Keith and Sandie Miltenberger

 

Illinois

March 2005

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Tubal reversal  Mar 11, 2005

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6 CM Rt and Left

 

     

Sept 2005

Hello all,
Just wanted to let you know that I had an HSG done on Friday (Sept. 23, 2005). My HSG turned out better than I could have hoped for. My tubes are completely open! :o) Just thought I'd share it with you.

Sandie Miltenberger
TR 03-11-2005


Mar 2005

Keith and I left for the airport at about 4 AM on Friday, March 11th.   On the way we stopped for breakfast at Denny's because I wouldn't be allowed to eat after 8 AM due to having my surgery the same day. We arrived in plenty of time for our flight and things went off without a hitch. We caught our flight out of St. Louis, MO heading for Dallas/Ft. Worth. Once we got there, we had about 55 minutes to catch our next flight into McAllen, TX and change terminals. As some of you know, Dallas Ft. Worth is a large airport, and the terminals are some distance away. We caught the TRAAIN (no, it's spelled that way) from C Terminal over to A Terminal for our final flight.  Our Flight arrived into McAllen a few minutes early which was nice. However, for such a small terminal, it did take them forever to get the luggage out to everyone. 

Fanny (our escort) met us in front of the store doorway and then we went to get luggage. What a nice lady she is too! I really enjoyed our conversations.  From there, we got in her car, and while having a nice chat, went across the border to Rio Bravo, Mexico, where we had the reversal done. It was only about a 30 minute drive from the airport.  We got to the hospital around 12:30 PM or so, and Fanny helped us fill out the necessary paperwork for the surgery and the admissions people. I t didn't take long at all.  I was very surprised considering here in the United States, you about have to sign your life away to get admitted to any hospital!  I was put in Room 2 for the duration of my stay.  It was a nice little room.  Our room had a private bathroom, a TV, an adjustable hospital bed, a love seat, night table, hospital bedside table for eating on, and a bed for Keith to sleep on (which he never used..lol..he fell asleep on the love seat!).

 After being shown to my room by a nurse, Dr. Levi came in and introduced himself. We spent the next hour or so going over an extremely thorough medical history...both of myself and my family.  They took TONS of blood for blood work (a complete panel of every kind of blood work that you could imagine, to include HIV, CBC's, Platelet, Blood typing panel, Clotting timing, Hepatitis screening, etc.). (They take the blood using the site that they put the IV in so that you don't have to get stuck an extra time for the blood work, which was really nice. ) The list was ENDLESS..anyhow, it only took about 1 hour for ALL of it to come back!   Anyhow, right after the blood work was completed, they started my IV.  I was so tired since I hadn't gotten even 5 minutes of sleep the night before.  Keith and I both fell asleep for about half an hour, and the next thing I knew, it was about 3 PM, and the nurse was there to take us into surgery.  They put these blue booties on me, and to surgery we went. Keith got all dressed up in his scrubs.  He looked cute in them!  He waited outside while they put my epidural in.  The had me roll onto my left side and then injected a syringe of medications into my IV. I remember thinking, oh, oh, I'm not asleep yet and they're already prodding my back looking for the optimal site for the epidural. Needless to say, that's the LAST conscious thought I had.  I woke up later during the procedure feeling pressure and a little bit of pain, said so, and I was back off to sleep again. I guess sometime during the procedure from what Keith tells me, I didn't feel like I could breath so they gave me some oxygen. Keith said that while I was under, I was harassing poor Dr. Moreno (the anesthesiologist). During the whole surgery, he was talking to me, stroking my hair, holding my hand, etc. Keith says that I kept telling him what a sweet man he was and how lucky he was going to make some wife some day. Hehehe.. funny thing is, he's already married! :o) Keith said that I repeated that over and over for about 15 minutes. I don't remember a thing!

Anyhow, Dr. Perez (OB Surgeon), Dr. Levi (Assistant OB Surgeon) and Dr. Moreno (Anesthesiologist) were all in attendance at my surgery, as well as some nurses. The next time I woke up, they were rolling me (my lower body and legs were totally numb) onto the gurney to take me back to my room. They decided that since I have such a HUGE problem with Migraines that they would remove the epidural catheter immediately after surgery instead of waiting until the next day. So, after about 3 1/2 - 4 hours, the numbness wore off and I wanted to get up. But, Dr's orders were to stay in bed.   They gave me pain medicine and antibiotics through my IV throughout the night and the next morning.

When they released me at around 11:15 AM from the hospital, I'd been walking the halls of the hospital for hours. I can't stand to sit still for too long. I loved my cuddle pillow that I brought with me though.  The standing and sitting wasn't so bad, but, the coughing and the sneezing was a killer!  I kept a pillow by me for the next few days too. I really felt quite good actually.  I was sore, but not in massive pain.  Dr. Levi sent me home with Naproxen with pain killers in it, and Keflex (antibiotics).   I have about a 3 1/2 inch incision (bikini cut) and my incision is sutured, not stapled!  Stitches are so much nicer than staples.  They leave a lot less scarring.

Anyhow, when all was said and done, I have a 70 - 80 % chance of conceiving. Both my right and my left tubes are 6 CM long (this is a great length).  Most IVF percentages are only in the 30 - 40 % range, so, we're much better off!  The Dr's and Nurses in the hospital are just AMAZING!  While the nurses don't speak much English it's very easy to communicate what you need with them.  I made up index cards and took them with me just in case with key phrases such as hungry, pain, can't sleep, nurse, call the doctor, etc. I didn't really even need them. They anticipated my needs before I even knew what they were.  As a help to those of you who haven't gone for your TR yet, I left my index card booklet there for everyone to be able to use in the future.  Keith took tons of pictures of the surgery, I'll be posting them on the web site real soon.  I also took pictures of the room we stayed in at the hospital, the hotel room, etc.  I felt so good after being released, that we had Fanny take us shopping before we crossed the border back into the United States.  It was a LOT of fun!  Make sure you take lots of money with you for shopping! :o) Oh, I got pictures of the nurses and Dr.s too, with the exception of Dr. Perez whom I never actually got to meet face to face.  Or should I say that I don't remember meeting him. :o(

Overall I had a wonderful experience...much better than I could have ever hoped for! Little to no pain, an extremely clean hospital, attentive Doctors and Nurses and a nice 2 day hotel stay after leaving Rio Bravo. I'd recommend Dr. Perez and Dr. Levi to ANYONE who is seriously considering having a Tubal Reversal performed. You WON'T be sorry you did it! I'm now 5 days post-op and feeling even better. I still have very little pain. Usually the only pain is when I sneeze or cough. I'm moving around much better now, faster I guess I should say. I'm totally shocked by how well I'm getting around and moving and not really in any pain at all.  Must just be from the awesome care that they took of me during my stay! Thanks to everyone for making my dream of having another child a great possibility. It means the world to Keith and I.

With Deepest Gratitude,

Keith and Sandie Miltenberger

6 CM Right and Left

 

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