Question about D&C, Laparoscopy, Dye Studies (newbie)

Hi everyone,

I'm a first-time poster here, although I've been lurking around the threads for quite a while :) I'm hoping someone would be able to share their experiences with me.
A little background: I'm 31, hubby 33, and we've been TTC #1 since Jan 08. Finally after so many mths of trying and failing, hubby admits that something might be wrong with us. So we went to a GP, got his sperms checked, then the GP referred us to an obstetrician/ gynaecologist in Epworth Eastern, Dr Y. C. Lim.

Hubby's sperm count was good, morphology borderline, but his motility was only 28% (supposed to be >50%) but the obgyn told us that the high sperm count compensates for the low motility, so he's fine. Then he told us that he needed to have me checked for any blocked tubes or endometriosis, so I'm booked in for a D&C, Laparoscopy, and Dye Studies this coming Monday 20/7/09.

I'm a bit scared, to be honest. The Dr told us that it's standard procedure, everyone would have to go the same tests to determine what's wrong with the women, if any, and this is the only way to check (can't be done without surgery). I was told that the next day I would be able to do my normal activities. Can anyone please share their experiences ... has anyone seen dr Lim before, and is it normal to have all three procedures done in one go? Also with regards to the costs - I'm with Medibank, the Dr said it'll only cost us the excess, can anyone also please share their experiences about this?

Sorry if this is too long :) :) thanks a lot, ladies!

Hi Cimot and welcome to BB! It is normal to do all 3 procedures for women at the one time. The D&C will strip your uterine lining, the Lap will check the abdominal cavity for endometriosis, cycsts or anything else that's not supposed to be there and the Hysteroscopy is a camera inserted in the uterus to have a look for any scarring etc. The dye study to to check for blockages in the fallopian tubes, so not everyone will have that done unless there is reason to suspect that there may be a blockage etc. Costs will vary from surgeon to surgeon and whether or not they charge over the gap amount etc and the anaesthetic costs will vary too depending on how long you are under for. The average time taken is around 45 minutes, but it could be longer. There is a thread in the endo forums where I had all the costs involved with my most recent Lap surgery, I will link it for you. My PHI is with GU Health, and I had no out of pocket except for a pathology gap and also the anaesthetist gap.


ETA - here is the thread http://forums.bellybelly.com.au/foru...lp-please.html

Also, as for recovery, take a few days off work and rest up - your abdomen will be quite sore and bloated and you may be affected by the anaesthetic for up to 24hrs, even up to 48hrs afterwards and feel woozy, tired etc. You certainly wont be able to resume your normal day the day following the surgery. It took me a good 2wks to get back to normal with no soreness after my latest Lap, but with my first one it was much shorter from memory - I only had 3 days off work and was back doing my normal thing.

Hi Trillian, thanks so much for your reply! I'll have a look at the thread you linked. I'm just nervous because this is my first surgery ever. Thanks again! :p

It's OK to be nervous about it. If you have a read of the Endo forum, there are many stories there of how the surgery went for different people, so it will give you an idea of what to expect. It is a pretty routine thing to have done these days. I'm sure you will be fine. And if you have any questions just ask! :)

Im not sure about returning to normal duties the day after, but it took me about 5 days to feel right again. The dye studies will cause some blue leakage for a few days. The gas they pump your abdo with can cause pain the shoulder, it helped me to walk around alot the day after. Your cycle may be thrown out of whack for a while, it took me ages to get a period. They cut you in the bellybutton and down on your pubic line, this caused consideable bruising and tenderness for myself. When I woke up from the GA i just felt like period type cramps so the nurse gave me a heatpack and some panadol which seemed to help some. I was very very nervous leadiny up to it, but afterwards wondered what I was ever worried about, my gyno saw me in recovery and in my groggy haze told me I was fine :) She just happened to be walking past me, or I would of had to wait to see my GP. Big hugs to you. You will be fine. :)

Hi
I had my lap, d&c and endo removal 3 weeks ago. I feel great - fully recovered, though you will be very sore the next day - they puncture your stomach muscles (only small hole but 3 or 4 of them) to do the procedure so these muscles are very sore for about 3 or 4 days. Depending on what your job is, I wouldn't recommend going back too soon - lifting, etc wouldn't be a good idea till you are well healed.
Everyone's pain level differs, what I can tolerate you may not, and viceversa. Plan to take a week off at least.

I had mine done on the Friday & was back at work on the Monday. I did have quite a bit of pain with the stitches (it was lots of years ago so they didn't disolve back then) for about 2 weeks on the top incision - like whenever clothes brushed on it. I was able to live life normally of course though.

It is the standard thing with infertility. Try not to be too disappointed if they find nothing wrong. I know that sounds weird but I hoped they'd find something so it could be fixed & then I could get pregnant.... they didn't & it was a real let down.

I agree with everyone else, you won't be up and about the next day. Plan to take a few days off work to rest and heal properly.
They are all straightforward procedures which are best done at the same time.

Fingers crossed that you're all clear though and there is nothing to worry about!

Hugs
Sue xxx

Hi everyone, thanks so much for all your replies. I still feel nervous but reading all your responses assured me that I shouldnt worry too much. Fingers crossed ;)

Hi everyone, just thought I'd updated what happened after the lap ...

My obgyn told me that everything inside is clear, no blocked tubes, no endo. so at least I can breathe a sigh of relief on that. but my blood test came back showing a high level of prolactin, he said this is caused by stress, and disrupts ovulation ... so he's putting me on a tablet to reduce the prolactin level. I was too groggy when he explained this to me, but I've been googling about prolactin, and I've found that high prolactin levels can cause anovulation, even though my OPK results have been positive.

Just wondering if anyone else had had this before? :) thanks heaps ..

Hey!!

I've had high prolactin in the past and it is easily remedied. I was doing night shifts at the time and sometimes even a lack of sleep can cause it. It's an easy problem to fix hun!! Mine actually sorted itself out and I didn't need to do anything.

YAY for finding no blockages and no endo!!

Hugs
Sue xxx

I had my lap and dye yesterday. It was a very quick procedure, I was in little pain but I do have some discomfort where the incisions were made. I have two days off work and am going back on friday. I feel I will be fine by then, maybe a little discomfort. Be sure to lay still following the surgery and they should let you sleep it off in recovery, don't be in a hurry to leave the hospital until you're well enough. Moving about too soon brings on nausea. Lots of luck.