Post by sunkissedpr1ncs on Jun 2, 2013 12:29:20 GMT -5
Hi everyone, I'm new here and just wanted to share my lap story for everyone...I already posted a more detailed intro in the introduction thread but some basic background: I'm 27 and had been having increasingly extreme pain with each period for the last year (after my husband and I decided we wanted to try and get pregnant and I went off BC). It was getting so bad that I was in tears and screaming for the first few days of my period and nothing was helping, not even the vicodin and percocet they had me on. I had a 2nd pelvic u/s done in January (had one in september that didn't show anything) and they found 2 8cm chocolate cysts, one on each ovary. My obgyn referred me to a gyn. oncologist who should thought would be better at removing those cysts and still preserving my ovaries. So I went to see him and had my surgery scheduled for 2 weeks later.
I had my surgery on February 1st 2013. The day before I had to be on a liquid diet and do a bowel prep (which I hope I'll never have to do again, yuck!). I went to the hospital the next morning and they had already told me that it would be inpatient and I would have to stay overnight. They got me prepped and the doctors, anesthesiologist, etc came and talked to me and then they took me to the OR and then I was out! The surgery took about 4 hours - They said it was the worst endo they had ever seen. They were able to drain the cysts and remove all the endo they could, but since there was so much, they weren't able to remove it all. They performed the surgery with a DaVinci robot and I had 5 small incisions, one in my bellybutton and 2 on each side.
When I woke up, I was really groggy and sore. They took me to my room after a little while and I asked if my husband could come in so they went and got him. They had an IV of constant morphine going to me and I also had a button I could push if I needed more. They put me on a full liquid diet to see how I did on that (I was starving so I scarfed down a few puddings!) then they let me go on a regular full diet. I also had a catheter, which was a lifesaver because I didn't want to move at all. My amazing husband stayed with me the whole time and I pretty much just dozed off here and there the rest of the afternoon and night. The nurses came and checked on me every few hours, even at night. One of the most annoying things was at about 3a.m. a nurse came in and said that she needed to get my weight. I hadn't gotten out of bed yet and really didn't want to because I was so sore. It was so painful and awkward getting out of bed for the first time, you don't realize how much you use your core to do little things like sit up!
The next morning they had me get up and walk around, which I hated! I just hurt and was so swollen and sore, all I wanted to do was lay down. Finally at about 2p.m. they let me go home. I was getting dressed but my whole body was so swollen that I couldn't even put my bra on. Luckily I had brought a tank top and a t-shirt and sweats. They let me take a pillow for the ride home which was a lifesaver since every little bump made me cringe.
Since they closed the incisions with dermabond, they said I could shower as soon as I got home, so I took a quick shower then made myself as comfortable as I could on the couch. It was still so hard to get up and go to the bathroom, etc for the next couple days. I was taking Ibuprofen and percocet on a strict schedule because as soon as they wore off, I could def feel it! I did have a lot of gas pain from the gas they put in my belly during surgery but had read about that and took gas-x, which seemed to help. I also made sure to try and walk around for 10 minutes every few hours.
I had the surgery on a Friday and thought I would probably be able to go back to work that Monday. Hahaha, boy was I wrong! I couldn't work at all that Monday and luckily my work let me work from home the rest of the week so I didn't have to waste all my PTO. Even working from home was hard though because I had to lay on the couch and was still so uncomfortable and ended up having to still stop working early because I was just so tired. The swelling and bloating went down over the first week (not completely, but I didn't look like as much of a freak by the next weekend!). I also had to sleep on the couch for over a week so I could be propped up a little, sleeping flat or on my side was just out of the question.
Finally a week after the surgery I left the apartment for the first time! I would still get sore and tired after being out for awhile. My husband and I went to run some errands and I couldn't hang after about an hour. The next week I worked from again that Monday but thought I would try and go back to work that Tuesday. It probably wasn't the best idea. None of my work clothes fit since I was still a little swollen. Luckily my work is pretty relaxed so I was able to just wear some leggings and a slouchy sweater. I was ok during work and that night but the next morning I was not feeling good at all. I guess I had just pushed myself a little too much, so I worked from home the rest of the week.
By the next week, I was feeling a lot better and went back to work for good. I also had my follow-up appt with my surgeon and they said the incisions looked good and I could go ahead and take the dermabond glue off that night. I was able to take the glue off 4 of the 5 incisions, but one wouldn't come off, so I didn't want to keep messing with it so I just left it on and figured it would come off when it was ready. That one incision gave me so much trouble for the next few weeks. It was closed but the top layer of skin wouldn't completely heal on it. Every time a new layer of skin formed, I would get in the shower and it would come off and start bleeding a little again. Finally I decided to start putting ointment on it and it eventually healed all the way up.
It's been about 4 months since my surgery now and I'm feeling great! I was so scared about my first period after but it was the best period I've ever had! I had ZERO pain! I didn't have to take any pain pills at all! The next couple after, I've had a little bit of cramping, but nothing major at all. Now my husband and I are just trying to get pregnant as soon as possible so that the endo doesn't decide to make a re-appearance anytime soon. I've also been trying to cut out most dairy and gluten and will be starting a really strict diet this week since I've gotten off track a little bit lately.
To anyone who is having this done, I would definitely recommend taking at least a week off work, even 2 if you can. They make it seem like you will be able to bounce right back but it takes a lot more out of you than you think!! Also, my scars are looking better as time goes on. They're all pretty small and have flattened out so now I'm just waiting for the redness to go away.
If anyone has any questions or needs any advice on having a lap done, please let me know! I'll be more than happy to try and answer anything I can!
I had my surgery on February 1st 2013. The day before I had to be on a liquid diet and do a bowel prep (which I hope I'll never have to do again, yuck!). I went to the hospital the next morning and they had already told me that it would be inpatient and I would have to stay overnight. They got me prepped and the doctors, anesthesiologist, etc came and talked to me and then they took me to the OR and then I was out! The surgery took about 4 hours - They said it was the worst endo they had ever seen. They were able to drain the cysts and remove all the endo they could, but since there was so much, they weren't able to remove it all. They performed the surgery with a DaVinci robot and I had 5 small incisions, one in my bellybutton and 2 on each side.
When I woke up, I was really groggy and sore. They took me to my room after a little while and I asked if my husband could come in so they went and got him. They had an IV of constant morphine going to me and I also had a button I could push if I needed more. They put me on a full liquid diet to see how I did on that (I was starving so I scarfed down a few puddings!) then they let me go on a regular full diet. I also had a catheter, which was a lifesaver because I didn't want to move at all. My amazing husband stayed with me the whole time and I pretty much just dozed off here and there the rest of the afternoon and night. The nurses came and checked on me every few hours, even at night. One of the most annoying things was at about 3a.m. a nurse came in and said that she needed to get my weight. I hadn't gotten out of bed yet and really didn't want to because I was so sore. It was so painful and awkward getting out of bed for the first time, you don't realize how much you use your core to do little things like sit up!
The next morning they had me get up and walk around, which I hated! I just hurt and was so swollen and sore, all I wanted to do was lay down. Finally at about 2p.m. they let me go home. I was getting dressed but my whole body was so swollen that I couldn't even put my bra on. Luckily I had brought a tank top and a t-shirt and sweats. They let me take a pillow for the ride home which was a lifesaver since every little bump made me cringe.
Since they closed the incisions with dermabond, they said I could shower as soon as I got home, so I took a quick shower then made myself as comfortable as I could on the couch. It was still so hard to get up and go to the bathroom, etc for the next couple days. I was taking Ibuprofen and percocet on a strict schedule because as soon as they wore off, I could def feel it! I did have a lot of gas pain from the gas they put in my belly during surgery but had read about that and took gas-x, which seemed to help. I also made sure to try and walk around for 10 minutes every few hours.
I had the surgery on a Friday and thought I would probably be able to go back to work that Monday. Hahaha, boy was I wrong! I couldn't work at all that Monday and luckily my work let me work from home the rest of the week so I didn't have to waste all my PTO. Even working from home was hard though because I had to lay on the couch and was still so uncomfortable and ended up having to still stop working early because I was just so tired. The swelling and bloating went down over the first week (not completely, but I didn't look like as much of a freak by the next weekend!). I also had to sleep on the couch for over a week so I could be propped up a little, sleeping flat or on my side was just out of the question.
Finally a week after the surgery I left the apartment for the first time! I would still get sore and tired after being out for awhile. My husband and I went to run some errands and I couldn't hang after about an hour. The next week I worked from again that Monday but thought I would try and go back to work that Tuesday. It probably wasn't the best idea. None of my work clothes fit since I was still a little swollen. Luckily my work is pretty relaxed so I was able to just wear some leggings and a slouchy sweater. I was ok during work and that night but the next morning I was not feeling good at all. I guess I had just pushed myself a little too much, so I worked from home the rest of the week.
By the next week, I was feeling a lot better and went back to work for good. I also had my follow-up appt with my surgeon and they said the incisions looked good and I could go ahead and take the dermabond glue off that night. I was able to take the glue off 4 of the 5 incisions, but one wouldn't come off, so I didn't want to keep messing with it so I just left it on and figured it would come off when it was ready. That one incision gave me so much trouble for the next few weeks. It was closed but the top layer of skin wouldn't completely heal on it. Every time a new layer of skin formed, I would get in the shower and it would come off and start bleeding a little again. Finally I decided to start putting ointment on it and it eventually healed all the way up.
It's been about 4 months since my surgery now and I'm feeling great! I was so scared about my first period after but it was the best period I've ever had! I had ZERO pain! I didn't have to take any pain pills at all! The next couple after, I've had a little bit of cramping, but nothing major at all. Now my husband and I are just trying to get pregnant as soon as possible so that the endo doesn't decide to make a re-appearance anytime soon. I've also been trying to cut out most dairy and gluten and will be starting a really strict diet this week since I've gotten off track a little bit lately.
To anyone who is having this done, I would definitely recommend taking at least a week off work, even 2 if you can. They make it seem like you will be able to bounce right back but it takes a lot more out of you than you think!! Also, my scars are looking better as time goes on. They're all pretty small and have flattened out so now I'm just waiting for the redness to go away.
If anyone has any questions or needs any advice on having a lap done, please let me know! I'll be more than happy to try and answer anything I can!