I had my first laparoscopy on Thursday to remove endometriomas from both ovaries, check my tubes and the extent of my endometriosis. My surgeon was there when I came around and as I was still very 'out of it' just said it had all gone well & he'd come and see me the next day with more details.
As my op was the last of the day I already knew I'd be in overnight, but wasn't expecting to have a catheter or be on oxygen. The first was useful as it meant I could sleep without worrying about having to get up in the night, but the oxygen just made my nose itch and my dry mouth & throat drier, but luckily they took that off after a few hours.
I have four small cuts - one in my belly button, one to the right, one to the left and one in the middle underneath - all very neat and clean. I looked about five months pregnant thanks to the gas & fluid pumped into my stomach, which I found a little upsetting at first, but its soon gone down. The pain wasn't too bad and I've only had paracetamol and codeine regularly since, although there was tramadol and oramorph on standby if required. My throat was very sore from the tube and meant every bite of toast had to be swallowed with water, but the nurse gave me a strepsil which really helped.
Once the catheter came out I was able to get up and have a wash to get rid of the multitude of dyes from my skin and changed into 'normal' albeit slouchy clothes. Moving around shifted the gas that they'd pumped into me and that's when the pain really started. I'd been expecting it in my shoulders, ie my back but it felt like my lungs were collapsing. The pain was right behind my collarbones, both sides and so bad I couldn't breathe, which sent me into a panic and just made matters worse. I found that by sitting resting forwards I could breathe shallowly and calm myself. The nurse gave me some hot peppermint water which helps to shift the gas but it took a few days for the gas (and pain) to go sufficiently so I could lie down.
My gynaecologist came to see me as promised and showed me pictures of my ovaries and cysts. They were drained & stripped out and the tubes are okay. My ovaries were stuck to my womb & to each other and he managed to separate them and flooded the area with fluid to try to stop them sticking again. However, I have severe endometriosis which is stuck to my womb, bowel and other areas/organs.
He has suggested down regulation by monthly Zoladex jabs to try to calm the endo down whilst he considers the next steps with a colleague. This is likely to be excision of the endo but will be difficult and carry more risks because of depth and location and other organs involved. I could have had the jab at the hospital but he suggested I have a few days to think about it and then make an appointment with my GP/nurse - who it turns out is fully booked or the next few weeks.
After much soul searching and discussion, i am not too bothered about having children but I do want as good a quality of life as I can get. I am terrified of something going wrong and ending up with a colostomy bag or worse, but hate the thought of this thing growing inside me and not having any control over it. I guess I need to wait for my gynaecologist to write with his thoughts and then discuss at my follow up in a few months and in the meantime focus on getting fit again.
Five days later I'm still tired and get a bit dizzy if I stand up for too long, but feeling much more like myself and hope it continues to go that way.
Hope you're all as pain free as you can be xx
Lap done this afternoon - finally know it's endo.
First lap done yesterday and they confirmed endometriosis
Advice on next steps 
So frightened of having first lap done :(
Lap next week!! help...?
