Thursday, December 29, 2011

What "They" Don't Tell You About Laparoscopy

1. It will hurt... for a week or two... not a little hurt, I'm tough and I'd call it a significant pain.
2. The pain will be worse around your belly button (primary incision).
3. There will likely be some bruising.
4. You will be bloated... a lot... for a few days from the gas.
5. You will be constipated, pain meds will make this worse. (They might tell you this one.)
6. Don't even try to wear jeans or button pants for at least a week (remember the belly button pain?).
7. Sitting fully upright will hurt because your belly squishes (even if you don't have extra there).
8. You will have bleeding. Not "spotting"... this was likely worse in my situation due to over dilation of my cervix as part of the repair.
9. You will feel "stinging" pain in the areas that scar tissue/implants are removed as the areas heal... (at least I did... but my bladder was involved.)
10. You will probably be glad you opted for the procedure even if everything came back "normal". Call it peace of mind.

I'm exactly one week post op today. Yes, I still have pain... mostly it's incision pain, mostly around the belly button. Even though I stopped taking pain meds on day 3, I'm still battling the constipation issues. I still can't wear jeans... I tried, the buttons made a big bruise under my belly button (and hurt REALLY badly). The bloat is mostly gone now... my belly has returned to it's normal jiggly size instead of inflated balloon size. :-) I can button those jeans... it just hurts to wear them (bending, sitting, etc... yuck!).

I had significant scar tissue and adhesions on my bladder, uterus, and bowel holding the three organs together. Because of this, I have had pretty significant bladder pain for YEARS. It was one of those things I thought I had to live with... the urologist and gynecologist never found any reason as to WHY... I frequently thought I had bladder infections when I did not. I am THRILLED for them to be gone and praying that the scarring does not return!!! My bladder is already feeling better... although not completely healed. I've had some stinging pain in the same areas I used to have the tugging pain... so I know that is the areas healing from removal of scar tissue. Already by bladder is happier... It doesn't hurt when distended and released... I don't have difficulty draining my bladder or retained urine. This has me doing the happy dance.

I also feel good knowing that the rest of my insides are looking good... no endo... no damage... no blockages. And that my cervix is returned to a properly functioning body part (although I don't know yet if CM will return). I've had bleeding/spotting every day so it's hard to tell what is cervical CM and what is uterine fluids, etc...

And... I ovulated on CD16 despite having the surgery. This is a good thing... I know the likelihood of conceiving this cycle is slim, but I'm glad that my body is still responding appropriately.

In other news... my PMS symptoms are worse this time than the last two cycles. I'm only 3 dpo, so I don't know yet if they will reach my previous normal... BUT my breasts are very sore... the last two cycles, I've had almost no breast tenderness (and great progesterone levels at 7dpo) and my emotional status has been more stable, not being pregnant was relatively easy for me to deal with. So... I'm wondering if that was due to acupuncture or medicated cycles (controlled ovulation)... I've not had acupuncture in two weeks because of holiday vacations and obviously, this wasn't a medicated cycle since I was having surgery... I wish I was having acupuncture still so that I could determine which was the cause. My next session will be on Jan. 4th.

In my mind... worse PMS symptoms without controlled ovulation mean that I still am having hormonal/ovulatory dysfunction... which I really want to correct so that in the future, even when I'm not actively trying to conceive, I can avoid hormones. NFP is really important to me... but when you are in dire straights physically and emotionally for two weeks every month it takes a toll on your marriage, parenting, and life in general! I'm praying that with continued acupuncture, dietary changes, and supplements... I will be able to get the PMS symptoms down to a manageable level (as they have been the last two cycles!).

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