I'm sure there are probably a million threads with all this information but I really wanted to ask the questions myself - so sorry if you've had to answer them before!! So in regards to a laparoscopy......
How many keyholes do they make in your stomach?
Who has had problems with the gas afterwards (eg shoulder pain etc)?
How bad was that pain?
How long did you have off work?
When did you start feeling normal again?
Do the keyholes have stitches?
Does your stomach get bruised?
How long does the procedure take?
I've probably got a million more questions and I'll come back when I do!! Thanks to everyone in advance for answering my questions.
Last edited by Aimz; October 24th, 2008 at 08:28 AM.
Oh okay
well i can maybe help u -but maybe not - ive only had laproscopic surgery to have gall bladder removed and ur answers are as follows
1. 4 key holes - one in belly button 2 on right hand side and 1 in middle of chest
2. didnt have any problem with Gas afterwards
3. pain wasnt too bad - did have pain killers - it was more uncomfortable moving around and getting out of bed etc - and i have a very low pain threshold!!!
4. i think i had a week or just under a week off work - which was pleanty of time
5. didnt really start feeling normal again until the wounds healed up and i knew they werent going to get infected or anything - i felt queesy looking at them - that was maybe a mth (is that what u meant by that question?)
6. no stomach wasnt bruised!
7. i didnt have same proceedure as u - but mine took about 2hrs - was a bit longer cause i was 29wks pregnant at the time!
So thats my experience on Laproscopic surgery
I have also had a D&C if u have any questions on that!
How many keyholes do they make in your stomach? I had a tiny hole in my belly button, and a tiny hole at my pubic hair line. If you have endo and they need to burn it off they put another on in too *I think*
Who has had problems with the gas afterwards (eg shoulder pain etc)? I did, for about a day afterrwards. Pretty normal and not so much pain but uncomfy and really annoying.
How bad was that pain? Panadol took care of it for me. I was a bit stiff and bruised and getting out of bed the first day was a bit tricky (we DID have a waterbed though).
How long did you have off work? I was at uni so doesnt really count but I reckon 2-3 days would have been all I needed off.
When did you start feeling normal again? A week and I was feeling normal, no pain at all.
Do the keyholes have stitches? Mine didnt, just a bandaid over the pubic one for a few hours.
Does your stomach get bruised? Mine did, but some don't. It was mostly just around where they put the instruments in.
How long does the procedure take? For me it was barely an hour, I went under just after 10am and when I woke up in recovey it was 11am.
ETA: I had laparoscopy + hysteroscopy (the camera thing, i think thats what its called?) + dye studies (checks for blocked tubes)
How many keyholes do they make in your stomach? 3 each time for me. One in your belly button, and they try to keep the others below your bikkini bottoms line.
Who has had problems with the gas afterwards (eg shoulder pain etc)? Some, but sitting upright seems to help it. Only lasted about 24 hours.
How bad was that pain? More like discomfort from the gas. I found I was very sore after the operation both times. Kind of bent over double for a couple of days (remember I had big ops both times).
How long did you have off work? A couple of weeks both times (but I have severe endo). The worst was the first few days after the op. I just felt fragile for the second week.
When did you start feeling normal again? The second week after
Do the keyholes have stitches? Yes, first time disolvable ones, the second pull out ones. Both were absolutely fine.
Does your stomach get bruised? Not sure. You feel kind of sore inside more than outside.
How long does the procedure take? Can be from 15 minutes to 3 hours depending on how bad the problem is (if there is a problem at all). If it is really bad when they first look at it, and it needs to take longer than theatre is scheduled , sometimes they wont do the whole treatment during the op as theatre time is precious and they may book you back for a second go. I don't think this happens too often though.
Try to focus on the fact that most women with endo don't have too much of it (a few patches) and it can mostly be dealt with in one go during a lap and potentially with follow up drug treatment.
Don't freak out. I never saw the gauze get taken out. If it was there at all, it was taken out before I woke up.
The pad under me wasn't that bad either, I just didn't expect it, and certainly didn't expect it to look kinda purple (blue dye & blood combined). I freaked for a second til I remembered I was having blue dye put through. Just something to remember in case they do the dye with you. It's perfectly normal to look purple.
At least I know now so I'm prepared for blood and dye...
When I was 16 I had to have a colposcopy (biopsy) which was done without any anaesthetic. It hurt like HELL and I was traumatised about it for years - even now I still cringe when I think of what it felt like. But the worst part was when I got up and saw this pool of blood on the tray underneath me. Mum had to catch me while I fell to the floor. I was out cold!
Yeah they gave me some strong ones (no idea what they were though...) for the first day once the anaesthetic wore off completely. After the first 12 hours I found panadol and neurofen worked fine. The feeling is more like when you've worked your ABs out way to hard and pulled a muscle, a very stiff kind of pain. The only thing that hurt was my stomach. My girly bits didn't hurt at all.
And like I said, the bleeding isn't (shouldn't be) worse than having AF.
I hope this helps, just remember it doesn't hurt as much as you imagine it will do and I had great benefits from the procedure so its worth it. It allowed me to go on and have two wonderful children so just focus on the end results... being pain free and having the option of fertility given back to you.
All the best, cheers Missy
How many keyholes do they make in your stomach? I had four in total including one in my belly button, two over my ovaries and one abit higher on my side . Only one on my side was a problem the others only needed a sticky plaster.
Who has had problems with the gas afterwards (eg shoulder pain etc)? I think the temporary pain in my shoulder was worse than the actual operation pain and I did say temporary mine lasted a day.
How bad was that pain? Quite bad but again it doesn't last too long and they gave me some pain meds to take the edge off..
How long did you have off work? Two weeks as mine was quite extensive
When did you start feeling normal again? I'd say it took about three weeks to get back to normal activitys without feeling anything much.
Do the keyholes have stitches? Mine weren't stitched but I think the one I had trouble with should have been as it was quite large but the others were hardly noticable. I have tiny scars with three hole and quite a big one with the bad one. If they by any chance do end up leaving you a big hole then insist they stitch it I wish I had.
Does your stomach get bruised? Not as far as I could see on the outside but it sure felt bruised on the inside.
How long does the procedure take? Mine took nearly two hours but as I say it was extensive
Hi.
My sister had a lap done a little while ago & is going in for I think the hyster?? one in 2 weeks.
She was shocked & embarrassed when she got up after & blood went on the floor, noone warned her about that & she freaked. It is normal. The bleeding didn't last very long though. A couple of days maybe.
She had 2 insicions. One in the belly button & one down further. The only problem she had was her pants rubbing on the lower one.
She went to macca's after if that helps?
I took my bestie to macca's after hers, but it made her feel sick to eat & she slept all afternoon.
You will feel bruised & sore inside. Thats the main complaint I heard from both of them.
My sister was in for about an hour & a half to two hours. My bestie about an hour.
I wanted to go to Maccas after! It was right around the corner, but the nurse said I had to just eat unprocessed easy to digest food for the first 12 hours while my body comes out of the anesthetic. I tried to convince Shel otherwise but she wouldn't listen lol
The procedure is on the Friday and I have the Monday Tuesday off after. Now I'm thinking I will take the rest of that week off to fully recover and have some down time.
If they do find endo and have to remove it I am betting I will be in quite a bit more pain.
Last edited by Aimz; October 24th, 2008 at 12:32 PM.
How many keyholes do they make in your stomach? I had 3 - one in my belly button, one just on my pubic hair line and one half way in between.
Who has had problems with the gas afterwards (eg shoulder pain etc)? I had shoulder pain from the gas, it was more of an awkward discomfort rather than being painful, lying down helped alot.
How long did you have off work? I had 2 weeks off.
When did you start feeling normal again? Physically about a month, emotionally a lot longer.
Do the keyholes have stitches? It depends on your surgeon...my incisions were glued.
Does your stomach get bruised? No bruising here (my surgeon was fab!)
How long does the procedure take? It depends on what they find. It is normally day surgery. They ended up finding severe endo in me so the surgery took a good couple of hours and I think I was in recovery for about an hour or so before I woke up. I stayed in hospital overnight.
The laparoscopy is essentially the keyhole surgery. They make one hole (usually in the belly button) for the camera and other holes for the tools used to look around and remove endo, scar tissue etc. The hysteroscopy is when they insert the camera, etc vaginally and go in that way to look inside your uterus.
They flush your tubes out with a special dye which shows them if your tubes are blocked and how badly.
For pain relief, I had pethadine and had some other painkillers to take home with me. It really knocks your stomach muscles about and it will be painful to sit up, get out of bed, move around a bit for at least a week. So don't hesitate to take as much time as you need to recover. Take it slow and easy for a couple of weeks at least.
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