Laparoscopy/hysteroscopy update

Finally with it enough to post about yesterday's surgery.

First of all, thank you all for writing in with your personal stories and experiences. And Nina, thanks for writing in from the perspective of an OR nurse. My belly button has never been so clean!

The nurse called me in for the surgery a little late, around 12:45. Had me walk into the OR, resign some consents, go over my allergies. Open my mouth for the anesthesiologist ("that's as wide as you can open it?" yup.) Then they hooked up some EKG leads, put a mask on my face and my RE said, " I'll make sure you're ok." That's the last thing I remember.

I woke up in the recovery room to my RE telling me he was surprised to find lots of endometriosis once he got in there. Both on top of and behind my uterus. Ultimately, he classified it as stage 3 endometriosis. He said he cleaned it all out.

There were two stages of recovery. One in a bed and then later on, sitting in a lounge type chair where I was offered something to eat. Mouth was super dry and I was a little nauseated. Lots of urethral pain (presumably from the catheter). But all in all, not so bad.

RE came by again in the second recovery area to go over everything again. Hysteroscopy normal. Moderate endometriosis, which he seemed pretty excited to have discovered. Funny to have all of it because I've never really had anything much in the way of symptoms.

Hoping this will have some positive effect on getting/staying pregnant.

All right, now, back to bed with me. Very, very sleepy.

Mo

Laparoscopy and hysteroscopy: what should I expect?

So I signed on, full steam ahead, for surgery on Thursday.

Seemed like a good idea at the time, but I'm realizing I'm a little scared of the procedure and wondering what it will be like. It surprises me that I'm so nervous, given that I've been through a number of surgical procedures during my cancer treatment and now during the last 19 months of IVF. But I am.

So, thought I'd reach out to the blogosphere for a little help from my friends. Can any of you who have been through a diagnostic laparoscopy/hysteroscopy walk me through your experience? What was it like? Did your Dr. find anything in the surgery?

Some of my specific wonderings:

What is surgery day like exactly? Who did you talk to? (anesthesiologist? RE? or just nurses?) Were you sedated before going in? How many people are in the OR? Were you awake when catheterized? Did they tie you down while you were still awake? (some crazy fears about being completely out while having gyn surgery surfacing here)

What did you feel like immediately after when you woke up in recovery? Did you have throat pain? Were you still catheterized at that point or did they take the tube out while you were still asleep?

How did you feel one day after? (Can I be alone the next day, letting Will return to work?) How did you feel a few days after? What kind of painkillers were you given? (or was it just tylenol?) I was told I will feel about 80% the Monday following (so four days post-op) and am planning to return to work in the psych ER that day. Does that sound reasonable?

I know the risks are low, but my nerves are getting the better of me. So I am thinking that hearing your experiences will help. Your shared stories will then be out there for the next infertile googling for info on this procedure, helping her to feel a little less afraid.

Mo