Finally having Lap!!!

[Porter85]

Hi Guys. I've been struggling for two years with severe lower abdominal pain and nausea but in the last 6 months periods have been horrendously heavy and painful and then I feel sick most of the month as well. Went to my GP in London a couple of times, requested blood tests and ultra sound, nothing came back and she just called it Gut problems and gave me Colofac. I've had plenty of people tell me it must be gut and it got to me so I tried an elimination diet with the Colofac and nothing helped. This pain has brought on depression and stages of being angry or wanting to cry or just wanting to be left alone. Doesn't help that 5 days a week I am on my feet all day being a chef. Anyway, after finally blocking out everyone else's opinions and going with my (no pun intended ) gut feeling, I went to a specialist. Sadly this is very expensive as you all know but when it comes to our amazing bodies and good health ladies, we must do everything we can. Anyway, he was amazing and he's a Endometriosis specialist and booked me in on 18th June for Laparoscopy and Hysteroscopy. I'm nervous, excited, emotional.... Just hoping something comes of it all! Anyway, girls, if you feel you know your body and know what's wrong go with that feeling and argue to the end of the earth and back with your GPs to get what you need from them. This illness is so hard to live with and so many of us suffer in silence for so long. I'm here to chat to anyone who wants to let off steam, ask questions about my op or my illness, or just a chin wag. I will be asking questions too 😋 I've never had an operation and never been under general 😔 Lots of love to you all! Xxxx

[lizzyxx]

Same day as my lap ☺ hope we both get some answers, I've had 5 operations in the past so if you have any questions I'm happy to help x

[Porter85 in reply to lizzyxx]

Awww Lap Buddies. You've had 5 already? Were they all gynae ops? Should I be prepared for anything in particular with General? Just a bit scared to go under x

[lizzyxx in reply to Porter85]

No one was to remove my gallbladder, one to remove appendix and the other 3 were all for suspected ectopic. This is my first ever lap to check for endometriosis but all my other surgeries were also keyhole so I already know what to expect recovery wise etc. General anesthetic is honestly not that bad, you'll walk to theatre where they'll put you on a bed in the anesthesia room, put a cannula in and some monitors to check your vitals during the op. Then they will give you an injection of general anesthetic through your cannula, you'll just start to feel very sleepy and before you know it you'll wake up in recovery where the nurses will wait for you to come round and check that you're feeling ok. I know it's easier said than done but it's really nothing to worry about, the theatre staff are lovely and the moment you walk into that anesthesia room it's all about YOU and they are 100% focused on making the experience as easy as possible for you. Hope this helps put your mind at ease x

[Porter85 in reply to lizzyxx]

Lizzy, that really does calm me a lot. When you don't know how something is going to be, you just get so nervous and I've never had this kind of surgery but due to the last three days being straight 8/10 pain level for me, I am really focusing on this op as a positive chapter in my life. Thanks for the advice and making me feel relaxed about it all. You're so lovely! One question which my bf wants to know is after keyhole, what's the eating situation like? Can you just go back to solids and normal diet straight away? I have my reassessment apt in the week leading up to my lap but I'm just wondering. Thanks xxx

[lizzyxx in reply to Porter85]

You're more than welcome ☺ I was only 20 when I had my first op so I know how daunting it can be beforehand, I tend to find that the first couple of days you won't have much of an appetite so you might just want to eat light things like soup or toast but after that your appetite will come back and you'll be able to eat as normal xxx

[Kirst625]

Sounds like you're really going through it bless you, but I really like the message that you listened to what you knew to be wrong and have kept going, good on you and I'm sure we'll all be wishing you support for your op and want to know how you've got on xx

[Porter85 in reply to Kirst625]

Thank you so much for the lovely message. Yes I'll definetely give a detailed account on here about the op, my recovery time and hopefully be able to say it's all gone. Can't go on like this anymore. I hope we all get fixed some point soon. I feel for everyone on here. Lots of love x