Recovery

    Recovery from the laparoscopy was quick and easy for the most part.It doesn't feel as quick while you are recovering but when you look back you will realize how fast it went. My doctor had told me to plan for a week off after the surgery before returning to work. I didn't think I would need that much, and probably would have been fine to go to work earlier but I am glad I took the full week. I had three incisions, one in my belly button, one on my left lower abdominal quadrant and a more medial one on my pubic hair line. They were very small and closed with skin glue. The belly button incision was the most uncomfortable of the three.
     Before I left the hospital I was given my discharge instructions. This included drinking lots of fluids, taking it easy, taking my pain medicine as directed, and not taking a bath - only showers for a while. I was taken to my car by a volunteer and my husband took me home. We had a printout with all the instructions on it as well. As I mentioned in a previous blog post, I was given Versed. This makes you not remember things very well for a while. My husband says that I asked him the same questions repeatedly for a while. This is normal for a short time due to the medications. I was very lucky to have my husband with me. He was infinitely patient. He also helped make sure I didn't fall over while walking to the bathroom and bedroom. I was slightly off kilter from all the medicine. He gave me my pain medication at regular intervals the first day. I dozed off and on a lot.
     Nothing tasted good the first day. Water and chicken broth were about the only things I could handle. Tea tasted like grass, sprite tasted like sugar water, nothing worked. This too is normal for some and a part of the medicine. My doctor had already told us that I might not be hungry for a couple of days and that that was nothing to worry about. I should just eat when I am hungry. My lack of appetite stayed around for a while.I paced around, watched some T.V. and took some naps. I talked to my husband and the visitors who came to check on me. The visitors were great. It helped me pass the time that I wasn't allowed to get off the couch and helped me forget I felt like crap for a while.
     The only real difficulty I had in recovering was that I had some serious trouble with constipation. It got so bad that I was extremely nauseated one day. I had to resort to Colace and Miralax for a few days to get things moving again. I walked around my house, I drank plenty of fluids, and generally did all the things that as a nurse I know to do to keep from getting constipated. However, with the pain medication for the first two days and the anesthesia this still became a problem for me. I would highly recommend taking Colace from day one. This way it doesn't become an urgent situation with lots of nausea and stomach pain later.
     I had only minimal bleeding, the first day I used about three pads, the next day a panty liner was all that was needed and after that no bleeding at all. I did have trouble with one of my three incision sites. I used a Thermacare Heat pad to help with cramps and the glue on the incision closest to my pubic hair line dissolved a little and I had some incisional bleeding as a result. This was minimal and my incision stayed intact.
     I had a very easy recovery and some wonderful people surrounding me that were able to be here if I needed anything. I was able to ask for help when I needed it but encouraged to do what I could in the name of recovery. I only took the Demerol two days and then ibuprofen was enough to keep the discomfort at bay. I took 400 mg twice a day as prescribed by my physician. I know some have complained of lingering weakness and pain for much longer but I was very blessed with it being only a short time before I returned to normal.
     If you have any questions about recovery or the surgery please drop us a line. As a nurse I get to look at it from two perspectives, an infertility patient and a healthcare worker. If any one has any questions on taking care of your loved one following a laparoscopy my husband will be happy to share his experiences as well.