I had a lap to remove a chocolate cyst (called an endometrioma). How long you are under varies depending on what they do in there, for a cyst only, it would likely be pretty short - perhaps as little as 30 mins?
You wake within a very short time of anaethetic drugs stopping, but you are not really alert for a good while after - I am a very slow waker and took ages after my last op (the lap and endo/cyst removal).
For just a cyst I imagine it would be day stay only, so usually once awake and probably not until you've eaten and done a wee, you'll get to go home.
Expect shoulder tip pain from the gas used to inflate your abdomen trying to escape, heat packs help this. Also expect to be quite tender at the incision sites - I had a week off work and was tender for about 3 days - but I also had alot of endo removed as well.
Tests of samples taken during surgery are fairly run of the mill procedure. Please try not to worry, the vast majority of cysts are benign.
ETA regarding pain meds. I found that nothing more serious than panadol was needed after I came home (I had an overnight stay so had stronger meds in hospital).Anything removed is done by burning so it actually seals off the nerve endings and no pain is felt inside.
Sorry to hear you are having such a rough time but, as the previous posters have said, there is nothing to worry about. It is confronting but it is a relatively minor procedure. I really hope it goes well for you
Not sure if your gyno told you this, but with the CA125 test, make sure you don't have it while you have your period. This will artificially inflate the results (I have to have them every six months).
Good luck!
Last edited by nothing2lose; January 17th, 2012 at 03:45 PM.
Thanks so much girls, you are all legends! Just hearing someone say "Try not to worry" helps immensely. I guess I'm just worried because around Christmastime I started getting continual lower back pain (dull ache) similar to the kind you get when menstruating, and I know that's a symptom of ovarian cancer. But it's also a symptom of ovarian cysts... I know I know, stop listening to Dr Google!!
I freaked out again today though, because I got a letter in the mail from the gyno, with a new referral for the CA125 Blood Test, saying "Get this test done when not on a period". Now, I was totally confused because I had already gotten the test done on Friday morning (when I wasn't menstruating) so I started thinking terrible things - i.e. The test results came back on Friday afternoon with a high reading, so the gyno thought that I was menstruating when I had it done, only I wasn't, which would mean maybe I have cancer... Hope that makes sense!
So I called the gyno's office, and her secretary didn't know but was going to ask her and call me back! Still waiting for the call..... Sigh. Will call again tomorrow. Surely she wouldn't assume I was on a period if the reading came back high, right??
If there were concerns with results (andit's is highly unlikey any results would be in within a day) the doctor would definitely call you to come in, not send a letter. The letter was likely because the gyno realised that she didn't make sure you were aware of this (the not during your period thing) in the appointment.
Thanks Ausgirl... That's probably why - although she did tell me that during our appointment (not to get it done when on a period). Maybe she just forgot that she told me.
I'm booked for 10 May. I just read the ultrasound doctor's report and he said it looked like an endometrioma.
Maybe the endometriosis is back...
I was suspected of having endometriosis back in late 2004, but never had a lap as ultrasounds were clear. Instead I was told to continously stay on the pill to avoid periods. That was great! I came off the pill in September 2008 and fell pregnant February 2009. After having my daughter in October 2009, my periods didn't recommence until August 2010.
She is still breastfed, so I haven't been able to go back on the ordinary pill.
So perhaps, now that my periods have been regular 17 months, endometrial tissue has developed again...
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