Friday, June 28, 2013

Ten Tips for a Successful Endometriosis Laparoscopy Recovery


Laparoscopic surgery using excision to remove endometrial implants is seen by many expert endometriosis surgeons as the best way to treat endometriosis.  Although laparoscopic surgery is one of the least invasive types of surgeries, it is still not an easy procedure to endure.  Healing from the surgery takes time and requires a lot of fortitude on the part of the patient. Dr. Seckin is a leading expert in endometriosis surgery and founder of the Endometriosis Foundation of America. He performed my last endometriosis surgery and together we came up with great tips that are helpful during the healing process.


1.       Use the over counter remedy, Gas-X®:  Dr. Seckin performed my fourth abdominal laparoscopic surgery and I only wished I had had this advice for the first three! During laparoscopic surgery, your doctor will fill your abdominal cavity with gas in order to lift the abdominal walls away from the cavity to get a better view. After the surgery the gas remains, and this can cause intense shoulder or back pains. Gas-X® helped me tremendously after my last laparoscopic surgery. Simethicone, the active ingredient in Gas-X®, is a powerful medicine that breaks up the surface tension of trapped gas and allows your system to deal with it naturally. Ask your doctor if Gas-X® would be right for you. It made a huge difference for me.

2.       Use a mild stool softener such as Colace: I hear so many women talk about the terror associated with having their first bowel movement post-surgery, especially women who have just had endometriosis on their bowels and rectum removed.  To compound this issue, narcotic pain medications often prescribed to relieve pain can also cause constipation and eating a diet high in fiber immediately following surgery is not advised. Drinking at least 64 ounces of water a day will help with this issue.  Although stronger suppositories, laxatives and enemas may not be advised post-surgery, ask your doctor if a mild stool softener such a Colace, can be taken post-operatively. Colace can help ease the strain and pain associated with your first bowel movements.

3.       Keep your diet light for the first few days: I remember the day after my appendectomy, my first laparoscopy, I was very hungry. For my first meal post-surgery, my parents brought me over a dish from my favorite Italian take-out restaurant.  I eagerly gobbled my down my food and ten minutes later, I was throwing it all back up.  If you haven’t experienced it, vomiting right after abdominal surgery is quite painful and unpleasant.  Through trial and error I learned that for the first few days post-surgery, it is so important to eat lightly. Broths, Jell-O and other easily digested foods will help get you back on track. Also may I recommend using this post-surgery period to start following an endometriosis friendly diet to try and make the impact of the surgery last for longer.

4.       Keep your heating pad close: A heating pad is every endometriosis patients’ best friend, including after surgery. After all of my surgeries, I found that my body was achy in other places besides my abdomen.  I was quite surprised the first time I found out that during surgery, the doctor may contort your body into crazy positions in order to find the best position to operate. I thought the position I was in when I went under anesthesia was the position I stayed in throughout the surgery! The physical stress of the operation combined with the stress on my other muscles trying to compensate for my hurt abdomen, would cause my back to hurt. The heating pad can help tremendously with these aches and pains and also can help relieve your swollen abdomen.

5.       Benefits of moving around: It is important to start moving around 24 hours post-surgery.   Small walks to the bathroom or around your bed can actually help you heal faster. Keep in mind, in the beginning, doing something little like getting up to go to the bathroom can be exhausting, but it will get easier. A little bit, goes a long way.

6.       Don’t overdo it: Less than a week after abdominal surgery, a friend of mine decided to take a walk into her small town. Before surgery, walking less than a mile wouldn’t have been an issue for her. Feeling a little bit better after taking it easy for most of the week, she thought it would be okay. I remember getting a panicked call from her asking me to come pick her up half-way there. She felt horrible. Whether it be exercising, vacuuming, or lifting, make sure not to overdo it and get your doctor’s approval first. Your body is using most of its resources to heal, so doing anything too taxing on top of that can set your recovery back, or even worse, cause internal sutures to burst.  Resting for so long can be discouraging. Don’t be disheartened, you will be back to your normal life in no time.

7.       Keep an eye on your incisions: If closed properly incisions should appear healed within a week, and then it takes about 6 weeks for them to heal completely. If incisions seem overly swollen or if they seem to be infected, schedule an appointment with your doctor to have him/her check them. During one of my surgeries with a less than helpful surgeon, one of my incisions reopened through no fault of my own. My doctor did not want to hear about my post-surgery issues and advised me to pack it with gauze daily until it healed, which took weeks. The scar the incision left was atrocious and I was angry at not only his lack of skills, but his disinterest in any follow up care.

8.       First period post-surgery is always bad: After my first endometriosis surgery I was not prepared for the incredibly painful period that came right after. It was unlike any pain I had felt on my worst days battling this disease. I was terrified that during surgery the doctor had broken my reproductive parts and now they were somehow detonating in my abdomen. Little did I know this was completely normal. During excision surgery your doctor works on every part of your reproductive parts, cutting and scraping all of the endometriosis away. Naturally there is a lot of healing that has to take place to feel completely better. That healing does not fully happen within the time of your next cycle. So as your reproductive parts start to work again, keep in mind they are still tender.  After my last surgery with Dr. Seckin, by my third period post-surgery I felt incredible, better than I had in years.

9.       Don’t Be Afraid to Call Your Doctor: I feel as endometriosis patients we have a long history of not having faith in our medical professionals to help us.  How could we? For years, so many professionals have dismissed our pain or admittedly have had no idea how to best serve our medical needs.  Sometimes I feel like we have a “Why even bother?” attitude when it comes to reaching out. As exhausting as it is to muster the strength post-surgery to be your own advocate and fight for your health, I am begging you to do it! If you feel in your gut that something is wrong with you, give the doctor a call, even if it is midnight. If it is two weeks later and you feel like something is wrong, call anyway!  Remember you are not only a patient, but a client. Certainly if you experience fever, nausea, vomiting, chills, difficulty urinating, extreme pain in your legs or abdomen or difficulty breathing, call immediately. 

10.    Keep the Faith: I remember one of my surgeons telling me that some people go back to work a few days after surgery. I was NOT one of those people, nor have I met one of those people yet. It took me three full weeks to get back to my regular schedule.  I was feeling great by the fourth week then got my period and was devastated again by pain. I remember crying, feeling so disheartened, because just as I thought I was better, I was sick again. But I eventually felt better and then I felt amazing, better than I had in years. This surgery is emotionally and physically draining. The good news is that excision surgery helps so many women feel so much better. They feel as though they get their lives back. My hope is that you will too!

 

Please feel free to add any tips you have found to be helpful post-surgery in the comment section below. As a community, standing together, we can help each other fight this terrible disease. Know you are not alone and that you are ENDOSTRONG.

63 comments:

  1. I love this! So many tips that I either learned through my laparoscopy experience, or things I wish I'd have read beforehand.. I'm glad to read that everyone's first period after surgery is bad, because I wound up in the ER for mine and was extremely discouraged. Thank you for being brave and sharing some of your endometriosis journey and tips with us!

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  2. I could not have said this better myself. "Don't overdue it". We forget to NOT overdue it because we are women and we are hoping for the best. It's advice we all need to follow especially during the laparascopy timing. So...THANK YOU.

    Yours,
    Beth

    http://ivfgirl.com

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  3. What a great resource. Thanks so much for sharing.

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  4. Thank YOU ladies for reading and sharing your own stories. Sending all of you so much love!

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    1. Hi it was amonth already that i had lapcho. Supposed to be im in my period now. But im 2 days late. I preg test and its negative. Is it normal dat my period is late

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  5. Casey, I just stumbled across this post while refreshing my memory on what to expect after lap #2 on Wednesday. Thank you for the great info!

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  6. Oh, "Babywithatwist" is me, KeAnne :-)

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  7. I'm so glad I read this. I just had my laparoscopy six days ago. GasX was the best advice ever. I suffer my first day after my surgery and then read about GasX and felt much better after taking it. I also drank lots of peppermint tea and carrot juice to help with the gas pain. I'm still feeling pain when I walk any amount so it's nice to hear that I'm not just being a baby and that others take more than the 5 days the doctor says it takes to recover.

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  8. This was a life saver! I didn't have surgery for endometriosis (but surprise! My doc found endometriosis ... Lucky me!) but to remove a 10cm mass and my ovary. Your notes were a godsend as I had an idea what to expect..... Gas-x and heating pads helped immensely. My gi system is always screwy and is more so post surgery... I found I needed a combo of colace and miralax to get things moving

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  9. I also tend to be really nauseated.... To combat this I was given a patch behind my ear (scopaline).... Wonderful! The one thing I was not remotely prepared for was my bladder ceasing to function for 3 days... I had no idea that was a possible side effect of anesthesia! Definitely frustrating (though it was nice to not have to get up at night to use the bathroom!)

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  10. Wow. So many negative stories and this one seemed so helpful. I am 21/2 weeks out and my pain is still there on my right ovary much much better than before surgery so good to know it takes a while to heal thanks for that. Xoxo to everyone battling this awful endo. I was the lucky one to have developed it AFTER a partial hysterectomy for fibroids. Now considering ovarian removal but trying diet instead to help keep it at bay

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  11. This is the perfect blog for anyone who wants to know about this topic

    Laparoscopic gastric banding

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  12. Your amazing!!! Im 16 and have been battling this for 2 years. . Laparoscopy is one of my options, and im scared, so THANK YOU SOOOOOOOOO MUCH FOR THIS! im glad your process went well :)♥

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  13. Suoerb work by you! We follow little bit different protocol.We start clear liquids on day two of surgery after bowel movements and mobilize pt. by evwning we give pourage or full liquids. On day three we will give her full diet. Laxative we use but only liquid paraffin thats best thing u can have without side effects. And yes do ask for GnRH injection after few weeks of surgery.

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  14. Just had my surgery on 11/21/13. I did not need to take any pain meds and was back to work on day 3 post surgery. My surgeon has 30 years experience with this procedure and used a laser to remove the endometriosis. I don't know if that made a difference. I was also in excellent health, physically and nutritionally prior to surgery. I think that having a strong "core" ( ab and lower back muscles) definitely helped. I am 40 years old, so no spring chicken, but my recovery was a piece of cake. I ate fiber rich, nutritionally dense foods post surgery and having regular BM's by day three.

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  15. I just had my lap done 2 weeks ago where endometriosis was removed, cyst of ovary removed, D&C with uterine biopsy performed and scar tissue removed. Let me tell you I was not at all prepared for the pain factor. I am two weeks post op and getting ready to start my period. The pain is so very draining and depressing. I was constipated for 7 days! When I called my doc a couple days into constipation they told me this was normal. I'm sorry but there was nothing normal about it. My best advice is to do research prior to surgery and prepare prepare prepare. My post op appointment is Monday and my doc will definitely be getting an ear full as the pain is still so very intense that my gut says something is wrong.

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    1. I just had the same but also they found large adhesions on my uterus as well that were removed too.. I'm so sick of the pain and the pain of not having a bowel movement..even after colace and miralax ..that barely helped. I hope I am back to normal soon because being an at home mom of 2 young boys (4&1) is so hard when you feel helpless!!

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  16. Are you try to get back your ex gril friend? I think this site help you about it http://getthembacknow.net/

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  17. I just had surgery today, I was fine during the first half of the day. However by this evening my neck, shoulders and chest were in a lot of pain, due to the gas and breathing tube they placed in my during surgery. I have since relieved a lot of that pain very quickly by doing the following:

    1. Shoulder, upper back pain along with neck pain: Lay flat on your back with you legs positioned on many pillows higher than the rest of your body. The air or gas you experience will move from you shoulders... pretty quickly. Also while doing this position a heating pad on your upper back and shoulders.

    2. Another way to relieve this pain would be to kneel on you knees with you chest to the ground again the air or gas will move from your shoulders to you highest point.

    3 Sore throat: make sure you purchase cough drops from your local walmart or walgreens this will help help some of the pain you have gotten from the breathing tub that was used during surgery. Also drink hot drinks coffee, hot teas and or hot chocolate. This has been one of the worst pains for me today. I have felt like I have the worst sore throat EVER. The drinks and cough drops have help tremendously!!

    4. Incisions: Best thing I have found is to try your hardest not to laugh. I have a very funny husband and he makes me bust out laughing a lot! Today I had to tell him to cool it, because every time I would laugh my incisions would ache... of course because they are still bruised.

    5. Sitting up from laying flat is going to have some irritation on the incision along the bikini line, so get help sitting up.

    I would have to say my pain level from this afternoon went from a 9 to around a 3 and is continuing to get better and better by the hour. And I have only taken 2 Motrin all day! Truly when I got my wisdom tooth pulled the pain my much worse!

    Good luck to anyone getting this surgery. And stay in Faith!!

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    1. And thats true laughing is very painful everytime i laugh my chested like hell

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  19. This has been so helpful. I had my surgery 12/11/2013. I wish I had read these post first. A lot of good information. Thanks everyone.

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  20. I just had my surgery to remove endo including a disc from the bowel, 2 weeks ago now. So far recovery has been pretty good and I feel assured that my surgeons have mostly instructed me to follow the above tips. However, nobody warned me about the excruciatingly painful period I would have following surgery. Oh my goodness! It's about 5 x worse than what I'd ever experienced pre surgery! I'm on day 1 of my cycle and I've spent most of the day knocked out from panadeine forte (the only thing that helps, although it only lasts a few hours at a time). Unfortunately due to the time of year I can't see my specialist or any other dr I trust. So my question is, based on anyone's experience - will this pain last throughout my whole period or is it like a normal period where I normally have pain for only the first few days?
    :( I feel like just ripping my uterus out altogether :(

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  21. Well i had this done to me december 18 2013 and my bad was very sore for 3 weeks jan 2 2014 i went back to work.and jan 11 2014 i started feeling pains again and it hurt so dang bad to the point i feel like crap like i just wanna give up on life..

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  22. Long story....but after decades of dealing with pain, I learned to tolerate it. Eventually, severe hip pain led to the discovery of an endometrial cyst on my left ovary. When my doctor went in to remove it, he found that it had implanted itself into the wall of my pelvis. He also discovered severe endometriosis all over my left pelvis etc. fortunately, he got it all. I did well for two weeks after surgery, then had crazy pains I could not differentiate or explain, and neither could my doctor. More tests showed nothing wrong. I am now five weeks out of surgery and feeling better, but am waiting for "the other shoe to drop." It has been a journey for sure. Everything you mentioned above is fabulous advice. I only wish I had seen it sooner. We girls need to band together. There is so much comfort knowing that I am not alone out here....

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  23. Thank u!! very much appreciated

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  24. Excellent tips. Really useful stuff .Never had an idea about this, will look for more of such informative posts from your side.. Good job...Keep it up
    Laparoscopic gastric bypass roux en y

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  25. ***FOURTH laparoscopy I had complications! Be cautious! We all tend to see this surgery to clear out endo as typical and to me was the best route every few years. Well this time the dr. Accidentally perforated my vaginal wall AND NEVER MENTIONED IT! I ended up admitted in the hospital for a week with an intra abdominal abscess which then created a fistula. VER PAINFUL! I knew something was wrong. Please listen to yourselves. We forget how serious surgery risks can be! I didn't know I had sutures let alone a puncture! I wouldn't have strained at all to go to bathroom had I known. It's been a nightmare, with one of the top ten dr. In this field at the BEST hospital in Boston. You HAVE to be diligent and listen to yourself if something seems wrong. Please think twice before you jump in for surgery. I know how debilitating this can be. But had an ER Dr. Not sent me by ambulance to Boston an hour and 1/2 away, I could have gone into septic shock and died. Good luck and be your strongest advocate!

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  26. Thank you so much for sharing this! I was worried that my shoulder pain was abnormal - now I know it's common. I also appreciate the warning about the first period - no one told me that. And I know that my doctor's 3 days of recovery may have been a tad optimistic. Thank You!

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  27. My surgery was a week ago today, and I just started my period. It's weird though, I'm not bleeding much at all and there's a constant pressure on my pelvis. I feel like I need to use the bathroom CONSTANTLY. Anyone else have this?????

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  28. Also, thank you for the great advice! I'll be more prepared for my next one now.

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  29. Thanks for sharing. Had my surgery yesterday and I feel like I've been hit by a truck. Much of this information was never really covered very well at the hospital, even though I went to many pre-surgical appointments. Yikes, I'm feeling terrible but I guess I'm not alone....

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    1. Lisa, I had my surgery on May 6th. You are not alone! I'm feeling very angry and frustrated with both my doctor's and hospital's lack of communication regarding any post op expectations other than "gas pain in the shoulder". I'm glad we found this very informative post. Heal Well

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    2. Lisa, I had my surgery on May 6th. You are not alone! I'm feeling very angry and frustrated with both my doctor's and hospital's lack of communication regarding any post op expectations other than "gas pain in the shoulder". I'm glad we found this very informative post. Heal Well

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  30. thank you so much..am due to get operated next week and very very scared.the post surgery suggestions give me a headsup on what to expect and dealing with it...:) wish me luck--Ms

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  31. Im 15 and having the surgery in two weeks my surgeon tpld me id be back at school in a week but im worried at how long ill miss

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  32. This was a wonderful post! I just had my second surgery on May 15th for my stage 4 endo (endometriomas on both ovaries, endo on my bowel, bladder & pelvis, they removed my appendix due to the endo & repositioned my organs that had been tied together from adhesions -- my left ovary was stuck to my sigmoid colon & uterosacral ligament, pulling my uterus to the left). I wish I had read this post before my first surgery!! While my second surgery was much more complex, my recovery was much faster due to a lot of these tips (& some of the other readers' comments/tips). I'm also glad you mentioned that the 1st period after surgery can be very rough. I'd completely forgotten that from last time, but I'm very glad I'm prepared for the worst - LOL!
    Thanks so much for this -- it was incredibly helpful!

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  33. I wanted to add a comment since I just had laparoscopy yesterday and my gyno found stage 2 endometriosis.
    In all honesty, the surgery and recovery haven't been so bad so far (I'm pleasantly surprised). Before surgery, I expressed my concerns about nausea upon waking up from being under, so the anesthesiologist put an anti-emetic in my IV, and they also gave me a scopolamine patch behind my ear, not once have I had a second of nausea, thank goodness! When I woke up from the surgery itself, I was shaking pretty hard from the anesthesia and I found that annoying, plus it wasn't helping with the abdominal pain, so they put a warm blanket on me, had me eat some crackers and water, and gave me a Percocet for the pain. I only had an incision in my belly button and about a 3/4-inch cut in my bikini line. I was able to walk inside my home after the surgery and get into bed by myself. I'd highly recommend anyone take stool softeners the minute you get home if you think you'll be taking pain meds.
    Another huge fear I had going in was that I would have excruciating shoulder pain from the gas. The trapped air in my body settled mostly in my ribcage yesterday, and that made breathing a little uncomfortable, but it wasn't *painful* per say, really just an annoyance. I've been able to get out of bed and go to the bathroom and walk around a bit on my own, keeping a heating pad and lots of fluids handy. I wouldn't say it's been a breeze, but it hasn't been nearly half as bad as I was legitimately panicking about!
    Prior to my procedure, I tried to intake as much water and clean foods in the days before the surgery, and I do believe that helped.
    So, to anyone that has to have this surgery, don't worry too much - it's really not so bad. Just a few days of discomfort. I suspect I'll be back to my old self in just a couple more days.
    (I also agree about eating light the first few days after the surgery - my diet has been broth, crackers, cheerios, jello, and popsicles for the sore throat).

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  34. So encouraging thanks for these tips. I'm currently recovering in hospital after my surgery was completed 12 hrs ago. Looking forward to that amazing feeling not to far in the future!

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  35. hi thank you so much for the tips! thought i was the only one going through those symptoms. i was wondering if after a month or so did you feel some discomfort on the side that they cyst was taken out or random sharp pains that went away ?

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  36. Amazing blog, thank you. It's crazy how little info our surgeons give us. I had a lap for deep endo scarring on bowel, bladder and colon 10 days ago. Stayed overnight in hospital which I had no option but to, hooked up to oxygen for a while, then catheter, draining pipe and IV drip - none of which I was expecting. Waking up to all of this was quite traumatic. Not sure if that would be the regular post-op situation or if my surgery was perhaps a bit more intensive than regular. Surprised to know my bladder & bowel had been affected. Morphine helped a ton for the pain, gas was painful - heat helped, drinking water after waking made me nauseous so I was injected with an antihistamine (in the morning I asked for a antihistamine pill instead, didn't need another injection! Trying to urinate after catheter was removed was tedious - nothing worked for about half a day on day 2. Majorly constipated for 6 days even though I did everything humanly possible including multiple softeners . While having stitches removed (which hurt!) I asked for a powerful laxative. Uninterested Gp have me an a regular old lacaptive powders. 24hrs I had relief thank god. Could have done with extra pain of constipation and bloating so better help earlier would have been great. My day 7 I was back to work feeling reasonably well, slight twinges of pain but ok. But by day 10, I'm in a bad way again. Guess I'm in for my first period. Coupled with emotions running high, I'm nog looking forward to this.
    Fingers crossed it's one of the last big hurdles. Good luck on your own journeys ladies. Xxx

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  37. Thanks ladies for the info. I'm n my 3rd day of post op. Moving around hurts like hell. I didn't experience the shoulder pain like everybody else did. Lucky. I think it's gonna take 3 full weeks for me to get back to work. Just the pain around the 4 incisions is huge when i move around.

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  38. Good tips I had my endometriosis surgery two weeks ago and my dr removed my right ovary and tube ... and I wish I'd seen this sooner... My pain was horrible and I was in the er after a week because of no BM in eight days and that was not fun !!!! Take stool softeners asap and drink lots of water too. And take it easy after for two weeks or more don't hurry if you do you'll regret it and healing will take longer , and yes get out of bed little movements around your room to get things moving inside and to help healing... My biggest mistake was thinking I would be back to normal after 3-5 days and back to work in 2 weeks !!! I'm not ready and I need to take another week from work... It takes time to heal so prepare and gets lots if help if you can.. And remember the stool softeners.... Also I used an ice pack on my incision and shoulder and it helps with
    the pain

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  39. I read all the comments here and thank you it helps a lot

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  40. I have a question I was diagnosed having endometriosis after having a grapefruit sized cyst removed from my left ovary via laparoscopy. Everything went well and my ovary was OK. Since then I still will experience a random sharp pain in my ovary with a sneeze or cough which I've just contributed as scar tissue from surgery. My periods are sometimes heavy and painful, but never the extreme crippling pain the cyst would cause. I often have IBS symptoms, bloating, gas, as well as extreme fatigue and nausea at certain times of the month. So my question is am I still considered to have endometriosis even though a cyst is not present. I've had normal paps and exams and one abdominal ultrasound that's showed no signs of new cysts. But I'm just confused as to if I'm still considered to have this Disease causing these symptoms. I've also noticed in the last couple years during ovulation I become bloated and cramp badly. I hope someone can help me any help is appreciated!

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    1. Having a cyst and having endometriosis are two different things, they aren't caused by eachother, you can have one or the other or both.

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    2. I had all of you symptoms. In 2008 I had a hysterectomy and was put on birth control pills to stop the pain. It worked until 2015 when pain got really bad and bloating was worse after eating certain foods. January 11th, 2016 I just had laproscopic surgery to remove endometriosis and it was on my bladder, colon, and rectum. The doctor put me on the Whole 30 diet and stool softener. I feel better and no pain. If I eat food not on my diet I get bloated but not as bad as before. You will need the doctor to do surgery to remove endometriosis asap. It spreads fast and suffocates your insides.

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  41. Hi everyone.it is my 3rd week after lapro surgery that removed 8cm endo cyst from left overy and a small 2.5cm cyst from my right overy.everything went well after surgery for a week.but afterwords i experienced an irritating pain on my right lower abdomen side...it becum more adverse now during my periods...it dnt subside even after taking pain killers..plz anyone guide me if this is normal...

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  42. I am so happy I found this! For myself, I didn't have any side effects from the carbon dioxide used to move my organs/stomach out of the way - no shoulder pain or gas. I had my surgery December 4, and on December 8 I got my period but being only 4 days after the surgery I was taking pain medications and in bed all day so it didn't add on any extra pain I don't think. Now I've got what would technically be my second period but I'm considering it my first and HOLY CRAP! It is SO painful! I'm popping Aleve all day long. I was worried that maybe I overdid it at the gym today (I took a solid three weeks off from exercise/sex so am thinking I've healed enough and have to start moving again. I can't believe that they tell people a few days of healing is all that's required! I was supposed to go back to work after one week but there was no way that was happening, so I took two weeks and my first week back at work was horrible. I hope this is the case for me, just my first period is rough as everything is healing and being used for the first time, I have hope now :)

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  43. Thank you so much for sharing this! I am 3 weeks post laparoscopy and whenever I try do things like I used to ... I get exhausted and the pain kicks in. My expectations were I'd be better in a few days ... Nope!!! I am
    Blessed to have three little ones under the age of five but that makes it extremely hard to get better as fast as I would like. Your article has made me feel more normal now and I realize my expectations were completely unrealistic. I wish I would've read this pre-surgery!!

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  44. Thanks for this. I did my surgery 2 days ago (Jan.30, 2016). I don't think I'm coping well. Its so painful. I can hardly sit up. It pains to even ease my body. My throat is soar. This is hard! I am only 30.

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  45. This is my 2nd day of surgery. It hurts badly!

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  46. Wow this is such great advice. I'll be having the surgery in a week. I thought it was a minor surgery, atleast that is what the doctor made it sound like. Now I know more about what to expect!

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  47. Reading your comments has been quite reassuring. I am having my first period after a lap surgery and its hell it's so heavy and the clots are so huge it's my 8th day today I just wish the bleeding will stop soon. It's wearing me out and I am TTC so it's demoralizing me as well

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  48. Hi, this is my 2nd day post op and so far so good. Only crap thing is I can only sleep.on my back. I am experiencing tremendous back and shoulder pain, but thanks to my script of Synaleve, it makes me drowsy. I ca now have up to 4naps during the day which was impossible in the past. I have yet amother day to waiy before I can remove the bandages to redress - so I have no idea how my scars will look. I have a total of 3 incisions? But this was my 2nd lap done. Keep the faith and never lose Hope.

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  49. Thank you for sharing this! It's just what I needed to read. I'm *counts on fingers* five-ish days out. I had my surgery on Tuesday morning. I'm anxious to get back out and on my feet and I keep getting frustrated that I'm not yet. Everyone keeps telling me to take it easy, and I think it's finally starting to sink in that I could do more harm than good by trying to do too much too fast. Also, thanks for sharing about the poo. I was getting worried, lol! Fortunately, I found my "it" doctor. I feel very fortunate as I learn about so many who have not had great experiences. I've been there! Keep pushing til you find someone who really gets it!

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  50. hi thank you so much for the tips! thought i was the only one going through those symptoms. i was wondering if after a month or so did you feel some discomfort on the side that they cyst was taken out or random sharp pains that went away ?

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  51. Miralax helps a lot with the constipation caused by the pain meds. Also, walking around your room will help relieve the shoulder pain from the gas. Thank you for this blog! What a great resource. I'm 2.5 weeks post-op and experiencing some pain in my left ovary and pelvic area. Praying it's just the healing process. Thank you again!

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  52. This is helpful. thanks. I am 4 weeks post op for stage 4 endo and had fallopian tube, cyst and ligament removed as well as deep endo removed from bladder/bowel/ovary, all stuck together... I went back to work on Monday and only managed 3 hours a day, I feel exhausted, I am on day 11 of period, which has been painful but not hideous, but heat pad and painkillers everyday still. I am frustrated as I feel like I should be more recovered, but feel like maybe I've done too much.. After a week I was back to walking the dog, housework and standing cooking and started yoga too, which may be too soon although it is greatly relaxing and helps with some of the pain. Does anyone else feel like something is in knots or twisted inside, I feel so tense, but maybe that is still my period... its so difficult when you've forgotten what normal is... and how much pain to put up with..

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  53. Hi everyone. I had a laproscopy to remove my endometrial implants 2 weeks ago. I was just wondering how long it takes for my stomach to go back to normal? It is still bloated. I can't fit into any of my jeans. -Heidi

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  54. Hi everyone. I had a laproscopy done 2 weeks ago to remove endometrial implants. I was just wondering how long it took for your stomach to go back to its normal size. Mine is still bigger than normal. I can't fit into any of my jeans.

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