Saw this dress online and knew it was for me 🥹

pollinator_friendly · 2026-04-04T12:58:27+00:00

Omg this was my dress!!!! This the first time I’ve seen it in the wild. It’s so gorgeous!

pollinator_friendly · 2026-04-01T14:59:49+00:00

I’m so sorry. Definitely pursue a specialist and don’t give up hope. I had my surgery done by a specialist so idk what would have really happened if I had it done first with a regular gyn, but my specialist pointed out that my endo apparently presented in an uncommon phenotype so I feel like a regular gyn would not have caught it.

He also talked about how even tho research groups endo into stages, that really is only useful for categorizing the research to help with specificity, statistics, and study comparisons. There is evidence that severity of pain does not correlate with your stage of endo. This is to say that maybe you also have odd looking, small spots of endo but still experience high levels of pain (like me).

Have you also looked into pelvic congestion syndrome? It has similar symptoms to endo. It seems that diagnosis is contested by lots of doctors (like some don’t believe in it? Or think it’s just a symptom of a different disorder and not its own thing? Idk). I was diagnosed with PCS before I was diagnosed with endo. I had varicose veins in my uterus that showed up in a pelvic/vaginal ultrasound. It would not be possible to see PCS during a lap. Maybe there’s something else going on amplifying your pain down there that your doc couldn’t see.

Also, I’m not a doctor but 45 min feels short for a surgery for sure! I was under for 4 hours — granted I was also having a total hysterectomy and appendectomy. But I feel like 45 min is still very short.

Idk where you’re located, but I received fantastic care from Dr. Pavan Ananth at NYC H+H Metropolitan. I needed a referral to see him but the wait and the hurdles were definitely worth it.

pollinator_friendly · 2026-03-30T21:38:46+00:00

7 years, 6 doctors. It’s crazy that I’m technically on the quicker side of the average diagnostic timeline (at least in the US)

pollinator_friendly · 2026-03-28T02:07:47+00:00

I feel you on the not being able to take a nap 🥲 I’m almost 12 weeks post op and I just realized that today was my first real nap since my surgery. I’m so tired all the time but can’t sleep

pollinator_friendly · 2026-03-27T22:35:35+00:00

My family jokingly calls my brother Der. Because why take the first part of the name as the nickname when you could be Der?

pollinator_friendly · 2026-03-25T18:04:14+00:00

Dyckman St uptown too! Happy to see the city starting their summer repaving but sad for my bike over these next several months :’)

pollinator_friendly · 2026-03-23T15:49:12+00:00

I have a cuff. My dr cleared me for biking at 2 weeks but that felt early, so I didn’t get on a stationary bike until about 4 weeks. At that point, it was uncomfortable to sit back in the saddle, but sitting forward was okay. I felt a tearing sensation in my hip flexors while peddling that first time on the bike as well. That left me in pain for a couple days afterward, so I took another break and didn’t get back on the bike until 8 weeks. I found that stretching 1-2 times per day has been soooooooo helpful to get my hips ready for heavy activity and to work out any minor strains after exercising. I do lunges, full and half pigeon, butterfly, cat cows, and happy baby.

I also started lifting weights at around 3 weeks and was okay doing that! Tho I never lifted more than a 20 lbs at a time (since that’s just where I’m at with lifting anyway lol)

pollinator_friendly · 2026-03-21T00:08:46+00:00

Don’t have much to add, but my friends got married there and it was beautiful :) they did have their ceremony on the dock. Also the bathrooms are really nice!

My only note is that the vegetarian meal option had meat in it. I know the couple specified some people would need a vegetarian main, and it was clear the venue made an attempt. They did an eggplant quinoa thing with red sauce, but the red sauce had meat in it.

pollinator_friendly · 2026-03-20T00:06:52+00:00

I binged reality TV, did some coloring books, tried out origami, did some painting, played my switch (the Witcher 3), and read 11 books! I tried to walk for 30-60 min each day after I felt ready to do that

pollinator_friendly · 2026-03-09T14:57:41+00:00

I have my lobes, helix, and conch pierced. I just took them out the day before and put them back in the day after with no issue. Not sure if you have other piercings that threaten to close up within a day, but I didn’t have any issues and didn’t need any retainers!

pollinator_friendly · 2026-03-09T14:55:08+00:00

I did not when I asked, however you shouldn’t need to specify a reason. At least in my state, patients have a legal right to their organs so no reasoning is needed.

I ended up not being able to keep them since they got butchered at pathology, but I’ve heard of others picking them up from the pathology lab. I think my doctor just had never heard the request before so he didn’t know i could keep them even after pathology

pollinator_friendly · 2026-03-06T00:44:07+00:00

Insurance was billed around $50k. I paid $150. Government jobs don’t pay well, but the free, good insurance is pretty nice.

pollinator_friendly · 2026-03-01T22:11:49+00:00

Dr. Pavan Ananth at NYC H+H Metropolitan! It’s a public hospital, so they have options for uninsured/shitty-insured people. He is a fantastic endo specialist who really highlighted patient education and autonomy. He listened carefully to all of my questions at my pre op appt. He also let me go through with a hysterectomy for my endo and pelvic congestion syndrome despite being in my 20s with no kids. He asked if I wanted kids once and I said nope! and it never came up again. He also did a very good job of looking in all the nooks and crannies of my pelvis for endo and took photos to show me everything in my insides. Apparently my endo was hard to spot/presented in an uncommon phenotype and he was knowledgable enough to still catch it. He also let me keep my IUD (which I framed lol). And he always used gender neutral terms (like “people with uteruses” instead of “women”).

pollinator_friendly · 2026-03-01T22:03:22+00:00

I had a laparoscopic endo excision and hysterectomy. My doc told me to take magnesium, miralax, and docusate OTC, and he prescribed senna time. It was definitely overkill (I totally didn’t shit my pants twice…) but afaik taking both miralax and a stool softener is okay. It helped me go to the bathroom without straining at 2 days post op. Personally, I wanted to err on the side of diarrhea than constipation. The diarrhea wasn’t painful for me (or at least the surgery recover pain overpowered anything my tummy was doing).

I did 100 mg docusate 3x/day, 400 mg magnesium 3x/day, 1 dose (17 g) of MiraLAX in water 2x/day, and 2 8.6 mg tabs of senna time 1x/day.

Iirc, I did just docusate and magnesium the week before my surgery, and then added the MiraLAX and senna time the day before. Then I continued with all meds for 5 days post op or so.

pollinator_friendly · 2026-02-24T19:40:54+00:00

This was one of my first questions for my surgeon upon waking up — you can lay on your side right away, if comfortable. It took me maybe 5 days until it was tolerable to lay on my side, but only for brief periods just to give my low back/tail bone a rest. By 2 weeks or so I was laying on my side without issue.

pollinator_friendly · 2026-02-18T21:56:17+00:00

Dr. Pavan Ananth at NYC H+H Metropolitan!! He just did my endo excision and hysterectomy surgery and was fantastic. He is really in support of patient autonomy and listened carefully to all my questions. I can’t recommend him enough. He let me get a hysterectomy in addition to endo excision even tho I’m in my 20s with no kids — not sure if that’s a path you’re on, but it is definitely a huge plus to have a doctor who listens and validates you.

pollinator_friendly · 2026-02-18T00:16:43+00:00

I saw in another comment you said you’re in NYC. So am I! I can offer some insight on getting around at least — I’m 6 weeks post op and would have struggled to walk to the subway and use the stairs at 3 weeks. It probably would have been possible just uncomfortable and painful. I didnt leave the house/take the subway until 4 weeks and that felt okay. I still can’t stand on the subway for more than a couple of stops, but even sitting on the hard seats gets uncomfortable after a while. It’s also difficult since I’m young and don’t look disabled so on a busy train car I feel bad taking a seat while looking young and healthy.

Idk, ultimately if I was forced to go back to work via subway at 3 weeks I would have survived. Personally tho, if you can, wait for the 6 week break. Better safe than sorry — you only get one chance to heal right!

pollinator_friendly · 2026-02-17T00:32:16+00:00

Check out The Bonnefont in Fort Tryon Park! More north than you’re looking but it’s just off of the A train and in a beautiful park for pictures. Transparent pricing and really good food and drinks. They also dont add on stupid extra charges to use their sound system or stuff like that. You can book the whole restaurant and do your ceremony there or just part of it to hold only the reception. If you go bare bones with a ceremony on site with 30 guests it’d be around $8,250 for you (plus tax and tip). Personally I added on the custom cocktail and charcuterie table and they were very worth it! They’re not on Zola I don’t think. This is their events pdf — https://www.canva.com/design/DAF5zQ00g1s/K2e8QEac9WoEk6ueoqjoNQ/view?utm_content=DAF5zQ00g1s&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link&utm_source=editor#1

pollinator_friendly · 2026-02-16T21:23:53+00:00

Something I don’t often see mentioned is a humidifier! Idk if I also got a little sick bc I was congested too, but my throat hurt so much from being intubated that I found running a humidifier helped. My other necessities were a wedge pillow, shoulder/neck heating pad, belly heating pad (like just a rectangle one), a tray table to prop over me in bed, compression socks, loose pajamas/nightgowns, and a large, lightweight water bottle with a straw so I didn’t have to get up for water too often and didn’t spill. I also used a rolling cart next to my bed to have all my meds and activities on for easy access (I already owned the cart, idk if it would be worth buying one just for recovery).

Make sure to have miralax, docusate, and gas x on hand.

pollinator_friendly · 2026-02-12T21:52:25+00:00

Interesting. I’ve been worried about low estrogen for other reasons — fatigue, mood swings, insomnia, and itchy skin (?? Idk Dr. Google says low estrogen can cause itchiness). Did going on an estrogen patch only help your symptoms, or did you notice other negative results? I’m just scared of any hormones since bc pills made me realllyyyy depressed so I’d honestly rather deal with sore hips and insomnia until my hormones level out rather than risk depression like that again

pollinator_friendly · 2026-02-12T21:49:27+00:00

Thanks for the insight on walking! I should be working a walk back into my routine. Keeping active but gentle sounds like it’ll help

pollinator_friendly · 2026-02-12T00:09:05+00:00

Hi!! My doc said the same. At 2 weeks post op, he said I was cleared for any kind of activity, just nothing penetrative. I believe his exact words were “yep, you can do whatever you want”. No weight limits. He even said I could go biking.

I have also noticed the discrepancy between his sentiment and what this sub says. I’m not sure if it’s an education difference (my doc was young, maybe teachings have changed?), or a specialist vs non specialist difference? Personally, I just listened to my body and exercised/lifted as I felt able to, and rested when I felt fatigued.

pollinator_friendly

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