Hi
I have lap on Monday and I’m so so scared (I’ve never had a general aneasthetic before) and I have blood pressure and pulse issues (which I’m taking medication for). Is there anything you could tell me about your exp which might help relax me? Thanks in advance x
Hi,
I can't really give you any advice, but I thought I'd leave a comment as I have a laparoscopy on Tuesday and i've never had General anesthetic either.
I'm scared too. But I'm trying to tell myself that it's going to give me answers and hopefully end my pain.
You are not alone in this. I hope that it goes well for you and you are pain-free soon ❣️
I’ve had two laparoscopys and honestly it’ll be fine! For a few days after you will still feel full of gas but hopefully once that’s gone you will see the light in having it done! Hope it all goes well and don’t worry about it xx
Hi there I had a lap on Tuesday and was also feeling really nervous beforehand. The experience was not bad at all the only slightly scary party was going down to theatre pre the anaesthetic but was really fine and it’s actually a really nice relaxing feeling when it kicks in 
I woke up in a recovery room and was immediately given pain relief which really helped and I was able to go home around 3 hours after my procedure. Still not feeling 100% today but really the procedure itself is not scary!
Hi Sunnydays12345,
I know it can be frightening going to surgery but you will be fine and you are not alone in this! I'm 36 years old and I've had 5 laparoscopic surgeries - I had my first one when I was 22. I was always terrified of the anaesthetic and the thought I might not wake up after!! Friends and family would say I'm silly and wouldn't necessarily understand what I was going through so I had to find strength somewhere else. It always helped to pray before going to the surgery room or to the hospital. It really calmed me down and gave me hope ... Now I'm 6 months recovering from my last surgery and things are so much better! You will have to find a way to fight the bloating - diet & lots of water and things might be a little slow at first but be patient with yourself and give yourself enough time to recover.
xx
Hey- I’ve had 3 laps now with my last one 10 days ago. Don’t be stressed by the anaesthetic- I had mine in Australia and there was a lovely nurse with me pre operation to distract me and they spoke to me as they put me under- it’s quite relaxing. You will feel groggy coming out of the surgery so just enjoy the drugs and tell them how you are feeling. They will monitor your BP and breathing through the surgery and afterwards so as long as they know pre op you will be in good hands. Good luck
I had my lap done in October 2019. Initially, I was scheduled in for January and fortunately there was a cancellation. I like you was nervous, but personally for me, there was nothing to be nervous about.
I had a pre op assessment where they run through everything prior to your op such as medical history, current medication, what you can consume before your op, what happens on the day etc.
On the day of the op I also met the Anesthesiologist who performed the anasetic. They talk about what will happen and again, check your medical history.
When I was called to go to theatre I was so nervous, I'd never done anything remotely similar. There were two nurses ensuring I was comfortable, preparing me, liasing with the doctor etc. And the Anesthesiologist performing the anasetic. All of a sudden I felt my face tingle, then around 4 hours later, I woke up in recovery. That was my first general anasetic.
There was the most kindest pnurse next to me when I woke up. At first I thought, great the anasetic hasn't worked, until I was told when I was.
I was very cold and in pain but everything is a little cloudy to remember as you've just woke up from an anasetic.
The nurse instantly put a heater nozzle under my blanket and put me on a morphine drip. I went up to the ward around 90 minutes later and my husband, Mum and Dad came to see me. I couldn't wait for them to leave as I just wanted to sleep.
I was offered food but I didn't have any as I felt sick. Because of this, the nurse put me on anti sickness tablets. In my head, I questioned just how responsive they'd be and my god, in about 15 minutes, I felt fine and went to sleep.
All night, the nurses pop in and are around. You have a call bell if you need them, but you have a catheter so no need to get up and use the toilet. Your blood pressure and temperature are checked a couple if times in the night, but you can stay as you are.
I ended up staying for a second night as I had a slightly high temperature that they wish to monitor and in all honesty, I didn't mind. I was so comfortable and in the right place.
You are with a group of professionals that know what they're doing and if you are ever in any pain, there's so much that can be done.
Hiya,
I’ve had 3. The last one at the end of Nov 2019. The anaesthetist comes in to see you and have a chat about to expect. I told him the last 2 times I couldn’t keep food or drink down while coming off the anaesthetic so he made sure to increase my anti nausea meds this time and that was SO much better. Just tell the anaesthetist what you’re worried about and they’ll make sure they look after you!
Then your consultant will come in and have a quick chat and give you an idea of when you’ll go to theatre.
Nurse will walk/ bring you down to theatre. They know people are scared so the anaesthetic team have always kept the mood lighthearted when I’ve had my ops. You usually count back from 100 and I think the fattest I got was mid-80s. Then the next thing you know, you’re coming around in recovery. Nurses are right there to check on you and help with pain.
When they think you’re stable, you go back to the ward. And then it’s a case of you feeling able to get up and go to the toilet by yourself (with a nurse close by just in case) and being able to eat and keep it down.
The first week of recovery is difficult. They use gas to expand your tummy when operating and it can cause pain in your shoulders for quite a few days after while it disappears - this is totally normal.
Give yourself time to recover. If possible have someone else look after you for at least the first week. And even if you don’t feel like you need them, take your pain meds like clockwork!
You’re in the hands of skilled professionals. Talk to them about your worries and know that this is the start to you feeling so much better. x
Thanks very much for all your responses. They’re really helpful. I think I’m scared because surgery is so alien to me. I forget that the doctors are professionals and do this every day. So what seems like a huge deal to me is probably small fries to them -so I need to remember that context. I’m having the surgery in part for endo treatment but mainly in the context of fertility. The surgery will confirm whether I’ll have a chance to conceive naturally so I think that pressure of waiting for that result is probably ramping my anxiety the most. Thanks again for all your helpful messages x
I had mine four weeks ago tomorrow, really stressed over, but all needless 😊. Went smoothly, they are all professional, it’s remembering that though.
Hope your not too stressed now. Let us know how you go, make sure you rest after. Take care 😊
Hiya,
I had my first lap in December 2018 this was the second time I have been under general anaesthetic.
I arrived at 8 in the morning and went over the procedure with the consultant, I had to do a pregnancy test on the day and get dressed into surgical pants, compression socks and a dressing gown. By 8:30 I was walking down to the theatre room. When I got into the room there was 2 nurses who were very friendly while getting the cannula and monitors sorted.
I had an injections of anaesthetic and a mask of oxygen. I woke up in the recovery room at around 10 and had an amazing nurse who dealt with all my needs. I was moved to the ward at 11:30 and had plenty of nurses to help me get to the toilet and to walk around. There were also other people on the ward so we were able to chat about our experiences this was extremely nice.
I stayed in hospital until 5 that day as I struggled to urinate, but once I did they discharged me with 4 weeks off work and plenty of dressings for the wounds.
I had 4 incisions, one in the belly button and 3 on my abdomen. I didn’t have much pain the following days I had pain killers which helped a lot.
I hope this helps. I am currently waiting for my second lap.
Xx
You will have some pain after surgery for 3 days .
I was so scared too and I’m a nurse 🙂 I was the most scared of the breathing tube and the general anaesthesia. Honestly, it will be ok. I was put to sleep and next thing I knew was I was waking up in the recovery tended by lovely nurses. First couple of weeks were painful because I had to have a drain in my tummy but other than that I am much better now and pain free. They removed a lot of stage 4 endo, totally worth it. The scars are hardly even noticeable. Good luck!
Hi,
I had my first surgery last September it was a lap for endo. I was terrified. But it really wasn't scary. Nerve racking but not too bad. The worst part of the whole thing ended up being the gas in my stomach. For almost a week it was bad. Best advice I ever got was peppermint and more peppermint. I'm talking tea candy whatever you like. Stock up and take a lot I'm talking several cups a day, sucking on the candy in between cups . It's the only thing that helped with the gas. Literally can't recommend it enough. I have a lot of health issues that made my surgery more risky but everything went fine. Just remember it's a really common surgery and you will be surrounded my medical professions the whole time. If you end up not being able to conceive naturally there are other ways. Including adoption there are more kids around the world than you could imagine that would love to call you mom. Best of luck
Hi,
I was the same as you, I had my lap last Monday and felt sick for two weeks none stop before it. I also cried every day in the week leading up to it, I’d never had a general anaesthetic and never even broken a bone.
Honestly it is absolutely fine, I totally catastrophised things and it was nowhere near as bad as I expected. The worst bit was the waiting and the cannula (I get very queasy about things like that). The operation you will have no idea about, I took a couple of breaths and before I knew it was awake in recovery feeling high as a kite!
Honestly try not to worry, I know it’s hard as I was the exact same as you but genuinely the worst bit is the wait and anticipation, it won’t be as bad as you’re expecting. Try to focus on the fact that you will have answers
Good luck xx
Hello I had mine Friday just gone, I hope everything went okay today and I wish you a speedy recovery 💗
UPDATE
Hi everyone
I had my lap yesterday and was back home last night. I was a bit groggy and have been vomiting (because of the aneasthetic I think) but aside from that ok. Husband having to inject me with blood thinners which is a bit grim but ok.
Unfortunately they found severe endo (which is what they suspected so no great surprise). They managed to deflate and burn the endometriomas x4 and remove some of the superficial endo. I have it on my bowel which they couldn’t touch - need to go to endo specialist unit. So I’m patched up, feeling nauseous but cosy being back at home with my husband and dog xx
Oh god I hope your okay 😔 sending you a virtual cuddle and hope you have a speedy recovery and the pain eases off soon 😔just take it easy and rest up, even when you start to feel a little better just don’t over do it because the next day you will really feel it... trust me lol x
Hope you feel a bit better today, make sure you rest, the first few days I was happy to do nothing, but then boredom creeps in. Try not to get inpatient. 🙂 you’ve been through quite a bit.
Great though it wasn’t as bad as you thought. Take care
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