know my burning isn't caused by a UTI (could be an allergic reaction though since it went away once I took an antihistamine), and I'm pretty sure most of my discomfort will go away once I get some flexibility back (I'm super tight everywhere) and I get stretched out down yonder.
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