The Adventures of a Broken Housewife

Saturday, January 5, 2013

TO BE A WOMAN

I am straying from the usual for today. (I know, I know, I promise we will be back to normal on Wednesday and I will most likely have a picture blog tomorrow) But there is something I want to talk to you about today. In Friday's blog I mentioned having a female problem that makes me feel like death. I have had some people ask me about it and when I tell them what it might be, they have never heard of it. Then I did some research and found out that not a lot of people have heard of it...period. It is called Post Tubal Ligation Syndrome. It is basically a series of symptoms that occur AFTER a woman has her tubes tied. They mimic the symptoms of pre menopause.

SYMPTOMS OF PTLS
1. Eptopic pregnancy or pregnancy (well known risk of tubals)

2. Hot flashes, flushes, night sweats and/or cold flashes,
clammy feeling, chills

3. Bouts of rapid heart beat

4. Irritability

5. Mood swings, sudden tears

6. Trouble sleeping through the night (with or without night sweats)

7. Irregular periods; shorter, lighter periods; heavier periods, flooding;
phantom periods, shorter cycles, longer cycles

8. Loss of libido

9. Dry vagina

10. Itchy vagina-at time raw like, can radiated from whole area, with
absence of yeast infections.

11. Color change in vaginal area. (color gets darker -darker red to purple)

12. Crashing fatigue - Chronic Fatigue

13. Anxiety, feeling ill at ease

14. Feelings of dread, apprehension, doom

15. Difficulty concentrating, disorientation, mental confusion

16. Disturbing memory lapses

17. Incontinence, especially upon sneezing, laughing; urge incontinence

18. Prolapse of uterus do to rapid decrease in estrogen levels.

19. Itchy, crawly skin

20. Aching, sore joints, muscles and tendons

21. Increased tension in muscles

22. Breast tenderness

23. Decrease in breast mass

24. Headache change: increase or decrease

25. Gastrointestinal distress, indigestion, flatulence, gas pain, nausea
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)

26. Sudden bouts of bloat

27. Depression

28. Exacerbation of existing conditions

29. Allergies developing or increasing - (Chronic sinusitis).

30 Nasal infections-necessitating antibiotics

31. Weight gain

32. Hair loss or thinning, head, pubic, or whole body; increase in facial hair

33. Dizziness, light-headedness, episodes of loss of balance

34. Changes in body odor

35. Electric shock or stabbing sensation under the skin.

36. Tingling in the extremities,

37. Gum problems, increased bleeding

38. Burning tongue, burning roof of mouth, bad taste in mouth, change in
breath odor

39. Osteoporosis (after several years )

40. Changes in fingernails: softer, crack or break easier

41. Stabbing pains in pelvic area at time of ovulation

42. Pelvic Pain

43. Development of Adenomyosis

44. Development of Ovarian/Tubal Cysts

45. Decreased Lactation Ability

Now you notice above that I said I might have it. I am 42 and I could truthfully be in pre menopause, but the doctors doubt it. And I didn't have any symptoms until after having my tubes tied. There are even some who say this disorder doesn't exist because a majority of women who have it are of an age to be experiencing pre menopause. But then I have to wonder about the 24 year old woman who had her tubes tied and is suffering with a majority of the symptoms I've listed. I also ran across a blog the other day about a 29 year old with PTLS. There really are many women out there who are young and have the syndrome.

For me, many of the symptoms I have developed are manageable. I am already on medications to help with the mental hardships although when I'm ready to be done with being a woman, I can still get sad. Some things are extremely hard to live with however. It is awful enough to have the normal dripping, bleeding and cramping every month, Imagine having all of that doubled after a simple surgery to help keep you from getting pregnant. It is hard enough for me to stand up during 'that time of the month' as it is, let alone take kids to and from school and manage doctor appointments and grocery shopping and everything else that it takes to run this household. And with three child bearing age females in the house we spend a fortune on feminine products without adding my extra to it. And then there is the itching, it is enough to drive me batty and make me literally want to jump out the window. (Not that it would do me much good, we aren't that high off the ground.) The hot flashes really suck too ( I hate being hot, hence the reason we left Nevada) as does the pelvic pain. I already have enough pain in that area and I could really do without it!!! Many of the other 'smaller' symptoms are ones I have learned to live with and I can manage pretty well. Although truthfully my life would probably be ten times better if I got rid of the smaller ones too.

PTLS doesn't happen to every woman, one of my dearest friends had lighter shorter periods after her tubal. Lucky lady I say! But the worst thing about this syndrome??? Many people don't believe it exists so you get a lot of the annoying 'it's all in your head' speeches from people. I can just hope that more research can be done so these women can have a definitive diagnosis and will stop being made to feel crazy.

Am I trying to keep people from getting Tubal Ligations? No definitely not. As a form of birth control it is really nice. And not everyone will get PTLS from the surgery. My main thing with this syndrome is that women need to start being told about the possible side effects of the procedure. Plain and simple, give us the chance to have an informed choice. I was told about Tubal Ligation as a possibility during my last three pregnancies but I was never once told about what I might have to face after the surgeries. ( By the time I got pregnant with Little Butt and planned the surgery, all I had heard through the grapevine was that my periods might get worse, but probably wouldn't.) Truthfully I'm not sure what I would have chosen if I had been told the truth, but I still feel kinda cheated that I wasn't given the choice.

So my main point here is to give a small voice to this little known disorder. I can't believe how many people have never heard of it.

There is a website that advocates passing legislation that makes doctors list PTLS as a possible side effect of the surgery. If you want more information about the syndrome or to learn about the possible legislation visit www.tubal.org.

Until next time...I'm trying out the other major blogging site and am doing a blog to help people keep up with the new developments in trying to make me less broken (hip stretches that might help cure my hip and foot) if you want to check it out here is the address http://alittlelessbroken.wordpress.com. Just remember it isn't like this blog, it will just be quick updates on my progress with the new exercises. :)

Note: I got the symptoms list from various places online incuding tubal.org.

Friday, January 4, 2013

I LOVE HER...NO MATTER WHAT

Today was rough. You know, one of those days where you feel as if you are truly broken and will never be fixed again. It was one of those days where you actually want to go back in time and change everything. Or at least it makes you wish you had a pack of cigarettes and a couple of shots of whiskey. And I don't drink or smoke!!! But you know I was tempted to give it a shot (pun intended).

It all started with a girl problem that I won't get into on here, but it basically makes me feel like death and it really makes functioning even harder than it normally is. Then add on top of that a little girl who wakes up and does NOT want to get dressed, so by the time I struggle her into the clothes we are already about 15 minutes later than usual. And then she refuses to step foot out the door unless I am carrying her - down the stairs covered in snow. For those of you who read my introductory blog post, you know I have physical problems that keep me from lifting my baby doll too often let alone carrying her through ice and snow. So we drop Miss Crazy off to school and get home. My hips feel like they have been through the ringer and since I don't have cigarettes or whiskey in the house and it is only 8:30 am, I get on the computer and work on all of my social media stuff. I actually come thisclose to quitting Facebook entirely. (But I couldn't do that to my fans).

Fast Forward a bit to after lunch. I am so relieved that things have been going smoothly and I start to relax. Big Huge Humongous Gargantuan mistake on my part. Little Butt decides she wants to follow me to the bathroom. Not a problem, I don't know what I would do if I didn't have a kid in there watching me pee :/ However, miss decides she gets to try first. I put her on and she doesn't go. Yay, it is my turn and I have really got to go. She puts all of her weight on the toilet seat and won't let me lift it. I have to physically pick her up and move her just so I can go to the bathroom. That starts the whole scream/tantrum cycle. Everything being done, I try to leave the bathroom. Yeah, not so easy when you have a screaming, tantruming almost 2 year old blocking the door and your hip is screaming in pain. So, I finally pull a Houdini and get out of the bathroom and I lie on my bed to stretch that hip. She cries the whole time and when I get up to go back into the bathroom (part of the girl problem I mentioned earlier) she is right there at the toilet not letting me raise the seat, so we do everything I described above all over again.

By now it is time to pick The Shooter up from work and since Little Butt is a nudist that means getting a diaper, pants and shoes on her. I am determined to make her walk out this time so I don't have to carry her. I don't know if I even have the ability to carry her anymore at this point. She will not let me dress her. She runs from me, I can't chase her. I lure her over and she struggles so hard I hear my hip pop. Finally I just have to get going and I am hurting so much that I pick her and her pants and shoes up and carry her out to the car in just a diaper and long sleeved shirt. It is 22 degrees. She was not even phased. I get her hooked into the car (barely as I almost pass out) and put a blanket over her little legs and turn the heater on high. I climb in the car praying that I can actually lift my right leg to drive. Yay!!!! I'm not totally out yet you damn stupid hip. I CAN STILL DRIVE - barely.

So what is the point of this post you ask? Other than to entertain you, because come on it is funny seeing a 2 year old get the best of a 42 year old three times in one day right. Hey I laughed so you can too. No, my point to this post is about the amazing healing power of the heart. I told a 'friend' from a social network site about the happenings and she was so angry and told me that she would have been mad at the child for weeks and that she probably would have been cussing the child out to everyone who would listen for a long time (she doesn't cuss out the child though thank God) I just don't understand.

Was I angry with her - yes.
Did I show that to her - no.
Was I frustrated? - yes with her and with me and my 'broken' parts.
Did I complain to my friends - yes of course, but I did it in a kind of way that was like 'OMG guess what kind of day I had!' not 'Stupid tantruming kid'
Do I blame Little Butt for the renewed bad state of my hips? No absolutely not, I am a mom and it is my job to have to pick her up sometimes so if I get hurt again then so be it.

So, you might ask what was going through my mind during this whole episode. Well truthfully I was thinking things like:

Is the baby okay, why is she acting like this, is it because her sisters went back to school today, is it because she is still mad at me for weaning her, is she hurting from her 2 year molars?
What am I going to do if my back totally goes out. I still have a husband and kids to pick up and what if the two little ones here at home need me, will I be able to be there for them?
God, I love this crying, screaming little baby so much. Please help us through this rough day and let us come out on the other side, alive and well.

Now normally after crying and meltdowns like that she likes to snuggle, but that hasn't been the norm as of late (ever since weaning). All I wanted to do was hold her and love on her. She wouldn't let me of course. When we went to pick up The Shooter, she fell asleep in the car and he carried her into the house for me and laid her next to me on our bed. I took that opportunity to snuggle, love and kiss on her before falling asleep holding her hand. My heart that was broken from having to listen to her scream and cry so much was instantly healed.

Until next time...In the times of anger and hardship while parenting, please remember the love. It WILL pull you through.

Thursday, January 3, 2013

FUNNY PICTURE CAPTIONS PART 2

We had huge success with our photo caption pictures last week so I have decided to continue the series. These were a labor of love in times of great pain for me so I really hope you get some joy out of them too. I think I am going to leave out my comentary on each picture this time. Let me know what way you like them! You can always reach me here My Email Address

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

EH I DON'T NEED SLEEP...OR DO I????

New Years morning I realized how important sleep truly is. Yes I have been sleep deprived before, after all I was a wild college kid (okay, semi wild - happy now?) and I am the mother of 5 horrible sleepers.

So, how did I come to this earth shattering conclusion (Hey, it's earth shattering to me so :p). Well you see, it began about 2 1/2 years ago. On June 10th, 2010 I saw a plus sign on a little plastic device and within a week I was extremely sick and every night for the next 2 1/2 years, I didn't sleep for more than 2 hours at a stretch and my awake times would be upwards of 1 1/2 hours.

First I had a warped version of pregnancy induced insomnia and then I had a newborn and then I had an infant/toddler who nursed 2-4 times during the night, e.v.e.r.y. n.i.g.h.t. When I finally weaned her I still found myself waking up several times a night. Your guess is as good as mine as to why I still managed to watch the clock strike 1:15, 2:30, and 4:30 just about every night.

I truly thought I was going to lose my mind from exhaustion (although at the time I didn't realize that is what I was suffering from). The kids were getting on my nerves so easily. It even got so bad that sometimes I would just let them go at it because I needed to step back and take a breather. Every little thing that happened annoyed me. The school would pull one of their stupid stunts and I felt like I would explode. Wal Mart got my online order wrong or even lost one of them and I just about had what I affectionately call a 'shit fit.' I mean damn, I even put my almost 2 year old (and my 'Scary Six' year old Miss Crazy) to shame.

Believe it or not, the thing that should have tipped me off the most to how exhausted I really was, was my new found intolerance of the cold. I absolutely love the cold. I mean if I am going to go outside for less than a half hour I don't wear a jacket unless it is below 20 degrees. The cold revives and rejuvenates me like nothing else does. But lately, I was cold all the time. It was 40 degrees outside and I was shivering and my teeth were chattering. I just kept wondering why I was worn down enough to actually feel cold. I had no clue. And then I started to get achy but I knew I didn't have the flu and the only other time I get achy is when I am over tired. Why this symptom didn't hit me sooner I have no clue. (Is it stupid that I still didn't totally realize that exhaustion was my problem? Yeah, don't answer that please)

Slowly since I weaned Little Butt, I have been able to nap more with the kids home on break they would all be together so I could slip away. And then came the best night of my life (okay, maybe not the best, but pretty damn good) New Years Eve I stayed up until just about 1 am and then I fell asleep and I did not move again until almost 6 am. Yes! I slept for about 5 straight hours without even one wake up. [Insert earth shattering conclusion here] You do not even know how good that felt, and I finally realized for sure that exhaustion is what was making me bitchy. I don't think it was the amount of sleep I was getting that tired me out, but the quality of the sleep. I mean after all, I had been through a 3 year period when my son was little where I didn't sleep for more than 4 hours a night but I slept for four solid hours and yes I got tired, but I didn't feel as awful as I did this time. I truly wonder how much longer I would have lasted at this level. I felt on the verge of a major....meltdown? sickness? breakdown? I'm not sure which it would have been, but something major was coming and I was dreading it.

Now, I'm not quite so worried. I am slightly rejuvenated and I think I have found a few things that will help me sleep better. Yes, I know there will be days when I am back in my old pattern like when the hip pain is bothering me but that is okay, I am a mom and I expect to be sleep deprived, just not exhausted to the brink of illness. Remember just because we chose to be moms does NOT mean that we are going to take being tired into stride and love every minute of it. We can love being mothers and still hate being exhausted and complain about it to everyone who will listen. So next time a tired mom complains to you please just listen and understand it is as real and as important as it would be to someone without kids.

Until next time...Sleep well. :D

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

PICTURE POST - ALASKA AND WYOMING 2002/2003

Well, I am fresh out of pictures from my most recent trip to Alaska but I do have a few old ones from our first trip in 2003 and from our 'pick a place to live' trip to Wyoming in 2002. The picture quality is pretty bad because I used mostly disposable cameras and then they had to be scanned into the computer. Yeah I was super tech savvy back then ;p They are still beautiful so enjoy!!!