Endometrial ablation - what to expect

[WokusPocus]

Hi please could anyone who has had one give me an idea of what to expect? I have one booked for Thursday and am worried I haven't allowed for enough recovery time as we have a lot planned next week - building work means we will need to be out of the house during the day Monday-Thursday.

Also, how effective have people found it to be? Any information would be greatly appreciated!

I was signed off for 2 weeks. I thought that was over kill but felt wiped from the anaesthetic and took the 2 weeks in the end. I slept a lot or the first few days.

I had mine under general but another person I know had it under local.

I bled a little after but others have bled a lot.

Bleeding stopped after a few days and I've had no bleeding since (over a year)

Had mine under GA on a Saturday morning. Was home by Sat lunchtime, feeling a bit crampy.

Took it steady on the Sunday and was in the office as normal on Monday morning. Honestly, for me it was extremely minor.

That was seven years ago, and I've not had a period at all since.

Home same day (Friday), woozy from anaesthetic, slept much of following day (Saturday), out for lunch on Sunday and back to work Monday.

Best thing I’ve ever done - wish I’d done it immediately after my youngest was born.

Had microwave ablation on a Friday, was told to take it easy Over the weekend and go back to work on the Wednesday.
Staggered back to work three weeks later, bled for six weeks, stopped for three weeks then flooding periods exactly as before every third week.
Scans since have shown no evidence that the surgery was even performed let alone successful 🤷‍♀️. Consultant suggested that he repeat the procedure with “a less conservative approach”. I didn’t bother...

I had my tubes clipped at the same time (you can still get pregnant after ablation and is risky). I don't know how much of my experiences are down to the clips rather than ablation.

I was in a bad way, supposed to be general with 6 hour discharge, I was still in recovery pumping myself full or morphine.

Was off work for 2 weeks then part time for a further week, I also got an infection in one of my keyhole sites.

Lots of liquid discharge for weeks.

Still worth it!!! Got my life back!

Mine was totally painless, the anaesthetic made me groggy for a few days afterwards and I had some light bloody discharge. It was approx 7 years ago for me and I have the occasional extremely light period a couple of times a year. Totally changed my life.

I was told to have a week off work, but would've probably been okay after 3 days. The procedure itself was really horrible, but the after effects were life-changing. Not had a period since. It was so worth it.

Thanks for the replies . People's experiences seem to differ a lot. Fingers crossed I will be someone who recovers quickly.

I have got myself a bit worked up over the GA - the idea of losing consciousness really scares me. What does it feel like? Is nausea common afterwards?

Luckily I work in a school so in theory have plenty of time to recover over the summer - kicking myself for arranging the work on the house for next week.

Really, really hoping this will be life changing for me too. My periods are a misery. Did it help at all with pmt? Mine seems to be getting worse and worse (I'm 44).

I was supposed to be only in for a few hours. Ended up with blood pressure in my boots after the op ( GA) and had to stay in over night. Was in discomfort for the next day or so. However it was absolutely worth it. I really did get my life back. My periods didn’t totally stop, but are very manageable even 7 years later.

I had a local, but my blood pressure dropped super-low and I had to stay in for a few hours to be observed. They then let me go home but I felt horrific, and actually think I should probably have been kept in over night. Felt a lot better the next day though, and able to go for a short walk.

@RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie and @Mollythepoodle interesting that you both had that reaction and on different anaesthetics. I'm glad it was worth it!

I've got myself a bit worried about the ga now. I've had some very bad bouts of labrynthitis in the past and am very anxious about feeling dizzy and nauseous. Feck.

I was fine after mine. However I had mine under local anaesthetic and the pain was off the scale. I passed out through pain. As long as you are having general anaesthetic you will be fine. It worked really well and not had a period in 3 years.

For me the nausea was most likely caused by the morphine 😂

For most people it's a 6 hour discharge so in theory it's not a big deal.

I had mine done in my later 30s a decade on my PMT is not good but at least no more flooding, getting up in the night for a week, and the throbbing pains, no more battling with anaemia - just really sore boobs and tearful/grumpy.

I have found taking Vit B6, magnesium and taurine has helped with my Peri symptoms.

It sounds like the ga is definitely the better option pain-wise. I'm sorry that those of you who had locals had such a bad experience. I will remind myself that the pain should be lower on ga when I feel nervous about it - i think I have probably given away the fact that I am a total wuss.

@RandomMess - ah that's a shame about the pms - it's like a dark cloud following me around. I am so looking forward to less bleeding - my ferritin levels were at 6 at the beginning of the year (now up to 26) and I have lost a lot of hair.

My ablation was performed under general anaesthetic and I have had no problems since. I was given some antibiotics to take post op and was also prescribed some other painkillers and went home later on that same afternoon. Felt very tired post op and slept on and off but felt a lot better after a few hours.

@AttilaTheMeerkat thank you - that is really reassuring to hear.

I had mine under GA. I usually react badly to GA but I woke up and didn't even realise procedure was finished. I thought I was still in anaesthetic room. I did however suffer about 2 hours afterwards. I was begging for stronger pain meds and excruciating pain. They gave me paracetamol then Tramadol and I was very sick. I then had paracetamol via IV which is similar to morphine in effectiveness. I was in hospital until the late evening until pain under control. Weeks of cramps pain afterwards and lots of liquid discharge so quite uncomfortable.
Periods now are very light, almost barely nothing but still suffer bad PMT. consultant told me I was just unlucky with the pain and everyone is different. Overall I'm pleased I had it done. Don't worry about GA. You are only under a very short while so it's a light dose I understand. I had the inflated balloon method.

@PeterPiperPumpkin - crikey, that sounds rough - poor you. I'm glad that overall it was worth it.

Everyone's experiences are so different - I don't think I can really go in expecting any one thing. I think I'm going to have to adopt the 'cross that that bridge when I come to it' approach.

[quote WokusPocus]@PeterPiperPumpkin - crikey, that sounds rough - poor you. I'm glad that overall it was worth it.

Everyone's experiences are so different - I don't think I can really go in expecting any one thing. I think I'm going to have to adopt the 'cross that that bridge when I come to it' approach. [/quote]
Wishing you all the best for Thursday. I'm sure you will be fine and wishing you a safe and quick recovery. My consultant told me most women have only mild cramps afterwards. I always seem to recover badly from everything.

Thanks - I'll come back and update

I've had three of them under GA and they were all really straightforward and painless. The one I had when I had a 2 year old was even relaxing! I felt fine after a few days each time, but the most recent one messed up my sleep patterns for about a week and I just did a yoga class today (2 weeks later) and it was a bit twingey. I think you will need to take it easy early next week.

That is very reassuring to hear @Phineyj - wouldn't it be great if it was relaxing?!

I have just started my period and will be in full flow by Thursday. I'm hoping this will be ok - they haven't mentioned it as an issue.

Another thing to mention is the discharge - which was like water and lasted maybe 3 weeks.

I think I had 2-3 periods where I bled for a few days and now I tend to get 2-3 days of bloody discharge each month managed with a panty liner.

This is such an enormous change from what were horrifically debilitating periods: I often had to call in sick to work or work from home 2-3 days a month because the risk of flooding was so severe it kept my housebound.

I do now get some cramping every month which wasn’t a feature of previous periods but it’s mild and easily managed. Overall it’s been transformational.

I had one many years ago (>20) with a ga. was kept in overnight and as far as I remember was a bit sore. It was a long time ago so memory is hazy but think I was knocked out by the anaesthetic for a few days and was fine. It was very effective. Periods became a three day non event with brown discharge rather than the flooding and 14 day periods i had before. It gave me my life back 😊