Still sore and bloated 4 months after surgery - should recovery take this long?

[sunflowerpower]

Hey everyone! I'm new here and just wanted to get a bit of feedback on what other peoples post surgery experiences were. I'm 29 and had my first laparoscopic surgery at the end of October to drain a large endometrioma cyst on my right ovary - however they ended up discovering extensive endometriosis which had spread to my womb, left ovary and bladder... which all had to be removed as well as having to cut out the endometrioma instead of just draining it. I lost 20% of that ovary and the surgeon said he ended up doing a lot more more work on me than he had anticipated. I was pretty much bedridden for 2 full weeks after surgery and in lots of pain and discomfort for 8 weeks. Its now 4 months on and although I definitely feel an improvement pain wise and energy wise, I still feel very tired and sore on my lower right side (where the ovarian cyst was) especially when I do anything remotely physical. Could this just be healing pain? It feels like its taking forever to get better! I am also still very bloated, particularly at night - I look about 3 months pregnant! I've read online that it can take up to 6 months to feel the full benefit of the surgery - has anyone else had this experience?

[DaniahAQ]

It's 3 years on since my first surgery and 2, years since my second and I'm extremely bloated. I look about 4-5 months pregnant. I used to always have a flat stomach, so I know how you're feeling. I too would love any knowledge on this matter.

I hope things will start to look up for you. Xx

[Starry]

Big hugs. I am 7 months post an excision op that, like yours, was more major than expected.

I've been so ill that I am only just now attempting a return to work and still can only manage a few hours a day. I am quite shocked at the toll its taken on my body. I know endo is chronic but I thought I'd be fine after the op, recover quickly and just end up gradually worsening until I needed more surgery again in say 5 years time but that isn't how it panned out for me.

I was horrendously bloated for months and developed further digestive issues (my op included bowel surgery).

I found probiotics, a low Fodmap diet and eliminating gluten and sugary carby junk food and drinks gradually eased the bloating but now I've relaxed a bit it's not gone altogether.

I seem to have developed cfs and am working now with a specialist pain team to do pacing, find a painkillers that works (trialling pregabalin) and rebuild some strength.

I definitely started to turn a corner around the 4 to 5 month mark, so the allow 1 month recovery per hour of surgery rule kind of held true, but I am definitely still on a recovery journey. I reckon I will only be steady state in another 3 to 6 months time.

I found this article helpful about what is going on internally as part of the healing process and why it can vary so much. centerforendo.com/is-my-end...

Take care of you and go steady xx

[tinkerbell971]

I had my diagnostic lap in September 17 and I’m still in agony. It’s worse than it was before my operation and my bloating is ridiculous literally look like I’m about to pop. I thought I’d wait till at least after Christmas to see if it was just healing but it’s getting worse each day. Currently in the process of seeing my gp to hopefully be referred back to gynae x