Should I go ahead with Laproscopy

[Lou-j-a]

Hi I have been booked in for a Laproscopy for May 20th, my Gynaecologist isn't sure if I have endometriosis or not, my main issue is horrendous ovulation pain which will go on for 3-5 days, I also get painful periods and pain during sex but these are minor compared to the pain I get with ovulation. I'm not sure whether it is worth going through with the lap, firstly I may not have endometriosis and if I do, what will they do? And is it long term cure, does it not grow back? What is the recovery like?  I have 2 young children and my husband works away a lot, so could make things difficult if the recovery is long. Sorry for the rambling post. Thanks in advance for your replies.x 

[Red1981]

Hi I'm about to go in for my first ever laprascopic surgery today at 1 pm (GMT) so can tell you what the recovery time is.  

[Lou-j-a in reply to Red1981]

How did it go Red1981?

[Red1981 in reply to Lou-j-a]

Hi surprisingly well! The op was an hour found and removed endo on bladder ovaries and back of uterus. I have my post op meeting in 6 weeks where I'll see the photos etc. In regards to the recovery side of things the incisions were burning sore when I came round from anesthetic and the gas pain in shoulders was horrible but not unbearable the first and second night I was sleeping on my back today (3 days after op) I'm up walking around feeling comfortable. I'm so so so glad I did it I know just hope it's worked and finally we'll be able to conceive!! Last thing mentioning I was blocked up constipated until today!! :S

[Lou-j-a in reply to Red1981]

Glad it wasn't too bad and you are up on your feet. I really hope it works for you and your able to conceive.

[applebird]

There is no cure for endometriosis. There are 4 stages to the disease mild to severe. Your first lap is an investigative one - they will only have time to remove mild disease. If you have moderate to severe Endo you will most likely be booked for a second lap at a later date - removal can take more time or require multidisciplinary input.

They can either burn off or excise Endo, excision is the better option but often is only carried out by a specialist surgeon. Find out if you are being operated on by an Endo specialist at a bsge centre as this will give you a better surgical outcome. 

bsge.org.uk/ec-BSGE-accredi...

You have no way of knowing what stage of Endo you have without the lap (or if you have it at all), pain is related to where the Endo is rather than how advanced. It's important to get checked out and have treatment as with severe disease it can progress and cause damage to the bladder/bowel etc; dealing with it earlier is definitely the best option. With mild disease surgical relief can last 5 years plus. It's very much a case by case basis, everyone tends to be a little different. You can try and prevent regrowth by either taking the pill or by having hormone injections to prevent periods for a few months and then going onto the pill - your consultant will advise what's best for you.

endo-resolved.com/laparosco...

Here is a link for info on lap. If you have a desk job you should be able to go back to work after 2-3 wks. If advanced disease is found and they do any work it's more like 4-6. However you will be on your feet the day after the op and be able to move about a bit so it's not like you'll be bed bound - you'll just need to rest mostly in the first 2 wks and then can build yourself up gradually. Try and get support from friends and family organised if your husband is away a lot or get him to schedule some leave for particularly the first wk after to help you as resting properly will help you to recover faster.

All the best x

[LittleOne91]

I would say go ahead for the surgery, mainly to keep your mind at rest. The pain that I get from endo is mild at the moment but I was still happy I had my lap because now I know why I am getting these pains. I can't tell you what they will do if you have endo because I am yet to find out myself. I had my lap 3 weeks ago, and due to see my gyno in another 3 weeks. There is no cure for endo, and there is a possibility of it coming back after surgery. My recovery was really good. I was in no pain the day of the surgery and was home about an hour after waking up. I took a week and a half off, but I could have gone back to work after a week if I had too. The first 3 days after the lap the main discomfort was the shoulder pain from the gas but even that for me wasn't too bad. I would take short walks the day after the lap so you recover quicker and just generally take it easy. If you can have someone help you with household chores like washing, cleaning. Perhaps prepare and freeze some meals so you don't have to worry about cooking too much. Good luck and hope you have a speedy recovery xxx

[Lil_Lady]

I had constant pain over my left ovary and had to have a laproscopy to investigate it at the start of Feb. It was well worth it as it confirmed I do have endometriosis and the bits they could see were lasered off and they found quite a bit of scarring which was cut away. It has helped with my pain and helped me knowing mentally that my other symptoms are real and I'm not going crazy. 

I didn't go into have a laproscopy and hysterscopy lightly as I would have to come off blood thinners and would be at the risk of another DVT (deep vein thrombosis). 

However I needed to know one way or another. If I had it I would know what I'm dealing with and if all was clear then fantastic as I knew it was pain I was dealing with not gyn problems and pain. 

The first two weeks after I found I couldn't do much but was able to sit up and put on loose clothing. After that it got easier as was aloud to drive but took 6 weeks to recover fully. 

[ked79]

Hi, I would say definitely- yes. The recovery will hurt but that's because of bruising inside and muscles being bothered. I would say average 2 weeks recovery but pace yourself. Don't get up after a couple of days and think you can do everything. It'll hurt the next day, you'll tire yourself out. 

If there's a cyst, they'll probably remove it. And as Applebird said it'll be an investigative one so they'll be having a look around to see what's what.

I was diagnosed on my second laparoscopy with severe endo. I would much rather have found out earlier than get the news that I did then as you can be monitored better.

There isn't a cure but I would definitely go for it, better the devil you know and all that! Good luck xx

[Hidden]

Hi I had a lap took 2 weeks to fully recover physically but everyone is different. It gave me answers to the awful pain. There is no cure for endo but there are options and you can only know by having a lap. It gave me answers not necessarily the ones I wanted but it told me what was going on inside. Hope you have a good recovery if you choose to have the lap xx

[Lou-j-a]

Thanks for all your replies. It's really difficult deciding what the best thing to do is, what are the treatment options for endometriosis I can't take the pill or any hormone contraception?x

[happyseal]

Hope everything goes well. I have to say that I decided to not do any surgery for endo, and still hoping to be able to get better and manage it. I personally don't want to have numerous surgery and no cure. So I am changing my lifestyle, diet and looking for natural approaches. I do not know how other women feel after surgery, but I can say that after a year of diagnosis and trying to change everthing, that it is not easy at all, and I still have pain. However, I hope the chocolate cyst shrinks and I do not need surgery.

[Lou-j-a in reply to happyseal]

What changes and natural approaches are you trying? I avoid wheat and dairy and don't eat that much meat mainly a plant based diet. What worries me is I could go through with the operation and find I don't even have endo.

[happyseal in reply to Lou-j-a]

Yes it could happen, well it is really on you...you might ask your doctor to postpone surgery and change your diet etc to see if it gets better or do the surgery and still make all the changes.

Well, I became vegetarian, so no meat or fish, no dairy, no caffeine, and no wheat too. I am trying a few supplements: magnesium, fish oil, agnus cactus and evening primrose oil. I also do some yoga every evening to relax, etc. Drink lemon ginger tea to help detox, bay leaves tea helps with the pains and relax too. Turmeric golden milk every other day. 

This is what I have been doing, but I'll retake the exams and see how things are next month. According to the results I might try Chinese Traditional Medicine. 

I truly don't want surgery, and that's because the process of a first surgery to diagnose and then all the next ones...that makes me afraid of them lol.