Hi girlies!

I'm back! And better than ever (almost).

So as many of you know I had my laparoscopy on Monday. I've need a little more time to recover than I initially thought as I didn't realise just how much was going to be done and how much rest I would need. I also didn't realise how well the bowel prep works. I am still having great ease going to the toilet. So I'll start with telling you what I was supposed to be having done.

I had spoken to Mr Chappate about excising the endo so there wouldn't be any pain after surgery and I would be endo free and so we agreed this would be the main procedure. I also wanted to check my fertility and he said that and easy way to check was to have a dye test which will be put through my fallopian tubes to check that my eggs can come through with ease. He also said he was going to check my diaphragm to see if the endo had spread there as I was having chest pain. When I arrived this was all clarified and I signed the consent form.

No before I tell you exactly what happened and what the results are, I just want to mention how absolutely faultless the whole process was. I walked in and was taken to my private room straight away and asked immediately what food I would like when I woke up. This has never been done before and usually I had to wait for the next mealtime and had whatever they had spare. This time I got a choice. I got myself changed and had around six nurses in the two days I was there all caring for me. It sounds like a alot but I all got to know them and become friendly with them. They even all came to see me when I was going home. I had amazing care. In my local hospital you wait around fifteen minutes for someone to respond to your buzzer, they were in my room within 15 seconds. I never felt like a burden on them as they always had a smile on their faces and were always happy to help. Even if some of it was gruesome. I cannot praise them enough for what they did and how good everyone was. The kitchen staff came to see me twice a day and always asked how I was. The on site medical officer was a great help and  was very sympathetic. Both the surgeon and anaesthetist came to see me within half an hour of admission. Just fantastic.

Anyway, I signed the consent form to say I'm happy to have a laparoscopy, dye test and to have a rummage around. Because I have adenomyosis as well, he wanted to put the coil in but I wasn't happy with that so I just asked for the other bits to be done. I asked if he could do something for the adeno but said that the one thing he can do would leave me unable to conceive so I left it. I also said that anything that needs taking out, just take it unless its my reproductive system. So on extras, he put laparotomy in case there was any extensive work to do.

I went down to surgery and was in the anaesthetic room by 10:30am. I didn't realise quite how long I had been and just remember waking up and 2pm. It took me ages to wake up and I felt quite sick but that soon went away. I don't remember going down to my room but my fiance told me afterwards that I looked like I was dead as I was really pale and because I'd been 3 1/2 hours, he thought something had happened to me. My parents told me later that he had to stay outside for a short while as he was quite upset at how ill I looked. Later that day, the surgeon came to see me and explained that he did the lap and the excision and dye but there was a little extra he had to do. I already knew that as I had 4 incisions unlike my previous one. He opened me up and had a look around and there was nothing on my diaphragm so that was ok. He did find that my appendix was covered and so had to remove it. I also had lots of endo all over my peritoneum and so had to have TPPE. That is where the whole of the peritoneum wall is removed and then burned to take the endo away and stop it from bleeding.

The area around the uterus, bladder and rectum is the peritoneum, all the way up to the stomach cavity. All of the lining was taken away from here as it was covered by endometriosis.

So, I had Total Pelvic Peritoneal Excision and an appendectomy which is quite extensive surgery but that's not all. So far its been good news that the endo has been taken away but, I still have adenomyosis and also the result of the dye test is that my right tube is completely blocked, although he feels like this is only temporary and that it shouldn't affect fertility.

I did ask about fertility and he said that he can't tell by looking at me and I will have to start trying before anyone can determine my chances but I'm not to leave it too late and that if I want good chances that it wouldn't be a bad idea to start trying now. I wouldn't mind that but if he isn't 100% certain then I'm not in such a rush and will probably leave it until I am settled in a job after uni. He did say that the ideal time to start would be around 20-25 and not much later. At the end of the day, the later I start trying, the later I found out whether there is a problem, the later I start treatment, the later I start IVF or whatever. If I started sooner rather than later, then I'm not going into my thirties or fourties thinking that things will be fine and it being too late to try and treatment.

In regards to my adeno, he said that until I want to sue the coil or have a hysterectomy, I will need to either keep having prostap or use the patches that I have used for a while that work very well or be pregnant. Although this seems drastic, it is the only thing I can do to help keep the endo at bay and keep the adeno from being too painful.

As for recovery, I am doing ok. I started walking the day after surgery although it was extremely painful. I did a little too much and so have been given orders to rest up and let people do things for me. The pain from my appendix being removed and the TPPE is controlled well with a concoction of painkillers, but not fully as there is still the odd twinge. My gas pains, on the other hand, are making it very difficult to recover. I can barely get two hours of sleep before I wake up hurting, if I move after sitting then I can barely breathe with the pain and when I sit or walk, my shoulders are extremely achy. If the gas pains went then I would be able to deal with the rest of it. I am drinking flat coke until it comes out of my ears, I am taking Wind-eze and peppermint capsules to help but so far, there has been no ease to the pain. If anyone has anymore ideas then please let me know.

For now, I think that is all I have to say. If there is anything else then I will post it and let you know. As usual, thank you for reading and I hope that you are all as pain free as possible.

Leya xoxo

So next week is my lap. I have it on Monday and although I am totally relaxed about it, there are still a few nerves there. I seem to want to call up my specialists secretary to ask her random questions that don't even need asking. I packed two weeks ago ready for Monday and I am totally over-prepared.

I had my bloods done today and for the first time it didn't hurt. I think its because I didn't dwell on it, I just went without thinking about it and then I had them done. That's how I've been throughout this whole process. I don't know whether it's all because I don't believe it's not real yet or whether I'm just chilled about it all but I don't feel stressed or nervous about anything as, like I say, I'm fully prepared yet I still feel like I'm nervous and for no reason at all.

I've not been thinking about the whole conceiving aspect of things for a while now. I've been side tracked I think with such a busy month and a lot of things happening. I feel like I need to prepare for my holiday next month, going to my friends birthday party, visiting a few universities, starting my next course, starting the gym, all whilst trying to recover from the surgery so I don't think I've really considered it. I have absolutely no idea what I would do if he said that it would be good to start trying now. I guess I feel like I need to be more prepared for it, like having a job, having my own place, having a constant income. It's just not top of my list yet.

I am thinking of asking for either uterine artery embolization or endometrial ablation as I've been having increased symptoms of the adenomyosis. I have been having so much pain during sex that it takes at least 15-20 minutes for me to stop hurting so I can enjoy it which is getting to me as we should be like every other young couple and be able to do it whenever and wherever we want! I've also been needing the toilet every 2-3 hours and am desperate when I wake up, which isn't normal for me as I usually only need a wee once or twice a day. I don't know whether this was because of the prostap or the adeno but I have also had migraines frequently which is causing problems as I can't concentrate properly. I've also noticed palpitations but never recognised that as a symptom because I though it was normal but apparently as the condition worsens and reaches the later more severe time, it can cause palpitations because of the change in hormones.

Now, I've used Evra contraceptive patches for a while as some of you might know, and it usually helps with my periods a lot. I usually only get a very light bleed for a few days, max of 4 days and I don't get any pain. This week, I have had pain, not as bad as it can be but enough for me to notice. I've also been on since Saturday which is 3 days and it shows no signs of slowing down yet, as I am quite heavy still. I don't know whether that is to do with the prostap messing my hormones up or whether it is the adeno making it harder for the patches to work against it.

I think that's enough rambling for one night and so I wish you all a happy summer and until next time, take care!! :) I will hopefully update you all after my lap but it may not be straight away.

Thanks for reading :)

Leya xoxo

Hey there everyone,

Since my last blog there's not really been much to talk about so haven't felt the need to post.

Last week I had a package that arrived when I wasn't home so I had to go to my local depot to collect it. When I got there I was passed a rectangular package that was very intriguing. I wondered what it could be and the guy who got it for me told me it was from Kent Spire Hospital. Then came the best part, for the last 24 hours I was thinking it was something amazing that I know I hadn't bought so someone else must have gotten me....no, it was my bowel prep. My fiance laughed when he found out what I'd been excited about was just bowel prep for surgery.

I'm starting to get more and more nervous as time goes on as its only two weeks and two days away now. (Yes, I'm that anally retentive about it that I'm even counting the days) I even rung the secretary and asked her a bunch of random questions. I asked whether my mum, dad and fiance can get food in the hospital, whether I'll be on a ward or in a private room and also if I can start using my contraceptive patches again. They're almost irrelevant to my surgery but I'm so nervous that I need to make sure everything is perfect.

My family can visit from 10am - 9pm which is unusual as my local hospital is 5pm - 6pm and 7pm - 8pm. I'm glad that they can be there all day for me though. There's a restaurant in the hospital and I get my own private room, they don't have any wards. I'll get en suite bathroom, a little dining set for me to eat at and apparently it's quite spacious. As for the patches, she said to start taking them again and she'll check whether its ok or not.

I have been almost pain free for a while now but today I woke up in extreme pain in my ribs again so maybe the pain will still be there, just not as often as usual.

I went to a taster day at my college 2 days ago and I have to say the new principal I've got is amazing. (Yes, principal for a college, I found it weird when I first went) She has changed everything around and has made learning easier. We used to work for the whole year and then two weeks before the end of our course we would have study sessions to improve our grades. She's changed it so that we work in blocks of six weeks which will be so much easier for me because if I have time off, I can catch up quicker than waiting a whole year. We work solid for 5 weeks then have a RAD week (Review and Development) where we improve our grades. Also, I am so excited to start this course now as it looks amazing, I want to hurry it up so I can get to uni and do midwifery. I found it hard walking around college all day though so I'm thinking I might have to start taking painkillers more often as time goes on.

I've also been offered to go to the local gym with a friend from college. I'm hoping that with walking around  a lot and going to the gym, I will get fit and not be in so much pain as they say that exercise helps....I'll be the judge of that. So far, every time I try to do some sort of activity it hurts.

So, at the moment, all is good. I'm getting stoked about this next course but just wondering if the pain will hold off so I can be a full time learner, my lap is coming up and hopefully that will help a lot and the place I'm staying seems amazing.

Good luck to anyone who's having a lap soon or has just had one, I wish you all a speedy recovery and a long time pain free.

Thanks for reading,

Leya xoxo

Hey everyone,

Again, I've left it a while so I'm sorry about that. The reason being that I've had a really bad few weeks since my second prostap. I thought that this one would end up working but obviously not. I've had pains in my chest/ribs for the last two weeks, not affecting my breathing but affecting my sleep immensely. I have gone the last two weeks with barely any sleep, going to sleep at 4am and waking up at 8am isn't the best thing to do when you're already so drained, but I just couldn't sleep with the pain. Over the last three days I've also had slight period cramps yet I've not come on....yet. I've got a definite time and date for my laparoscopy now which is 8am on 21st July. I'm staying over one night as I live over 200 miles from where I'm having surgery (about 4hours away)

I'm hoping that I can get some answers from surgery. There's definitely a lot of questions. I want to know exactly what position my womb is in and what shape and size as I've had a lot of different stories about my womb. If he can, I want some pictures so I have visual proof of everything. He's doing a dye test in my fallopian tubes which if any of you don't know, that's where they put a dye in your tubes to test fertility and see if they're blocked or not, if they are then they can flush them out.

I'm hoping that this will help my pain and that its good news that I can conceive naturally and that I don't need to rush into having babies. If I do then I do and I'll work around it. I wouldn't want to go against him saying there's little to no chance or that I can have them but not for long as it would be harder. If that was the case then I'd just try now so I can have them in a few years time (depending on the length of time it takes but its never an overnight thing).

I hope you're all well and as pain free as possible and I will keep you updated until my laparoscopy. I will post after my laparoscopy but not necessarily straight away. Thanks for reading.

Leya xxxxx

Hey everyone!

So sorry I've not posted in such a long time. Last time I posted I spoke about how my consultation went with Mr Chappatte. Since then I had my injection of what I though was zoladex but was in fact prostap. It may not seem like a big deal to anyone else but I had prepared myself for zoladex and when no one told me until I walked in for my injection it kind of annoyed me. I know they're pretty much the same but they're also very different and the nurse made me laugh by trying to convince me otherwise. Anyhow, I had it and everyone I spoke to was right in that it doesn't hurt as much as having blood done. I've had botox for hyperhydrosis and that was waaaayyyy more painful than the prostap. It stung with the initial injection and then it was fine until she injected it which stung again but nothing unbearable.

The symptoms I had instantly was dizziness, as if I'd had a bit too much to drink ;) Apart from that there was nothing apart from irritation, a rash, soreness and swelling around the area where I was injected, about the size of an egg. The following 2 days I was in pain all day non stop. If you don't want TMI then I suggest don't read the next part but this is an honest view of my experiences so I'm not leaving anything out. The following 4 days I had an excessive amount of discharge and I had a yucky mucus on the following Friday. I said not to read it if you don't want want TMI :)

Since then I've argued with my specialist about how exactly this is supposed to be helping me. I personally do not see any improvement. In fact last night I barely slept at all, waking up and being in pain then struggling to sleep again, over and over again. He seems to think that my side effects will get better over time but I feel like I've heard that story a million times. "The pill will stop your periods if you take it back to back" Did it? NO! "The implant will stop your periods after 3 months" Did it? NO! "The implant actually takes 6 months so come back then" Did it work then? NO! After 1 1//2 years "Oh, it didn't work as it was placed incorrectly" I'm sick of the same story over and over and me being right every time.

The patches I had to help with bleeding and painful periods worked perfectly. No, they didn't stop my periods but the pain and heaviness was almost halfed if not quartered. As many of you know on zoladex or prostap, you can't use hormonal contraception so even if I wanted to use the patches just to help my periods, they wouldn't work.

I finally have a date for my lap with Mr Chappatte. I will be going down on the 21st July for my lap. Depending on what time it will be booked for, I will travel down the day before if its early or the same day if its later. He said I'll stay in at least over night if not a few days to heal before I make the long trip back home. I'm almost looking forward to having some help but I'm nervous about what he might find and if he can even help me.

If I'm completely honest, that is all I've been doing since the prostap is being in pain and trying to arrange my lap date and time. I have been doing college still and did my Science exams the last two weeks and next week I have English, the following week is Maths. I know my English and Maths will be ok but my Science on the other hand has been terrible because I've had to miss so many lessons because of this stupid condition. I'm thinking of trying to get DLA or PIP, whatever it is now, but the process is so lengthy (I've done it twice now, I think, maybe three) I don't know if I can be bothered to do it. You can't do it online anymore, you have to call and ask for a form which is a million pages long. I might do it after my exams when I've got time to do it.

I hope you are all well and contact me or leave a comment if you'd like to share your story or if you'd like to tell me your experiences. Even if you just want to reassure me. Speak soon and I promise I'll try to keep up this time. Good luck to everyone out there dealing with this and going through a hard time.

Leya xoxo

Today I went to the specialist in Kent and I'm so happy I went. It was well worth the 3-4 hour drive. I had to have a TVS first to see what my pelvic organs were like at that moment in time. Now I mentioned to her that on my MRI it said my womb was faced forward but tilted towards itself whereas ultrasounds before and this internal one today shows it sitting backwards towards my spine. I have no cysts today which is good but I showed signs of adenomyosis. Everything else was normal and perfectly fine. It hurt quite a bit when she pressed on my uterus through the vaginal wall through the POD though. I got up perfectly fine after but shortly after I experienced cramps and have been every since. I'm getting bad pain in the places it was hurting when she was pressing which was inevitable.

I then went to see Mr Chappatte who was amazing as every has said and he took a brief history as they all do and asked what I wanted him to do for me. I didn't really know what to say as I've never had the option. My mum said that I just want to know if I can have children and to get rid of the pain. He said that they're three options; have zoladex or prostap, have a lap or have mirena. I'm not too keen on the thought of the mirena but if it will help then I guess its worth the try. Again he asked what I'd prefer but I have no idea what would be best so he suggested that I have zoladex or prostap for 3 months, go back to him for a laparoscopy and whilst I'm having the lap, he'll do a dye test and put the mirena in if I choose to have it.

All in all, he's everything and more than I expected and I'm very grateful to him and his team for being amazing. It really does pay to go private...well NHS but it's a private hospital.

Thanks for reading and hope you're all well.

Leya xo

P.s Visit my question post and join the community at (https://healthunlocked.com/endometriosis-uk/questions/130691583/need-some-advice-on-experiences-with-zoladex-prostap-and-mirena-please)

Hi everyone,

I am sorry that I haven't posted in a while. I've had nothing to talk about and figured that it would be pointless to post if there's nothing endo related. From now on I will only post if there is something endo related to talk about.

So, today I had some great news. It's a bit short notice but on Monday my new endo specialist is going to see me. I am really nervous though as before I see him, I have to have a TVS (transvaginal scan/internal ultrasound) I've had one before and it hurts like a bitch. It's not even the fact that it's uncomfortable, it's the fact that when someone is pushing and shoving around an area that is sensitive, its going to hurt. I hope my appointment with the specialist is long as I have A LOT to talk about. I feel like I shouldn't tell him everything as that might get on his nerves or it might confuse him. I'll write about how that goes on Monday possibly Tuesday.

I've also experienced a fairly new symptom today. I went to the toilet and I had a wee, as I came to the end, I felt a sharp pain go up my tummy where my belly button is. It came from below and shot up to my belly button. I don't know what it is but I've had it a few times now. I'm on at the moment and don't know whether that could be a factor or not. Also I've had chest pains that came on about a week ago and haven't gone yet. It's in my ribs, just below my boobs. I think I mentioned it before but I wanted to just say it again as I think it may be hormonal as well seeing as my period came today.

Sorry if that's TMI but I did warn that I will be brutally honest and speak about anything and everything here.

Thanks for reading and don't forget to comment if you have anything to say or ask.

Leya xo