Pain post laparoscopy

[Doubleden]

I had a laparoscopy last night and my doctors have only prescribed me paracetamol for the pain. Its been really bad under my ribs and shoulder all night. Is there anything else they can give me?

They removed a small amount of adhesions and my left ovary was stuck to the lining. This has been unstuck.

Will the pain go?

[Dee_EndoUK Moderator Endometriosis UK]

Hi Doubleden

Everyone will feel differently after a laparoscopy - some may feel better after a day or two, while others will take one or two weeks to get over the procedure. As you had surgery at the same time, it may take you slightly longer to recover.

Shoulder pain is common after a laparoscopy - this is the effect of the gas on a nerve that goes into the shoulder and neck, and should subside in due course. Some people find that peppermint oil provides a welcome soothing effect on this area.

You could also try heat packs under the ribs to reduce pain. Just take it one day at a time and rest up to allow your body the time to heal properly. Also, make sure you sip water throughout the day to stay well hydrated (especially in this heatwave!)

Wishing you all the best with your recovery x

[Chillyoga]

Peppermint tea and getting up and waking around your house will help! That’s what the nurse recommended and it did help.

[Doubleden in reply to Chillyoga]

Thank you. I'm still in the hospital at the moment but walking round the room helps. Should be going home later today.

[AppleandPear]

I had the same for a day or so after mine, like the mod says, it's gas pain. You might find you have really bad constipation/trapped wind that also contributes to this. They gave me morphine to take home but I mainly just had ibuprofen and paracetamol - you can take both together, there's no contraindication. Drink loads of water, also eat a lot of fibre/take Fibrogel so you can stave off the constipation and also get some ultra-strength Gaviscon and take it at night before bed. A lot of the pain for me was genuinely a horrid case of trapped wind and my doctor said it was normal because he had basically moved around my insides a bit and they take a while to settle. I couldn't easily get out of bed for probably a week or so after my op (keyhole surgery for really quite mild endo) and I did gentle walking as soon as possible but it still took a while, maybe a couple of months for it all to get back to normal.

[Chillyoga in reply to AppleandPear]

Yeah it definitely takes a while to get back to normal. I’m on week 3 and still exhausted. A couple of days I’ve over done it too thinking I’m stronger than I am so my advice is to take it easy!Key hole surgery is still major surgery and around major organs so we need rest.

It’s hard I know, I feel guilty about being off from work so long but then again I could easily sleep for most of the day.

[Doubleden in reply to Chillyoga]

Yeah I have been told to take it easy. Got a sick note for work, my job is quite manual with a lot of lifting, twisting and pulling so i certainly won't be rushing going back to work. Hopefully you get back to normal soon.