I've got my first laparoscopy on Tuesday and I'm really nervous! I know what to expect on the day and have been told I may be in hospital for a couple of days after depending on what they find.
What can I expect for recovery? We're people out of bed after a couple of days or did it take a week before you were comfortable to walk around?
Thank you all in advance!
It will depend on what they do and varies from person to person. They usually say 2-6 weeks. My first lap (diagnostic though found nothing- long story) I was off work 2 weeks but felt pretty good after one. My second lap last year for excision of deep endometriosis I had 8 weeks off work. I was going for short painful walks after the first week but even 4weeks after it I couldn't easily carry a bag of shopping and reaching for things in cupboards could suddenly cause pain.
Moving around is important to recover and being able to walk outside helps your mental health and that couped up feeling.
Get some good books in or save some good things to watch on Netflix. Be kind to yourself. Expect tiredness and feeling emotional afterwards. It's due to stress and having an anaesthetic. Most importantly don't put pressure on yourself to recover by a set time or according to someone else's timescale.
Wishing you all the best with your opp and recovery! X
Thank you so much!
How is it that they found nothing when you had your first Lap but then they found deep endo later on?
There was a 10year gap between the two. The first was done by a general gynaecology registrar who clearly didn't look properly (and never considered the possibility of endo). The other where deep endometriosis was found was done by an endo specialist. He believes it was there along. I'm one of those ridiculously long delays till diagnosis stories (took 18 years from speaking to my original GP about my symptoms)
I'm flabbergasted as to how it was missed and not spotted the first time you had your lap. How scary is that?
It really is. I put the pieces together myself when I eventually found out about endo and searched out a specialist. With all the ignorance that surrounds this illness still I think it shows the importance of education about it in schools. If we have knowledge it gives us the power to advocate for ourselves.
I started my period when I was 12 years old and I turned 44 this year. For 31 of those years I kid you not I never ice experiencefishing anything remotely period or gynecology related. I've never had any pains any cramps never had to resort to painkillers hot water botters had no time off school college uni or work. I guess you could say I was one of the lucky ones.
Anyway last August out of the blue I started experiencing strange going on down there. I was in such pain and my blood was different (like thick brown glue ) I naturally went to my gp who referee me to a gynaecologist. She was female and a complete waste of time. She completely dismissed my symptoms and put them down to my age and hormones. As you can imagine I was livid. Anyways I asked for a second opinion. I was refered again to see another female gyno. She was exactly the same as the first one. I couldn't understand how these women had no empathy. 3rd time lucky I saw a male gynecologist who actually listened to me and said it sounds like endo. Long story short I've had my pre op for lap aND I'm just waiting for my surgery date!
Sounds like you have a good gynaecologist now. It's such a relief when someone listens isn't it?! Hope you get your surgery date soon!
Hiya there, I hope that everything goes well during your surgery. I know it’s pretty scary to say the least but hopefully you should have more answers and less pain following it.
In terms of recovery, as thecraftyadder said, it does vary from person to person and what they find. But from what I’ve been told by my doctors, it’s generally two weeks recovery. I’ve only had the one lap, but the first couple of days were pretty difficult. I needed a hand sitting up and getting around because I was given no pain relief following the surgery so may be good to ask your doctors for some before hand if you don’t already have something that helps you. I was able to get around confidently on my own after about a week. But could do basic things if I needed to but only at home and short distances before that.
It took me about four weeks to recover as i experienced chronic fatigue following it. But on the other hand I know people who have been fine in as little as a week. At the end of the day it’s important to not push yourself too hard and take things as slow as you need to. If you need to lie down and nap that’s fine just try to do what you can when you can.
If you don’t have any it would be worth getting some peppermint tea to help get rid some of the gas they inflate your abdomen with to do the surgery. It can cause pretty bad pain in your shoulders as it rises up, but I found having that tea helped it go away quiet quickly.
Sorry this is a bit all over the place, just trying to get what little advice/info I can as I thought of it! I really hope everything goes well and you recover quickly. X
Thank you loads, appreciate the help and I'll make sure to stock up on peppermint tea!
No pain relief after your surgery!? Wow poor you - that’s shocking! I woke up in the middle of the night practically screaming in pain and only morphine would take it away. I don’t know how you coped! Brave lady 🥰
Yeah it was pretty bad! But then again for my 7 years leading up to it I wasn’t ever prescribed more than mefenamic acid for my pain generally which did nothing and couldn’t take regularly as I wasn’t given anything to help line my stomach either. I believe they gave me two paracetamols as I left and that was it 😂. Bit more wise now on what I should have with better doctors now. It’s why I like to try and tell people this as I had no idea on the process and what I needed and imagine others are too. X
Hi
Bless you I do understand as I’m the type of person who’s up and about early seeing off partner off to work at 6.30 am!
Like the other ladies have said it does depend on what they do to you as to recovery. I had mine at the end of September this year.
First week for me was hard getting up and about much... I certainly didn’t see him off at 6.30 am in that first week but I got myself up and just moved around or shuffled around the house a bit and watched tv, slept a lot and read in my first week.
It’s important to move around for recovery but you probably won’t want to do much on week one.
The gas they pump you up with is what you need to get rid of as quickly as you can without straining... peppermint tea was great, I also bought from Holland and Barrett charcoal tablets which help relieve bloating.. once you start to get rid of the gas your stomach won’t feel so bloated and a strain in your wounds as that’s the main issue once you are home.
Make sure you have some comfortable underwear and trousers as your stomach will be bloated and so you will need to feel comfortable.
I wore pjs for the first week as it was the only things I had that I could feel comfortable with.
My specialist signed me off for three weeks, I assumed I could get back to work sooner but I was actually glad for that extra week as I was so tired all the time... the tiredness would just all of a sudden hit me.
Don’t push yourself and make sure you sleep if you feel tired as it all helps you to recover, pushing yourself will not help you.. take whatever time you are signed off for and use it wisely to rest and recover.
Make sure you pack a little cushion for the journey home, you can put it under your seatbelt by your stomach to avoid the pressure from the belt on your wound.
I was told no lifting anything heavier than a kettle for three weeks. I also found that it took me at least 4-5 weeks before I was able to walk a distance as I had pains in my leg/hip when I lifted my leg which I was worried about but my specialist told me that an area where he had worked on was linked to the pelvis and hips which was why I felt the pain.
My work allowed me to do a phased return to work which really helped as I was still feeling tired when I went nan to work.
Take in something to read or something to do whilst you wait for your operation as your bound to feel even more nervous than you do now and time drags when you are waiting!
Good luck for Tuesday I hope you have a speedy recovery and if you have any other questions feel free to ask x
Thanks for your advice! I've got some peppermint tea but might together some of those tablets as well. Really appreciate your advice!
No problem at all it’s just nice to give back to this site as people were so helpful to me a few months back before mine... it’s nice to know you are amongst people who can help give you honest advice/tips, family and friends are great but it’s just reassuring to have people that understand what you are going through as they have been through it.
Good luck!
I think it depends on what they do the first one I was off for two weeks with no heavy lifting, I also found it really difficult to go to the toilet in that period but that’s Normal for any operation so I would stock up on peppermint tea as that really helped. The second one I had no issues at all and was up and about within a day I still had a week of work as rest is the only way to promote a healthy recovery.
Wishing you the best of luck
Thank you!
Hiya. I had a lap on the 18th November which included treatment of adhesions and a stuck ovary. I went home the same day but was very wiped/woozy and really needed help moving around at all for the first 24 hours. The next few days I was zonked, slept a lot and it was painful/tender to move too much so just shuffled about if I needed to and usually got help to get up (the bloating and pain made it hard to sit up etc).
I was given, and needed, co-codamol to take for 5 days after at home for the pain but i also got very constipated! Unfortunately I ended up with an impacted bowel and couldn’t urinate either do had to be admitted to hospital 6 days after the Lap to deal with that - it was fairly horrendous and worse than anything the Lap itself involved... I don’t want to scare you but please please take care of your bowels especially if they give you opioid based pain medication. I have a history of bowel issues and the adhesions will have been part of this, and I also gave up smoking for the op (which is known to constipate!), so it may be that I was much more susceptible!
The good news is although i’m still sore, tender and exhausted i’m now feeling much better and I can move about (carefully) pretty well.
The lap itself was fine, but I would recommend lots of rest and taking time to look after yourself. Eat well and drink lots of fluids (water, peppermint tea)! I think at least 2 weeks off work is necessary, if not more. I’ve taken a further month off unpaid after the initial 2 weeks, which i’m so glad I did... but then it’s different for everyone.
All the best, take good care of yourself x
Thanks!!
Hey Helen I had a laparoscopy and I was scared too but honestly mine went so well and the doctors were lovely, I was in and out of hospital the same day just needed a couple of hours in the hospital 🙂
It will take 1 to 6 weeks to get back to your life and at least a week before being able to walk around the house comfortably.
I hope you are getting excision surgery with a renowned BSGE-certified surgeon.
Please only get surgery with highly skilled and experienced endometriosis surgeons
Thank you for your advise, I'm having it done with my local hospital and the gynaecologist is an endometriosis specialist
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