I had my TAHBSO (Total Abdominal Hysterectomy with Bilateral Salpingo-Oophorectomy) last December 2019, and, before my surgery, a few of my friends and colleagues were asking if it was really necessary to undergo TAHBSO. The most common reasons they gave to convince me not to undergo TAHBSO were I was still young and I still had a chance of bearing a child; and TAHBSO has several side effects that will surely cause the deterioration of my health. These are valid reasons but in my case, I reached a "point of no return". It was a point in my life when my Ob-Gyn said that there was no other choice but to have TAHBSO.
It happened in October 2019, my birth month. I cannot even remember what happened that week. All I can remember is that I suffered from a high fever on October 25, Friday. I had fever several times before but it was the first time that I felt that there was really something wrong with me. Usually, I would suffer from a fever from too much stress but then, I knew I would just get well the next morning. but the fever that I felt that day was different.
I went to my Ob-Gyn the following day, October 26, Saturday. I had my CBC and ultrasound in different clinics. Since it was a Saturday, most clinics only have a half-day schedule. I got my results at around 3:00PM and my Ob-Gyn's clinic was already closed. Worse, there was a system interruption with our telecom service, and I could not contact my doctor. I decided to just go home and wait for Monday.
When I went back to my Ob-Gyn that Monday, October 28, she was shocked to see that my WBC was 16,000 or 16 thousand/mm³. Normal WBC ranges from 4.5 to 10 thousand/mm³. My Ob-Gyn decided to have me admitted to the hospital right away. Unsurprisingly, I did have an infection in my fallopian tube which was already suffering from hematosalpinx. I already talked about my hematosalpinx in my previous blog "Endometriosis and its Complications"
I needed to have dextrose and antibiotics. Other than my Ob-Gyn, I was also co-managed by a doctor who specializes in infections. I stayed in the hospital for 4 days and even celebrated my 40th birthday there.
And then, the bad news came. My Ob-Gyn said that I could not wait for another year or two to have my TAHBSO. It was a necessity. I had to have it scheduled that year (2019). I had no other option. My Ob-Gyn explained to me that once pelvic infections occur, it will keep on recurring, getting more severe each time. I knew that having TAHBSO was inevitable but I always thought that it will happen in the future. And at that time, that "future" was "now".
The occurrence of endometriosis progressing into infections and abscesses is rare but it does happen. In fact, endometriosis can result to another condition called Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID). You can check the references below to know more about PID.
Is TAHBSO dangerous? Will it cure endometriosis? What are its side effects? I will answer these and other questions on my next posts.
References:
Elizur, S., et.al. (2014, February 20). Pelvic inflammatory disease in women with endometriosis is more severe than in those without. Wiley Online Library: Obstetrics and Gynaecology. Retrieved from https://obgyn.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ajo.12189
Illinois Department of Public Health. (2020). "Endometrial Cancer" Retrieved from http://www.dph.illinois.gov/topics-services/diseases-and-conditions/diseases-a-z-list/endometrial-cancer
The Institute for Study of Urologic Diseases. (n.d.) Laboratory Testing Normal Values. Retrieved from http://www.imop.gr/en/urotools-normal-values
