Laparoscopy abroad?

[m00ngirl]

Hi, has anyone had or considered having a diagnostic laparoscopy for endo abroad? I'm struggling to get taken seriously in NHS - will keep trying but gynae appointment has been cancelled/delayed so even if I get a lap eventually it could take months/years - and so I'm considering making a plan B by looking at clinics in Cyprus.

What do you think?

Thanks 🙏

The problem with going to Cyprus - is what will you do with the information / diagnosis ? Would your GP be able to prescribe the required medication ? If you need surgery - you'll still have to join the waiting list.

Have you spoken to your GP ? Do they have a suggestion for an alternative ?

@DPotter I'm TTC (trying and failing) so I'm hoping for diagnosis and excision. GP has already offered things like blood thinners and obv contraceptive pill to stop periods but not suitable when TTC (not that I think we should have to manipulate our hormones so the NHS can avoid proper diagnosis / surgery where wanted, anyway!)

I paid £4,500 for a laparoscopy for endo
with Spire last year, best money I’ve ever spent. I personally would never go abroad for surgery 😬

@BusyMintCrab that's amazing, so pleased for you and thanks for the tip - most places I've looked are twice that cost! Did it include excision? How are you doing now? Were you likewise hitting walls with NHS?

Yeah I did manage to get scans on the NHS (only took 20 years 🤣) but the wait for an op would have been 2 years!! I paid £200 for my initial consultation in September and then the £4500 for lap and excision at Spire in Edinburgh in October. I think most Drs would want you to have an ultrasound/MRI before the op which would be another few hundred. It’s definitely worth looking into in the UK if you can!

Another vote for the spire Murrayfield here as my NHS lap apparently showed no endo but consultant at Murrayfield identified / diagnosed and treated endo stage 4 with me. I've another surgery coming up as need colorectal surgeon scrubbed in this time

I've had TV ultrasound on NHS which saw no visible endo but i know this is very common. I did have visible blood in abdomen which is retrograde menstruation and associated with endo. But it's just an uphill struggle to get a lap.

@mentalbandwidth I've read about this recently - quite scary to think you can go through a lap and still be undiagnosed/not get the help you need. Good for you for trusting and listening to your body and doing what needed to be done! Was yours also £4.5k do you mind me asking?

I would probably need a London Spire, £4.5k is still a lot whereas Cyprus is like £1k I think... but yes would much rather be in UK! Will I save £4.5k before the NHS give me a lap date....? Probably!

@m00ngirl it's quite frightening, I put a complaint in as there is no way it could go from zero to four in a blink of an eye. The response was typical 'sorry but we aren't sorry' It's taken the best part of 12 years to be listened to and get diagnosis / treatment. The gas lighting has been unreal 🫠 and v v v draining physically / mentally.

I was very fortunate to have had my lap covered via DH work medical insurance but was saving up to pay privately if it was necessary as all the NHS wanted to do was put me into menopause / load me with painkillers even though we were TTC and the endo was massively impacting me in all aspects of life. We have been very fortunate that DD has arrived safely earthside 9 months ago via IVF which was done through NHS after my private lap as I lost an ovary and tube to my endo with my remaining ovary only working at 1/3 of it's capacity ✨ Safe to say it's been a total rollercoaster time of late and it ain't over yet 🫠

@mentalbandwidth congrats on your precious baby! ❤️ so pleased that worked for you, what a journey though... makes me also realise how important swift action is... hope to god I can get pregnant somehow as time is pushing on for me (let alone the fear / disruption and sick leave I have to deal with every period... just not sustainable)

@m00ngirl thank you and I hope everything goes well for you too 💓 totally relate to the dread and fear with sick leave 😰 literally dragged my 🍑 in on more occasions than I can remember when I really should've called out - FWIW endo UK have a really good employer 101 sheet 🥰

As others have said.. the only problem is the aftercare and if you have problems you'll have to go back there as nhs will probably say they cant do nothing about it... otherwise why not...

Absolutely no chance I'd go abroad for something like this - there are far too many unknowns with this sort of surgery (DOI: anaesthetist).