Yesterday I joined a webinar hosted by Endometriosis UK where they answered questions around surgery. Despite having 11 surgeries myself, I found the conversation so useful! It was really good to hear the experiences of other people too.
I definitely recommend watching the webinars on the Endometriosis UK website.
Some of the key questions included:
When is the right time to have surgery and who decides?
Whenever I've had any surgery, I had always assumed the consultant would decide this for me. I never really considered how much my endometriosis was affecting my quality of life. This is a really good thing to consider. Not just this but your consultant needs to ensure they have the right team around them e.g. a bowel specialist.
Recovery times
This can depend on the type of surgery you’ve had e.g. bowel surgery during laparoscopy. I am always concerned about this and I always pressure myself to get back to work sooner but in hindsight, it's better to take off a longer period of time than less time.
Some useful tips:
Ensure you take it easy.
Listen to your body.
You might feel emotional.
Remember, laparoscopic surgery may look fine on the outside but it’s very different on the inside.
Everyone is different.
Why do I experience shoulder pain following surgery?
This was a really good question! The pain you experience is due to the gas used to inflate your abdomen during your surgery. When I was first told about this (many years ago), I didn't believe it. I then experienced really horrible pain a few hours after my surgery! Some very useful tips include taking peppermint e.g. peppermint tea and trying to move about (if it's safe to do so). I found that the peppermint tea really helped.
The webinar did feature other questions, and so I would really recommend giving it a watch, along with the other webinars featured.
Laura x
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