Post lap belly button

[LouiseC83]

Hi all. Looking for some advice following my laparoscopy (last Saturday). I changed my dressings for the first time today and the incisions all seem to look ok but my belly button was pretty scary to look at. Is this usually the worst one? Looking for others experiences. It didn't look infected or anything but definitely a much bigger incision and quite a lot more bruised looking than the others. Slightly panicked

[R2D2-]

Hi Louise, I had my first laparoscopy this year, so no expert! But after mine, I found looking at my belly button incision was the worst. It looks scary and was one of the last to fully heal up. The best thing to do is just leave it to heal on it’s own, resist trying to clean it in there or anything like that. Unless it starts hurting or seems different, then get it checked. But for me after about 6 weeks I had a warm bath and that helped. My Mum was a nurse, so I just followed her advice and got her to check me. Now you can’t see anything and it looks just like a normal belly button hole. I know it looks bad initially I had some bruising around some of my incisions too, but that will go in a week or so. Arnica cream helps if you put it on the bruising. But not too close to the wound itself. Go gently for a while. From reading on here the time it takes people to recover varies a fair bit, but your body needs time and rest to heal. Hope that helps put your mind at rest. J x

[LouiseC83 in reply to R2D2-]

Omg it really did thank you. I was like OMG DID I BREAK IT? Trust me I've got no intention of getting it out again 😂Cover that sh*t up and pretend it doesn't exist thank you very much. Did you have any stitches where they were dissolving slower? The one above my pubic line looks like the stitching is still completely in tact! Xxx

[LouiseC83 in reply to R2D2-]

Hey R2D2. I was just wondering if it's ok to have a shower if not changing the dressings? The nurses said it would be ok but obviously I don't want to get them wet or change them too much. I've been having a body wash from the sink but avoiding cleaning that area too much but obviously nothing feels better than a shower sometimes #feelinggross

I'm also getting quite a bit of pain on the stitches on my lowest incision. It looked absolutely ok when I changed my dressings a couple of days ago but the stitches didn't appear at all reduced or dissolved and really stings when I bend a certain way. Not sure whether to be worried or not

[R2D2- in reply to LouiseC83]

Hi Louise, I think you should be Ok to have a shower now. It must be just over a week now since your lap, right? Just be careful around your incisions and when drying yourself just gently pat dry. It took a while for my stitches to dissolve. I think maybe 4/5 weeks before the last ones went. The one above my pubic line was my biggest and the stitches kept catching on my clothes so I had to put a plaster over that one. The rest were smaller. Maybe just don’t have the water too hot to start with and don’t let the water fall directly onto the incisions. I’m sure a shower will make you feel better. 😁 Enjoy.

[LouiseC83 in reply to R2D2-]

Thank you honey. Yes, a week today. It's good to hear others experiences for sure. Definitely makes me feel calmer. How long were you off work for?

[R2D2- in reply to LouiseC83]

It helps me to hear other womens experiences too. This community is great for that because although we are all different it’s very likely there will be someone who has had similar experiences to you and can help. 🙏 For me it was 7 weeks before I could go back to work. But my work is outside a lot and is quite physical.( It was my first year this year running a little campsite.) It went well, but even just the cleaning I found tiring 🤪 😂

My friend who had a lap a week before me went back much sooner after 3 weeks. But she is a therapist so has a sit down job. Just depends what you do I think!

[LouiseC83 in reply to R2D2-]

Oh gosh ok! That's interesting to know. Yeh can totally understand why you would need that much time off with that kind of job. I purposefully did my house clean the day before I went in as knew there would be a possibility of not being able to do it. Tbh although I have a job working from home on computers I am currently not sure how I'd make it through a full day without a crash and burn about 3 hours in 😂Washed my hair and had a TINY 7 minute walk on Friday and I got on the sofa and crashed out 😂😂😂😂

[R2D2- in reply to LouiseC83]

It took me about 2 weeks before I could walk much. It was painful when I walked and just like you say tiring. But it does get better. Just have to be like I say, gentle and patient with yourself. The first couple of weeks were the worst for me pain wise etc….then every day after that I got a little bit better. The info I was given post op says you might need naps in the daytime while recovering. I didn’t actually sleep much, but I did need to lie down and rest a lot. I had no idea beforehand about any of this, as everything happened really quickly as they thought I had Cancer. The hospital care etc was great, but the advice, and aftercare etc was pretty bad to be honest. Wish I had known about this community beforehand as I would have been much more prepared for it all! I only found out I didn’t have cancer and that I had Endo about 3 weeks after my lap.

Sounds like you are taking things easy which is good.

[LouiseC83 in reply to R2D2-]

Oh wow! You poor thing omg that must have been so overwhelming! And scary. I was quite lucky as did have wonderful care at the hospital too. I had to stay in a couple of days due to the pain. I know what you mean like you have to take it slow don't you? I've generally improved pain wise but moved in a funny way last night and it caused a bit of a mischief. Never mind, all part of the process I guess. Time and patience like you say

So glad you're on the right side of it now. I really appreciate your helpful advice so thank you x

[R2D2- in reply to LouiseC83]

You are very welcome. Hope you keep improving well. Me too, I’m much better now physically, still working on getting my strength and fitness back though. During the summer I just put all the energy I had into work, because that’s all I could do.

On the way up again now slowly.

Take it easy and give me a shout anytime and happy to help if I can. J x

[SilverBirch7]

Hi Louise - mine was the same also and took the longest to heal. I kept it covered for longer than the others and put some medicated powder to keep it dry. I couldn’t imagine how it was going to heal but it looks normal again! The stitches in my left hand low one took much longer than the others to go. Hope it all heals up well for you x

[LouiseC83 in reply to SilverBirch7]

Ah thank you that's good to know and definitely helps. I need to get more dressings for it I think as I will definitely want to cover it for longer. The stitching above my pubic line doesn't seem to be dissolving at all though it's a bit weird

[Millabajack]

Hi I’m 3 weeks post lap today, my stitches never looked like they would drop off but they did a few days ago, also my belly button is atleast 1-2 weeks behind my other wounds in regards of healing. I took my bandage of it at 10 days and for the 1st week it leaked a lot, but it wasn’t infected wasn’t red or anything.There slow to heal , and it also bruised 10x worse than the others, and the bruising is still not gone.

Yours sound like there healing as they should.

X

[LouiseC83 in reply to Millabajack]

Thank you. Definitely feeling a bit more at ease now. How are you feeling post lap? Mine has only been a week it was quite a shock to the system. I thought I'd be going back to work within a week but I'm so all over the place still x

[Millabajack in reply to LouiseC83]

I’m feeling quite well now, 7-14 day was a really hard for me I felt like I wasn’t improving, and mentally drained. But days 14-21 have seen a real improvement. I couldn’t off gone back work after 1 week. Only now would I feel able to go back, if I had a desk job. My job is with horses so I got signed of for 4 weeks, I will return to light duties for 2 weeks before I can start riding again.

I had mirena coil fitted at the lap too and so far it’s fine. I’m still getting the pain, but it’s random short episodes rather than days of pain.

I would keep resting and recovering we all heal at different rates.

For me the biggest relief has been having an official diagnosis, and also some much needed advice.

I paid privately in the end having waited over 18 months on the NHS for surgery.

I hope you have a good recovery and some improvements in your symptoms x

[LouiseC83 in reply to Millabajack]

Omg that's been the biggest thing for me too. I've been living my life in fear constantly not knowing what this was. I was so convinced that they wouldn't find anything because I'd had a year of no diagnosis so when the doc told me I literally started crying straight away from relief of knowing what's been going on and that I wasn't losing my mind

It's great you are recovering so well. I hope it carries on and that you are finally able to live your best life x