I'm waiting for my pre op and my lap is on the 12th July.
I was wondering if anyone could help with what to expect at the pre op and what to pack for the laparoscopy. I'm going shopping this weekend so any advice would be amazing.
I'm scared that the lap will show nothing even though my symptoms point towards endo and I'm currently sat down with a deep heavy ache around my ovaries/uterus. I honestly question myself and I'm starting to believe its just normal to have this ache everyday.
Thank you xx
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princessk09
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Hello! I had my lap on Tuesday. My pre op was really simple just got me to do my own swabs (groin and nose), blood pressure, heart rate, weight and height. I didn’t have to have a blood test but some people might. Then it was just a chat about any questions I had.
For the lap I just bought my dressing gown and some socks. Baby wipes were useful. A pillow for the car. Peppermint tea has been amazing this week too.
I was told after waking up that nothing had been found. It’s hard to deal with but there are other options and I do now have steps I will take. My advice is to perhaps think about what your steps could be if nothing is found then if like me everything is “normal” you do not feel so hopeless.
Hope all goes well good luck to you and I hope you get some answers. Xx
ul need to take a housecoat, loose bottoms preferably baggy joggers or pjs and slippers, ul be bk out same day, take a magazine or book or anything to keep u busy until it's ur turn, bottle of water or ur fave thing to drink n I took wash wipes just to freshen myself up u feel pretty sweaty n grubby afterwards, after my lap hysterectomy I had my dressings taken off in hospital b4 I left, best thing for the wound is let the aur get to it to help it heal, if u keep it under a moist smelly dressing the wound will stay moist and be more prone to an infection which is very painful and nasty and u end up feeling worse than u did after the op ( been there). good luck it's a piece of cake it's over in no time x
Pack some lose trousers and top, dressing gown/slippers for hospital, toothbrush and flannel for when you wake up, sanitary pads incase you bleed, magazines, an most of all...a phone charger just in case!
Take some magazines or a book or something to keep you busy while you wait on the day. There is a list of people to be seen as well as yourself, so you could be there all day even if your first.
Take an overnight bag just incase, as every time iv had my ops I've been kept overnight for different reasons. Usually people are out the same day it depends on the individual.
For the car journey home take a sick bowl just incase. I’m sick every time I have anaesthetic and the car journey can make you be sick. Also heat pads for the shoulder pain x
It’s probably cheaper and easier to buy a hot water bottle or a hottie. I bought a hottie as it was easy it just needs microwaving. How have your parents reacted to you getting a lap date? X
They have surprisingly taken it quite well and have been a lot nicer about it all. Even though my golf season will end in 3 weeks instead of ending in September, they aren’t mad. Xx
All of the above and I took a cushion and pillow for the car on the way home and was actually quite comfy.
Before I went in I precooked and froze various meals I knew I could just pull out and cook to prevent me from standing and moving too much and they have been amazing! Also froze bread into smaller portions because I knew I wouldn’t be able to get out straight away. Hope all goes well x
I'm the queen when it comes to laps back when I had endo I had around 20 laps. my best advice is they fill you with gas this has escapes tovshoukders causing a lot of pain at times get some extra strong mints put them in hot water and sip that along with taking regular pain meds theop itself is quite straight forward they go through belly button but you might have a couple of other small cuts where the paß instruments they pump you full of gas/air which separates your organs making things easier to see. after the op you might have discomfort for up to a week but it's the gas air that causes pain
Hey lovely.
I’m not sure I can add much more than the others have done.
Loose comfortable trousers are essential 👍
You will need a dressing gown as the hospital gowns aren’t the best and for this surgery you can’t wear undies ☹️ and you will need slippers to walk to theatre.
I’d bring an overnight bag just in case with you ( sure you won’t need it) and some mags/books to read as you may not be first on the list.
I brought some pjs for afterwards 😊
Don’t be tempted like I was was to get up quickly shortly after the surgery as the wounds will bleed ☹️ I don’t know what I was thinking!
They normally issue painkillers before you go under and depending what happens you might need stronger painkiller like morphine ; if you are in pain do let the nurse know and they are great 👍 if you feel nauseous also let the nurse know as they can give you meds to stop that 👍personally I’ve never felt sick after anaesthetic.
Once you can see and have had a drink and something to eat you are allowed home.
Make sure you have adequate painkillers; personally I only had a few cramps and paracetamol was fine. I found endo pain much worse 🤦🏽♀️
You may have shoulder pain from the gas but again standard painkillers should ease that 👍
Your throat maybe a bit sore afterwards so I found it helpful to have lozenges and “sucky sweets”
Keep a close eye on wounds and if they look red or weepy and are very painful get to the drs ASAP. Don’t get the wounds wet for at least 24 hours. Look out for the stitches even when they are meant to be dissolvable they don’t always; first lap I had to get a nurse to remove some , second lap my scab healed over one and caused a infection in one wound.
I found it helpful to have meals cooked in advance as I wanted to rest for the first few days.
Remember just because it’s keyhole surgery doesn’t mean the work they do inside you is!
They will do two incisions to start with but if endo is found and treated they will make an additional incision. That’s what the gynaecologist told me before my second lap and the first thing I did in recovery was count my incisions 😂😂😂
I have felt like you like it was in my head every time before my lap and I don’t know what to say to help you not think like that. Even now I’m worried that my endo isn’t as bad as I have been making out to my specialist whose organised an urgent date for me ☹️
I really hope you can get answers for all the pain & symptoms.its definitely not in your head.
If it was was why would it be worse at certain points of your cycle?
For me I don’t get the same symptoms day in day out and I guess that is what makes us doubt ourselves.
Clear ultrasounds mean nothing Mine never showed on a scan.
Perhaps as one lady has wisely suggested what your plan b will be if no endo is found clearly something is causing the pain & symptoms. . That might make you feel calmer; it has worked for me 👍
Thank you so much for your response. yeah I will definitely need to learn to rest for a bit which will be the worse since I'm so active everyday.
since most of my symptoms are kind of textbook symptoms of endo, I'm just worried nothing will show even though I'm in pain and my periods are horrendous xx
Try not to worry too much about the op, its over very fast and if i can do it anyone can lol ive had two now. I would say peppermint tea, shorts or trousers with elasticated waist and home comforts like fluffy socks. Good luck you will be fine
I had my first lap in September, and I can definitely agree with everything above! Take some books or download stuff from Netflix and watch that. Take a dressing gown cause you have to walk to the theatre room in your gown and it’s open at the back 😬 and you can’t wear underwear! Bring slippers too! Also drink lots of peppermint water or tea afterwards as the gas gets stuck inside you and it helps get that out! When you come round they will ask you how you are and as soon as I woke up I said I felt sick (which is very common for people to actually vomit when they come round) and they gave me the anti sickness drug straight away! I also got given a lot of morphine for the pain (I had to stay overnight because they gave me too much, oops 😬) so just ask for pain relief if you are sore! Take pads with you as you may bleed (I bled quite a bit but don’t worry too much because your body has just gone through trauma!). Watch your stitches/wounds as mine started going red and hot, to which I said to my family that I thought it was infected and they said it was fine, went to the doctors after the weekend and it was definitely infected so got antibiotics! Also take loose clothing!
Make sure you have plenty of loose fitting pants, keep everything you need close by because the first couple of days you won't feel like moving too much. Have someone who can look after you the first week to help you with meals and try to get as much laundry done before surgery as possible. Good luck to you!!
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