Don't worry we've all been where you are once and it's the unknown that scares us. You can shower before leaving for the hospital.
You will go through admissions or up to the ward ( each hospital has different procedures ). Nurses will most likely do your obs and pre op assessment, you will get a chance to speak to your dr and anesthesiologist.
You will be taken to theatre and put to sleep and you will wake up in recovery, sometimes they may leave the catheter in after a lap ( not painful to remove at all ).
You will be taken to the ward once you are awake and alert and have pain under control.
On the ward if catheter already out you will be encouraged to drink slowly but enough to get your bladder filling and be expected to urinate twice in the space of 3/5hours ( each hospital may have their own procedure again ).
Once you have managed to urinate and you are a day patient you will most likely be able to go, although if taken in to surgery late afternoon they may want to keep you in over night to keep an eye on your observations.
Usually you see your Dr before being discharged and they inform you of the findings, if not you are given a follow up appointment to see them and discuss.
Hope this helps, you will he absolutely fine. All the best xx
I just had laparoscopic bilateral ovarian cystectomy on Tuesday this week. I ended up staying in overnight as my bladder went into spasm and I couldn't urinate. They gave me a catheter overnight, which although it wasn't pleasant really helped! I haven't managed a bowel movement yet, so going to have to take some lactulose today (I've been trying to drink, walk and eat prunes and veg but that obviously isn't enough).
I had a shower At home before I went in..they gave me my gown and socks straight away. After surgery I was told what they had found and what they had done (I really couldn't take it in though so I'd advise making sure someone is with you who will retain that info). On my paperwork it says that a sample was sent for histology, so I guess they'll let me know when that's back.
What I wasn't expecting was the amount of fluid that was inserted (he said 1.5 litres) to stop my ovaries sticking) which was in a huge lump when I woke up and has been moving around my tummy, hip, vagina and thigh...it was really horrible! It's much better now although I still look very swollen...but I had to send my partner out to buy me some bigger pants (2-3 sizes bigger) to fit around all this extra fluid so maybe get some before you go in.
The pain isn't terrible now, it's just uncomfortable. I've been taking paracetamol and ibuprofen regularly but haven't needed codeine since Wednesday.
Hi Emma , I had these two procedures . You talk to both the anaesthestist and surgeon beforehand so i wrote any questions down beforehand to ask which helped me feel in control of my decision to consent.
I did cry in preop cos I was scared as they didn't waste any time and didn't talk me through the anaesthesia as they did it perhaps to try to stop last nerves. It burned going up my veins which spooked me a little but they said is not unusual. Useful to know as i had imagined that bit as painless aside from a scratch. I wasn't told to count down from ten either like on telly.
When I woke up I was in a lot of pain as it turned out the surgeon had unglued my ovaries as well as diagnosed me. I remember being glad it was over. The post op team gave me as much morphine as possible and were on top of it. I couldn't see my husband in post op area which I found stressful so good to know that in advance as I kept asking for him and annoyed the staff a bit. I was asked to score the pain from 1 to 4 frequently .
They decided to admit me and the nurse care on the ward was amazing as I did have a rough night. I couldn't wee the first two tries and I went faint trying to. They ultra sounded my bladder a few times. They put me on a drip for dehydration and then I started to improve quickly. I did hurt to pee a bit like with cystitis the first 3 or 4 times but that passed quickly. They gave me one more painkiller Then I managed to get some sleep.
Pain was loads better in the morning and I was discharged after lunch Weds. At home i am doing well just on paracetamol which surprised me as they gave me codeine to have if needed. Very little pain from the very small incisions but am rather immobile and feeble still. The gas isn't much fun when it gets you and I am very tired now but moving about and overall doing well I think.
Mine was a slightly bumpy ride cos of the treatment too but hope this description helps remove a few surprises that got me a bit stressed. But of course it will be different at different hospitals . Good luck and let us know how it goes.
I had my second lap just over 3 weeks ago. As everyone has said, you won't be asked to shower at the hospital. They'll do the admissions paperwork first, and the consultant and the anaethetist will come to see you. They'll talk through the surgery with you, ask you questions about allergies, some medical history etc and make sure that you understand the procedure that you're having. You can talk to the anaethetist about pain relief for after the surgery if you're worried - I did this time round and it really helped as there were some meds that I specifically didn't want. You will be changed into a hospital gown and surgical stockings.
When it's time for the op, they'll take you down to a pre op room where you'll see the anaethetist who will give you the anaesthetic and put you out - you won't see the theatre. They'll put a canula in your hand for the meds. You'll wake up in a recovery room. It's normal to have shivers/feel cold/disoriented/cry etc when you come round - the nurses will have seen it all before. They'll give you heated blankets if you're cold.
With my first lap I was quickly moved back to the ward and very quickly sent home. They didn't wait for me to eat or go to the loo. With the second lap, I was kept in overnight as I had bladder excision and needed a catheter. Although I was worried about this beforehand, it was brilliant. I didn't have to try and get out of bed overnight to go to the loo and it made everything so much easier. By the time they took it out in the morning I was able to get up and go to the loo no problem. The consultant should come and see you to talk through the op briefly before you go home so you have some idea what happened. You will also get discharge notes which should tell you what has been done.
Although my first surgery was difficult, this time round it's been really easy. I was very tired for the first week but was driving and back to normal by day 6 and had minimal pain.
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