Life after laparoscopy - Help

I had my first laparoscopy 1 week ago and was diagnosed with endo. My doctor was very good and it only took 11 months from my first docs appointment to being diagnosed. Since the lap my pain seem to have got worse, I know people keep saying it takes a while for recovery, but the pelvic pain seems to be a lot worse and going for a no 2's only happens if I take movecol. They did fit the Mirena coil at the same time as I tried to take the progesterone only pill but that sent me bonkers!! to the point of panic attacks and crying all of the time. Is it quite normal to feel worse after a lap or am I just feeling sorry for myself????

[Hidden]

Hi Miranda,

Sorry to hear you have been diagnosed with endo. It is great that your doctor has been good and that you have been diagnosed fairly quickly.

A week is a really short time - I know it is frustrating but it really can take a while to recover. The length of time depends on what they did (during some laps, they do a lot of work), whether there was endo remaining that they couldn't tackle during the lap and also how you recover from operations - we are all different in this respect so you just have to take it one day at a time and rest up.

Have you got good support around you? Some friends and family can be more helpful and supportive than others When you are feeling unwell and weepy, it's great to have people around who get this - sadly not everyone does. Do you have a support group near to you? Talking to other women with endo can make a huge difference.

I think the most important thing is to be kind to yourself, make sure you have all the support you need (including from health professionals - do raise any concerns you have with them including issues with pain and bowel problems - they are there to help you) and just do what feels right to you.

Take good care and keep us posted as to how you are doing.

Carol xxx

[Mazza1980]

Hi Miranda

I have had a similar experience to you, after my lap the pain got worse and i found myself sinking into deep depression. Unfortunately my friends and my work colleagues weren't very supportive. I found a lot of ignorance and rolling of the eyes came my way. It was a difficult time and I couldn't believe that people I thought were my friends were actually starting to avoid me. Hopefully you will have some supportive friends, if you don't then forums like this offer support as we are all going through as similar time. I recently went on zoladex for 6 months which was like a breth of fresh air, 6 months of no bleeding and pain. It doesn't work for everyone but for me the side effects of zoladex were nothing compared to my life before. I even managed to go to the gym, i couldn't do exercise before as i would always end up bleeding and in pain. I'm off the zoladex now and unfortunately my periods are back and they are the same as before. I tried acupuncture for a while, is this something you would consider?

You are not alone and if you ever want to chat please send me a message. xxx

[Hidden]

Thanks for the comments, I don't feel so alone now. Unfortunately I don't know of anyone else that has this and there are no groups where I live. I completely agree about people rolling their eyes they don't understand and I don't think they want to. All I have had since the lap is when are you coming back to work, no one actually asking "how are you?" My children and husband try to understand but it must be very hard for them and I try to hide how much pain I am in most of the time. Thanks again xx

[smellycat]

Hi Miranda, I like you had a laparoscopy but back in july, you can read all about it on my blog post I did the other day. I am still getting intense pain still now, nearly 5 months on, I recovered fairly quickly, but the pain remianed/remains and is worse now then before the op. Have a read of my post. I am sorry I can't help but I know exactly what you are going through.

SmellyCat.

xx

[lou3479]

Hi, I had a second laparoscopy 4 weeks ago now, but after a week or so I was suffering from worse pain so I went back to the doctors who sent me to the hospital where they decided I had a pelvic infection. It took me a while to recover after my first lap, but this time I knew something didn't feel quite right. You need to go with your own feelings - you know your body better than anyone else - yes a laparoscopy takes a while to get over, but if your not sure go back to your doctors to get checked even if they find its all ok it will put your mind at ease, or they may change your painkillers. Hope your feeling better soon. xx

[Zolta]

Hi Miranda,

I had a hard time with my laparoscopy, it should have taken 1 and 1/2 hours but took 3, and had large black bruise and swelling around my lower abdomen and fluid leaking out of my stitches on the left side so had to stay in over night. Still have scar tissue around that area as under the skin as it bulges a bit around the scar. I think because the surgeon was peeking around looking at the endo that is on left side and he couldn't find a left fallopian tube which the HSG confirmed as being absent. It took 4 weeks for me to recover from my laparoscopy and was in pain constantly for 3 of these weeks, tramadol helped a lot. Some people can get back to work after their laparoscopy 4 days afterward, my mum had a lap and she was fine after a week! But then her reproductive system is fine they performed a lap when she was having a polyp from her cervix removed.

I also found the General Anesthesia played havock with my digestive system - nothing wanted to move naturally for 6 weeks, was living on prunes and laxido sachets twice a day for anything to happen! Even then I had to relax and wait for 10 mins on the loo for anything to happen :s My mum had same reaction to GA when she had an operation on her ankle it took her about 6 weeks for her system to get back to normal. Hormone changes, I find, plays much on my emotions too, even without hormonal treatment, on my natural cycles I always know when I am due on the next day as burst into tears of no apparent reason - its crazy! And funny, at the same time I suppose, as sometimes laughing at myself for crying at the same time, it's the strangest! Have you tried sleeping on your back with a pillow under your knees? It helps take the pressure off the tummy. I hope you feel better soon, and make sure get a lot of rest. xx

[Hayh81]

Hi there, I hope you are starting to feel better a month on.

It was about 2 weeks after my op that I kept and keep getting th pain, during ovulation up untill a few days into my period I'm in agony, feels like someone is giving my tubes a chinese burn, belly bloating and extreme discomfort in the entire area.

I also know no-one else with endo and feel like the only one. Like you, it is nice to know there are others out there, as nobody else understand the crippling effect it has on our lives.

I hope you are now well. xx