Laparoscopy advice

[murree]

Hi all,

I am having a lap and dye done next week - its my first operation so am a bit nervous.
The consultant has said he will remove one of my tubes unless he can unblock it during the Op.
Can anyone give me any advice on what to expect afterwards? Will there be much pain and will I be very restricted?
TIA x

Hi OP,

I had a laparoscopy two years ago. Very quick recovery if I recall. I didn’t have a tube removed but I had extensive ovarian drilling and endo removal.

What I do remember was being in quite a bit of pain after from the gas which they pump into you to inflate the area to work on. It travels up into your shoulder blades and is quite a sharp pain. I had this on the drive home and had to stop to take painkillers. No problem once this had kicked in. Definitely make it a priority to buy peppermint tea to drink after - helps no end until the gas subsided after about 2 days.

Good luck - I should add that my DD arrived 5 months ago and the lap was critical to my ongoing treatment.

To add - I was signed off for 2 weeks but was up and about the next day. It’s obviously sore as you’d expect but not unbearable by any means if you take the prescribed pain killers. I actually went back to work a week after.

Thanks for the info! I have been warned about the pain in the shoulders - will put peppermint tea on my shopping list haha

Hello @Murree Good luck with your op next week! Don't worry, you will be in very safe hands.

I've had 2 done now, first was to take a peek and the second was to remove both my tubes, a cyst, remove scar tissue and have the cells on my cervix burnt.

First things is that you will feel positively lovely when you wake up!! That's the best part :-) you feel like you have had a great sleep and the meds are great! They will give you some pain meds to take at home, I was given morphine tablets.

It really depends on what they do in there, I was very sore and bruised the second time due to them hitting the abdominal wall a lot to get rid of the scar tissue and had a bruise the size of a dinner plate!

You will end up with a small scar either at the side or below your belly button and also they go through your belly button...quite funny really as mine has turned into an frown! First time my stitches were dissolvable ones but second time I had to have them pulled out and it wasn't actually as bad as I was expecting...just made my eyes water a bit but didn't hurt.

Just remember to be careful lifting heavy things for the first week and get out of bed or off the sofa at a steady pace. Set out a meds schedule so you know when the next batch are happening, I was allowed to also take Paracetamol so I spread that and the morphine 2 hours apart. You are ok to have a hot water bottle a few days I, that helped a lot! They do pump a lot of gas in you so when I was able I squatted down to try and get some out (sorry gross!) but it really helped the bloating.

Hope it goes well for you.

Do you have anything in particular that you are worried about?

Apart from having my tonsils out when I was a child I've never had an operation so just nerves I guess.
I am however very excited to have an excuse to have a rest for a week or so!

I know one of my tubes is blocked and my surgeon is going to try and unblock it but didn't seem too hopeful. I think I'm going to ask to have it out if he is unsuccessful. Lessen the risk of eptopic down the line (If I ever do get preggers!)
Thanks for the advice about the hot water bottle x

@Murree Exactly!! It's time to eat what you want because you can, watch loads of rubbish TV and wear your PJ's for 7 days straight!

Maybe talk to your Consultant before the operation, I needed to have one removed and the other was almost beyond repair but I decided to have it out too to minimise risk. You WILL get pregnant in the future!! There are so many options available to you, it really is amazing what they can do nowdays :-) Look at me for example.....going through IVF!

Another thing I would say is when you have had your operation and mainly if they take both your tubes - make sure you get some counselling.

It's a practical decision to make at the time however the terminology used afterwards is "infertile" and it kinda makes an impact on you :-/ Just remember you are not "infertile" because you can go on to have IVF in the future. Or you may decide another route such as adoption...you WILL be a mummy one day :-)

Hope all goes well with the op! I'm just packing my bag now for my Egg Collection op in the morning....a little nervous!

I would expect for you to need to rest for a good two weeks, and then to take it easy when you do go back to work. Don't push yourself. Some people do heal more quickly than others, and if you do, it's a bonus, but the important thing is to not feel hard on yourself if you're not feeling up to much. Give yourself permission to recover.

Although life should go back to normal quite quickly after a lap, it could take up to a couple of months to truly feel 100% again whilst things are still healing internally, depending on how much work they do inside.

There is absolutely nothing to be afraid of, just be kind to yourself and allow people to wait on you if you need help! Enjoy watching some box sets or day time TV if you can. xx

So had my surgery this morning. All went well as was home by lunchtime.
Now in bed watching some telly... although I think I've popped my belly button incision as it has started bleeding again .

So it seems my tube has opened by itself which is good, although my cyst had ruptured a few days ago and the other ovary had an endometrioma which was removed.
Now to relax and heal

Thanks for all the advice ladies xx