We are back from the surgery and it went well.
I have to admit I was a little freaked out when they let me back to see him before the surgery. I am not used to seeing him sick or vulnerable, so the sight of him lying on the hospital bed with IVs and monitors, wearing the gown, the super cool hairnet and booties shocked me a bit.
He was getting impatient because the Dr. was 45 minutes late, but once they gave him the Versed he was a happy camper. So happy he asked for a couple of hits to-go and was trying to score some for me.
We were told the procedure would last 45 minutes, so when the Dr. called my name after only 20 I had a momentary internal freak out. Turns out it is fatty deposits, possibly a fatty tumor. I see many an inside joke about this in the future. Of course "the thing" will be sent to be tested, but he was confident that it is benign.
The Husband was a little nauseous upon waking, but they popped something in his IV and put a cool, damp cloth on his head. He was feeling well enough to eat ice, sip water and eat a few saltines and then we were allowed to leave. He is currently in no pain. He is actually playing Pac-Man as I type and has already said he wants to go out to a few stores this evening for stuff for the new house. I picked up his pain pills just in case, but he may not even need them.
Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers. They really helped. He goes back to the Urologist next Monday for a follow up and they will discuss the semen analysis results then.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Monday, October 22, 2007
Update on the Husband
The Husband went back to the urologist and had a nice convo with him regarding "the thing". This appointment was much better than the last. The Dr. was not so rushed and while he still could not give the Husband much in the way of what he thought it might be, he was still very reassuring that it was probably nothing serious.
He also assured the Husband that it was no where near any essential baby-making areas and was at no risk of damaging anything important. Possibly freaked out by the Husband's many questions regarding the fertility damage potential, he ordered a semen analysis for him for before and after the procedure. I guess he wants to cover his butt. That is fine with us since the Husband has not had one in 6 years and since he ordered it as part of the treatment for "the thing" it is covered under our insurance.
The Husband did the first test the other day and surgery is scheduled for tomorrow. He claims he is not worried, but I am a bit. I know they will send it off for testing, but I am hoping the Dr. will tell us what he visually diagnoses it as after the procedure tomorrow. It will be very comforting to hear benign cyst, which is what we are hoping it is.
He also assured the Husband that it was no where near any essential baby-making areas and was at no risk of damaging anything important. Possibly freaked out by the Husband's many questions regarding the fertility damage potential, he ordered a semen analysis for him for before and after the procedure. I guess he wants to cover his butt. That is fine with us since the Husband has not had one in 6 years and since he ordered it as part of the treatment for "the thing" it is covered under our insurance.
The Husband did the first test the other day and surgery is scheduled for tomorrow. He claims he is not worried, but I am a bit. I know they will send it off for testing, but I am hoping the Dr. will tell us what he visually diagnoses it as after the procedure tomorrow. It will be very comforting to hear benign cyst, which is what we are hoping it is.
Saturday, October 13, 2007
If it's not one thing it's another
Well, the Husband went to his Dr's appointment and while he was there, he brought up the strange lumpy thing that comes in goes in his testicle area. It has worried me for years, but he had thoroughly researched it on the Internet and self diagnosed it as nothing to be concerned about. I was still a bit concerned, but the worry factor hit a high when I was reading a blog from a male infertility sufferer who had the condition that the Husband believes he has and it has been a major factor in their failure to conceive.
The cute female Dr. felt the area (the Husband was less than thrilled that I had selected an attractive female as our primary care physician) and ordered an ultrasound to get a better look. The Husband did not bother to tell me that she also called a few days after the ultrasound to say that though she did not feel anything in her exam, the test showed a mass and she referred him to an urologist. He finally told me after his appointment with the Urologist on Thursday. And what an appointment it was.
He was finally seen an hour after his scheduled appointment time. The Dr. made a quick exam of the area and immediately recommended surgery to remove the mass. This caught the Husband by surprise as there was no discussion of what it could be, just a quick decision to cut into his sack and yank it out. When the Husband tried to discuss what the mass might be he was told that it could be almost anything and it was probably nothing to worry about (easy to say when it's not your testicles) because it is an unlikely location for any cancer. When the Husband pressed him for a bit more info before being sliced open, the obviously rushed Dr. was very nonchalant, saying again that it was probably nothing to worry about but it wouldn't hurt to remove it just because.
The husband disagrees about the not hurting part. He is more than willing to have the procedure (out patient, pretty minor), but would like to spend at least a few minutes discussing the issue. They apparently see things a bit differently and when he called back on Friday to request an appointment to speak with the Dr. he was told they had already scheduled his surgery for October 23rd. Wow! He has an appointment for Monday (they are really good about seeing you quickly), but this appointment is only necessary because he spent a grand total of 5 minutes with the Doctor on his first visit and the Doctor was obviously not prepared because one of the things he told the Husband was that he would like for him to get an ultrasound before the surgery. The Husband, who was at this point stunned to the point of not knowing what to say, told him that he had just had an ultrasound and that was why he was referred here. A quick check in the computer proved him right, but instead of taking the 20 seconds to look over the results, he told him he would try to look at them later. Unbelievable.
When I was informed of this visit, I immediately told the Husband that he really needed to locate another Urologist and get a second opinion. I would prefer this man not come near my husband with a scalpel, but the Husband is willing to give him a second chance to sit down and discuss the risks and such.
According to the Husband's research, the mass (which shall now be referred to as the "thing" since I really don't like the word "mass") is probably one of two things. It is not actually attached to the testicles, it just shares the general area with them. It does not cause pain and it fluctuates in size. When a light is shined behind it (yes, this is a legitimate diagnostic tool according to the info the Husband has found) it shines through the "thing" which means that it is fluid and not solid. It is probably either an enlarged vein (think varicose vein) or a blocked sperm duct. According to the research, it is usually not removed unless it causes pain or is upsetting enough to the patient to warrant it's removal for peace of mind. The removal can also decrease fertility, so that is a major consideration for us.
On one hand we don't want to take any risks that this could stand a very slight chance of being something that needs to be removed, but we also don't want to do any more damage to our fertility. I would really like to be at this appointment, but apparently this Doctor is not really big on spouse participation judging by a scene the Husband witnessed while waiting for his turn.
We should have more answers by Monday, but who knows at this point. If he does need the surgery, we would really like to have it done before the end of October since my insurance changes on November 1st and we will then have a deductible.
The cute female Dr. felt the area (the Husband was less than thrilled that I had selected an attractive female as our primary care physician) and ordered an ultrasound to get a better look. The Husband did not bother to tell me that she also called a few days after the ultrasound to say that though she did not feel anything in her exam, the test showed a mass and she referred him to an urologist. He finally told me after his appointment with the Urologist on Thursday. And what an appointment it was.
He was finally seen an hour after his scheduled appointment time. The Dr. made a quick exam of the area and immediately recommended surgery to remove the mass. This caught the Husband by surprise as there was no discussion of what it could be, just a quick decision to cut into his sack and yank it out. When the Husband tried to discuss what the mass might be he was told that it could be almost anything and it was probably nothing to worry about (easy to say when it's not your testicles) because it is an unlikely location for any cancer. When the Husband pressed him for a bit more info before being sliced open, the obviously rushed Dr. was very nonchalant, saying again that it was probably nothing to worry about but it wouldn't hurt to remove it just because.
The husband disagrees about the not hurting part. He is more than willing to have the procedure (out patient, pretty minor), but would like to spend at least a few minutes discussing the issue. They apparently see things a bit differently and when he called back on Friday to request an appointment to speak with the Dr. he was told they had already scheduled his surgery for October 23rd. Wow! He has an appointment for Monday (they are really good about seeing you quickly), but this appointment is only necessary because he spent a grand total of 5 minutes with the Doctor on his first visit and the Doctor was obviously not prepared because one of the things he told the Husband was that he would like for him to get an ultrasound before the surgery. The Husband, who was at this point stunned to the point of not knowing what to say, told him that he had just had an ultrasound and that was why he was referred here. A quick check in the computer proved him right, but instead of taking the 20 seconds to look over the results, he told him he would try to look at them later. Unbelievable.
When I was informed of this visit, I immediately told the Husband that he really needed to locate another Urologist and get a second opinion. I would prefer this man not come near my husband with a scalpel, but the Husband is willing to give him a second chance to sit down and discuss the risks and such.
According to the Husband's research, the mass (which shall now be referred to as the "thing" since I really don't like the word "mass") is probably one of two things. It is not actually attached to the testicles, it just shares the general area with them. It does not cause pain and it fluctuates in size. When a light is shined behind it (yes, this is a legitimate diagnostic tool according to the info the Husband has found) it shines through the "thing" which means that it is fluid and not solid. It is probably either an enlarged vein (think varicose vein) or a blocked sperm duct. According to the research, it is usually not removed unless it causes pain or is upsetting enough to the patient to warrant it's removal for peace of mind. The removal can also decrease fertility, so that is a major consideration for us.
On one hand we don't want to take any risks that this could stand a very slight chance of being something that needs to be removed, but we also don't want to do any more damage to our fertility. I would really like to be at this appointment, but apparently this Doctor is not really big on spouse participation judging by a scene the Husband witnessed while waiting for his turn.
We should have more answers by Monday, but who knows at this point. If he does need the surgery, we would really like to have it done before the end of October since my insurance changes on November 1st and we will then have a deductible.
Monday, October 1, 2007
Green Light
Today I got off work at 12 due to a switch with a co-worker. I decided to use my free time to run errands. One of those errands was dropping by the Dr's office to get my blood work results. My iron levels are normal. I have achieved normal iron levels. This is great news. We can try this month. Nothing is holding us back for the first time in years. It's like a tiny miracle. To celebrate this miracle, my body has decided to have my period visit me 2 days early for the last 2 cycles. Cause O'ing on day 17/18 wouldn't screw me enough, now I have 26 day cycles.
To be fair to my body (who has been nothing but hateful to me), this has happened before. The most recent time was during our move last October. I had a really long cycle and then a couple of shorter than normal cycles. I think the stress of an out-of-state move and job change could have been the cause. The current stress is a month of night shift thrown into my usual day shift life. The switch to nights and then back to days happened right at the start of both offending cycles so I will assume this is the problem and not stress.
To be fair to my body (who has been nothing but hateful to me), this has happened before. The most recent time was during our move last October. I had a really long cycle and then a couple of shorter than normal cycles. I think the stress of an out-of-state move and job change could have been the cause. The current stress is a month of night shift thrown into my usual day shift life. The switch to nights and then back to days happened right at the start of both offending cycles so I will assume this is the problem and not stress.
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