I had surgery - ovarian cysts, pain medication, recovery

I had surgery to remove a large ovarian cyst on April 13, 2016.  The backstory:
In the late part of 2015 I was experiencing heavy menstrual cycles.  I went to a regular gynecologist in  January who scheduled me for an ultra sound because she thought I may have fibroids. The results of the ultra sound showed that I had two large cysts, one on each ovary.  The cysts seem to be 7.8 and 7.5 cm with the right being the bigger one.  They were sitting right over my ovaries.  I also did blood work that same day.  The following week I was informed that my blood showed elevated ca125 levels, which is the cancer antigen **I think I keep saying protein in the video** and was immediately referred to a gynecological oncologist, however I would need be able to go in until April.  April came around and at my appointment, the doctor said the cysts have to come out and scheduled me for surgery the following week (April 13).
Cut to surgery day - everything went well.  I was finished around 12 but was discharged around 4 pm.  Once home, I was sstill coming out of the anesthesia, so I went straight to bed.  Around 8, I finally woke up, but was experiencing substantial pain at this point.  For pain management I was prescribed Percocet, which was supposed to be taken every 4 hours as needed. When the pain set in, not only was my stomach in pain, but also my head and shoulders.  I could also barely eat at this point.  I got a few spoons of oatmeal and some crackers down, took a Percocet and went to sleep.  At about 4 am, I woke up with more pain, took another Percocet and went to sleep again.  When I finally woke up around 10 am, I had a few spoons of cereal but barely was able to eat due to a massive headache and shoulder pain.  So naturally, I took another Percocet.  Afternoon comes around and I’m nearing the 4 hour mark of when a next Percocet would be needed if there’s pain and this screaming headache comes back on.  It was only then, I realized I was having migraines when the Percocet was wearing off.  At that point, barely 24 hours after having the surgery, I decided I would rather have the pain and being uncomfortable from the surgery, than a migraine.  I had never had one before and I really hope to never have to experience that again.  So I had to let me body work out some of it and eventually took an Excedrin migraine for the headache.  After about an hour the headache finally passed and so did the shoulder pains.  I ended up taking Ibuprofen for pain after that, which worked a little but there was still a lot of discomfort.  I can honestly understand how people get addicted to pain medication now.  At the 3.5 hour of taking a Percocet, I almost NEEDED another one to stop the headache from coming on.

I had my follow up/ post op appointment On April 21 and the doctor informed me that pathology reports have come back benign and that my blood work does not show that elevated ca 125. The large cyst on the right side was removed and its turns out the one on the left was significantly small. I do not have any follow up with the oncologist, but its suggested I do regular blood work because of the random fluctuations of the ca 125.

So I went in for a fairly routine thing and ended up having to have surgery.  I had no pain or anything else that would have indicated there was an issue. 

DIY Septum Ring

Whose ready for festival season?!  

Whose also wants to shell out $15 on a septum ring that the six girls next to you will also be wearing?

Ehhhhh.....

What you'll need:

Jewelry Wire

Pliers

Beads/Decorations (optional)

1. Begin by shaping the wire into a "U" shape.
2. Trim any excess wire down.
3. Using the pliers, roll one end of the wire outward, creating a loop.
4. On the side that is still straight, add beads or any decorational objects.
5. Roll that end of the wire outward.
6. Squeeze the top ends together.

Did you need a video tutorial for it?  Check below!

DIY Accent Pocket

Easy and Adorable Accent Pocket

What you'll need:

Shirt w/ existing pockets 

Fabric

Fabric Glue or Hot Glue

Scissors 

1. Create a template for the pocket using either extra fabric or piece of paper.  
2. Using the template, cut out two pocket shapes from your fabric of choice
3. Glue the fabric on top of the existing pocket

**Tip: My existing pocket had a working button already, so I placed the fabric on the glue and snipped a small slit in the fabric over where the button was.  Then I slipped the fabric around the button and readjusted/smoothed it out again.

5 Hacks to Wearing Heels

1. Tape your toes - using medical tape, tape your third and forth toes together.  It will take the pressure off the ball of your foot.  There is a nerve between the third and forth toe and the tape will minimize any strains.
2. New shoes? Slipping around?  Use some sand paper and gently rough up the bottoms.  It's kind of like breaking them in when you don't have the chance to beforehand.
3. Are your shoes a little tight?  Slip on some thick socks and blast your heels with a blow dryer.  Make sure to flex your feet while doing so, it'll help stretch it out.
4. Prevent getting blisters with clear gel deodorant.  Swipe it across the back of your heel or wherever you tend to get blisters.  The deodorant acts as a barrier protecting your skin from friction.
5. Just had to wear your heels without any preventative measures and now you have blistered, tired feet?  Soak your feet in green tea.  It will sooth both blisters and soreness.  Green tea contains anti-inflammatory properties. 

Tumblr Inspired Rainbow Cookies

Aren't they just spectacular?!

This is not a stock photo, this is the actual cookies I took out my oven!!

What you need:

Sugar cookie mix or recipe

Food coloring

What to do:

1. Mix the sugar cookie dough according to whichever recipe you are following.
2. Separate the dough into four equal balls.
3. Add the different food coloring colors to each and knead until well mixed.
4. From each color take a small amount and roll into a ball.  Ideally you want to make each one the size of a grape
5. Take one of the small balls of each color and roll it together.  It'll resemble a beach ball.
6. Roll that ball out into a strip about 6 inches long.  I found that the colors mixed better if you twist while rolling it out.
7. Roll that strip up so it creates a circle.
8. Bake for 10-13 minutes at 350 degrees and enjoy!!

5 Hacks (tips) for Staying Awake!

The other night Oxy (my dog) sang the song of his peoples and subsequently only fell asleep around 5 am.  He actually was barking at the cat that sat outside my window all night.  Either way, I was running on barely 2 hours of sleep and had to get through my workday without completely losing my shit.  So in honor, I am bringing you 5 of my hacks for staying awake throughout the day!

1.  Caffeine: Obviously I am going to tell you drink some caffeine.  But did you know about 2 cups of coffee will give you as much alertness as possible for throughout the day?  So if you think drinking a cup an hour is a great idea, try again.  If you're not much of a coffee drinker, then just smelling coffee will stimulate your brain.
2. Stimulate your senses:  Having a piece of gum or some mint will stimulate your mouth.  Following along with that, keeping upbeat music on will keep your mind stimulated.
3. Keep active!   If possible take a ten minute walk to get your body going.  Just as before, it’ll stimulate your body and wake it up.  If you’re at work, take a walk down the hall on your lunch break.  Take the stairs instead! Stuck at school? Take the longer way in between classes, just don’t be late.
4. Light:  Light inhibits the pineal glands production of melatonin – melatonin is the hormone that causes you to be sleepy.  Keep in a bright area, whether its natural or artificial light your body will feel more alert.
5. Keep interested: Keep your brain going by switching between tasks if possible.  If you find yourself spacing out or going blank find something online that’ll tweak your interest a bit.  It’ll instantly wake you up and get you out of that fuzzy stage.

Kourtney Kardashian Style Steal!

So I would love nothing more than to be able to wear the same outfits as any of the Kardashian/Jenner girls.  Recently, in particular, I have been absolutely loving Kourtney's looks.  It's as if being single has made her into an even more beautiful person.  Nevertheless, loving her look is not the same as being able to afford her look.  So I found reasonable alternatives to some of her recent outfits and I'm here to share!! After all sharing is caring!  (all clothing is linked)

Kourtney on Ellen:

Ok so this is her look from Ellen the other day and again she look stunning!  Its a gold glitter short and blazer set.  Although I haven't been able to find out exactly where it's from (I believe it maybe custom made) here is an alternative to her outfit that's reasonable!

This Guess jacket is very similar to the gold glitter on she wore and will only run you $30.

Pair it with the GOLD option of these shorts from Boohoo which are only $10!

You finish it off with any strappy heels really, but these are an option from Forever 21 for just under $30.

Wear a black tank and congrats, you've recreated this look for about $70!

Causal Kourtney:

Even jeans and a tshirt looks amazing on this girl.  Here are some alternatives and I'm giving you guys two jacket options:

The jacket she's wearing is a suede material and this one is as well however it does have a fringe on it.  This one is from Forever 21 and is $21.99.

Second option is a bomber style which is a little closer to the look but not suede (or faux).  From Boohoo for $40.00.

Any ripped boyfriend jeans will do.  These are from Boohoo as well and will run you $26.00.

Pair with ANY black pumps.  These are from ASOS and are $26.00.

You of course want to wear a white t-shirt underneath.  This outfit will run you between $74-$94 depending on your choice of jacket and of course if you already own the jeans and pumps.


Kourtney's Mesh Look:

This look is simple to recreate:

Bodysuit from Boohoo for $20.00.

Flowy, Wide leg trousers from Boohoo for $20.00.

And in case you don't already have a black blazer, here's one that's only $15.90 from Forever 21.

This outfit will run you between $40 -$55 depending on if you need a blazer or not. :)


Its either you hate the girls or you love them, and for me its the latter of the two.  I'm infatuated with their style and can't get enough of it.

As an added bonus here's my tutorial on how to get Kourtney's sleek pony tail from Kris' Birthday Party: