Will the pain go away after excision of endometriosis surgery?

[Eternalwarrior]

Hello there, I had a laparoscopy for excision of endometriosis surgery 2.5 weeks ago. This was done after suffering excruciating period pain all my life (I am 36 now) and having spent the last year and a half with chronic pelvic pain that was so debilitating that some days I could not even get out of bed and was making me nauseous all the time. I suffered loss weight so badly because of the pain and my BMI is 16 now, despite having been on hormonal treatment for the last 9 months. I lost 8 kg whilst on it!

I am glad I have finally got a diagnosis. I had an MRI before my laparoscopy because they thought I had bladder and bowel involvement. I suffer from adenomyosis too. I was first seen by a GYNAE consultant who wasn't and endometriosis specialist. He made me feel everything was in my mind so I pushed my GP to refer me to a Endometriosis BSGE centre, which she eventually did.

I haven't had my post lap follow up appointment yet but the surgeon came to see me after my laparoscopy and told me they found I had endometriosis on the bladder, ovaries (had two endometriomas treated), uterosacral ligaments, pouch of Douglas and the ureter!

She did excision of endometriosis and she said the left side was quite bad. Interestingly, my pain was mainly on the right side and I had horrible lumbar pain! I suffer from Ehlers Danloss too and she said she could see it in my ligaments during my laparoscopy.

It has been 2.5 weeks since my laparoscopy and I am still in quite a lot of pain (not as bad as I was fore the surgery but that was unbearable and I was constantly on tramadol...)

Is it normal to be in this pain post laparoscopy? In your experience, how long did it last? Did the pain eventually go away?

I have read that with people with Ehlers Danloss are "slow healers" so it may take me longer than usual to recover.

Thanks so much x

[Eternalwarrior]

I had my last Zoladex injection on 15th March and still suffering the effects of that, but at least it should help with the pain?!

[Maggi20]

Hi there, i don’t have a direct answer to your question, but I had my laparoscopy for excision 13 days ago and also had a lot taken out in many places. I’m still in quite a lot of pain, especially on my right side where my appendix was removed and there were a lot of Endometriomas. Sometimes I feel pain on my bladder, where it was also removed. I’ve only just begun being able to walk straight up, and i feel a tiny bit better than i did two days ago. Some times of the day are worse than others. Healing is definitely a process that differs from person to person, and your body is probably still traumatized from the pain you experienced before the laparoscopy too!! 2.5 weeks doesn’t sound long after surgery to me! Really hope you feel better soon.

[Eternalwarrior in reply to Maggi20]

Thanks so much for your reply, Maddi1992. It feels 'good' to know that I am not the only one. I also had problems walking straight up. I have had friends telling me that after having an 'ovarian cyst' removed they felt fine pretty much straight away after surgery, but I suppose Deep Infiltrating Endometriosis (DIE) is a different matter and you are right, everyone heals differently. I hope you continue to recover and feel better very soon!

[Maggi20 in reply to Eternalwarrior]

I also felt “relieved” reading your post and knowing I’m not alone!! It’s definitely a different healing process for DIE (I also vaguely remember because my mum has endo, and I experienced her recovery, which took a while!) At one point last week I called the hospital to double check that feeling pain was normal (I’m in Germany, where it’s been easier to get in touch), and they said it happens when there is a lot of endo. Wishing you a restful recovery 🌸

[Eternalwarrior in reply to Maggi20]

And a restful recovery to you too, Maggi20! 🌸🌸