MEA - Post Ops

After having a myomectomy done in 1997 to remove a fibroid, I have been having abnormally heavy, prolonged [menorrhagia] and very painful menstruation. I was treated with Danazol, Tranexemic Acid and HRT which helped very little. My life was disrupted and over time the pain became unbearable and painkillers were unable to manage it.

Last year, after a chat session on YM with several old school mates, I got a mammogram and a pap smear done at HTAA Kuantan. The mammogram was inconclusive and the doctor ordered ultrasound scan which eventually ruled out breast cancer.

Instead of pap smear, the doctor did a pipeline procedure and the result was inconclusive too. So a hysteroscopy was ordered to rule out endometrial.

The result of the hysteroscopy was negative. No endometrial cancer. Thus doctor decided to do MEA to treat the menorrhagia. I found good readings on MEA here, here and here.

MEA was done under GA on the 11th. I was given gonadothropine hormone shot a month earlier. I was pushed into OT at 10 am and arrived back on my bed at 1pm.

I had the usual after GA effect ... violent vomiting but this time around I had problem passing urine in the first few hours after coming back from surgery. The bladder became quite irritated. By late afternoon I was able to urinate and felt a lot better.

I was taken off the drip and given solid dinner of rice with grilled chicken. I took a bite and vomited again. So I kept to warm plain water. By 8 pm I was hungry and getting very thirsty so I asked my daughter to get me some fruits. She came back with some watermelon and grapes at about 11 pm. I tried eating the fruits but I still vomited accompanied by purging. By midnight I was starving. A slight cramping in the tummy started

The next morning I was given [hehehe ... HTAA customary] two pieces of stale bread with a tiny drop of jam. I was thankful for a small pot of hot Milo. However, I still threw up the breakfast. Darn!!! The cramp did not go away but grew steadily worst.


I noticed I was leaking. I thought I was leaking urine so I put on a sanitary pad. At about 10 am two doctors came. One was the houseman I guess, and the other a visiting Professor from UIA whom I had some problem understanding his English. I mentioned about my leak. He read my medical history and noticed a urodynamic test I did last year at UIA clinic [paid rm150 for that - ordered by my local gynae]. He immediately called the *Dato* [the department head] to decide a procedure.

I was supposed to be discharged then but I had to see *Dato* first for the leak. It was about 5 pm when a nurse came to tell me Dato was occupied. I was asked to come back in two weeks time.

So I was discharged then. The houseman gave me a three days medical leave inclusive of the ward stay and the treatment. It would mean that I was supposed to race back to Jerantut at 5 pm from Kuantan then go to work the next day. That was so ridiculous!!! The attending nurses were indifferent to my predicament.The houseman has already left. I had to raise my voice and demanded to see the doctor. Geezzz!!!

The houseman came and apologized profusely. I was given one week off.

On the way back to Ayong's place I stopped at the beach. No sunset. We were on the east coast. Still the colour of the sky was awesome. [it was too dark for Ayong's 2 mp handphone camera]
Next morning, Friday 13th, I woke up to a blazing sun shining right through the curtain. The cramping stayed on but did not bother me much. The leaking did. We had a leisure breakfast at Teluk Chempedak. The breakfast stayed in tummy.
It rained heavily on the way back to Jerantut. Arrived home in the afternoon. I was seized by fatigue. My body hurt all over. I felt feverish so I went straight to bed. The leaking continued and so did the cramping.

I woke up in the middle of the night feeling ravenous. There was nothing in the house. I boiled some water and made me a mug of hot Milo sprinkled with oats. I surfed the net looking for more reading on MEA. I found out the leak was not urine but normal watery discharge which could last 1-6 weeks [read more here]. Legaaa!!!

I don't know if my hormone goes through a roller coaster ride. There is no mention about it in any of the reading. However I can attest to it. Last night I was alone in the house. Both children returned to their own lives. I became overly sensitive and at one point I was so emotional I almost quarelled with Ayong on the phone. It was like the post natal depression. I started crying watching soaps on Astro and couldn't stop crying. I felt drained ... emotionally and physically.

I am feeling better today. I managed to finish this piece.