Booked my lap today - experiences?

[JLeigh29]

YDI - Sorry to hear about your major surgery. Can I ask, how has the bowel resection affected your life since? Are there certain foods you can't eat? And, has there been any sign your endo has returned? What are the chances of it coming back? I am going to my gyno on Tues and am concerned my endo has returned. It was so close to the bowel last time and if it has returned, considering my symptoms a bowel resection is a distinct possibility. I am trying not to jump the gun, but can't help but think about it.

[Floweryfields]

JLeigh, don't convince yourself that lots of symptoms means really bad endo - it can, but doesn't always. Some people have severe endo with next to no symptoms, some have severe symptoms with next to no endo. It does vary alot.

[YDI]

YDI - Sorry to hear about your major surgery. Can I ask, how has the bowel resection affected your life since? Are there certain foods you can't eat? And, has there been any sign your endo has returned? What are the chances of it coming back? I am going to my gyno on Tues and am concerned my endo has returned. It was so close to the bowel last time and if it has returned, considering my symptoms a bowel resection is a distinct possibility. I am trying not to jump the gun, but can't help but think about it.

Hi JLeigh. I had my surgery 2 years ago when i was 25. i had a double bowel resection 50cm small bowel and some rectum removed due to an endo nodule stuck causing a bowel blockage. I had my appendix out, tube, bi lateral ovarian endometriomas, bladder segmentation and endo removed from POD and other areas.

Honestly nothing could prepare me for the bowel surgery. i knew it was a possibility but didnt know what the symoptoms afterwards would be like. i couldnt leave the house for the best part of 3-4 months as i had to be within metres of a toilet. I have had diarrhea since the op, i still get bowel pain, and am not as mobile as i used to be. i also had a bowel obsturction from eating strawberries about a year after which was the worst pain imagineable so avoid them at all costs!

i have been on synarel (drug induced menopause) for 2 years as my dr was concerned due to its agressive nature and the severity of the op as i cant afford to have it come back and risk mure surgery.

The only foods i sometimes have issues digesting is dairy but as soon as i eat i have to run to the loo so i never know if its a food issue or not.

all in all im in a much better position now than i was before the op. its all about quality of life and now my symptoms are now much more manageable. feel free to PM me if you have any questions always happy to help!

[31becc]

Hi girls - well I had my lap/hys and dye done on Friday 22 May - they found nothing, which is good, but doesn't give me answers.

All in all - it was an afternoon surgery, I was out of hospital later afternoon - have two areas with two stitches - and just unconfortable, very. Didn't get much shoulder tip pain, just below my neck was sore but that was it. Can't bend forward , because the stitches in my belly button hurt, but that is it. Back at work today (monday), don't know if I should be, as I am getting bad pains in my stomach (have been laying down all weekend and now sitting).

Anyway, that is my experience.

[JLeigh29]

Bec - Glad to hear that you lap went well, though am sorry it didn't give you any answers.

YDI - Thanks for your great reply. It sounds as though you have had a tough time, but I am glad your quality of live has improved since the op. I saw my gyno today. He was pretty sure I don't have any (severe) endo, just scarring. So it sounds as though I was worrying more than I needed to be. Having said that, it's always in the back of my head.

[Lioness168]

Hi girls, just thought I would share my lap/hysteroscopy, D&C and dye story.

I had my op on Tues 12/5/09. I was last on the list and my Dr was running late, so I stayed in hospital overnight which worked out to be really good. I was in the "unexplained infertility" category prior to the lap. The Dr found a significant amount of endo which he removed. Endo was buried in the uterus, pouch of douglas, uterosacral ligament and on the ureter which he dissected. I am having 4 weeks off work as my job is quite active and requires lifting, bending, etc.

I bled for 6 days post op which stopped when my cycle was due. I am still waiting on AF, and I am assuming it will return 4 weeks after the op but I am not sure. How did everyone else go with their AF post op?

I have heard that you can be more fertile post lap/D&C....I can't wait to try as its been about 24 months tcc. Has anyone else heard success stories after a lap/D&C?

xo

[JLeigh29]

Lioness - I've heard lots of people who have conceived one or two cycles after a lap, so that you can be one of them too!

I went straight onto the pill (no AF) after my lap so I can't answer your question about AF, but maybe someone else can...

[beckie73]

Hi Lioness

I have alot of faith in falling pg after a lap as back in June 06 i had a lap and was pg the next month and now have a gorgeous 2 yr old daughter. I just had another lap in April this year so im praying it happens nice and fast again!

I got AF 2 weeks after lap this time as that is when i was due,it didnt seem to upset my cycle at all.


Good luck

[Floweryfields]

I have 25 days to go.......

[Jacks Mummy]

Lioness - I've heard lots of people who have conceived one or two cycles after a lap, so that you can be one of them too!

I went straight onto the pill (no AF) after my lap so I can't answer your question about AF, but maybe someone else can...

Hi ladies,

I am one of those ladies who fell pregnant 2 months after my lap/hysteroscopy.. I was TTC for 2.5 years & during the surgery they found a little endo and some "gunk" in my tubes that they flushed through with the dye (not blocked as such). My AF was not all affected by the surgery.

Good luck and I wish you all a BFP soon.

[Amy_jellybean]

Hi girls,

Sorry its taken me ages to get on here and post a reply! Had my lap done on 9th June, and the anesthetic really affected me. I've had anesthetic a few time before but this time it really knocked me for six! I felt like I was drunk for a good three days after it and didnt feel like I could drive or make a phone call that made sense haha.

I got a letter from the doctor after my surgery that said that they found nothing and that my cervix and uterus looked completely normal on the inside. On one hand thats great because it means that there is nothing wrong but on the other hand I feel like im back at square one again and it doesnt answer the painful sex, very heavy periods etc.

We get the keys to our new house on Thursday and I am flying out to Malaysian for work on saturday, darling husband is going to have a great time painting and moving in on his own!!! Here's hoping that when I get back and life settles down a bit i'll get that

to all your girls out there!!!

[incomplete]

I had my first laparoscopy and hysteroscopy on Monday. This was my first time having surgery (I don't count the IVF egg collection as surgery). So I was quite anxious. I think the anaesthetist could see this as he asked if I wanted something first to take the edge off before going down to theatre. So I did that and had a lie down and some tubes in my nose to give me some oxygen. Glad I did because I have only a vague recollection of being wheeled into theatre, the anaesthetis telling me he was putting the needle in and that was it.

I knew about the shoulder pain but I didn't expect it to be as painful as it was. I'm sure everyone has a different pain threshold, but I found the shoulder pain excruciating, in both shoulders. I had an afternoon surgery and was hoping to go home but I was in too much pain to. I needed the nurse to help me get up and go to the loo the first three times. It was only when I stood up did I realise just how much pain I had in my upper body. I ate something that night, but I didn?t sleep very well. They suggested lying as flat as possible to help ease the pain. I took painkillers but I don?t feel they did much for my shoulder pain. I think the shoulder pain distracted me from any pain I might have had at my incision sites. I ended up getting some heat packs for my shoulders and my rib cage area.

In the morning I felt better, was able to withstand the pain enough to get dressed and freshen myself up. I ended up having a voltaren suppository, which is apparently a slow release painkiller. So I spent yesterday in bed when I got home. I felt fine when I got up this morning, made brekkie, was sitting up, decided to have a shower. Was up for about 20 or 30 mins feeling fine. Then in the shower I got shoulder tip pain again. Throughout the day my stomach has been feeling quite uncomfortable. It feels very tight and bloated. I know you?re supposed to drink a lot of water to help with constipation, but it seems every time I eat or drink, my stomach feels more uncomfortable. I guess that?s normal? Still getting a bit of shoulder tip pain here and there, but now I?m finding the bloating the most uncomfortable. And my husband made me laugh today and gee that hurt ? in my stomach and right under the ribs. Still finding it a bit hard to breathe deeply too. I?m staring a new temp assignment next Tuesday so I?m hoping I?ll feel better by then. Stitches out next Monday. Oh I?m also feeling a bit itchy around the cuts now.
The positive is I only had a couple of very small patches that they removed from my right ovary, I was pretty much okay. He?s going to do some tests now through my next menstrual cycle, he now thinks my symptoms (mid cycle bleeding and cramping) are hormonal.

[calin]

I had a lap and dye and D&C as a public patient a few months ago, my first-ever surgery so I was a bit freaked out, but it was really fine. It was to look for a possible cause for primary infertility. I had to fast but no bowel prep. When I checked in I had to put on one of those adorable, massive gowns and disposable undies, provide a urine sample to test for pregnancy (ha, I wish!), and I think fill out a form or two. Waited around for a bit, then was wheeled in my bed to a room just outside the theatre. I had to wait there for at least half an hour, I think, which was a bit nerve-wracking. Nearly had a cry then! A cute doctor put a drip in the back of my hand - I think that was supposed to relax me but I didn't feel anything. I was wheeled in and heart monitors put on my chest and side (I was kind of surprised at the number of people there - surgeon, nurse, registrars, aneasthetist, med students, I should have charged admission!) I was given an oxygen mask, then the anaesthetist upped my drip (feels cold in the back of your hand) and asked if I felt anything. I said "no", he said "how about now", I said "no", he said "how about now", and I said ... "oooh, now I feel someth ..." Next thing I knew, I was waking up in the recovery room!! I had a little bit of shoulder pain and cramps like period pain (fairly mild, by my standards, anyway), and when I said that, they upped my drip and I felt great! I also woke up freezing, shivering my a*** off, so they put a little heater at my feet and gave me more blankets. Apparently this is common after a general. Someone told me how the surgery went, but I was too out of it to really understand. I slept on and off for the next few hours, during which I was taken back to the day surgery unit. I was there for only a few hours before I went home (you'll need someone to come get you). I did have a bit of trouble connecting my brain to my legs though! I felt dopey for the rest of the night but didn't really have any pain to speak of. This could be because I only had a few patches of endo and they were lasered off, not cut out. I also kept up all the meds they gave me. I probably could have gone to work the next day (I work nights in a sedentary job), but I had that day and I think the next day off, just not feeling mentally sharp enough. I was bloated for at least a week and felt a pulling feeling where I had my incisions (belly button, on pubic line and right side of lower tummy). I had steri strips instead of stitches, and they came off by themselves after a couple of weeks. I was constipated for a couple of days and had some watery bleeding for about a week.
If I could do it again, I would ask to be told about the surgery after I was well awake (I almost think they did it on purpose while I was incoherent so I couldn't ask any time-consuming questions!). I would make sure to have some pads on hand (sent DH for some and he came back with incontinence pads, LMAO) and something for constipation - and drink it as soon as I got home! Really, the worst thing was having to wait 4 weeks before my next obgyn appointment to talk about the findings, and just the thought of people poking around down there while I was unconscious.
All in all, for someone who's pretty scared of the health system in general, really not bad! HTH.