Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Surgery in Tennessee

After I had the little twins, 4 1/2 years ago I had a tubal ligation (tubes tied). It was a very hasty, un-researched decision. Since having this done, I have, what I feel is extreme PTLS. It took me a few years to figure out what was wrong with me. Many in the medical field do not think that PTLS is an actual problem. The treatment for it right now is antidepressants, birth control pills or a tubal reversal. The tubal reversal is not covered by insurance. PTLS is like living in a nightmare half of every month. It's one of the worst things you could imagine. I'm sure I've managed to ruin several relationships during the last 4 years because of this, and the extreme emotional psychosis it seems to cause.

About a year and a half ago I started to research the tubal reversal. I quickly learned in my state that it costs about $10,000 out of pocket for the procedure. There is no way I would ever be able to afford that. I have a friend who had a reversal done about 6-7 years ago. She told me about her Dr. and it sounded fabulous, the only thing is, I'd have to travel to Tennessee. After a little more research, I decided this was where I was going to go. I prayed a lot, since we didn't have the $6,000 or so I would need for this trip. The money was provided for me quite quickly. The power of prayer is amazing.

Last month I scheduled the appointment with Dr. Lisa Rogers at the Jackson Clinic. She took over for retired Dr. John Carlin who was a very successful Tubal Reversal Dr. The more I learned about her the more I knew this is where I was supposed to go. I was unable to find any other female Dr.s, or any others in this country who had such a low fee. She is the lowest in the entire country. She is a Christian pro-life Dr. and belongs to the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the Baptist Medical and Dental Fellowship.

Last Monday 9/13 my mother and I flew to Nashville, TN, and then drove another 2 hours to Jackson, where the hospital was.

My mom, in the waiting room at the Dr's office

The hospital

Me 2 days after surgery, in the rocking chair. The pain meds made it hard to open my eyes. Everywhere you went there were wooden rocking chairs to sit in. It was so cute.

More rocking chairs

Being in Tennessee was like a trip to another world. Everyone was so friendly and hospitable. It was so clean there, and the roads were nice. It seemed like all the people were dressed nice, and we didn't see junky cars. It was a very happy place. It had that family feel to it. Truthfully, I didn't want to leave, and if I could, I would move there tomorrow. There were more churches than Starbucks. At the hospital there were Bibles and devotional books in the waiting room instead of gossip magazines.

I was even more impressed with the Dr.s when I heard them praying with their patients before surgery. My Dr. even made accommodations to have only females in the operating room with me. She came to my bed before the operation and held my hand and prayed with me. It was the most wonderful hospital experience I've ever had.

The surgery took about 2 hours and then I had to recover for an hour before they would let my mom come in. For those who are going to send nasty comments about "where was your husband". I preferred my mother to come with me. He wanted to go, but sometimes a girl just needs her mom. Anyway, they had a bit of trouble getting my pain under control after I woke up, it really really hurt. I was surprised it hurt so much. They do a 4 inch incision across the bottom of your abdomen. It's no walk in the park. I was able to go back to our hotel that night after the pain was controlled. We stayed in Jackson for 2 more days and then flew back home on Friday. I got wheel chair service at the airport, which was sorta neat. We got to board the plane first.

We saw this man and his dog on a Harley, they both had helmets. It was really funny.

It's been almost a week now and I'm still moving very slow. I still have to rest a lot. My older girls have been angles helping take care of the house and the younger girls during the day. My husband has been a saint cooking dinners and serving me meals in bed. I'm a little restless not being able to do much. I still have to take the pain meds so I can't drive anywhere. I'm hoping by next week I'll be able to be semi-normal. I wont be able to help us move since I can't lift anything. I guess I'll be the director. ha ha.

Beautiful Tennessee


I wish I would have felt better so I could have seen more in Tennessee. I would love to go back someday and see more.

Me with Dr. Rogers after surgery

Now my hope is that everything will go back to normal the way God made me. I hope my PTLS symptoms will disappear and I can become human again. Thanks for your prayers.

8 comments:

Sarah said...

I was concerned when I heard about surgery. I hope it alleviates your symptoms.

If you need a book about natural family planning I HIGHLY recommend "Taking Charge of Your Fertility". It is an awesome book.

I hope you start to feel better quickly!

Dawn said...

I'm glad everything went well , hope you start feeling better . I've heard that jackson has the lowest cost of living in TN. , it must be a lot different than east TN.

Zsuzsanna said...

Hope you have a speedy and full recovery! The surgery/healing sounds painful.

Andrea said...

Hi,
I found your blog through another blog and was just poking around. When I saw this post, I nearly fell over. I live in Jackson, TN :) Well, actually right outside Jackson. It is a darling little town and Dr. Rodgers was one of the drs I saw when pregnant with my daughter. What a small world! I enjoy the blog!

Kimmie said...

Andrea,

Wow what a small world. That is awesome. I really enjoyed visiting Jackson. Dr. Rogers was wonderful. She definitely blessed with a great surgical hand. We just found out we are pregnant. I can't wait to call and tell her.

Aprilnhubby said...

I am planing to fax my tuballigation notes over to dr.lisa rogers today.im still very skeptical because her site really doesnt have many updated positive pregnancy reports.But, finding ur blog helps me believe and put my faith in the lord.Your family is beautiful.GOD BLESS YOU all.

Kimmie said...

I belong to a forum group with women who have all had tubal reversals. One of the women in our group went to Dr. Rogers June 2010 and just delivered a very lovely, healthy baby boy in November. I myself have conceived twice since my surgery, but sadly, lost both very early on. Still, I would go to her again if I had to. I wish you all the best.

Unknown said...

My surgery is scheduled for next week. Your blog is what made me decide to go with Dr. Rogers so thank you for posting. God Bless you and your family! Hugs!

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