Endometriosis: advice on pain and lack of appetite post-laparoscopy

[StoatofDisarray]

I am taking care of a close friend who has just had surgery for endometriosis (4-hole laparoscopy, quite a long operation). She's in pain from the gas still trapped in her body and that, plus her general weakness and achiness, means that eating makes her feel nauseous and uncomfortable. Does anyone have any advice about what I can offer her to eat, or how I can help her recover? She's managed to choke down half a bowl of chocolate ready brek today, but that's about it.

I should add, she lost quite a lot of weight before the surgery and she's eaten hardly anything since.

Peppermint tea. Bit of fresh ginger in chicken soup. I was in a lot of pain after my lap and they really helped. Hope she feels better soon. X

Thank you! That's certainly doable.

I am in hospital recovering from my second major abdominal surgery (laparotomy) in the space of three months. Appetite has been a problem for a year or more due to illness.

Simple comfort foods are good in my experience:

Soup, especially tasty broth as PP suggested
Ice cream
Toast with butter and/or peanut butter/Marmite
Waffles or pancakes
Breadsticks with dips can feel manageable when the idea of a meal feels overwhelming.

For more substance: shepherd’s pie or cottage pie - things like that. More salty than usual so as to help stimulate the taste buds.

Right now I would kill for a bacon roll with lots of ketchup!

Eggs are also good for easy nutrition.

Thanks so much. I tried a simple chicken broth with shredded chicken breast and a little fresh ginger with some spinach and she ate the whole bowlful. I see what you mean about the salt too. I will offer some of the other suggestions tomorrow

Lark those are all great suggestions, thank you. Sorry you’ve been in the wars too: I hope you start to feel better soon

Thanks for the good wishes Stoat - you sound like a lovely friend.

Final thoughts for the night - she may well have depleted potassium levels if she’s been eating as little as you say; a banana can provide a potassium boost and some necessary energy.

Avocado is another good source of easily-digestible energy, and can be mashed onto toast with an appetising dressing of soy sauce, lemon or lime juice and a little olive oil for a not-too-scary sized meal or snack.

(I am succeeding in making myself hungry, if nothing else!)

Make sure that she's keeping on top of any prescribed pain medication. It's a lot easier to manage when you're not in so much discomfort.

Scrambled eggs, decent hot chocolate, comfort food. Little and often for the first while until she's more comfortable. After my last laproscopy it took most of a week before the last of the nerve pain disappeared. Walking around was preferable to lying down as all the pain seemed to travel to my shoulders when I lay down.