Laparoscopy - experiences and advice

[RHCCHR94]

Hi

I’ve been referred to gynae for an exploratory laparoscopy to look for endometriosis. Anyone who’s been through this could you share your experience of the procedure/recovery?

Following. I’m waiting for one to remove endo

I had one a few years ago. They did find and treat endometriosis. The issue is that depending on what they find will depend on how you feel and recover. I had some diathermy - I only had a small bit of endo but I was in chronic pain that was almost impossible to get on top of. Post-op I would say - wear loose trousers! I wore jeans and I couldn’t button them up because I was so bloated! Afterwards, the pain eased quickly. I was post-op sore around the sutures but it eased quite quickly. I had shoulder pain from the gas for a few days. I was back at work about a month after.
It eased the chronic pain and my periods were better for a long time afterwards (getting worse as I cruise towards Peri-menopause). I did know someone who woke to discover they’d had to do a lot surgically due to the extent of her endo though so it can really vary. They don’t really know until they look because it doesn’t generally show up on scans.
So my advice would be - attend in loose trousers, some people think peppermint tea can help to disperse the gas, make sure you accept any pain relief offered and stock up for when you are recovering. Hope it goes okay.