I thought that I would write about my account of a laparoscopy because I’ve just had one and when I tried looking it up on the internet, all I could find were the medical and health websites which tell you all about what’s supposed to happen and are very clinical, but no real life examples and I was really quite unprepared for how it all felt.
I was put forward to have a diagnostic laparoscopy. I was told that it would be done under general anaesthetic and that because they would put air inside me to inflate my pelvis and tubes that I might experience some discomfort around my chest and shoulders which would be due to the trapped air – basically like trapped wind.
I was booked in for a Thursday morning – I had to be there at 7.30am. I was really relaxed about the whole thing. I expected a little bit of discomfort but I had planned how I was going to spend my Thursday afternoon and Friday off work – I felt quite bad booking the Friday off work because I thought it was going to be a bit of a skive!
So I turned up at 7.30am. There were already four other women on the ward – I don’t know what they were having done, but everyone seemed reasonably at ease – a little bit tense but nothing much.
My husband came with me, and we just sat and watched TV while different nurses came and questioned me about allergies, last time I ate etc – all the normal stuff. Then the anaesthetist came and asked all similar questions. I told her my biggest concern was the nausea and sickness that I’ve always experienced with general anaesthetic and she told me it was no problem – they would give me something for the sickness, so after that, I really had no concerns whatsoever. It was going to be a breeze – a minor inconvenience for a couple of hours and then I’d be home. Hmmmmm……..
After I’d had the op and been wheeled back into the ward, my throat was so dry I could barely speak so they gave me a tiny sip of water. They sorted me out in bed, asked me how the pain was (on a scale of 1 – 10, 10 being the worst, I gave a 6), then left me to sleep.
Within a couple of minutes, I was in a lot of pain but I was too doped up to sit up to get attention, I couldn’t call out because my throat was still so dry, nothing was coming out. I just laid there in complete agony waiting for a nurse to come close enough to get their attention. It was horrendous. The nurses were really busy and patients were being wheeled in and out but I was tucked up in the corner so I had to wait until someone came to see the patient next to me. It was terrible. I felt afraid, lonely and was really starting to panic. I don’t know how much time passed, but it felt like days. When I eventually got a nurse’s attention I think I must have been on the verge of passing out because I’ve no idea who I spoke to or what I said – I obviously made it clear because it wasn’t long before someone came and gave me some tablets – again, I’ve no idea what they were, but they worked and I quickly dozed off.
The next thing I remember was looking up to see my husband – was he a welcome sight!
When they saw I was awake, the nurses came over and got me something to eat and drink. My husband was only allowed to stay for a little while before they sent him away – he wasn’t allowed to return until I was ready to go home.
I went back off to sleep and woke a little while later when they came to take my blood pressure. It had plummeted. The nurse didn’t say much, just told me to stay in bed and left me to it.
As I looked around, everyone else – even people who went for their surgery after me were up and about, getting dressed and ready to go. I couldn’t even sit up in bed because I just wasn’t able to. Every time I moved, my head was swimming – it was bizarre. I started to panic again. I didn’t know what was going on. I was on my own because they’d sent my husband home, and I seemed to be the only one not moving. I asked the lady in the bed opposite if she was feeling light-headed because I thought perhaps what I was feeling was normal but she said she felt fine, and so did the lady in the bed next to her. They both certainly looked fine. There were no nurses around, I couldn’t get out of bed to ask what was happening so again, I just lay there wondering what to do. I felt awful and stupid.
As I lay there, new people were coming in and getting ready for their surgery. I was still laying there when they went into surgery and came back out. I didn’t know what to think but I couldn’t do anything.
Eventually, a nurse came around to ask how I was feeling. I hadn’t seen this nurse before, so I assumed a new shift had come on – presumably why I hadn’t seen anyone for a while. I tried to sit up to speak to her but couldn’t – I just fell back down. She didn’t seem too worried. I asked what was going on and why everyone else was going home while I was still feeling really bad. She said it was probably because of the morphine I’d been given. She took my blood pressure again and it was starting to get back to normal – still low, but better than it had been. She suggested I just stay in bed and rest some more – she said that I wasn’t allowed to go home until I’d been able to walk to the toilet and back again.
I still couldn’t sit up, let alone walk to the toilet so I wasn’t happy to hear this. I started to worry I’d be staying the night – not a prospect I relished.
She was really nice though, and offered to phone my husband as he’d been expecting a call to come and collect me about an hour before.
Eventually, after a couple more hours had passed, I made a determined effort that I was going to make it to the toilet and back, no matter what because I was NOT staying in hospital for the night. I sat up (and nearly fell back down) and once the room stopped swaying quite so much, I stood up. I was a mess, but I had made my mind up I was going to the loo so I started moving. I felt terrible – really bad but my desire to get out of the hospital carried me to the toilet! When I came out, the nurse (who had obviously been waiting for me outside) told me I had a visitor. I was so glad to see my husband again, the relief was unbelievable. Not to mention the fact I had been able to walk to the toilet and back. The nurse came straight over and told me I could get dressed because I was allowed to leave…. Hooray!
It has taken me 3 days to get back to normal. I have been and am still in some considerable discomfort, although it couldn’t now be described as pain. My head didn’t clear fully until the end of the second day after the op. I don’t know if I was naïve or stupid or just a bit of a freak, but I just didn’t think for a second, that I would be affected like this. The stuff I read told me the facts – there would be two incisions, one for the camera and one for the other ‘utensils’ – apparently it’s where they actually pump the air in. They were right that I had some discomfort in my chest and shoulders but they didn’t say it would last several days. It’s really mucked up everything for the last 3 days – my whole digestive system is out of sync, I’ve felt very down and depressed, I feel stupid and like I’m just being a baby even though I know I’m not. I have felt awful but no-one warned me that I’d feel this bad.
I’m sure that most people wouldn’t have the same problems I’ve had, but I’ve put this on here because when I wanted to know what would happen, I couldn’t find anyone’s experience – only the facts. Don’t be put off – I would have it done again if I needed to, but at least I would have an idea of what to expect.
