I am currently recovering from giving birth to my fourth baby and having a surgery called tubal ligation. At first, I was excited about having my baby of course, but also to know that I was finally done having babies and that I was going to make sure that happens by having this surgery. But little did I know what I was getting myself into.
I was completely ignorant about what I was doing and even though this is going to be embarrassing t admit, I did not inform myself about anything at all! Not the procedure, how it works, how it will affect my body, the recovery process, and how to move on after it. But if I did this rookie mistake, then I know there will be plenty of ladies out there doing the same, so I decided to share my story with you.
The Procedure
So the surgery I had to not have any more babies is called Tubal Ligation. This procedure used to be done right at the moment of giving birth, but now here in Puerto Rico, the health insurance that I have is not paying for it unless I get it done the next day of giving birth! This means that I gave birth on a Sunday and had my surgery on Monday.
They came for me very early, took me to the operating room, and put me down. First I had general anesthesia, then after I was asleep, they did vertebral anesthesia. I did not knew this part so imagine my surprise when I woke up and could not feel anything from my chest down.
This part was a very important part to know, not just because of the shock but because I never ever had any painkillers on any of my births, especially the back one because I did not wanted to have that ever because I have heard bad experiences with that.
When I woke up I was on the corner of a hallway for about one hour when they finally move me to my room. I felt I was going to go crazy. I was alone, and could not move from the chest down, and as I mentioned I was in shock.
THE PAIN
After I was in my room I tried to sleep a little bit after the anesthesia started to wear down, and things got worst. I was good now until my hips! Which means I could now feel my abdomen and the pain was horrible. The pain medication they gave me was like having a frigging panadol, and it did absolutely nothing.
I stood for hours on my bed with insane pain, I could not move because my back hurt because of the anesthesia, and I could not feel my legs yet. This means I was thrown on a bed in pain and could not even move to find a position that would feel more comforting to me and ease the pain. I was crying and regretting every second of it.
After having the new medication, I was still in pain but at least I could manage to move and do things. After all I just had a baby and needed to take care of her, especially after going home since I am still a single mom. I had help from my amazing parents and my mom stayed with me and helped me with everything,
She had to help me shower, change, go to the bathroom and even pee on the urinal because I could still not feel my legs so I could not go to the bathroom. Also, my baby was having issues with her milk and she was throwing up her milk so imagine how horrible it felt to not be able to help my baby every time she would drown in her vomit! I could not even get up from the bed to grab her. So grateful my mom was there with me grabbing my baby every time she needed help.
The Recovery
Usually, after giving birth I would get up and walk the same day and go like nothing. I always recovered fast and went back to my normal chores a few days after like driving and going to work.
This time was different. I barely could move the first few days, and for the next two weeks, I would be able to do some things (remember I have four kids and I am the only adult in the house) if I was under painkillers.
My parents helped me with the kids in school, I did not drive for like 3 weeks and had to raise my baby a little differently as well. I usually have my babies sleep in their own room and when they wake up I would get up and go. But, because my bed was too tall and I was still in pain, I decided to keep my baby girl with me in the bed.
I put a little table next to me with everything I needed such as water, formula, diapers, wipes, and whatever else I needed. That way I would get up and down from the bed as little as possible and allow my body to heal. I did my kids' homework from bed and my work from bed (thank the Universe for online businesses).
After three weeks I was finally back on my feet and started to move my body, drive and get back to my normal routine. I was finally feeling good, had no more weakness, or dizziness, and was out of painkillers.
Even though I am okay now, I do regret not learning more about the procedure, the recovery, and the after-effects of it. I had no idea what I was doing to my body. I was so used to hearing people talking about getting surgery and asking me if I was going to get it, that it felt like a normal thing I would do and move on.
I am still happy I can't have any more kids but I wish I had put better thought into it and informed myself better. Sometimes a part of me regrets it, after all, I have altered the natural rhythm of my body and put it through stress. I wish that I had the conscious decision to do this procedure to put my body through these changes and that I had gone mentally prepared to deal with the pain and the time that it was going to take me to recover just like I did to give birth.