laparoscopy NHS waiting time

[Iszabella]

Hi,

I had my appointment with a specialist last week, and it went better than I expected. She went through everything with me, all my symptoms and everything I've tried to do to relieve the pain.

She said as the meds given to me for PCOS were ineffective, she thinks its endo and has booked me in for laparoscopy. She has also put my on Mefenamic Acid and Codeine for pain management.

She said I could be waiting for as long as a year for an appointment for surgery. How long did everyone else wait for their appointments was it that long or did you get through quicker???

I'm worried I'm going to wait ages for an appointment and there not going to find anything

[Cherry245]

Hey,I had my first surgery under emergency so that all happened very quickly. I can't say how long the wait might be under nhs, but if you have the option to go privately and get it done that way I would definitely recommend. I had my second surgery done that way and about to have my third private as-well and they can get you in around a month or so.

Also do not be worried about them going in and not finding anything, it is your body and it is their job to find out what is wrong with you, and if you feel unwell and they are suggesting surgery I can almost guarantee that there will be something there.

[Katienoonan86]

Hey lovely, it’s normal to doubt what your surgery will find, I was the same - you want an answer to your pain and symptoms but you don’t want to have Endometriosis!

Be careful taking codeine - it can constipate you quite quickly, causing other issues so if you need to take it, try and take a natural laxative along side - you don’t want to end up with constipation along with everything else.

Good luck with your surgery, I hope you get some relief and answers.

Sending lots of love xx

[Iszabella in reply to Katienoonan86]

HI,

Any answer will be okay, Its been so long I just want to know what's wrong.

I get quite constipated normally so I have been prescribed Lactulose to counter it.

Thank you

💛🧡

[Meekx22]

I got put forward for a Laparoscopy last year, I'm still waiting but finally got my Pre op assessment at 50 weeks. They told me at the 50 week mark that I'm likely to get an op date as well.Think it depends which part of the country you're in. I'm under the North Essex NHS x

[Iszabella in reply to Meekx22]

Hi,

I'm in North Essex as well, all my referrals were marked as urgent but she still said it could take up to a year. This is under the NHS at my local private hospital. 50 weeks is such a long time to wait. Hope everything goes okay for you xx

[Meekx22 in reply to Iszabella]

Yes I'm "urgent" as well 😅Fingers crossed they get you in sooner, I'd make sure you keep checking your progress with a phone call to gynae admissions every month if you can. I rang in April and the system had a fault and was saying I'd only been waiting a week, when I'd been waiting almost 40! I also got my Pre op assessment sorted quicker as she offered to book me in early, and put me on the can do short notice list, so it's worth persevering xx

[Iszabella in reply to Meekx22]

Hi,

Will defiantly do that, thanks

[Ejn19]

Hi Iszabella,

I had my first laproscopy 6 days ago and I was put on the waiting list 8 months ago. However, my first surgery date was supposed to be 2 months ago (I had to cancel because I had Covid too recently for them to do it) so my original wait time was 6 months. I know 6 months is still a long time but I did think I'd be waiting for a year or more. I'd recommend getting your GP/hospital consultant to try and move you up the list in terms of urgency if you're worried about waiting a long time and you're struggling with your symptoms.

Have you had any ultrasounds? I had a few before my surgery which picked up endo and was confirmed last week. A scan might give you some interim information about what's going on before official diagnosis.

Best of luck with it all, take care x

[Iszabella in reply to Ejn19]

Hi Thanks, yes I have had both transvaginal and abdominal ultrasounds done and all they said was my ovaries are cystic. My Gynaecologist reviewed that and decided to put me through for the laparoscopy. I call every now and then the try and push it forward as much as I can.

I hope everything went okay with your laparoscopy ? x

[Ejn19 in reply to Iszabella]

Ah OK! I hope you're not waiting too long - fingers crossed.

Thank you! 😊 I'm pleased it's been done - it's worth the wait in the end x

[Lofty1589]

I’m under East Suffolk and North Essex and waiting for a lap with a hysteroscopy and insertion of Mirena coil. I’ve now been waiting 53 weeks despite my case being upgraded to urgent in January. I’m at my wits end but nothing I can do about it. I hope your wait isn’t too long.

[Iszabella in reply to Lofty1589]

Sorry to hear that, seems the waiting list in Essex is quite long 😔

[Lofty1589 in reply to Iszabella]

It definitely seems that way! My hospital aren’t even looking at those who have waited under 50 weeks apparently - but they don’t tell you that until you’ve waited that long! 🙄

[Iszabella in reply to Lofty1589]

Oh dear that’s terrible, hopefully you won’t have to wait much longer xx