Recovery: Week 9 (Sep 14–21)

This week I hit my 2 month post-op milestone! The first weeks dragged on, but these last weeks have flown by. To make things interesting this week is full of a lot of new things. I recently purchased a bunch of stuff to try out, and am starting some new things. Here's what I'm up to:

Physical Therapy
I will be starting with a pelvic floor physical therapist (who also specializes in women's health) next week. As far as my surgery recovery goes, I'm hoping this can stop additional adhesions and scar tissue from forming, keep my abdomen flexible and soft, help with general healing, and reduce the remaining discomfort I have during intercourse. However, the reason I was referred was actually to treat my bladder issues. I think any improvement I see will positively impact all these areas. Updates will come in the following weeks.

September 17: The irritation from my butterfly closures is s l o w l y going down

Left incision

Right incisions

Bellybutton incision. It's getting even harder to see!

Now for the things a little less related to my surgery and recovery...

Put a Cup In It
Overall I'm feeling great (I even attempted some yoga this week and while it made me sore, it felt good)! I learned that my bleeding (that started last week) wasn't a period, because while it gradually lightened up, it didn't stop. I really wanted it to be my period because it was cramp-free bleeding, but the waiting game continues. So, in anticipation for my cycle to return, I decided to purchase a menstrual cup! I've heard they make periods less crampy, less smelly, less leaky, shorter, and just all around more awesome. The price and not knowing what size, firmness, type, etc. to get always deterred me, but then I found an awesome deal from Rebel Kate (thanks to facebook) where you get 2 free cups (a small and a large) for free when you pay shipping! It's coming from China so they haven't arrived yet, but I'm eager to try them out.

STM
One of the downsides of my depo shot wearing off is the reality that I might not be protected and I need to sort out my birth control. The pill, IUD, ring, shot, condoms, and anything with spermicide don't work for me, and I know I can't use any other hormonal method or barrier method (considering I think my vagina is actually 7 feet long). So that has led me to the Sympto-thermal method (STM) of birth control (a type of Fertility Awareness). I purchased the book Taking Charge of Your Fertility, a TempDrop (wearable basal body thermometer) which is on its way from Israel, ovulation predictor kits (which also came with pregnancy tests), and I've been learning how to use this method.

I've been reading the book and it's surprising how much I didn't know about my body, and what it can tell me about my reproductive health, how to avoid pregnancy, and how to conceive all by tracking the fertility signs. Taking my temperature every day will let me know if I ovulate (which I've always wondered about) and then tracking cervical fluid and position will offer insight as to when I'm fertile or if I'm fertile. The book also includes information on balancing hormones, which I'm sure I'll need as I come off of the shot. It's so interesting and I can't wait to finish the book and actually get started with STM!

Balancing Hormones
While I've seen improvement in my skin simply by increasing my vitamin A and E intake, my skin still isn't blemish-free. I've had a lot of people recommend the book Period Repair Manual to me, which goes into more depth than Taking Charge of Your Fertility on diagnosing and treating hormonal imbalances. I think, not only could it help me with my skin, it could regulate my periods if my excision didn't already do that, and get rid of cysts if they come back. This book is still on the way.