What to expect after lap surgery?

HakunaMatata · 11-10-2008, 02:11 AM

OK, I know I already posted something about the surgery for Endo, but now I have scheduled it and I'm getting a little anxious and have a new question: What should I expect - short term and long term - after the surgery? I've had surgery before, but it was hardly invasive - just marsupialization of a Bartholin cyst. This is a bit more invasive and I'm just getting antsy.

Will they keep me overnight?
Under what circumstances would they keep me?
I read that they will fill my stomach with air...will I be puffy afterward? Will it feel like I have gas or is it a different pain?
I'm having the surgery on Thursday morning. I have off of work Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Is this enough time? I have an office job - I will be sitting when I get back anyway.
MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION: My doctor said the stuff would be lasered and it would disintegrate. Well, I know it doesn't disappear - so does it just pass from my vaginal canal? Will I notice it or is it painful?

That's all I can think of for now. Thanks in advance for your answers, ladies!

OliviaLeigh · 11-10-2008, 01:01 PM

I did not stay overnight for my Lap. I was in surgery about 1.5 hours and was released about 3 hours after surgery. Right after surgery - they made me sip water and take a pain pill. I do remember not wearing any panties and feeling quite odd about it when they changed my pad under me. Just be prepared to shelf the modesty for a few hours.

One of the best tips I can give is the bowel prep - if you do a bowel prep - I took Miralax for 5 days until my surgery. By the night before when I did the prep, I barely had to go and had NO cramping

Also, mixing it w/ gatorade or ginger ale. And chewing gum

I would suggest taking off the day before surgery if you can. I had to go to the hospital and do pre-op. I also was on a liquid diet that day and did the prep that night. I was in pretty bad shape though - very weak, so the whole taking blood and not eating really beat me down. I almost did not have surgery b/c my pre op was so bad - high blood pressure, high pulse rate & a fever. So make sure you are well rested for the surgery.

As for recovery, I was not supposed to drive for a week. Your dr may be different. I was out of work for 2 weeks. But everyone is different. I felt better by day 8 after my surgery. Be sure to take with you a blanket or something to put over your lap for your car ride home. I was told not only not to drive for a week , but avoid riding in the car for a week as the seatbelt in a car wreck could be very bad!

It took 2-3 days for the "gas" to really feel gone for me. I did have some cramping and the "shoulder pain" from the gas. I found that propping myself up to sleep helped. Another weird thing for me - I ended up w/ a pinched nerve in my neck from the position of my head during surgery (when they put the tube down the throat). Oh - which - that will cause a sore throat when you wake up.

For a few days I felt like my organs were "finding their places again" - it felt weird sitting up, standing, and sitting on the toilet. This soreness/stiffness is helped with pain killers and just avoiding moving around altogether.

I think by disinegrate he means it will be re-absorbed. It's impossible for anything in your abdominal cavity to go through your vagina (unless there was a hole in your uterus).

I too have an office job and found it quite uncomfortable sitting in a chair. I preferred to sit on the couch w/ my legs on an ottoman. Just think of it this way - any bending/pressure to your abdominal area will cause pain for a few days. I was on pain pills for a week and then switched to 4 ibuprofen every 6 hours.

HTH

GL

DiamondInTheRough · 11-10-2008, 06:04 PM

I haven't had a lap, but I've had uterine surgery before. I agree with everything Oliva said. Especially the part about the gas pains. I had it really bad in the shoulder/neck. I remember that more then any other pain, and I've been put under 3 different times.

HakunaMatata · 11-11-2008, 12:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OliviaLeigh

I did not stay overnight for my Lap. I was in surgery about 1.5 hours and was released about 3 hours after surgery. Right after surgery - they made me sip water and take a pain pill. I do remember not wearing any panties and feeling quite odd about it when they changed my pad under me. Just be prepared to shelf the modesty for a few hours.

One of the best tips I can give is the bowel prep - if you do a bowel prep - I took Miralax for 5 days until my surgery. By the night before when I did the prep, I barely had to go and had NO cramping

Also, mixing it w/ gatorade or ginger ale. And chewing gum

I would suggest taking off the day before surgery if you can. I had to go to the hospital and do pre-op. I also was on a liquid diet that day and did the prep that night. I was in pretty bad shape though - very weak, so the whole taking blood and not eating really beat me down. I almost did not have surgery b/c my pre op was so bad - high blood pressure, high pulse rate & a fever. So make sure you are well rested for the surgery.

As for recovery, I was not supposed to drive for a week. Your dr may be different. I was out of work for 2 weeks. But everyone is different. I felt better by day 8 after my surgery. Be sure to take with you a blanket or something to put over your lap for your car ride home. I was told not only not to drive for a week , but avoid riding in the car for a week as the seatbelt in a car wreck could be very bad!

It took 2-3 days for the "gas" to really feel gone for me. I did have some cramping and the "shoulder pain" from the gas. I found that propping myself up to sleep helped. Another weird thing for me - I ended up w/ a pinched nerve in my neck from the position of my head during surgery (when they put the tube down the throat). Oh - which - that will cause a sore throat when you wake up.

For a few days I felt like my organs were "finding their places again" - it felt weird sitting up, standing, and sitting on the toilet. This soreness/stiffness is helped with pain killers and just avoiding moving around altogether.

I think by disinegrate he means it will be re-absorbed. It's impossible for anything in your abdominal cavity to go through your vagina (unless there was a hole in your uterus).

I too have an office job and found it quite uncomfortable sitting in a chair. I preferred to sit on the couch w/ my legs on an ottoman. Just think of it this way - any bending/pressure to your abdominal area will cause pain for a few days. I was on pain pills for a week and then switched to 4 ibuprofen every 6 hours.

HTH

GL

Unfortunately I can't take off the day before =[ I have just enough days to take Thursday (the day of) and Friday off, then off on the weekend, of course. I guess I will have to push through the following week, even if it hurts.

I've been hearing a lot about "pre-op" and "bowel prep" stuff, but none of this was brought up to me. We just scheduled it and they told me when to show up for the surgery. Am I missing a step? Is there something I should be doing at home? Now I'm really freaked out - what if I get there and the hospital says I didn't do something when I wasn't told I was supposed to do anything? =[

OliviaLeigh · 11-11-2008, 01:38 PM

This is how it worked for me:

Usually the hospital will call and schedule your pre-op. They take blood, check your blood pressure, pulse, temperature to make sure you are "in shape" for surgery. They will also check your blood type and check your clotting (to make sure you don't have any clotting issues).

The bowel prep is usually done before lap because they do not want your intestines or bladder to be "in the way" during the procedure. I received the packet of information from my doctor's office. It had instructions on when to eat what, etc.

I have a friend having lap done in 2 weeks. She also had not been told to do bowel prep or pre-op. I told her to contact her dr. The last thing you want is suprises right before surgery.

Just as an FYI - do not take any NSAID's (ibuprofen) a week before surgery. They also suggest no supplements or herbal treatments a week before as well.

As for time off - I did FMLA. I called HR and had them initiate the request. I was able to take off the time needed to recover from surgery. I highly suggest looking into this. It takes stress off of you so you can relax before surgery and take the time needed for a full recovery. I know you are TTC, so take care of yourself

HakunaMatata · 11-11-2008, 03:38 PM

Thanks Olivia -

I called my Doctor's office to find out some information - I'm waiting for a call back.

OliviaLeigh · 11-11-2008, 09:47 PM

K - Sounds good.

Good Luck.

Also check into the FMLA if you can....

just*me · 11-11-2008, 10:18 PM

Eva - Just to put in my 2 cents. I had a lap in Feb of this year. I did my pre-op the morning of the surgery. I didn't have to do a bowel prep. I had to have my appendix disconnected from my fallopian tube and laser removal of endometriosis. I was in surgery about 1.5 hours and recovery for 2 hours. My lower abdomen was sore but I was able to function. I had surgery on Thursday and was back to work on Monday. I'm a home infusion nurse so I was in and out of my car and traveling for work. The worst part was the shoulder pain from the gas they fill you with. Thin people have this problem more often than heavier people. I found a heating pad and BenGay most helpful for this. I took Percocet the day of the surgery and switched to ibuprofen the next day. I was able to return to TTC a month later. Hope this helps!!

HakunaMatata · 11-12-2008, 03:21 PM

OK so – after 3 calls to the office I finally got an answer: nothing. I asked if they were sure; they were. I asked if I should do anything just to be safe, they said not to have a big dinner the night before (steak, Denny’s grand slam, etc. were their anti-suggestions LOL). Anyway, I’m playing it super-safe just to err on the side of caution. I’ve limited myself to clear liquids for today, and yesterday I went and got the dreaded Magnesium Citrate. WOW…that stuff tastes terrible – even in grape! TMI ALERT!!! Anyway, I guess I have some pretty clean bowels because nothing happened, and I’m not constipated. I pass pretty regular bowels on a daily basis. It didn’t kick in until this morning, when my dinner from last night had been fully digested.

Now I’m starving. I’ve had a bottle of water every hour so far today.

HakunaMatata · 11-12-2008, 03:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by just*me

Eva - Just to put in my 2 cents. I had a lap in Feb of this year. I did my pre-op the morning of the surgery. I didn't have to do a bowel prep. I had to have my appendix disconnected from my fallopian tube and laser removal of endometriosis. I was in surgery about 1.5 hours and recovery for 2 hours. My lower abdomen was sore but I was able to function. I had surgery on Thursday and was back to work on Monday. I'm a home infusion nurse so I was in and out of my car and traveling for work. The worst part was the shoulder pain from the gas they fill you with. Thin people have this problem more often than heavier people. I found a heating pad and BenGay most helpful for this. I took Percocet the day of the surgery and switched to ibuprofen the next day. I was able to return to TTC a month later. Hope this helps!!

Thanks so much! I really appreciate this reply because it gives the other side of recovery - a relatively smooth one! I hope mine goes as well as yours did...

Renee3600 · 11-12-2008, 10:38 PM

I had my lap in August of this year. The just told me not to eat or drink anything 12 hours before. As for recovery, mine was pretty quick. I had the surgery on Friday and went back to work Sunday afternoon. I had my post-op on Tuesday and was cleared to do normal stuff, but not to over-do it. I mowed the yard on Wednesday. I had very, very mild gas pains when I was laying on my right side that were right under my rib cage. It only happened twice. I don't remember passing anything. I don't think it works like that. I did spot for 2 days after surgery.

I am so beyond glad I had the surgery done. I got pregnancy the cycle after the surgery, but it was a chemical, but then got pregnant the cycle after that. I'm only 5 weeks today, but I had good beta numbers and have an u/s scheduled for next week.

Good luck!!

OliviaLeigh · 11-13-2008, 10:30 AM

YAY! Renee!!! Congratulations!!!!!!

HakunaMatata · 11-14-2008, 04:19 AM

UPDATE - I went in this morning for surgery. I was very nervous, but excited about getting this behind me. When I woke up in recovery, I was told that the surgery partially failed...but no one had any more information than that for me. I was told that my doctor had spoken with my husband and that he knew the status. When I got out, I called my husband (he was at work, my grandparents took me home and everything) and he said no one called him and no one talked to him - he knew absolutely nothing. I don't know who my doctor talked to, but it wasn't my husband. My husband had to leave after I went into the OR so I was confused when they said that anyway. I was bleeding vaginally so I knew the D&C took place, and my belly button had a bandaid and gauze so I knew they at least tried to do that.

When I got home, I called my doctor's office and left a message to find out what happened. A few (long) hours later, I got a call from Josie, my doctor's assistant. She said the D&C was successful, but the laparoscopy and something else (the procedure to dye my fallopian tubes or something to make sure the pathway is clear) didn't work. I asked why, she put me on hold to ask him, came back and said there was "too much fatty tissue." Now, I am not huge. Yes, I'm overweight, but I know women larger than me that have had this surgery successfully. So, this is all I know until my follow up with him in 2 weeks.

There's a lot of emotion right now - disappointment, frustration, confusion, and anger. I honestly feel like my doctor didn't try hard enough. I think that in this situation, he really failed me and I think it's really unfair that I don't get to know the details for 2 weeks. I don't even know what the next step is. I don't know if I need to try again at some point in 2009.

So, the D&C was just the tip of the iceberg. He took care of what was there vaginally, but it's just the beginning and it doesn't get me any closer to pain relief or conception. This whole thing was just a big waste of time off of work, money, effort, and pain. My belly button hurts like hell and for what? Nothing.

So, that's all I have for right now...and it's all I'll have for 2 weeks. I'm throwing a pity party - everyone's invited. LOL

Heading back to bed. Very sleepy. This surgery, successful or not, really kicked my butt.

OliviaLeigh · 11-14-2008, 10:12 AM

Wow I am really sorry for all the confusion. My dr took tons of photos and showed me after surgery - did you ask if there were photos so you could actually see? Sometimes that helps.

When will you get your pathology reports for D&C. I also had one during lap and it felt like a steel bat between my legs! I bled for about 5 days (but I'm a non stop bleeder anyways....)

Did they say there was endo? Did you have just one incision or many? I had many and that is because they had to clean and pull out cysts, etc.

Sounds like your dr may not be specialized?

I don't know if this helps but I went into surgery at 5'5 and 148 - not perfect, a little overweight and everything was able to be done to me successfully. I would ask for a better excuse - for sure.

Gosh, I feel so bad for you. All that pain and no answers. I would be terribly upset. My recovery was tough and surgery was long for me, but now I'm grateful I came out "cleaned out", thorougly checked, and with photos. You deserve the same.

Please keep us posted. I'll join your party

I'm having issues getting treatment...but I'm not going to bore you with that. Please feel better, rest.

HakunaMatata · 11-16-2008, 04:50 PM

My doctor didn't give me any instructions for my belly button, and none of the paperwork said anything so I kept it really simple. I used very mild soap (cetaphil) for my belly button and barely did that...just spent a lot of time rinsing it in the shower. Now I have some discharge, it's brownish gray and it smells bad. It's Sunday, so obviously I can't call my doctor and I'm not going to use the after hours thing for something like this. Is this normal? Is there something else I should be doing with my belly button?