Advice on recovery following laparoscopy for endo!

[LJC1416]

Hello! Hoping for some advice and feedback from others who have had a laparoscopy for endometriosis!

After 7 years of pain I was finally given a laparoscopy 6 weeks ago where they discovered and removed endometriosis (mainly from my pouch of Douglas and uterial ligaments) . I feel like the recovery of the actual procedure wasn’t too bad and my incisions have healed and shrunk really well... however at about week 4 I started to experience fatigue, shortness of breath, light headedness and generally feeling unwell, tired and groggy. I went to the doctors yesterday and he sent me to have bloods taken straight away as he thought I was anaemic. I had lots of blood tests and a thorough examination and everything came back normal.

So is this just normal following the removal of endometriosis? I feel like 6 week post op I should be fully back to normal. I have always been fit and healthy so this isn’t like me!

The fatigue is so strong I’ve never experienced feeling this tired and bleh before 😟

Any advice or feedback would be much appreciated 🙏

[MrsR2020]

Hi

I’ve just had the procedure last week and was advised it can take 3 months internally to heal which can cause fatigue. I’m on day 9 of post op recovery and feel how you explained, surprisingly well (better than I expected and ready to do a couple of hours back at Work next week)

Hope that helps although as I’m not there yet I hope someone else responds xx

[LJC1416 in reply to MrsR2020]

Thanks for your reply. That’s good to know! I was given hardly any aftercare or advice so didn’t know what to expect going forward. Fingers crossed this is all because my body is still healing and I will start feeling better soon. Good luck with your recovery, sounds like you’re doing well xx

[FMCN]

Hey LJC1416,

I haven't had surgery for suspected endometriosis yet (still very early on in the process!) but I do know from having a b12 deficiency that nitrous oxide anaesthesia can cause a massive drop in b12 - which would cause all the symptoms you're experiencing.

Im not an expert and in no way saying that a b12 drop is the reason you are experiencing these symptoms... but you could take some b12 supplements to see if it helps boost your levels and ease them.

[LJC1416 in reply to FMCN]

Thank you for your reply! They checked my b12 and iron levels at the hospital, as I have suffered from low levels of both in the past, but they said they came back normal. I’m thinking maybe they came back “normal” for their guidelines, but they are lower than usual for me (I had an iron infusion and b12 injections previously so my levels have been nice and high for a while now) I’ve just started taking Floradix to hopefully give me a boost 🙂

[FMCN]

Great! Really hope that it’s as simple as that to get you feeling better and with more energy!