Well I have been home from the hospital for 5 days this time around. I am feeling SO much better. I went in, the DR came in, said we were going to get this fixed. He said he would go in, look for the hernia, and fix it. He said I might have some scar tissue that would need to be freed. He said if he gets in there and finds nothing, he will numb it up and I will have to try to deal with it. I wasnt happy in hearing this, but could understand.

I just want to express to everyone the pain I was experiencing was very serious to me. By the end of the 3 weeks of dealing with this, the pain had me suicidual. I was hurting so badly, that I told my family that if this surgery didnt work, I had a plan to end it for myself because I COULD NOT live like this. I explained to the DR that my pain was at a 10 plus, and that was alot for me. I have have a baby naturally before and that took 33 hours. This pain topped that. So, just wanted to let you all know where I stood with this pain. It was very real to me.

I went into the OR, they prepped me. Everyone was very nice. I fell alseep. I woke up to my very sweet Nurse, Kay. I asked ifthe DR was coming in. She told me no, that he was out speaking to my family since I was still a little out of it with the meds. I reached down and felt my stomach. I did find some discomfort there. I asked Kay if they fixed the hernia. Kay told me that they didnt find a hernia. I immediatly started bawling. Thoughts of previous plans came rushing into my head. I was determined not to live like this. I asked Kay for some pain meds, then fell asleep for a little bit.

I asked for my family to be let in. They came in. I asked what the DR said and expressed to them how saddened I was by the fact there wasnt a hernia. I was told that the DR came to talk with them. The DR found a mass in my abdomen wall the size of a baseball. He said that when they cut open the mass, it had a grainy, sandy substance in it. Dr Helbling had removed the mass and alot of scar tissue from the area. He didnt have an explaination for the mass and didnt know what it was. It was sent to pathology, but he believed this is what was causing my pain. He was surprised that this didnt show up on the CT scan.

So, there was something there. Something very real causing my pain. Now that it has been 5 days since surgery, I am feeling alot better. I have no pain expect some occasional incision pain, which is no biggie for me. I go back to work tomorrow.

I am very thankful that DR Helbling listened to me when I came into his office and decided even though there wasnt a huge problem showing on my tests, he took the time to find out what was wrong and fixed it. He has improved the quailty of life. I am happy to report that my depression from this pain has ceased and I no longer feel suicidual.

Happy Holidays everyone!

I'm so very glad that you are recovering, and only experiencing slight discomfort. Keep us posted on your progress.

Happy Holidays to you and yours as well.

InternetAngel, I'm so happy to read that you're not in pain anymore. What a wonderful outcome to what started out as such a sad story to read.

Enjoy the holidays!

I am very glad that you were helped appropriately and are no longer in such pain. I wish you the best. Keep us posted.