I'm Back!.. With 4 New Scars

let's discuss my second laparoscopic excision of endometriosis

It's been six years since my initial laparoscopic excision and diagnosis of endometriosis surgery and while I had a good run, endo inevitably grows back so after a year and a half of increasingly brutal periods and symptoms, I had my second excision surgery two weeks ago.

Approximately 20-30% of women who have surgery for endometriosis experience a recurrence within 5 years. 

As expected, most everything that my surgeon removed came back positive for endometriosis, which is always reassuring, but let's dive into the nitty gritty deets because that's what I'd personally want to hear about if considering moving forward with surgery. 

THE DAY PRIOR

I didn't quite expect to be as nervous as I was leading up to the actual surgery date, but boy were those butterflies fluttering.  I think it was just the anticipation of it all, but the worst part for me was the hunger.  I was instructed to keep a light diet the day prior and I cannot even tell you how ravenous I was.  I also had so much nervous energy so I sort of just putzed around and busied myself with random chores all day.  

We all know I love my daily Miralax, but for those unfamiliar with the laxative, they ask you to drink it to make sure everything is 'smooth sailing' before/after surgery.  I also had to bathe in antiseptic soap the night before and morning of surgery, which was odd, but I'm assuming a new policy post Covid?  

DAY OF

Truth be told, I don't really remember much from this day aside from going in.  

Obvs took a surgery OOTD.

Once I arrived, things moved fairly quickly.  The worst part for me will always be the IV - for whatever reason it grosses me out and I have to lay down or else I pass out, ha!  The anesthesia nap will forever be the best nap of all naps.  I did have a little snafoo and literally remember them pulling the breathing tube out which wasn't ideal, but I'm over it.  Once I was "awake" (and I say this because as you can see, I was a shell of a human) I do remember the nurse asking if something hurt on my face.  There was what felt like a burn below my eye from where the anesthesiologist had removed the tape and I guess because I use Tretinoin on my face which is a retinoid, it makes your skin extra sensitive so I had a red blister on my face for a few days which was super cute.

After I napped a few hours, I was up and somewhat alive the rest of the evening.  I made myself grilled chicken for dinner which is honestly quite impressive considering my entire body was shivering in shock from the day's events.  It took me a few hours to be able to pee, which was frustrating, but normal.  The only pain medication I took was Ibuprofen and if I'm being completely honest, it was more for my neck, which was acting up from positioning in surgery.  

My brother-in-law snapped this pic of Nurse Carmella on duty.

Last time, the gas pain was a real thing for me, but I found this 'go it wasn't as terrible and I think it's because I slept on my side, but unclear.  

RECOVERY

My surgery was on a Thursday and by Monday I was back to working (remote for the week) and starting to go a bit stir crazy.  I will say, I was humbled more than once realizing while my mind was ready to do certain things, my body was absolutely not.  I recovered at my sister's house and she has a bunch of stairs leading up to the guest room so my quads were burning for a good week as if I had climbed Mount Everest, but by the following week, I was back to walking my 25-minute trek to and from work in the city.  

THE RESULTS

My surgeon took a ton of really cool content from the surgery so once she posts it, I'll be sure to share, but as expected, most everything she took out was endometriosis.  It was interesting because last time, most of the endo was on the front parts of the organs, whereas this time, it was towards the back (of my uterus and bladder).  She was able to carefully remove endo off of my left ovary which I had suspected would be there based on my pain.  It's pretty incredible how well we know our bodies.

I'm still a bit sensitive as I heal, but looking forward to being completely pain free.  As I write this, I am on day 2 of my period which has been smooth sailing and a breath of fresh air!  Now, I just need these scars to heal.  

Reach out with questions.  I'm sure I missed something.