recovery time after laparoscopy

[Jodiemt]

Hi all. l had a laparoscopy just over 5 weeks ago for endometriosis removal on both ovaries. It went well, but I am still recovering. Getting some light bleeding & pelvic pain/back ache. I’m on the pill. Still not back at work yet. Feeling frustrated as I know they say it takes 2 weeks usually to recovery. It’s taking a toll on me emotionally. How long did you take to recover if you had a laparoscopy? Did you still have bleeding & pain for weeks after? Thanks in advance xx

[Jen_dog]

People telling you “2 week recovery” is really annoying because recovery completely depends on what they do when they are inside, and how your body heals.

I have had 2 endo treatment laps and the first time I was off 6 weeks, the second time I was off 8 weeks: both times my period came on after surgery and was absolutely horrific. I couldn’t have gone back earlier.

My first consultant explained to me that 2 weeks is enough if people don’t have anything removed (or have very minor work) and that just covers the recovery from the affect of the anaesthetic/surgery/gas etc, but you need to add extra time on based on how much work is actually done - and how good the surgeon doing the work is!

[Jodiemt in reply to Jen_dog]

Thanks so much, that gives me some reassurance. I had endo removed from both ovaries & left pod!

[FlattieFanatic]

Hi, glad that you got the surgery! I had it done on August last year and I wasn’t fully mobile and physically recovered until around October time. It took about 8 weeks for the physical wounds from surgery to settle.

I was told by my surgeon that it would take 6-9 months for everything internally to settle i.e. for the cramps and bleeding to stop. It’s taken about 9months to settle down.

I had really advanced and aggressive endo and the surgery turned out to be bigger and longer than they were expecting, as it was growing in more places than they realised. So that made for a longer recovery.

I think the best advice is don’t rush it, listen to your body and ignore the 2 weeks recovery. It’s a big operation, and the medical world still tries to minimise endo and recovery 😠.

Hang in there and take your time to recover. You will come out the other side! I’ve been able to move more since my surgery than I’ve been able to move in years! It’s well worth it, just takes time to get fully well again! ❤️

[Jodiemt in reply to FlattieFanatic]

Thanks so much. I am feeling so anxious & stressed with it all. It’s been so up & down. It’s reassuring to know I’m not alone & others have been through the same. Thank you 😊

[Apprentice_Hag]

hi there, glad your surgery went well. I’m sorry your recovery is slower than you hoped but don’t worry - I think it varies person by person and also massively depends on the extent of surgery and if stuff was removed. I had surgery just under 6 weeks ago and just getting back to work today (from home). I found my recovery slower than I expected but then I’d had a left ovary and tube removal and adhesiolysis so think my body just needed a little more time (and I’ve also felt quite low and emotional while recovering ❤️‍🩹). Rebecca Mallick shared the attached image on insta and I think this sums it up perfectly, the recovery is usually a wobbly upwards with ups and downs! Keep taking care of yourself and listen to your body - you’ll get there! 😊 xxx

Image shows a graph with a line showing ups and downs

[Jodiemt in reply to Apprentice_Hag]

Thank you so much. That image is so right. I’m feeling frustrated & I’m such a worrier. I hope you’re surgery went well too.

[KittyTherapy]

Hi, I had surgery a little over 3 weeks ago and for me it's been really tough going and slow. I have stage 4 endo. A lot of work was done in my op and i lost a fair bit of blood during the op. Have been anaemic and also developed an infection so currently on antibiotics so this probably slowing things down too. The pain for the first week was horrific and I was not coping, ended up phoning 111 and was prescribed co-codamol and an anti sickness medication for the nausea as that was also very bad which both helped. Pain was then a lot better after a week but recovery for me is slow going. Have hurt myself a couple of times when in hindsight i was pushing myself to recover quicker and lifting things too heavy.

Pain is still present but is getting better overall though the journey is not linear. Bleeding reduced after 2 weeks, am now bleeding on/off but its not heavy.

I was given a 6 week fit note so am grateful to not be worrying about work right now but already anticipating I may need a phased return on top of that. Like others have mentioned we are all different / have had varied amounts of work done so everyone's experience is different. I found it helpful/ reassuring in a way when my doctor explained that the surgery is considered major despite the access being keyhole. Hope this helps x

[Jodiemt in reply to KittyTherapy]

Thanks so much. Sounds like you’ve had a tough time with it. I hope you get well soon too. It’s so emotional & scary when you start bleeding. Body feels so out of sorts doesn’t it. Take care 😊

[monkeygentle]

Hi! As others have said it varies person to person and depends what you had done. I am 4 weeks post op and just started feeling normal energy wise a few days ago. I can still feel that there is healing going on though and I'm still trying to take it easy. Exhaustion and brain fog were immense for first couple of weeks and my body clock was a bit out too. I spoke to the specialist endo nurse today and she was reassuring that it is major surgery, that everything has been pulled about and will take a while to settle. I had cysts on both ovaries and fallopian tubes removed as well as lots of unsticking of bowel. I was concerned about pain in exactly the same place as I always have had pain and she said to let things settle a bit. I've also had a lot of bleeding (basically feels like my hormones are all over the place and I'm just getting periods randomly). Again, she said to let it settle down a bit longer. Do you have a specialist nurse you can contact to talk through?

Main thing though is that it does take time to heal and everyone is different. Bear in mind that it takes a while to detox from all the surgery drugs and pain killers too. I don't know if you are into this but for me energetic healing was also really important. I was basically in shock from surgery on some level (which I found so weird as I was knocked out with anaesthetic and full of happy drugs when I woke up!) and I felt emotionally and energetically jammed by it. Homeopathy and some reiki healing really helped me to move on from that so that I could connect with my body and with my healing again. It was a turning point for me.

[Jodiemt in reply to monkeygentle]

Thank you. I have never done that, but would give it a go! I’m quite an anxious person/worrier so good energy is what I need right now! The bleeding is awful isn’t it. I haven’t got a specialist nurse to speak to, but I have been in touch with my GP quite regularly who also has a lot of gynae knowledge. I think because I am on the pill, the bleeding scares me as I don’t normally bleed, but she says with the op & everything that it can still happen as the body has been under lots of stress! Bleeding is giving me lots of pelvic pain too hopefully I will start to improve soon. They’ve told me to come off the pill now so my body can start having a normal cycle so see how that goes…. Eek nervous! Speedy recovery for you too 😊

[Millo93]

Hey!I had an op 5.5 weeks ago and was diagnosed with stage 3 endo - and was feeling extremely fatigued up until towards the end of last week. Loads of my stiches in my belly button still haven't dissolved and I could barely move for the first 2-3 weeks

I started to take some vitamins to try and help the fatigue maybe 2 weeks ago so maybe they have perked me up but I would say how you are feeling is very normal.

Hope you start to feel better soon!

[Jodiemt in reply to Millo93]

Thanks so much. You too 😊