Laparoscopy - Bit scared! Recovery time?

[Batman79]

Hi,

I'm booked in to have a diagnostic laparoscopy for investigation or treatment of endometriosis. Gynaecologist was pretty sure I have it as could feel something, plus I have lots of symptoms such as pain during sex, 13 UTIs in 14 months, awful period pains, horrendous pain when needing to poo during period (and slightly milder pain the rest of the time).

So - I am expecting to have it removed on Friday too. If there is nothing there, I will be shocked and is it weird that I would also be a little upset? It would freak me out anyway!

I'm worried about recovery time as I'm a single Mum to a 3.5 year old. My Mum is kindly taking me in to hospital then picking me up and staying at mine that night, then my boyfriend is visiting the next day and staying the night. My daughter is going to go and stay with her Dad for the Fri and Sat night but then coming back Sunday afternoon. Just wondering if I'll be okay coping with my daughter a couple of days afterwards? Then I'll have to get her to preschool and back that following week :/

Think I just want some reassuring words as I'm nervous about it all. A friend had it done a couple of times and she told me how horribly painful it was afterwards due to the air/gas they use :(

Hello! It's a very straightforward minor op, I stayed in overnight but you are usually out the same day. I was pottering about that evening and made dinner then back to work after 2 days at home. Some people however do take 2 weeks off

Sounds like you have good support in place for helping with your daughter. For the gas peppermint tea is your friend, stock up now and drink as much as you can after. Moving around as much as possible helps too.
If they don't find endo don't be disheartened, you are in the system now and they will keep investigating until you get sorted. Good luck with it all!

Great, thanks for your replies :) Hoping I'm one of the ones who's bouncing back within a couple of days. I can't afford to be poorly with a 3y/o and with being self employed! I was more worried about not being able to look after my daughter very well, she is SO clingy at the moment and is nearly always sat on my lap - might have to discourage that for a bit as may be a bit ouchie?

Oh right, I've been assuming that if they don't find anything - that's it. They send me on my way. But really, I'm sure things aren't right. Pain during sex isn't normal is it? And all these UTIs? And really nasty pains whilst pooing (tmi sorry) I only ever told my sister about this a couple of years ago as I was too embarrassed :'( I've had it since my periods started when I was 12 (I'm 37 in a week!!!). And I only told my GP a couple of months ago :/ So silly as the pain is awful, it makes me scream and sometimes fall down.

Anyways - thanks for your help, feel less worried now. I've given birth so surely this'll be a walk in the park.... ;)

I had similar and at my op they found severe endo everywhere including bladder and bowel, blocked tubes and an 18cm cyst, I did have another op 3 months later to remove it all, was in surgery 5-6 hours and kept in 3 days with a catheter and had 6 days at home that time before going back to work

Oh my Lauren83 - that sounds pretty bad :( Poor you

Obviously people don't all have the same experience, but I had one ( and the thing where they pass the dye through your tubes) out the same day. Took the next day off work and returned to work the following day. I didn't have a small child at home though.

I had a diagnostic lap in July last year because they'd found a cyst on my vaginal wall, the MRI scanned (done in Feb) showed it but by time my op came round they couldn't find anything! Have to admit I was a bit disappointed Once I came round and was back on the ward before going home the surgeon came round and showed me the photos they'd taken of my uterus etc and said they couldn't find anything so that was it really....haven't had any problems since though.

I was first on the operating list and went into theatre around 10am and was home by mid-afternoon (I had to stay a bit longer because I vomited a little bit but tbh I reckon that was more down to the cardboard minging tuna sandwich I had to eat ). One thing I did find was that when I needed to pee I had the sensation but struggled to actually get started (sorry this is a bit TMI) because my bladder felt numb!! It lasted a couple of days and in the end I went and got some cystitis stuff from the GP even though she tested my urine and said it was negative.

However recovery in general wasn't anywhere nearas bad as I expected, I didn't have any pain in my shoulders and I just felt pretty bruised for a week or so. One tip I'd give you is wear loose trousers/trousers that have an elasticated waist as the places where my stitches were (belly button and just above left hip) felt a bit tender if I was wearing jeans. Also if you're a bit squeamish like me I'd recommend you get someone else to remove your dressing for you because I came over a bit faint

I am 22 and have never had kids nor did they remove anything so my recovery might be different to yours in that respect but I just want to reassure you that not everyone finds recovery horribly painful

I found that the worst part was the trapped wind! Horrendous pain in my left shoulder for almost a fortnight. Apparently they pump gas into your abdomen to inflate it a bit so that they can see better. Stock up on Windeeze or Deflatine and move about as much as you feel able to. Stay within your limits though - don't overdo it. Good luck!

Also if you're a bit squeamish like me I'd recommend you get someone else to remove your dressing for you because I came over a bit faint

I quite enjoyed taking the stitches out :)

I had my appendix out via lap.
My bowel shut down after the op, pain was horrific and I had a high temperature. I got a pessary put in and I couldn't get off the toilet for about a week and felt very dizzy and sick for two weeks but that's because the gas didn't agree with me at all. I woke up and vomitted and was put back to sleep. I was in hospital for three days after. A lot of people don't seem to be as bad as me and are up on their feet pretty soon after. Good luck!

OneMagnum My stitches sort of gradually fell out so I didn't get to take them out myself, booo it was the sight of my bloodied belly button that made me go all faint my mum had to rescue me with some water and a ginger biscuit

:o DieSchottin - I couldn't wait that long - it was oddly satisfying :) I was very disappointed that both my CSections were stapled up and you need a proper tool to remove those - maybe they didn't trust me :)

I was bed-bound for a couple of days total wimp / milking it.
You'll hopefully be up on your feet fairly quickly :) take things slow, try not to do too much lifting / stretching /bending too quickly after!
Good luck :)

I had one last week for suspected ectopic pregnancy - it wasn't in the end, it was another kind of miscarriage. Had exactly the same experience a few years ago so been through procedure twice.

I don't react well to the general anathesthetic, but the op itself wasn't too bad. I was in for 2 nights for the first one due to being admitted late, and one night for the second because the op was delayed until the evening. The first time round I had a dreadful time with the retained gas after the op, a lot of pain and took about a week to clear. This time round it's not as bad, took a few days to work its way through and not as painful.

I was in bed for as much as I could manage for the first couple of days, then I caught a stomach bug which didn't help, but am getting over that now. I've been signed off for 3 weeks but the first time I got a sick note for 2 weeks. 2 weeks seems to be pretty standard, they were just giving them out to patients as they were discharged. They seem to have given me 3 weeks this time because there were possible complications, things to investigate, etc, but not related to the procedure itself.

I feel pretty delicate still, tbh, and my stomach is a very colourful bruise right now - be prepared for that to come up within a couple of days. Yesterday I walked the furthest I've gone picking my son up from school as I was feeling a bit better, but I felt very stiff and seized up afterwards for the rest of the day so you need to be careful. Just because you can't see too much on the surface doesn't mean that there isn't quite a bit to heal underneath. Just be kind to yourself.

Thanks everyone.

I have to say, I am a bit worried because if I am one of the ones who doesn't recover well - I will struggle getting my daughter ready for preschool, and getting her there and picking her up :(

So I guess - I may be fine, and I may not :/ I'd love it if they signed me off for two weeks, as I'm self-employed....boo!

I think it depends on what they do during the lap.

I've had two and was surprised by how bad I felt afterwards and for how long.

But perhaps it was the treatment I received and the swelling and inflammation.

The first one was for diagnosis and I had it done in day surgery. They found endo but it was too severe so only did laser removal of the little bits. It was about 45mins.

The shoulder pain was horrendous from the gas. I couldn't push myself up in bed etc and was mammoth effort to get self up for toilet. I tried to go back to work 5 days later but went home for another couple of days as sitting in chair was so painful. Might have managed in office job but I work with children so it's go go go.

The next time I had to stay in hospital overnight before and after. Surgery was about 3 hrs and had endo cut out and section of vagina removed as was too deep there. Dissolving stitches inside and glue on stomach.

The gas pains in ribs was horrendous. Felt like stomach was going to burst for days despite peppermint. Took weeks for stabbing pains to go and also felt like crap and lightheaded which I think was the anaesthetic.

The pain pooping had actually been the endo on the back of my vagina in front of bowel. It was actually more painful to poop for the few months after the surgery which Gynae said would have been due to the inflammation while healing.

I don't want to scare you but I just want you to be prepared if you have little one to look after. The first time I thought I would be back at work after couple of days.

I generally cope well with pain (eg I've never even used gas for my labours) but I found the recovery from the laps quite painful.

However, if they open you up and just look might be a lot easier.

With regard to UTIs I also suffered repeat infections that sometimes wouldn't culture in lab. Endo was not on bladder so I was treated for interstitial cystitis. Prophylactic antibiotics did seem to help. But when I got pregnant first time the UTIs stopped and haven't come back (though I definitely don't have sex as often!). So maybe it was linked to my periods some how. Also I have hypermobility syndrome and apparently that causes bladder issues.

I know what you mean about feeling disappointed if they don't find. You want answers!

Thanks Onsera3, appreciate your input. I think it's goof for me to be better prepared. I was going to go out for drinks for my birthday the following weekend but my mate said definitely to cancel this which I have!

So you had pain during pooing too? This is why I worry about them finding nothing? What if there is nothing there? :( Do I just carry on with it? Also interesting what you said about the UTI's. I started getting them about half a year after I got with my boyfriend and we have sex two or three times a week so guessing this may be parting why. When we have sex, without meaning to be crude - when it's deeper, it hurts. The gynae. said that UTI could be irritation rather than bacterial so it could be that and that possibly if there is endo, it could be forming near bladder?

Gotta say I am panicked about looking after my daughter now, IF I am bad afterwards. My ex (her Dad) won't take time off work to help :(

Does anyone know if this could be cancer? I've had the pain during pooping since I was 12 though! So hoping not....?

If I'm being honest it does sound like it could possibly be endometriosis, that can cause symptoms similar to utis if you have it on your bladder/ureters, sorry to ask a tmi question but is the pain during sex worse if he is behind you? Or if you hit a bad angle on top? It's common especially with recto vaginal endo to get this. I run the endo boards on a big fertility forum there's loads of good literature on there to read if you want the site name?

I wouldn't get worried about cancer yet- as you've said you've had the pain for ages.

Yes it would hurt when I needed to poop, quite badly during and then be fine immediately after. So I guess as entered and passed through bowel it pushed on the deep endo on back of vagina.

I also used to have that pain during sex sometimes. Other times fine. But at certain depth or angle was really painful and I'd see stars when I'd get up to go to the bathroom after.

The UTIs were such a pain. My urogynae (who also treated my endo) thought it might be a mycoplasma/ureaplasma infection which only respond to set antibiotics. I did definitely get some reduction of symptoms. I also found washing with running water after sex helped- so sit on toilet after sex, pee, then use a cup or bottle with cold water to run water over area. Even if you don't have Interstital Cystits this website can have some good info about what irritates bladders www.ic-network.com

Apparently many people find D Mannose works really well for UTIs

Don't panick about looking after her. You would just manage I guess. Can any family come stay?

Thanks guys!

Yes Lauren83 - it's normally when he's behind me, not always but often. I think only once during a different position :/ I would love the site name please :)

Thanks Onsera3 - will check out that website. And yes, with pooing - it's excruciating pain whilst going but also just before - then pretty much goes afterwards. It's even more painful if also wearing a tampon, to the point where I'd have to remove it. No idea what D Mannose is so shall Google thanks....

My Mum may be able to help but she's already taking me in and picking me up from hospital, plus staying at mine that night. She also already has my sister, her partner and their 5y/o and baby living with her and think she's quite stressed so don't want to add to it. I think I'll just have to cope, so will :)

Really appreciate everyone's responses, thank you x

www.fertilityfriends.co.uk/forum/index.php?board=9.0

It's fertility friends, that's the link to the endo boards, it's worth having a read through. Are your bowels affected by your periods especially when you are due on or 1st day? X

Yes, but I thought that was normal :( Also, I got a popping sensation down below during time of month. Like, if I rest my hand just below my belly button - I could not only feel popping inside but on my hand too if that makes soon? Is that just a normal period thing? I don't know what's normal any more :(

Thanks for the link!

Popping as in, bubbling - I can feel a sort of movement

I haven't experienced the popping sensation myself, always get really loose bowels on first day of my period too. It might not be endo but I I think there's a decent chance. Do let us know how it goes. My bladder is the worst, always have strong urgency to go, I had urodynamics done and I was going 40+ times a day, I couldn't tolerate any urine in my bladder at all

Thanks :) I'll let you know, getting more nervous the closer I get.

I forgot to say, I play roller derby (contact sport on skates) - so assuming I won't be able to go to training for a bit? It involves lots of contact, hitting each other with hips/shoulders etc plus lots of bending etc

Also, just had a thought - if they do do stuff to me, will it mean I'll bleed afterwards? I don't really get periods now I'm on the mini pill so thinking getting some towels might be a good idea if that's the case? I have no idea! This might be a stupid thought!