leep recovery

Colposcopy #3

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Last week I went in for my 3rd colposcopy since 2011.

Thank goodness that’s over with.

I’d been more or less putting it off since last spring, partly a conscious choice to focus on giving my body time and resources to heal itself and partly because I straight up didn’t want to face it.

Besides the unfortunateness of having to go in in the first place, it was mostly good news.

There was only one tiny spot that looked mildly questionable to the doctor so she snipped a bit of it to send to the lab for further testing. When the area is that that small there’s even a chance that she removed all the rogue cells and in this moment my cervix is free & clear of dysplasia.

Fingers double crossed.

So I will continue to support my body in building healthy cells.

On this front, my latest “obsession” is keeping an eye on my PH balance.

I’ve suspected for some time that I tend to be on the acidic side (bad) and I’ve flirted for years with the idea of exploring this further but always quickly felt overwhelmed by the details of it and have never dedicated the time or energy into action until now.

My first step was to start checking my PH levels. I use these test strips, bought off Amazon for less than $12 for 100. You can check either your urine or saliva and it takes less than a minute for the whole process.

Suspicion confirmed: my PH is lower than optimal. I regularly test 5.5-6 when optimal is right around 7.5.  The range is from 1-14, under 7 is acidic and over 7 is alkaline, bodies operate best when slightly alkaline.

Many great posts and articles have been written about the importance of PH balance and I am far from an expert so I will share some resources I’ve found helpful rather than attempt to elaborate myself.

MindBodyGreen-Basic article on the importance of PH balance for health

Kris Carr-Slightly more detail about how and why to balance your PH

The western medical world jury is still out on whether it is actually possible to change your blood PH through diet.  While I totally acknowledge this, I also feel like as long as there are no risks to trying to shift myself towards a more optimal/more alkaline profile I am quite willing.
Here are the very simple things I’ve been doing to alkalize;

I firmly believe that one of the best-and most challenging-things to do for good health is to stress less so I am putting my energy into healthy, hopeful results whenever they come in.

As always, please feel free to comment if you’ve also gone through a colposcopy and/or LEEP.

LEEP Recovery

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A few weeks ago I received an e-mail from the lovely Kat of Cville Niche, a Charlottesville blog-o-zine.  She picked up a flyer for my Wednesday night mat Pilates and wanted to highlight the class for Niche blog, which is all about connected young C’villians with what’s happening around town.

Last week herself and two other Niche ladies joined me for class.  They are a great group of women and I love the “live.love.local” mission of the blog.  Here’s what they had to say about my Pilates class.

Total change of topic; it’s been almost four months since my LEEP procedure to remove abnormal cells from my cervix.    I haven’t written about my recovery since about a week afterward, when I got the results that the margins were clear and the cells were not cancerous, but I’ve thought about this area of my body every single day for the last four months.

I’ve thought about it daily because I’ve felt it daily.  It’s not pain but definite discomfort through my groin and pubic bone area that comes and goes with no apparent triggers.  I talked to my doctor about it the week after surgery and he had no clue but told me to come in if it got worse.  It didn’t get worse but has stayed persistent.

On Valentines Day I went in for my three month follow up (delayed a few weeks because of my trip to Portland).  The doc again said that he saw no reason that I should have this irritation and that everything looked good to him.

The doctor-patient relationship is a hard one!  On one hand I like that he is really positive and acts like none of this is a big deal at all.  On the other hand I detest that he acts like none of this is a big deal!

I experienced a lot of anxiety leading up to that appointment. I suppose I feel a little better knowing that the daily discomfort isn’t a symptom of anything scary but at the same time it’s a constant reminder that my organs aren’t perfect and I had my reproductive parts scraped with an electric wire.

At this point the best thing for me is to be grounded and satisfied with my choice to have the LEEP but it was a really hard decision.  It is not my place to give medical advice to anyone else but I hope that by sharing my experience I can help encourage women in a similar situation to do their homework before making a decision.  The LEEP, for me, was a very painful procedure that took over a month to recover from the most noticeable side effects and I am still waiting for this nagging discomfort to dissipate, not to mention that my cervix will, literally, be forever scarred.

If you’ve had a LEEP, cone, or cryotherepy I would really appreciate hearing about your experience!