The Meds

I am now in my Singapore home and recovering nicely after my surgery on 15th May. As I mentioned in my previous post, all went well with me only needing keyhole surgery. Although there is one more extra hole then the previous three in my surgery last year, I am thankful that I only have to heal from a keyhole surgery as opposed to a full bloom open one.

Anyway, I am thankful that this time I didn’t developed any fever that would need me to stay an additional night. As comfy as the hospital bed was with all the gadget, the frequent waking from the nurses to take my temperature and blood pressure and their mini ekg machine really get on my nerves especially if I was in my deep slumber. Getting back to sleep is such torture after that.

My bandages are due to be off on 20th and my appointment with the doctor is on 28th May. I am right now contemplating staying in Singapore for the whole duration especially since I don’t feel like travelling now and sitting in the bus for a solid 5hours but who know I may change my mind once my bandages are off. We’ll see.

In the meantime. I am taking it easy, making sure I walk around to get rid of all this carbon dioxide that they pumped into me for the surgery.. so.. don’t walk behind me.. lol!

Cheerio…
LadyJava

 

Blogging from KK Hospital ward 44 Bed 6

My surgery went very well. Dr Wong managed to remove the cyst using keyhole surgery although I had prior surgeries before at the same place and susceptible to adhesion…. And no cancer as well. Yeayyyy!!

Recovery is also going as well as can be expected. My doctor told me that if all goes well I can go home tomorrow.. double yeay!!

Oh.. apparently for blood circulation purposes, my doctor prescribed me my very personal masseuse from 4am to 8am this morning. Awesome!

Meet her below..

 

Cheerio
LadyJava

Surgery Day is Finally Here

So the day has finally arrived.

After numerous visit to my doctors and doing tests and countless blood drawing (I hope it’s not going to the vampires..lol), SURGERY DAY is finally here. I had a detox day yesterday which sees me running to the toilet every few minutes and despite that I still managed to launch my client’s website (pat pat on my back). Yeay!

I am getting ready now for my “check-in” to Kandang Kerbau Hospital. That’s gonna be home for the next three days or so (longer if the doctors have to open me up instead of keyhole surgery).

Can’t wait for all this to be over and maybe I’ll visit http://www.famous-smoke.com and get me some cigars to celebrate.. lol!

Prayers

Cheerio…
LadyJava

 

First Commenter
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15th May Surgery

I’m back from Singapore. Fast eh? Anyway I returned to a house full of testors paint smell coz apparently Azwaj was trying to cover up some minor crack in the car. Anyway..

My trip to Singapore went smoothly even though I traveled on Sunday (a pleasant surprise indeed). I arrived in one piece at around 9pm.

I didn’t receive any calls from the hospital with my CT scan results the week before so I really didn’t know what to expect but I was hoping for all good results. Unfortunately during the appointment, my doctor told me that although the CT scan didn’t find anything abnormal, he still couldn’t rule out ovarian cancer for now. He told me that he can only confirm cancer or otherwise once he has access that “solid” mass during the surgery. So basically he would proceed with the keyhole surgery, take out the mass, send it to the labs while I am still under and find out. If it is negative, he would close me up and that will be the end of the surgery. If, however, it is positive, then he would take the necessary action to remove the cancer cells.

He also told me that since I have had repeat surgery on the same spot, the risk is also greater as adhesion might have occurred and depending on the severity of the adhesion, open surgery might be needed instead.

So my surgery is now confirmed for 15 May 2012 while the pre-ops is going to be done on 2nd May, two weeks before the surgery. What fun!

 

First Commenter
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Mariuca

My First CT Scan

So despite the initial hiccup of my CT scan appointment and the feeling of needing to hit my doctor with an angle iron, the CT scan itself went smoothly without any hitches last Thursday, 29th March 2012.

I arrived on time and it was nice to see the nurse remembered me from the day before.  She greeted me, went through the same checklist that I had the day before and proceeded to prepare me the procedure.  I was given four glasses of  plain water to drink within a hour. They also put in an IV needle on my left hand. This will be used for the contrast dye.

It was something like this

At the end of the fourth drink, the nurse called me into the CT scan room.  It was scary to see the huge machine but it was not like those tunnel things that I expected. Instead it was like one of those “Stargate” or something like a vertical buoy. I was asked to lie down on a platform attached to the machine. The nurse explained what will happened and that they will do a test scan to get me comfortable. I was left alone in the room as the machine “talked” to me asking me to hold my breath at certain times while the platform that I was lying on moved in and out of the “stargate”.

After the test scan was done, I was again joined by the nurse that explained she would now activate the contrast dye. I felt a warm sensation as the liquid entered my body through the IV. The sensation ended lasted about 2seconds or so and I was told to put both hands over my head. Now is time for the real scan.

The platform again moved in and out of the “stargate” and within 10minutes I was done. I was asked to remain lying down until the doctor was certain that they got a good scan.  They did and I was asked to get dressed and stay in the recovery room for about half hour to make sure I didn’t have any allergic reaction to the dye.  I was released after that half hour is up 🙂 yeay!

So now is the waiting period. The results would come back this week and if I don’t receive any call by this Friday.. then I should home free from cancer and I would just proceed with my keyhole surgery to remove my cyst.

Cheerio…

First Commenter
***

Monica

Postponed CT Scan

On my visit to the doctor on Monday, I was supposed to get a date for my surgery but instead the surgeon explained to me that seeing how they are still not sure about the status of my “solid mass” they insisted that I for a CT scan to rule out ovarian malignancy before proceeding to remove my cyst.

I was scheduled to go for CT scan this morning at 9.15am. I fasted as instructed since 5.15am and was all ready for my first ever CT scan. Nervous? Of course.. since this was my first time but after reading up on risk and things and also talking to a few friends who had experienced it before, I was prepared.

The missed out Meds

So we got to the hospital bright and early. After changing to the x-ray drapery fabrics gown that consist of the gown and a kimono style outer robe, the nurse brought me to another room to get me prep. She did a preliminary checklist and noticed that I had declared I have asthma. She asked me if I had taken the “prednisoLone” that the doctor had given me. I asked her what’s that and she looked a little panic to be honest. I explained that the doctor didn’t give me any such meds. She asked me to wait a bit while she checked with the CT doc (is that what they are called?). She came back a few moments later and told me that since I was not properly prepared for the CT scan, they fear that I may have an allergic reactions to the contrast dye.

So guess what? I got my “prednisoLone” and a new appointment for tomorrow morning. Erggg.. I could strangle the doctor for making such a careless mistake in not prescribing me the meds but like I told my mom, there must be a blessing somewhere. I mean look at it this way. Normally CT scan appointments are almost always full, what are the odds that I got another one the very next day after my postponed date.. correct?

Anyhow, I’ve taken my first does at 9.30pm and my second dose is at 7.30am tomorrow morning. Wish me luck for tomorrow ya.. Oh and if anyone of you has done CT scan before, so share your experience..

Cheerio…

First Commenter Gets FCSB Point from LadyJava.
Thank you for your comments.
***

Optimistic for Good Times Ahead

On my last post I wrote that I was going back to Singapore on Monday.. well it’s Thursday today and I’m already back home in KL. In fact I was home yesterday but since there were too many things to do, I thought I’d update my blog today.

Anyway, I do have to go back to Singapore early next Monday morning to make my doctor’s appointment at 4pm on the same day. Gosh, if this were flights to south africa instead of coach rides to Singapore, can you imagine the frequent flyer miles I’ll be raking up? But then again, if I was going to South Africa, I’ll be soaking up the the vacation mood that I’ll be in instead of somewhat dreading these doctor visits.

So I pretty much decided that I am going through another surgery  hence the doctor’s visit this Monday. I will meet with my surgeon to discuss procedures and dates for the surgery itself.  I am hopeful to eliminate any future needs for more surgery.  At last scan (only 7 month after my last keyhole surgery) the doctors found a cyst measuring 6cm and a solid mass that they worry might be cancerous in my left ovary so this surgery would be to remove that cyst and to find out for sure if that solid mass is anything to worry about.

I strive to be optimistic for now and believe there are good times ahead in front for me and only worry about the implication after the doctor can finalize whether it is indeed cancer.  Till then, it’s the same jovial LJ here 🙂

Cheerio…

First Commenter
***

Thank Goodness for Medisave

Looking at my hospital bill this time around makes me proud to be a Singaporean. My bill came up to SGD5,614.98 in total but after the government grant of SGD4,299.02, I only have to pay SGD1,315.96. However I still don’t have to pay this amount as I have enough funds in my Medisave account to pay the full due sum. Thanks goodness or else I will be searching out payday loan for sure.

In case you’re wondering, Medisave is not an insurance policy per say. Every working individual in Singapore need to contribute to what we call a Central Provident Fund. Each month a small percentage of our pay is deducted. Then this amount is divided into three parts, an Ordinary account, a Special account and a Medisave account. As the name suggest, Medisave helps to pay for a portion or total amount of our hospital bill, if we qualify that is. As I met the criteria, my bill was paid for using my medisave account.

Hurray!

Cheerio…

Cystectomy Surgery Recapped - The Cyst

continued from Surgery Recapped: The Pain

Sunday, 19th June 2011

I anxiously await the doctor’s round this morning as I can’t wait for her to give the go ahead for me to be discharge today. When she finally came, I was sitting upright on my bed eating breakfast and the first thing she said was “Ah good to see you with a healthy appetite. That must mean you are feeling better.” I gave her my biggest smile and told her that yes I was feeling better and I want to go home. lol!

She inspected my bandages and see that all is alright and give me the thumbs up and told me that I can be discharge that day. Yeay! She instructed the nurses to change my bandages and to teach me how to remove my bandages when the time  comes.. She wished me well and moved on the next bed.

Moments later, after I’ve taken my shower, the nurses came to change my bandages. They told me that they had place waterproofing layer to the bandages so that they will remain dry as they healed. I am to remove the bandages myself on Thursday, 23rd June. However if there was any rashes or pain prior to that, I can either go to the A&E of KK or the neighbourhood polyclinic to get treatment.

When mom came at 11am, I had already changed and was watching Boldie on my phone. A while later, the nurse came with my discharge papers, my meds, my medical leave form for 25days and a new appointment date which is for 7 July. We packed up the rest of my stuff and say goodbye to the nurses and the ward at noon.

That concludes my three day stay at Kandang Kerbau Hospital  for which I underwent Left Ovarian Cystectomy and Keloid Scar excision surgery. Check out my cyst below…lol!

ovarian cystectomy

Cheerio…

 

Cystectomy Surgery Recapped - The Next 48hrs

continued from Surgery Recapped: The Pain

Mommy came as early as 9.30am on Friday, the 17th.  When she arrived, I already had my sponge bath, had sat on the armchair for a while, as prescribed by the doctor, and was already on my second cup of Milo. She actually came with fried banana fritters and fruits and was upset that I still was not allowed to eat and to know that the doctors had only prescribed “FEEDS” meaning fluid only for the day.

A while later, the physiotherapist came by and explained that she was there as instructed by the doctor to teach me how to “move” about in bed. She said that most people because of the pain will restrict their movement and that is the last thing they should do. She taught me how to move about without putting pressure on the abdomen and how just by flexing the ankles, we can avoid blood clots in the legs while being temporarily immobile. She also help me put on a pair of  Mediven® thrombexin® 18 socks that can help in preventing blood clots.

My aunt and her husband came at around 4pm with “Murtabak”. By this time I had managed to convinced my doctor that I should be able to take semi hard food with Milo and I was so happy to see that “light” dish. Mommy opened the pack immediately and we began eating.. lol! Then at about 5pm, my official meal of bland porridge arrrived. My cousin with her daughter came by around 5.30pm or so with a basket of fruits.

serving meds

Throughout the day, nurses came by to take temperature and blood pressure and dispense medication. One of the doctors had told me earlier that if my condition was stable throughout the day, I would be allowed home the next day. Unfortunately around 4pm when the nurses did their rounds, they told me that I had a temperature of 37.8’degrees celcius which in their books mean fever. I was given a cold compress an hour later to place on my head. The funny thing was I was feeling fine and was having a nice time talking with my mom, aunt and cousin. It was probably a freak incident I thought.

After everyone left for the day at 9pm, the nurses went on their rounds again and this time although my temperature had dropped to 37.8’degress celcius, it is still recorded as fever and somehow I had a feeling I was going to have to stay another day at the hospital… sigh 🙁

The next morning, as I had expected, the doctor on duty told me that due to my fever last night, he needed to extend my stay for another 24hrs. He said that fever after a surgical procedure is normal and it could indicate a number of things namely a chest infection, blood clot on the legs or an infection of the surgical area. He told me that if my temperature, which at point had returned to normal, remained stable, I could go home the next day at 11am. Nothing eventful happened on Saturday and I was all ready to go home the next day 🙂

.. to be continued

Next Entry : The Cyst

Cheerio…

Cystectomy Surgery Recapped - The Pain

..continued from Cystectomy Surgery Recapped

I woke up to a nurse calling my name and telling me that the surgery was done and asking if I was in pain. Since I was in extreme pain I told her so and without me even realizing it I started to cry. The nurses were all very kind and understanding and didn’t scold me for crying at all. In fact they consoled me and asked me to slowly breath in and out as they more administered more painkiller. They also advised me to stop crying as it may cause disturbance to my breathing and cause me to choke. They then asked if I wanted them to call someone and I asked them to call my mom.

Once the painkiller (I believe must be morphin or something) kicked in, I was calm once again. I was high and I was smiling and I even managed to laugh. The nurses all laughed with me and even teased about my crying earlier saying that now they can see me with my dimples once again.. lol!

When I was wheeled into my ward, my mom, my aunt and her husband were there. Apparently mom stayed on after I was brought to the OT and my aunt and her hubby accompanied mommy all the while.

It was 9pm when the nurses wheeled me into my ward. I remembered hearing the announcement for visitors to leave as visiting hours was over and I remember my mom and my aunt kissing me on my forehead before they left for the day. I believed the surgery started at around 5pm and probably ended sometime at 8pm. The extra hour was spent in the recovery room while they waited for the anesthetic to wear off and for me to wake up.

I was woken up at 1am by a doctor checking to see how my condition was after the surgery.  She told me the surgery went fine and that the surgeons manage to keep the surgery limited to a keyhole one. I was so relieved for sure. She asked me if I was in pain and I told her no but that I’m starting to feel a little hearburn and that I suspect it was the onset of gastric. She told me that I would not be to take anything until there is a bowel or stomach movement and upon checking my tummy with her stethoscope she mentioned that there was only very limited movement and so she is prescribing only fluid in the morning. In the meantime, still nothing by mouth. She asked if I had peed and I said no. She counted the hours since the last time I peed which was at 4pm and said that if I didn’t pee in the next hour or so she would have to put in a pee tube.  She also increased my drip dosage to force me to pee.

At around 3am, a nurse came to my bedside and asked if I feel like peeing. I said I can try but I probably can’t do it in a bedpan. She told me she brought the portable commode and helped me up. Since I didn’t want the urine bag, I forced myself up and sat on the portable commode and push. It didn’t come immediately but after relaxing and breathing in and out, it eventually came. I felt so relieved that she didn’t need to put in any tube into me.

I was awaken at 5am by some nurses doing their blood pressure and temperature rounds. At 8am, a nurse woke me up and gave me a sponge bath, helped me changed my clothes and gave me glass of Milo. By this time my gastric pain was in full bloom.  When I tried to walk to go to the bathroom to pee, I had to lie back down immediately as the pain was shooting through each nerve and I almost collapse from the pain. When they brought a bedpan and ask me to try to pee lying down I cried out loud at the pain again. I again insisted I wanted to see the doctor as this pain is more me more distress than the actual surgical pain. While waiting for the doctor to come, the nurses gave me a miserly antacid and after I complained again, a doctor on duty came and gave me something for the pain via drip. That sort of made the pain subside a bit and I was able to relax again.

When the nurses switched shift at around 1pm, I insisted that I wanted to see the doctor again, any doctor for that matter. As I mentioned in my post here, I managed to convinced him to let me have biscuit or porridge with milo. Pheeww…

.. to be continued

Next Entry : The Next 48hrs

Cheerio…

 

Cystectomy Surgery Recapped

My Nametag

I can’t believe one week has passed since my surgery. Last week this time I was in ward 44 Bed 11 at the Women’s Tower of the Kandang Kerbau Hospital going through what is called a cystectomy surgery.

As instructed the day earlier, me and my mom arrived at the admission department at around 11.30am on 16th June. I was a bit peeved that I didn’t get the room I wanted but in the end it worked best for me. After all the paperwork, an orderly brought us to the ward but as my bed was not ready, me and mom waited at the waiting lounge for while. I finally settled down on my bed at the ward at around 1pm. After I changed, the nurse in charge took my temperature and blood pressure and swapped my nostril and my armpit. Then we wait.

I remember waiting in anticipation on my bed with mom sitting next to me waiting for 4.30pm. That is the the time the nurses from the operating theater will call on me and bring me downstairs to the 2nd floor. I remember all the tweets and smses of wishes of good luck from all my online and offline friends which I really appreciated. You guys made me feel at ease for sure 

my bed sign

4.30pm eventually came and so did the nurse. She reconfirmed with me again my particulars, helped me changed into my surgery outfit which was a pretty gown of pink and white (I wished I remembered to take a picture) and explained to me the whole process as I walked with her to the surgery floor. I was asked to wait in a very cold room, given socks for my cold feet and a head cover which looked very much like a shower cap.. lol!

Soon the anesthetist nurse came in and asked me details like whether I had jewelery or dentures on. She told me that they will be using electrical stuff for the surgery and those items would interfere with the procedure. She was very friendly and spoke candidly and I was totally at ease as we walked to the operating theater. Since I had requested to speak to the surgeon before the procedure, I was greeted by three surgeons who answered all my questions and explained what they will do. Basically I wanted to make sure that they will try their very best to NOT open me up and that they try to use the keyhole to bring out the cyst instead. They told me that they will try their best and for me not to worry. When they saw my keloids, they offered to remove it if I wanted to even if they didn’t need to open me up. I said “Yes Please”..

When they wheeled me into the OT, I had my glasses this time, so I absorb all that was going in around me. I saw the large overhead lights from there where I lie, the machines, the knives but to my surprise, I didn’t feel at all scared. The last time I was in the OT was in 2008 and I was blind as a bat coz they removed my glasses even before they wheeled me in.  As they prep me and got me ready to “go to sleep”, I remember saying my prayers one last time.

….. to be continued

Next entry.. The pain!!

Cheerio…

Surgery Day

So the day is finally here.. Second surgery in my lifetime. Am hoping it won’t be as major as the first surgery but one never know what the doctors will find once they are inside you right..lol!

I’ve started my fasting since midnight. I was told at 6am I could have a light breakfast which consist of only a single piece of bread and tea with sugar. NO milk, the nurse told me. I’m supposed to check in at 11.30am at the Admission office on the 1st level of Kandang Kerbau Hospital. The nurse would show me my ward to get me settled. I can request to see the doctor before the surgery but there is no guarantee that would happen. A medical officer in charge that day will come by to see me and assess my health to make sure I am healthy enough to be operated on. My surgery would take place around 4.30pm.

Pray that all goes well for me ya..

Cheerio…

First Commenter Gets Linky Love from LadyJava.
Thank you for your comments.
***

Bill

The Cleanse is On

Prior to my surgery tomorrow, I was prescribed some cleansing meds to clean my system. At 10am, I had to take two tablets of Bisacodyl which is normally prescribed for people with constipation problem. As I don’t have any such problem nothing eventful happen.

Then at 4pm, I’m to take a bottle of oral laxative saline. As you may have guessed what that implied.. I’m literally rushing to the toilet every minute. I’m on my 10th round right now and still counting.

I am actually supposed to take another dose at 8pm but I reckon I will give it a miss if I can’t stand it any more.

In the meantime, I am also packing for my admittance tomorrow. I am packing light for sure, so I won’t be packing any nintendo ds games for sure but I will have my phone with me and since that is loaded with loads of boldie episodes, I know I won’t be bored for sure!

Cheerio…