how will i feel after a laparoscopy?

[celia1202]

i have a laparoscopy coming up and i am absolutely clueless as to what to expect. will i know if i actually have endometriosis straight after the op and if i do what will be done to treat it? help a girl out im so scared.

[BrightLights88]

Hi, here are the following things I took-

Pack: Extra underwear and one that preferably sits about your waist line as you will have two incisions on your thigh crease and wearing a underwear that sits on that will be irritating and painful. I end up buying the briefs that looks like shorts from primark they really helped to sit above my incisions.

Pads: get the night pads that are thick. Some bleed after the surgery. when you wake up you will feel strange down there, they will leave you with a disposable light weight underwear with some surgical gauze down below after surgery so when you recover and go to the toilet you can change into proper underwear and put on a clean pad. I didnt really bleed but when I got changed out of my gown there was a big stain of blood on my gown which happened during the surgery.

Night dress- you will need a night dress or a loose hoody and leggings.

Slippers- avoid shoes just take a slide on slipper, preferably fluffy ones as they can keep you toes warm when your leaving hospital.

That's all I packed, as it is a day surgery. When I got home I drank lots of peppermint tea which helped. You will be constipated for atleast 7 days. So try and not be worried and drink some yakhult or actimel drinks to get the bowel working quick. No one wants to be constipated whilst had lap.

You will need hot water bottle for a week too for the back pain. I was lucky to not have shoulder pains for the gas but some people do, so water bottle might be needed for the shoulder.

Other than that you will need loose fitting clothes at home, and a shower gel that is not got any preservatives or scent. "Simple" brand is good for when you have showers you will need to use this type of shower gel till the stitches have fallen off. Always pat dry the incision area.

Good luck lovely hope all goes well.x

After your lap if you haven't been diagnosed then you will find out after your 3month on your follow up.

[celia1202 in reply to BrightLights88]

Wow that’s a lot of things to take in. Thankyou I will be sure to take your advice. I want to be as comfortable as possible as it is 2 days before Christmas. Eekk x

[BrightLights88 in reply to celia1202]

Awww make sure your mind and body is at ease. Do not stress the better your body is prepared the quicker you will heal. Good luck hun x

[SM2019]

Hi- so I am post surgery (just under a week). I had to have cysts removed and was treated for endometriosis.

When I went in for surgery, there were no beds available so I had a four hour wait in reception- be prepared to wait and take some things with you to entertain you!

Waking up from surgery, it was my hand that hurt the most because something had gone wrong with the anaesthetic- so they swapped hand in surgery. (I hadn’t considered that before I went to hospital). It has meant I have only had the use of one hand for the past few days!

I went home later the same day but felt terrible until I was just about to leave and I was given an anti-sickness tablet- I felt much better after this.

Inside felt a bit like period cramps. I have been bleeding quite a lot for the past five days- assuming this is normal. It’s made me feel quite weak. I had underestimated how I would feel. My stitches make sitting up uncomfortable and I had to buy some huge knickers to go above my belly button and above all three dressings. For the first few days, I had pain under my chest from the gas.

Feeling better each day but don’t underestimate it is my advice x

[celia1202 in reply to SM2019]

Thankyou so much that was really helpful. I’m sorry things went wrong with you. I really hope I don’t have a 4 hour wait because I will really panic. Hope you feel fully better soon x

[celia1202]

Thankyou x

[kate24601]

Everyone has given great advice so I'll just add this; make sure you can pee properly before leaving the hospital! I had a little dribble and was so desperate to get home I was like yeah I've peed let me go, then 40 seconds later (in an hour long commute home and standstill rushour traffic) was hit with the worse full bladder but can't pee feeling that meant we had to stop every mile so I could hobble into a toilet and cry. This carried on all night burning and cramping of my bladder and it was horrific. I know a lot of people say there are bladder issues but I wish I'd known mine would be this bad and I'd have said so in hospital and probably stayed in with a catheter. Think I'd developed an infection from the catheter during surgery but tried to muscle through it! Ibuprofen will be your best friend but it does get better I promise! x

[kate24601 in reply to kate24601]

Also I asked for anti sickness the second I came round even though I didn't feel sick, saved me later down the line when i started moving!

[celia1202 in reply to kate24601]

Haha that really entertained me because I count totally see myself doing it 😂 Thankyou for the advice I will be sure to pee before I leave and stock up on the ibuprofen

[Hidden]

You will feel quite tender and it will be hard bending down. Loose clothing and either very low or high underwear because of your incisions. You will bleed a bit. Also you will be extremely tired for the first few days. They will definitely tell you if they find something but be prepared that they won’t. Sometimes you have to have a couple of laparoscopy’s before it’s discovered xx

[LeavesEye]

Hi celia1202 -

I am also a few weeks away from my lap and I am terrified!