Hi all, am new to the group and was wondering if anyone can tell me if they have experienced bladder pain after a laparoscopy? After years of painful heavy periods, anemia, unexplained random flare ups and painful sex I was diagnosed with suspected endometriosis and sent to a gynaecologist. After being advised I needed a large uterine polyp removing under general anesthesia I was offered a laparoscopy at the same time to save on the need for multiple procedures! I stupidly believed this was just a minor investigatory procedure and didn't do a great deal of research on it!
After the procedure I was informed the polyp was removed along with 3 patches of old endometriosis on my pelvis. I experienced severe pelvis and constipation pains for about a week and then thought I was starting to heal.
After week 2 I had horrible stomach pains and what I thought was a uti, I was treated with antibiotics for a suspected womb infection.
In the 6 weeks since I have had another 2 courses of antibiotics for uti's (even tho samples came back clear after being borderline) and a long course of strong antibiotics for another suspected infection. All blood tests and swabs came back clear.
The antibiotics for uti's offered some relief for a short period but the constant bladder pain soon returned, I was given anti inflammatories which gave me really bad urge frequency along with metronidazole which did the same! Was then prescribed another antibiotic to take with it! And some hiprex!
Can anyone tell me if they have experienced similar problems and recovered? I feel like this will never go away and I'll be stuck like it forever! I went from being an active, productive person (with what I now know was moderate pain) to an unemployed crying mess in near constant pain! Every footstep is agony and the lack of sleep is really getting to me! I suffer horribly with side effects from medication and have either been constipated or had diarrhoea for weeks,! all I get told is take paracetamol! Can anyone offer any advice??
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mt01
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A really warm welcome to the forum - I'm so sorry to hear you are in near constant pain. If you haven't done so already, please download the 'Endometriosis Treatment Pack' from endometriosis-uk.org/pain-r... (scroll down on this page and click on the link). Hopefully you'll find lots of ideas to help you manage your symptoms. Many ladies say a TENS machine offers some relief from the pain.
All the antibiotics you've been prescribed may well be contributing to the constipation/diarrhoea you've been experiencing so if you haven't done so already, it would be worth looking into a good probiotic to counter some of the unwanted side effects of the antibiotics. It may also be worth consulting a qualified Nutritional Therapist with experience in this area. You can find a list at bant.org.uk - many will offer a free 30-minute consultation.
Along with our forum we also have face-to-face support groups all over the UK where you can discuss endometriosis and the issues you are facing with fellow sufferers. To find out if there's one in your area visit endometriosis-uk.org/find-a.... If not, we also have an online support group that is separate to the forum.
Thank you for your reply, your suggestions were extremely helpful, I took your advise and contacted a nutritionist who recommended some diet changes and probiotics, she also put me in touch with a hypnotherapist who has been amazing with helping me emotionally.
I have now purchased a thermie which heats up and works as sort of a portable tens machine, that helps somewhat with the pain.
I have found some comfort in joining a local support group as suggested. Thank you so much for taking the time to reply and making all of these recommendations.
Thanks so much for the update - really appreciate you getting back in touch. Hearing about all the positive steps you have taken since posting on the forum has really made my day 😊
I'm so pleased you're getting such valuable support and that you've also joined a local support group. Wishing you all the very best xx
Hi Gatherings,I hope you are well, thank you for your reply, apologies for taking so long to respond.
Can I ask how you are doing now? Have you managed to recover or get any answers??
Thanks for your recommendations, I did pay in the end and saw a urologist privately, he ruled out i/c / pbs quite quickly! (A bit too quickly really, as I have all the symptoms) and suggested the pain was a side effect from the laparoscopy, he suggested I see a gynaecologist! Which i did - again privately. I was sent for an ultrasound which was clear and put on amitriptyline in case of nerve damage I have been reluctant to take the medication due to all of the stomach issues/ side effects etc but am coming round to the idea that I have no other choice!
The pelvic floor physio was an excellent idea, I went last week and am now being treated for hypertonic pelvic floor! That at least accounts for some of the pain... if only I could get this obnoxious bladder under control! Thank you so much for your message and advise, I really hope you are pain free now x
Hello mt01, apologies I’m a bit delayed myself but thank you so much for your message!
I still have bladder pain but a bit improved with a magnesium supplement & physiotherapy (fairly recent, but its promising so far.) I’m so glad to hear it’s been going well for you, too!
I’m scheduled to see urologist who I’m told has experience treating and diagnosing I.C. and but still waiting on the appointment to rule it out (this will be for a 2nd opinion - first urologist I saw was not helpful/wait-and-see approach. I've waited and not seeing significant improvment.)
I’m sorry to hear your experience was rushed! I hope you find a provider who will be able to listen you and definitively diagnose your symptoms. While I don’t have direct experience with the drug they’ve suggested, I totally relate to feeling reluctant due to potential side effects & I wish you luck with it!!
One updated on my end - I saw a pain management specialist recently who suggested to me a diagnosis of “pudenal neuralgia.”
I had never heard of it before, and as she described it, it has all of the symptoms of IC plus some, and that it can often be misdiagnosed as UTI or IC. She gave me context for why she doubted IC and reasons for why she highly suspected an alternative diagnosis.
If they are suggesting treatments for neuropathic pain, it may be worth mentioning.
The way they diagnose is by doing a nerve block. I’m scheduled but waiting on the appt. I’ll let you know how it goes!
Hoping all is well and that you find pain relief & soon x
Hello, I'm 4 weeks post lap and am having constant issues with my bladdee which was fine before the lap. I went into retention im recovery and was in so much pain. I had a catheter inserted again in recovery as I couldn't pass urine but my bladder was full. Since coming home my bladder hasn't been right. Feel like I'm not going enough, pain, white bits in my urine etc. Just finished a course of antibiotics and it's made no difference x
Hi EsmeAmelie,Thank you for your message, I'm so sorry its taken so long to reply! How are you doing now? Has your bladder settled down? What you have been through sounds awful! I'm so sorry you have had to suffer that! I thought the frequency/ urgency was agony but that sounds so much worse! I can't imagine how frightening that was! Its so frustrating isn't it! You go for the laparoscopy hoping to get out of pain and end up with chronic pain somewhere that was previously fine!
Did you have excision or cauterization? I was told that when you have cauterization as I did that nerve problems were fairly common and that the gas is very irritating to the bladder!
I am nearly 12 weeks post op and still have no real answers to the cause or if I will get out of pain! But I will keep up with the physio and therapies and keep trying to find answers!
I so hope you have recovered and are pain free now xx
No worries! Yes, I had diathermy too. Didn't want it as new the risks, which is why I would have only willingly said yes to excision and even that I had been declining for a few years. I have loads of other health issues, a history of life changing allergic reactions, so I didn't want surgery. I've had endometriomas for a few years, diagnosed in ultrasound scans, so always been pretty confident the endo would be elsewhere.
In short, a couple of months ago I reluctantly ended up in A&E after waking up at 2am with a very high fever, the most severe abdominal pain and very tachycardic. I saw my GP and he sent me to A&E. They thought either appendicitis or ovarian torsion as I had recently been diagnosed with ovarian dermoid cysts that often cause ovarian torsion. To cut a very long story short, after an awful 30 hours I ended up back at home. I saw a Gynae privately and she too thought I had ovarian torsion. She saw the scans and said the dermoids are big and need to come out. In my Consent Form it included "treatment of endometriosis". I was VERY reluctant about this considering she was a general gynae and I had been declining at my usual NHS gynae hospital where there's an excision expert! I only picked this general gynae due to positive feedback, being close to home, and positive online feedback about removing ovarian dermoids that can be tricky to remove.
In the few weeks before private surgery I lost a lot of weight (already slim), could hardly eat as soo nauseous, suddenly couldn't swallow my daily antihistamines as would choke and had an upset stomach . Back then I thought some of these were as a result from the strong iv antibiotics i had in hospital in case it was sepsis.
In the end I signed the consent form but once before surgery and then again on the day I was hesitant. I knew it'd be ablation as she's just a general gynae. I asked her to not treat any endo on my uterosacral ligaments if found as I know that area in particular ofte causes lower back and sciatica type neve pain. I also said to her "you won't treat endo on the bowel or bladder will you as that's for an endo expert?" To which she said yes.
But really I was only going ahead as it was to predominantly be ovarian surgey to remove the dermoids, fix any infection from the torsion and remove the ovary if dead. I also paid for her to do a hysteroscopy at the same time to remove my polyp. I last had a polyp a decade ago and bled every day for 18 months until that came out, so i thought might as well take this new uterine polyp out whilst I'm under.
To cut another very long story short, I woke up and very little went as expected (I was also soooo unwell and was in recovery for over 2 hours). The scans were wrong and there were no ovarian dermoid cysts. Nor ovarian torsion. Instead my upper bowel (small intestines) were stuck on to my side abdominal wall below the liver. In the absence of prior abdominal surgery she thinks either an acute bowel pathology or an underlying bowel condition like Crohns caused that. She also thinks it's a bowel pathology that caused my symptoms that led me into A&E. It wasn't clear back then but seeing as I've had so many symptoms since a&e I am now inclined to agree with her so I am pending referrals to Gastro for bowel and upper GI tests.
The gynae separated the adhesions of the bowel herself (...). The small bowel on the other side was stuck on to my ovary/endometrioma. She wasn't worried about that side as she said endometriomas can often cause organs to stick so that'd be the cause.
So ironically, the op ended up removing endometriomas on the ovaries and endometriosis behind the womb (pouch of douglas and uterosacral ligaments). Both of which I would never have had an op for and definitely not without an endo expert as I'd been declining this on the NHS at my usual gynae hospital where an endo expert who does excision works! I then had the polyp removed and she separated my bowel under the liver from the side abdominal wall. Nervous about that as she's not a bowel surgeon...
I'm never well and always in a lot of pain from all my health problems, but I definitely have new problems post lap. My bladder still isn't right but I'm just happy to be weeing "enough" each day. I always get a sudden urge to go and can't hold it (had that pre lap) but post lap I also have bladder pain and don't go properly. That is much worse as acute retention is awful and obviously an emergency as the bladder can burst. I'm so thankful i haven't needed a catheter again but I had one day where I wondered if I'd have to attempt going into a&e.
Bloating and loads of bowel and upper gastro issues. Unclear how much is from whatever happened that led me to a&e a couple of months ago (I'm thinking an acute bowel pathology). Hope nothing more is from what she did during the lap...
Also got a lot of ovary pain. And weird feelings, like a cold trickling water and/or bubbling sensation around my ovaries and sides. Def caused by the surgery. Had bad sciatica pain and lower back nerve pain. I put those down to the uterosacral ligaments being burnt (even though I asked her to not treat them...). It's not great but seeing as I live with loads of awful crap, it'll just be something new to live with. Just annoyed as could have been avoided if she'd left it alone. Also wondered if I have DVT in the calf as that's been bad since a couple of days after surgery. I did pay for a private dvt scan but he didn't scan the deep veins in the calf, sigh...
At the moment I'm waiting for a NHS bowel referral for an upper endoscopy, colonoscopy and small bowel camera swallow. Also have an ultrasound of the urinary tract next month but expecting that to be useless as most things are xx
Did anyone ever get any answers? I'm 9 weeks post ovary removal for endo and for the last several weeks have been having the same issues! Two rounds of antibiotics seems to have been no help and urine tests keep coming back negative. I'm really terrified that it might be interstitial cystitis brought on by the surgery. It randomly went away last week but has come back with a vengeance! I can barely make it 45 minutes without needing a wee and my bladder and urethra are so painful 😢 only thing that seems to help is ibuprofen!
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