Hi all OP here, slight name change again because my computer decided to reboot by itself yesterday, so I lost the window with the previous username!
Fabulously, Alone & Sky - thank you so much for the kind wishes, that's so lovely of you. I saw them before I left for the hospital yesterday and they really made me feel a lot better.
Sky - I know you've got your appointment today. I'll be thinking of you too; if you feel able, please come back and let us know how things go.
OK, I will try and be as detailed as possible about what happened, so if you are squeamish about blood (although there is nothing really graphic IMHO) then maybe skip certain bits. I know I was combing through others' experiences on this board before yesterday, so hopefully this can help others that come after too.
I was admitted into hospital at 1100 after being instructed to not eat anything after 0800 or drink anything after 1100. I attended by myself; my husband was not allowed to accompany me although I believe this would have been possible outside of the current situation. The hospital has been eerily quiet the past few occasions I've been going for scans, and that just seemed to be more so. I was quickly booked in at the Day Unit, and shown to my bed/cubicle.
After 30 minutes later, the doctor that I had seen on Saturday came. He took some notes from me again and explained that he was going to administer some tablets (I believe these were misoprostol) to 'prime' my cervix for the surgery - basically to help it dilate (open) and make it easier later on to remove everything. This is one half of the drug that is administered for people electing to undergo medical management. He warned that I might experience some cramps/bleeding.
I will honestly say that this was probably the worst part of the experience as I found it extremely undignified lying there having to have four pills shoved (painfully!) up in me so they could be next to my cervix. I think because of a bit of shock, just being a bit sensitive and also by myself, I found myself crying a little, but quickly got over this. The nurse who was chaperoning was very kind and brought me some tissues.
To be clear, this was the worst part (for me!) and it was over in about 60s, so...! They then essentially left me alone (with nurses popping in and checking every so often). Then came the long wait - other people were admitted onto the Unit (all ladies). There was one poor soul who I think had just undergone a partial mastectomy, so although I didn't see her I could hear the conversations she was having with the nurse and my heart went out to her.
I kept myself busy doing some puzzles, reading and texting my husband and the time went by. When it came to 1300, a nurse came by and said I could have some water to drink until 1500. I took this to mean that I wouldn't be going anywhere until at least after 1500 (TIP: if you are allowed to drink again after the time you were told to stop, unless you are told explicitly, then you can presume you will NOT be admitted to surgery until at least 2h after you cease this activity to ensure everything has cleared). Although inside I did think 'oh no', I was very dehydrated, so was just glad to have some liquid at that point.
Time continued to pass - I'd had the pills in me for about three hours now, and had only had a few very small cramps and I don't believe any bleeding during this time, but from about 1500 things did start to get a little uncomfortable. To be clear, this was nothing terrible at all and just like moderate period pains - if I had been at home, I could easily have handled this with a HWB and OTC painkillers, but I had to tough it out mentally which was a little rough not knowing when I'd be seen. I also had a terrible fear that they were going to come and say things had been postponed until tomorrow but I tried to remain positive.
At around 1600ish, the nurse came round to say they would be calling up to surgery within the next hour to find out what was going on. There were two other ladies in the room with me now - one who had come back from surgery and was out of it, and the other who was waiting - and the waiting one was being a bit strident asking when she'd be seen (TIP: as far as you can, be polite with your interactions with the nurses. Not only are they doing a tough job, but if you're rude it won't earn you any favours with them, and often times they don't know any more than you!). The lady got a bit of a snippy answer that she might have to stay in o/n which sent a chill through me, but I just tried to stay calm.
At around 1630 my 'guardian angel' appeared. Someone came onto the Unit and I heard them ask for my name, and I knew things would be OK. It was the anaesthetist come to run through the pre-checks; he assured me I would be seen that day which obviously made me feel a lot better and gave me a bit of a boost to help with the cramps.
About an hour later, some of the people from the surgery team came to prepare me. I put on the gown/thrombosis stockings etc. I also thought I should go to the toilet as I hadn't been since I was first booked onto the Unit, although I was quite scared as I had bled a little by this time. When I did go, there was barely anything on the pad, but I felt something come out into the water and there were quite a lot of clots etc - I didn't look closely and just quickly flushed. I was on a bit of an adrenaline rush at this point, so the cramps etc went away quite a lot and I was just feeling very glad that I was so close to being seen.
I was then wheeled up to the OT on the trolley, which was unusual as I thought I'd be walking! Because of corona, they explained I'd go straight into the OT and be sedated in there, vs. having the anaesthetic in the little separate room, which I said was totally fine. Being the sort of person I am, I enjoyed seeing the OT. The people I had with me were so courteous, polite and friendly. I was never left alone at any point. They put the cannula in my hand (teeny tiny bit of pain, but at that point they could have said they were going to hit me on the head with a hammer and I would've accepted) and attached me to all the monitoring machines etc.
The consultant who was doing the surgeon had a bit of an emergency just before they were meant to come over so I had to stay on the OT bed for a little while, but I was with two people who I had a nice conversation with about all sorts of things! I didn't feel scared, and was just ready to get on with it. Then it was announced the consultant was here, so everyone started to go about their roles. At this point I started to feel a little anxious so just closed my eyes and did some deep breathing. The next thing the anaesthetist was there, and joked as to whether I was asleep already.
They put an oxygen mask over my face and explained they were going to give me the sedative and my cannula might feel a bit painful/cold. I remember saying that it felt a bit cold and then I was gone. The next thing I woke up, still in the OT, and I was crying. I felt so embarrassed! I didn't really understand why I was crying, but I seemed to remember a very vague bad dream. My legs/arms were also shaking a lot. Again, I was never alone - a lady who'd been assisting the anaethetist was right there, got me tissue, and explained everything I was going through was a totally normal reaction to the GA. I asked whether everything had gone OK, and they reassured me it had.
After they were satisfied I was alright, they wheeled me back down to the Day Unit. I think this must have been at around 2000 by this point. The shaking/crying stopped very quickly, and I felt fine - I was in no pain. I kept thanking the team and saying how grateful I was when I said goodbye. When I arrived back at the Unit, the nurse said that there'd been a bit of a screw up with shifts, and so I would need to be moved to another Ward for recovery. At that point they could have put me in a shoebox, so I said it was no problem at all. They did one observation before I left - checked my blood pressure, HB, the bleeding (I just had a pad resting between my legs) and all was fine - and gave me some water/biscuits.
I was wheeled onto a different Ward where I offered more to drink and a sandwich. When I was moved from the trolley onto the bed there was quite a bit of red blood on the pad and another pad I had underneath me, but I still felt fine. I also had to urinate into one of the cardboard kidney tray things - it was just red blood mixed with urine, no clots or anything. I was so hungry - I had to ask for more sandwiches (which I got, haha). They did two sets more of obs, and I asked for some painkillers as I started to get some more mild cramps (again all within the realms of period pain). I was given some weird tasting liquid (morphine? paracetamol?) and immediately before I was discharged three pills which I think were various paracetamol medications.
At around 2200 they said I could leave so my husband picked me up outside. I felt very good, in no pain. I didn't take any more pain relief last night, and just used a HWB for some niggles. This morning I feel great - there has been a small amount of bleeding overnight, so now I'll just continue to monitor things until this hopefully stops over the past 1-2 weeks.
So, summary. I would highly recommend this option to anyone who wants to have a quick resolution to a very upsetting and unpleasant time. The waiting after the administration of the pills and the parts towards the end of that time was a tiny bit hard, but I wouldn't even hesitate a second to do this again if I (I hope not) ever need to choose from the options someone in this position has. I know we are in a particularly challenging time atm, but I felt that all of the medical professionals I saw were polite, friendly and very competent.
Also, a final tip - I was given a big incontinence nappy to wear instead of pads when I was moved onto the final Ward. I actually found these much better than pads because you 1) don't have to worry about any accidents out the sides of pads on your pants as you just throw the whole thing away when you're done, and 2) you could have some big gushes at the beginning before things settle down which I think a pad might struggle to hold, but YMMV.
I really hope this helps anyone who is thinking about whether an ERPC might be right for them. For me, it was exactly the right choice. I plan to focus on my recovery now, and when it's right, my husband and I can start to try again.
Wishing all of you ladies the absolute best on your personal journies.
