HI! I had that surgery last June. I went in for a laparoscopy, to check my
ovaries and knew of the possibility of having them removed, well it ended up
being a major abdominal surgery because of what my doc saw when he got
inside. He said it's one of the worst he's ever seen and no wonder I was in
so much pain. He's a pelvic pain specialist, so he deals with this
everyday. He tried to remove all of the adhesions via lap, but told me he
felt very bad that he couldn't because he needed an extra set of hands when
dealing with my bowels-they were so twisted and pinned down with adhesions.
The second doc, a general surgeon, didn't know how to do the surgery via
lap. My ovaries were wrapped and pinned down by my bowels and adhesions
too. My doc is amazing. Actually he was on Good Morning America awhile ago
discussing the robot he uses to do surgeries via lap, as to cut down on
adhesions, healing time, etc He uses it to remove fibroids too rather than
have a woman undergo an unnecessary hysterectomy, he is able to remove them
via lap, successfully. The robot is called Mona Lisa. Anyway, about my
surgery. I had to have a vertical incision because of all the adhesions
built up along my c-section scar, this took a little longer to heal and was
quite painful compared to my c-sections. I am not telling you about my
surgery to scare you, but to let you know what I went through so you can
have a real idea of what it may be like. I ended up staying in the hospital
for 11 days. It took that long for my bowels to begin to function normally.
The post op pain, in the hospital wasn't too bad, since I was on morphine
almost the entire time. I did have some rough times as my bowels began to
work again. Recovery at home wasn't too bad, but it was a long recovery.
It's only recently that I'm beginning to feel somewhat "normal". I couldn't
do a lot physically for a long time, so that drove me crazy. I just sat
around looking at my house getting messier and messier, and trying to be
there for my kids, but really couldn't do much about it. Luckily I had help
from family and friends, in the beginning. Once I finally started feeling
better and could actually stop the pain meds, I felt great! I hadn't been
pain free in years, so this was amazing! I had so much energy and was so
grateful for my new doc and the surgery, I still am. However, the pain has
returned. Slowly it's been coming on heavier and heavier. It's been pretty
bad lately. I can feel the same old adhesions I always get and some new
ones. There are a few areas that I can actually touch my abdomen on the
outside and feel. Even though I'm having problems again, the time I had
pain free really gave me a boost. It rejuvenated me in a way. I can deal
better with the pain now because I got a break from it. I know being pain
free is possible, even if for a short time, therefore I still have hope. I
would do it all over again, even with all that I went through. I wish you
the best. If you have any more questions, please ask, I will be happy to
answer any of them. Take care. Samantha