Been there, surgically done that!

I've been thinking a lot in Sanibel and it seems writing a lot.  Creative energy is akin to exercise.  The more you exercise the more energized you get and the more you let your creativity spill out, it keeps flowing.  So, here' another blog post, mostly for women, I hope you enjoy it! Everywhere I go it seems like women are talking about menopause.


It may be my age (clearing my throat).  I've been there, surgically done that!  Yes, instant menopause with a complete hysterectomy and it does put the "men-on-pause".   I've often wondered if men go through the same feelings with a vasectomy as women do with a hysterectomy.  It took me a while to get my hormones straightened out after the surgery but when I did, I've been fine.  I never thought I would hear my kids or my husband say "Have you taken your hormone?"  They will even get up from a comfortable position and bring me one of my patches if they don't like how I'm acting. lol

Another thing I can relate to is a cholycystectomy or gallbladder removal.  My right side hurt for years before I got a surgeon to agree to remove my gallbladder.  He said "I'll remove your gallbladder but it won't stop your side hurting".  I had a gallstone the size of a large robin's egg in my gallbladder.  Then the surgeon said "WOW, I only see stones that size in an 80 year old" and at the time, I was 40.  That made me feel better.

Lithotripsy is my friend.  I have had the surgery to bust kidney stones 3 times.  I hate catheters and I thought I hated stents.  The last surgery I had in February 2012, my urologist used the first stent ever because he said he had to do a lot of work to break my stone.  I won't go into details but I had to remove it before it was time and I found out why I should love stents.  After a trip back to the ER for pain meds, I was wishing the stent had done it's job.  I'm inserting a couple of tips here.  If you require a stent after stone surgery, thank your doctor and if you have recurrent kidney stones like I do, take magnesium oxide to prevent them.  Please check with your doctor first but this seems to help me not produce so many.

One of the questions for my last pre-op for lithotripsy just this year was: How many surgeries have you had?  It took me a while to count them.  4 foot surgeries, tonsillectomy/adnoidectomy, 2 c-sections, 3 lithotripsies, cholycystecomy, hysterectomy and one exploratory surgery = 13 surgeries.  That equates to a surgery once every 3.7 years since I've been born.  I hate being put to sleep and I don't like to be cut on.  But, these were necessities not electives.  

....which brings me to the meat of this post.  My son-in-law Trey and his band are scheduled to perform in Los Angeles at The Viper Room on August 2, 2012.  If you are familiar with the place (I wasn't but my hip Atlanta friend Nancy is) you will know that Johnny Depp owns it and frequents it quite often.  I am so hoping Trey gets to meet Johnny and they become fabulous friends for purely selfish reasons.  I've been dreaming that with all my scars, gimped up feet and a Walter Brennanesque limp, I'll be a shoe-in for the co-starring role in the next crazy Tim Burton movie, opposite Johnny of course! ;)