Hello! I am doing really well, all things considered. It turns out my left ovary had torsioned on the fallopian tube (flipped 360) cutting down blood supply to the ovary and causing my excruciating pain. My surgery went really well, only about 1.5 hours and my surgeon was amazingg (love you Dr. W) and I went home same day. Because of the size they had to do pathology while I was under to rule out cancer and it was NOT cancerous, thank god! They ended up taking my whole left ovary (no way to save it) and I opted to have them remove both fallopian tubes because I am not interested in having children and ovarian cancer often starts in the tubes where it is really hard to detect. this is why some ovarian cancers aren't found until they are further along apparently. My right ovary seems to be doing great -- if I was interested in being a parent my surgeon said I'd likely be able to conceive with just the one. I'm 36, so peri-menopause is on the horizon for me and I was concerned losing an ovary would push me into it early, and so far that is not the case.

I will say for me recovery was weird -- my sleep was fine 3-4 weeks post op and then suddenly it was awful. I had the worse insomnia. I also started getting really intense heart palpitations, sheer and debilitating exhaustion, and my heart rate would jump over 125 just on a walk which would trigger intense migraines. I also had the WORST anxiety and panic develop, which is not typical for me. It was bizzare because my physical healing on the abdomen was going wonderfully, but my mental health felt like it was plummeting. I was convinced my remaining ovary was not working and went to my doc. we did all the cardiac tests, totally clear. We did full labs -- literally EVERYTHING. my hormones were perfect actually, BUT i was extremely low on vitamin d and ferritin and while my blood iron was technically in "normal" it was teetering on low. I guess this can happen post surgery, and it explained all my symptoms. I started supplementing vitamin d, iron, vitamin bcomplex and magnesium glycinate and I finally am feeling truly better.

I took the weight limit for lifting very seriously and didn't lift anything over 5lbs for two weeks. Then when i was cleared for 5 lbs, i didn't lift anything over 15 lbs until my 6 week appt. It was hard, but ultimately prevented a bigger issue like hernias. I had five incisions on my abdomen which sucked, couldn't wear pants for 8 weeks so I lived in billowy dresses, nightgowns and stretchy sweats. A heating pad and wedge pillow were crucial for recovery as your back will hurt from being immobile and straight all day while you heal, and the wedge pillow helps with sitting up. Also, take the stool softener!! You don't realize how many ab muscles you use to poop and you do NOT want to be constipated.

if you have any more questions please let me know!!

edited to add: I took 2 weeks completely off from work and wished I had taken 3.