What to expect...

[Lifeisstressful]

I’m having a diagnostic laparoscopy next week, I haven’t met the consultant or signed consent forms yet so a little unsure about what will happen.

Do you know whether if they find anything (checking for endo) whether they will remove it there and then or book me back in?

Hope you can help :)

I guess if they find any it might depend on the extent of it and where it is (if it's on bowel or bladder I don't think they can remove safely) but I can't see them doing two operations when they could do it in one

@elsaesmeralda that’s what I thought, it seems silly to use another surgery slot and put me under GA if they can do it on the first one. Do you know if it has to be a specialist if it’s on the bowel/bladder or is it just a longer thing to do?
Thank you for replying :)

@Lifeisstressful Just found this thread and thought I would see how you’re doing.

I had my laparoscopy on the 22nd so just over a week ago now - how did yours go?

@2020TTC it was sadly cancelled!
I’m due in at the end of May now.

How are you feeling?

@Lifeisstressful Oh no that’s so annoying, but glad you’ve got it re-booked in soon.

I’m fragile but i’m okay 😆 I thought i’d be up and about a bit more by now but not the end of the world (plus it’s my excuse to eat allll the chocolate 🍫)

@2020TTC oh I was expecting to be up and about after a week 🙈
I hope you recover soon and it helps with your fertility journey xxx

@Lifeisstressful I am up and about but not as much as i’d like! I can walk etc fine so don’t worry 😊

But I did have a reaction to pain meds so was wiped out for two days and now (although I didn’t think I would) i’ve come on my period which is not fun when you have stitches 😂

thank you!! good luck to you too for surgery & TTC!

@Lifeisstressful didn't want to read and run! Hoping your lap goes okay 🥰 I had a lap for suspected endo before my ivf journey and my consultant did ask me if it was found it would be removed. They did sadly find severe endo and removed as much as they could, they also performed the dye test through the tubes at the same time purely on the basis they knew from my scans it might've been painful whilst awake given my personal situ, they found during the lap my tubes were both hydrosalpinx (blocked) I was booked back in for tube removal a few months later. Not to scare you with that but for them to do a lap and not remove anything is not normally something they'd do. But just to add a little hope... I now have a beautiful 1 year old little boy from the journey. Here if you need any advice x

@Bluemeadowbaby thank you so much for replying.

What we’re your symptoms of endo if any?
I have had a transvaginal scan early last year and nothing was seen on that regarding tubes etc but this is what I keep worrying about. I haven’t met the consultant yet or discussed what will happen so everything is whizzing through my mind.

I’m so pleased that IVF worked for you, I’m guessing you were referred instantly after the tube removal?

@Lifeisstressful thank you 💕 I knew I had it deep down, we were ttc for 2 years and no joy but I had excruciating pain every month during my period it was like a hot poker in my gut twisting and I was sadly a bit bed ridden towards my diagnosis and was quite poorly with it. I did have a large cyst tho and the hydrosalpinx tubes were leaking which made me so poorly - I'm the extreme side so don't let me worry you too much. But the symptoms for me were really painful periods, very heavy and just generally feeling really horrible. They suspected endo as I had a scan part of fertility check and that's when they found the cyst and booked me in for my lap. I had that in the July, tubes removed in the November and referred in the January for ivf it was a long process but it was worth it in the end x

@Bluemeadowbaby that’s so helpful, thank you!

I just want it done now so we can crack on with whatever help we may need.

Congrats on your little one xx

@Lifeisstressful I'm in the same boat as you! Been told I have suspected endo. I had no idea at all. I'm in for a lap in a week and half. She will try and remove some but depends where it is. We have male factor infertility too n hubby needed an op so finding endo has been another issue it seems!

Best of luck @Catsnkidsistheplan
Hopefully both you and your husband have the right treatment to help you conceive. Such a horrible journey to be on x

@elsaesmeralda @2020TTC @Bluemeadowbaby @Catsnkidsistheplan I thought I would update you all.
I had my laparoscopy this week and endometriosis was confirmed. The surgeon did ablation and excision. I haven’t been told the severity of it as we’ve been referred back to the fertility consultant.

The gas pains are REAL 😩 any tips would be appreciated as that’s what I’m struggling with right now. I can deal with the sore tummy from entry points but the gas in my ribs is horrendous.

Thank you for all your kind words before I went in x

@Lifeisstressful

So glad to hear you had the surgery and it’s good they’ve removed what they found!

Mine turned out to be Stage 3 and i’m on the (long) waiting list for the fertility clinic too. Hopefully your referral is quicker than mine!

For the gas, I had awful pains too but I drank loads of hot drinks and was recommended peppermint tea. It sort of helped but it will die down soon, just keep taking pain meds too! xx

@2020TTC I hope it’s not too long for you. We’ve been under the clinic for just over a year now but was classed as unexplained, I’m guessing now that the endo has something to do with it. I’m interested to hear whether that’s the case.

Best of luck for you appointment when you get it x

@Lifeisstressful yep had my lap done 2 weeks ago. Moderate endo was found and removed. Tubes were open! Thank the lord! Was in bed afterwards initially. Found it hard to sleep with pain but much better this week. Just waiting for July now to see how my hubby's sperm is after his op! Trying to keep positive

@Catsnkidsistheplan great to hear that they found your tubes open.

Sleeping is definitely the hard part, I did manage some sleep last night which has helped.

Hope everything goes well with your hubby x

@Lifeisstressful Thank you! My husband has an issue with his sperm so we’re both ‘broken’ so the Dr thinks IVF but we’ll see 🤞

Hope the rest of the recovery goes well, I recommend a pillow either side if you’re not used to sleeping on your back, game changer 😂 you’ve got this 👏🏼

@2020TTC thanks for the tip, I will try that one. Ironically I used a pregnancy pillow last night that my sister gave me.

Good luck! I think ivf will be our route when we speak to the consultant. Trying to prepare myself for that convo already x

@Lifeisstressful just keep moving and take it day by day. Just listen to your body that's the main thing. I'm still getting twinges of dull pain near incision near bikini line but it's minor. And thank you and good luck with ur recovery and journey!

@Lifeisstressful bless you, I'm so sorry to hear you have endo but I'm glad they've removed it. Tiny steps lead to the biggest ones! Big tip from me for the gas pain as I agree that is the hardest part! Peppermint tea to help you burp it out! Hot water bottles especially if it's in your shoulders and get someone to literally wind you! Also, I remember the nurse telling me before my op "don't be a sofa swan!" What she meant was keep walking around, it's painful with the gas shifting but it helps get it out. Hoping it's a little less painful for you today. I found sleeping propped up helped a lot too x

@Bluemeadowbaby thank you! Yes I’ve been walking as it gets the burps out haha. I’m feeling much better today, still swollen and sore but less gassy today thankfully. Fingers crossed it helps us on our journey x

May I ask how you are getting on with TTC following the procedures @Catsnkidsistheplan and @Lifeisstressful ?

Hi! I ended up having my endo removed and my husband had varicocele corrected. We did ivf icsi which worked first time and I now have a daughter! My hubby's count didn't improve but quality did. I didn't have any remaining embryos but it only takes one!!!