3 Hysteroscopies & 4 Laparoscopies.

I'm no newbie on the whole surgery front.  I've just had my seventh operation and know it isn't quite the end yet.

Whilst the majority of my surgeries have been pre-planned, I have had a few emergency surgeries.    Having surgeries in a total of 4 hospitals around the country.

"You've had so many operations, it must be so easy now!" No, no it's not.  I've had surgeries several hours long, have extreme scarring on my stomach, had an anaphylactic shock during recovery, had to have a catheter and stay in a hospital for up to five nights.  I also had a severe phobia of needles and used to faint every time I got my blood taken - I have very small and hiding veins so also suffered from many cannulas that ejected!  Once it took 11 attempts to reinsert the cannula!

This is some of the scarring on my stomach.  As you can see, I still had all the glue from my seventh surgery in my belly button.

With each surgery the risks get higher.  My latest surgery had the risks of needing to perform an emergency hysterectomy and potentially inserting a temporary colostomy bag.  I am luckily to have one of the best endometriosis surgeons in the country and he managed to avoid all of that.

My latest surgery faced the new challenge of adenomyosis.  My MRI showed this appearing like a fibroid and therefore classed as adenomyoma.  I've attached a diagram to explain the differences.  My surgeon believed, therefore, he would be able to removed it.  Unfortunately, it was diffused and completely unable to be removed.  

I'm gonna to write another post on adenoymosis - although I'm certainly no expert!

I had a completely different mindset going into my latest surgery.  I knew that I could wake up with my life completely different but I got to the point that I couldn't live with the pain anymore and the risks were worth it to have my life back.

I connected with an amazing support group and listened to many tried and tested strategies people had tried to aid their recovery and prepare for their surgery.

For 2 days prior to my surgery I ate no solid or dark coloured food - I basically lived off chicken and vegetable soup and apple juice!  I also altered my diet in the weeks leading up to my operation to eat more fibre and protein.  This was at the recommendation of some fellow blogs!

The day before my surgery I had to take Picolax - oh my, the word makes the shiver!  I took my first sachet in the morning and was quite disappointed with how slow it was reacting, I decided to take myself to bed as it was highly recommended to try and sleep through the day!  I fell asleep on my Grandma's sofa and woke up in agony.  I rushed to the toilet and next thing I knew everything was black and I was uncontrollably shaking on the floor.  To cut a long story short, I got taken to A&E where I was put straight onto a drip and warned it was likely my surgery would be cancelled!

So after developing a positive attitude to this surgery, I then had to face the fear of no surgery!  Luckily, because I managed one sachet my surgery went ahead! Phew!

So I'll finally get to the point of this post, I'm going to share some top tips for preparing for surgery!  I can't promise they'll help you but after seven surgeries they are things I either wished I knew back them or have helped.  So here goes...

1. Have a shower the morning of the operation, I had some really nasty complications and couldn't shower for several days and then only could when my mum undressed and showered me.  Not a highlight at 22!

2. Bring something you love to drink and eat!  The conditions of being let out are being able to drink and eat and having something to look forward to made that much easier!

3. Mints, mints, mints!  I brought mint humbugs, mint imperials and peppermint tea!  This massively helps the gas and I've found the pain in my shoulders and neck from the gas disappeared much quicker this time!

4. Have your own copy of your medical records.  I have been seen in so many different hospitals that not all my notes get transferred, by having my own copy I have actually stopped an operation being cancelled twice now!

5. Write down questions before your surgery and afterwards.  Keep asking questions and get someone to write down the answers.  This helps so much when you're a little bit out of it and the surgeon lists a lot of things!

6. Bring comfy pjs!  I try and treat myself to new pjs before every operation!  I sleep so badly that knowing I can wear some comfy pjs helps being me settle down - especially in comparison to those awful itchy hospital gowns!

7. Something to block out the noise.  My last two stays in hospital I have ended up in an extremely noisy shared ward.  I wouldn't have slept a wink without my headphones, I created a 'sleep emily' playlist and just hoped for the best!

So seven tips for seven surgeries.  I'm happy to share some more tips and experiences if anyone would like, please just get in touch!