Tag: invisible illness

Are You Healed? Notes from Postop

Are you healed?

I don’t know how to answer that question. Or to quote Lucille Bluth, “I don’t understand the question, and I won’t respond to it.” Do you mean mentally? Still over here unpacking years of medical trauma. Physically? Still not allowed to run or practice circus arts, which is also tough mentally. Worldwide, we are in a pandemic. Worldwide, white folks that have opened their eyes to systemic racism should still be actively doing their part learning about and changing the systems.

So. I am almost eleven weeks postop from endometriosis excision, a hysterectomy, and an oophorectomy. How my body has responded won’t be clear until 6-12 months postop. I refer to it as major surgery, because it is. Saying it is a reminder that recovery takes time. That recovery is not linear.

Today, I’m taking time to reflect on the recovery process. What has helped, what hasn’t, and where my head is. 

I finished Big Friendship in two days. Aminatou Sow and Ann Friedman are two of my favorite cultural commentators. As a fan, reading the book was part celebration of their work and part hard-look at what friendship could be. I’m still ruminating over it in my mind. Perhaps I’ll have a longer response (or submit an essay about it for publication *gasp*), but for now, read it. Hurry to your library or local bookstore. It feels as pivotal in identifying the language and support around friendship as reading The Ethical Slut was in learning about communication in romantic relationships. I consider The Ethical Slut key in working on open communication, even if you are not polyamorous.  

I joined HysterSisters shortly before my surgery to receive recovery checkpoints. The reminders have been helpful, but as a queer woman without much connection to my womb as a miraculous, life-giving thing, the assumed gendered response to surgery in most online spaces hasn’t been helpful. My uterus was a temperamental organ that only brought me pain. 

Language around sisterhood and fertility is deeply entrenched in the endometriosis community. A common tag on Instagram is #endosisters. What about our enby and trans peers? Endoqueer, founded by Les Henderson after they participated on a race and endometriosis panel, is a new support group centering queer BIPOC voices. The space has a different dialogue around access to resources in which fertility isn’t necessarily the goal. I can’t wait to see and support more of what Les is doing. Can you see the recurring theme in which I deeply believe healthcare is critical in quality of life?

I’ve noticed that Mary Elizabeth Garrett—yes, I named my remaining ovary after a 19thcentury coercive, likely queer, Baltimore philanthropist (even though the crowdsource naming on Instagram overwhelmingly favored Gertrude Stein)—has been working hard. My naturopathic doctor recommended using ovulation test kits, but at this point, my hormonal cycle has stayed pretty consistent. I’ve been able to track it through the Garmin app, except for the week the app was down. Have fun with all my period symptoms, hackers! Use my data to change healthcare, thank you.

Even though I wrote a few paragraphs ago that I don’t like the gendered assumptions about my emotions around evicting my uterus, I’ve found post-partum recovery journeys from friends and strangers SO HELPFUL. There are many more accounts of returning to running after pregnancy than hysterectomy. (Please share any post-hysterectomy running journeys you are aware of in the comments!) Where do I find the parallels? Hysterectomy is the second most common surgery for women, after childbirth by cesarean delivery. I want more stories. Talking about anything related to a period has been socially considered TMI, even though sharing that kind of health information can be life-saving.

My run coach (miss you, Nick!) works for Lift Run Perform. The founder, Mary Johnson, has been open about her running journey throughout pregnancy and postpartum. I’ve been following her story in particular as a reminder that RECOVERY ISN’T LINEAR. I talk about this with my doctors and coach, but seeing someone live it, adjust their expectations, and now start to see success after so much patience has been critical for my mental health. One piece of media I’ve found helpful is Mary Johnson’s appearance on the Ali On The Run Show.

When I am cleared to run, I’m toying with the idea of posting highs and lows on the blog weekly, so there is another story out there for someone Googling “returning to running after hysterectomy.”

Books I’m thinking about and organizations to support:

  • The Ethical Slut: A Guide to Infinite Sexual Possibilities by Dossie Easton, Catherine A. Liszt
  • Big Friendship: How We Keep Each Other Close by Aminatou Sow and Ann Friedman
  • Wow, No Thank You by Samantha Irby
  • Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ)
  • Endoqueer

Stay sweaty and glittery. Black Lives Matter.

Sweaty & Glittery & Committed

The more you know, the more the healthcare system can change.

Well, I hope that sunset picture gave you a sense of calm before I dive in.

Surgery recovery isn’t easy. Below are some honest realities from the perspective of the three week post-op mark from endometriosis excision and a hysterectomy, which I hope continue to get better over the next week before returning to work.

I had a catheter for 3 days and found it mentally taxing in a way I had not anticipated. It wasn’t part of the plan, but the amount of endometriosis the surgeon found when she opened me up, and ovary repair necessary to preserve my hormonal cycles, turned a 4 hour surgery into a 6+ hour procedure. I am so freaking grateful for mobility over the past two weeks and the ability to pee on my own.

I’m peeing every hour to protect my bladder. There was so much endometriosis all over it, my surgeon told me to be cognizant about not over-filling it to allow the tissue and nerves to heal. I’m also icing my elbows. I can’t straighten my arms without pain. My surgeon is pretty sure the length of surgery (over 6 hours) irritated the nerves in my arms. 

In health, the stakes are high. My quality of life was so low that I was willing to take the risk with major surgery. Nothing compared to the pain I anticipated & GUTTED THROUGH over half of each month. I’m still optimistic about a full recovery. I have a comeback list, which includes truly training both sides once I’m cleared for aerial arts. 

A hysterectomy does not cure endometriosis. Endometriosis exists outside the uterus. My uterus is being tested for adenomyosis, a disease that causes pain similar to endometriosis, but only exists inside the tissue of the uterus. Adenomyosis is diagnosed through biopsy after the uterus is removed. Before recommending a hysterectomy, an expert surgeon (not a general gynecologist) will do additional tests and assess your symptoms to confirm their suspicions. Among many factors, my periods were so long and awful that I was ready to be uter-less, even if an adenomyosis biopsy doesn’t come back positive. Again for the people in the back: a hysterectomy does not cure endometriosis. 

As a white woman in her 30s, America’s legacy of white supremacy allowed me the CHOICE of a hysterectomy. Black woman have not had this choice, which is a product of racial bias in healthcare. Eugenics were policy not long ago. There are countless women, like the legendary Fannie Lou Hamer, who woke up from a surgery in 1961 to find that she had be sterilized without consent, which was legal under Mississippi law. The more you know, the more the healthcare system can change. Just this week, Kyla Canzater contacted Johns Hopkins to voice concern that “white women” was listed as risk factor for endometriosis. Whiteness as a risk factor has now been removed from their webpage.

I mentioned earlier in the post that I’m optimistic about a full recovery. Endometriosis is difficult to manage for a multitude of reasons. Because of misogyny and racism still prevalent in healthcare, it takes approximately 7-10 years to diagnosis. Once your body has been under duress for so long, you’re not just treating endometriosis. There is impact on other organ systems like the kidneys, vitamin deficiencies, chronic inflammation, psychological trauma, all on top of removing the endometriosis. Healthcare is woefully under-equipped to treat the complexity of the disease at this time. In addition to my usual “what I’m reading” send-off, I included links to organizations working to change this.

Further reading and organizations to support:

Stay sweaty and glittery and committed. And remember, because maybe it wasn’t clear throughout my post, Black Lives Matter. There are many ways to implement change and I firmly believe that access to quality healthcare is necessary in the fight for equal rights.