What are Endometrial Polyps?

(The following post may be TMI for some people and make others kinda squirmish, don't read if you are either!)

Just in case you were wondering why I'm on bed rest for a week...

For the past few months, I've been suffering on and off with periods from HELL. They would last from 7 - 12 days at a time, heavy enough to require hourly toilet visits (including once where I had blood running down my leg while I made a mad dash to the toilet at my office) and making me lose blood in various amounts and sizes, even a clot the size of a golf ball at one point.

Sometime last month, after I had an excruciating 12 day period followed by a 1 day blood fest out of nowhere, I decided that enough was enough and I got a referral from my GP to see a specialist in KKH. After an initial Q & A session, I was sent for a bunch of ultrasounds - one abdominal and one transviginal that I assure you was NOT fun at all. Imagine the radiologist pushing the instrument up inside of you while smiling at you and asking "Is this comfortable?" OF COURSE NOT!!! The ultrasounds determined that I had an endometrial polyp measuring 1.5 cm by 1.5 cm by 1.6 cm in my uterus. In addition, there were a bunch of fibroids that mostly measured below 1 cm. My doc, a senior specialist at KKH recommended that I have surgery to remove the polyp for the following reasons:

1) Polyps are more commonly found in women who are 40 years old or 50 years old. It is rarely found in younger women, especially those who have not given birth.
2) It is also rare to have polyps that are larger than fibroids.
3) The polyp could be the primary reason why I've been having periods from HELL.
4) Untreated, the polyp could continue growing and cause more discomfort and irritation in my uterus eventually leading to infertility.
5) There is a small chance (less than 5%) that the polyp could turn cancerous or contain pre-cancerous cells.

So after pondering about this for a week including doing various research online, I decided that there was no harm in doing the surgery since it was better to know if there was anything seriously wrong with me. I definitely want to have kids in the future and also to finally stop my periods from HELL. Add to that the fact that my company insurance would cover most of the cost of the surgery and that my doc was also one of the better surgeons at KKH convinced me that removing the polyp was the right way to go. Therefore, I went back to Dr Kwong last Thursday to inform him of my decision. He agreed that it was the best thing to do and scheduled me for a Hysteroscopy and Dilation & curettage. The idea was he would go in with a scope, find the offending polyp, severe it and I would be free! He said it was a simple day surgery procedure that would last under half hour and that some of his patients even managed to go shopping that very afternoon. Given that the surgery would be taking place on a Wednesday, I would get 3 days hospitalisation leave and return to work the following week. I was obviously pleased to hear that. I signed the papers, took my blood test and left the hospital feeling pretty confident about the whole surgery.

Little did I know how different it would pan out.

First of all, the very next day, on Halloween, KKH called and informed me that I was anemic. Apparently my haemoglobin count was 8.8 g/dl, below the norm of 12.1 - 15 g/dl. I was told to go collect some iron pills that very day in hopes that it would help to correct the problem. The strange thing is I've been feeling more energised recently, especially since I've been visiting the gym 3 times a week and I've even built some pretty nice muscles, so how in the world could I be anemic? Irregardless, I went, picked up the pills and proceeded to dinner for Edna's birthday.

Fast forward to this morning. I had been told yesterday that I was to report at the hospital at 7:45 am. I was to fast after 12 midnight and not to have any food or liquids at all as I would be under general anesthetic. I would be given some cervix dilation medication at 8 am and the surgery would be done sometime between 10 to 11 am. I could head home by 2 pm. We arrived at KKH day surgery before their doors even opened. Prepared with laptop in tow, I was ready for the long periods of waiting. What I didn't expect was that once I had registered, I had to leave Irene in the waiting area while I was ushered inside day surgery. After changing into the hospital gown, I had to surrender everything I had brought including my phone into a locker. I was then brought to a bed where I lay down and they hooked me up to an IV drip and inserted the dilation medication. This began a 2 hour wait where I had nothing but a TV I could hear but couldn't see for company. It didn't help that I was curious on who was leading in the US elections, but was now effectively cut off from all sources of communication including my cellphone. Occasionally, the PRC lady in the next bed would moan and some nurse would come running. Eventually I managed to cajole the nurse to bring me the papers. This entertained me for a while before I started to cramp. That was the sign of dilation.

Dr Kwong arrived sometime past 10 am. After asking me if I was well and doing some checks, he declared I was ready and at around 10:15 am, I went into the operating theatre. The anaesthetist was really nice and she was coincidentally named Olivia as well. She chatted with me before getting the nurse to administer the oxygen mask on me and the last thing I remember was feeling like I was floating while watching her inject a 2nd stringe into my IV drip.

I woke up to severe cramps and someone calling me "Ling Wei" It was 10:58 am. I had been out for over half hour. According to the nurse, Dr Kwong had removed not 1 but 2 polyps from my uterus. They would be sent for a biopsy and the results out in a couple of weeks. In the meantime, all I could think about was "Issn't this surgery meant to stop my periods from HELL?" I was cramping extremely badly, about 7-8 on a scale of 10 and I was also bleeding into the "pad on a string" that they had tied onto my body. Definitely an uncomfortable experience. I was feeling some gastric pangs, having not had anything to eat or drink since almost 12 hours ago and my body felt so light I thought I could float. I requested for the phone so I could call Irene and let her know I was ok and she could call my family. The nice nurse dialled the number for me as my fingers were trembling.

Fortunately they administered some painkillers and the pain eventually subsided to a 5-6. I was given warm water, some milo and biscuits. However, when I tried to walk to change into my own clothes to head home, I realised I was wobbling and the nurses decided I wasn't ready to be discharged just yet. After watching me for over an hour, the senior staff nurse even asked if I wanted to be admitted as it was clear that I was still in pain from the cramps and I was getting paler by the minute. Eventually, I recovered enough for them to send me home, but not before giving me a full set of instructions on what I could and could not do. No exertion over the next 2 weeks, no alcohol, no activity that could lead to injury etc. Given that I now had 2 wounds inside of me instead of 1, it was obvious that I am going to have to take more care of myself, especially since I wouldn't be able to tell if I am bleeding internally or not. It doesn't help that I am still considered anemic. They also extended my hospitalisation leave from 3 days to 7 days, seeing as how I was cramping more badly than expected and also bleeding more.

So here I am, at home, in bed, for the next 7 days. Hopefully this is the last time I will be feeling the darn period cramps from HELL and that the polyps will be diagnosed as benign and that I'll be free to go back to exercising in 2 weeks!