5 weeks laparoscopic post-op pain....help!

[akjruthies]

I had a laparoscopic left ovarian cystectomy on June 13. A fairly large benign (thank goodness) mucinous cystenoma was cut out of and removed/peeled from the inside of my left ovary. The ovary was left unsutured, so that it could heal on its own. My ovary was VERY stretched out around the cyst.



I was beginning to feel much better around the 3-4 week of post-op, but a week ago I stared feeling quite a bit of 'internal pain' again. It actually feels very similar to the pain I experienced before the surgery. Most of the pain is on my left side (with the occasional right side pain). The pain is mostly dull, aching, throbbing, crampy with the occasional stabbing pain that last for 3-4 seconds (on left side). I am also cramping almost 2 weeks before my period. (Last month too)



I had my 5 week post-op on Wednesday and my Dr. seems to think that everything is "fine". She suggested that maybe scar tissue is forming.  Does the formation of scar tissue cause this type of pain? Is this pain normal? How long should I be experiencing this sort of pain? Aargh...I just want to feel good again.



I am pretty nervous/scared about the pain.  



Thanks for any info/advice/words of kind wisdom!

[Mary 53]

Hi,



Pain from surgical adhesions can be horrible. I suffered for a year and a half before we figured out what all my pain was about after my radical hysterectomy in 2000. We did exams, MRI's, etc....



There was concern that I had colon cancer (hysterectomy was for early ovarian cancer)...the doctors were baffled. Finally discovered that surgical adhesions were causing my colon to collapse. This was found during a colonoscopy. So, it is quite possible that your doctor is right. What I found is that there is not much information about this out there. One doctor recommended that I have a colonopscopy every six months to "break up the adhesions." Ermmm..ah, no thanks.



Every now and then this topic comes up on this site...if you want, I can get the information that I post periodically.



I got much help from a special type of massage called, "Body Rolling." It is a dot com, although, I never actually ordered the program itself since an old weight training teacher taught me what to do and I just used a smallish (size of a small soccer ball) ball that I picked up at the toy dept. of Target. The idea is that you need to get a deep massage to the bone and not just the muscle to break up the adhesions. It is to the point where now I have to do the body rolling (takes about twenty minutes) about once a year to keep the pain away...keeping those adhesions from forming. I have to do some tomorrow, in fact, as my right side (where the cancerous cyst and other cysts were specifically located) is aching and pulling..and, stabbing....the pain you described. So, I will get out my little ball tomorrow and start to roll on it. Amazing!



I would recommend that you check with your doctor if you decide to do this. I mean, by the time I discovered the technique, I was far past my surgery date so I was not worried that I could hurt myself on the inside at all. It hurt a tinge while I did the massage, since you literally have to put all your body weight on the ball, but, what a huge difference when I stood up. I could FEEL the blood flowing in that area...no kidding!



I know that having this pain is disarming. I don't think there is enough information out there...I mean, how would you know that you have scar tissues or adhesions forming and that they could hurt soooo much.



Hope this helps. Let me know if you want more information.



Mary

[Tina800]

HI Mary-



  Please tell use more about the body rolling it sounds interesting? Do you lie on the ball and do circlular movements or back and forth? I'm so glad your getting relief from it.



-tina

[Mary 53]

Here is the information on body rolling.



A bit of background info first....

This worked for me. My kind and generous weight training teaher offered to teach it to me when I told her that I had to leave class one day since I was in so much pain from surgical adhesions (again, these had been discovered during a colonoscopy so I knew what was going on..The colonoscopy had actually broken things up for me a bit..stretched and snapped them, and I got some relief, but it was very painful going through that and they were reforming again anyway).



My instructor was learning how to teach it when she helped me. She was interested in teaching this to the aging population saying that doing this type of massage broke up the adhesions that occur naturally in our body. She said that it is as if some of our insides "glue together" and that this releases much of the gluing because of all the blood, thus oxygen, it brings to the area. It seems to break things up. She intended to teach elderly people because the "gluing" is so bad as we age if we don't treat it. Apparently there are many body areas where this can be used. The one caution is (and, this would not apply to those of us with ovarian type adhesions) is to never lay the spine directly on the spine.



It is truely amazing. I noticed a HUGE difference immediately. When I sat up after the fist time I did this (about a 15 min. session) I could feel a "FLOOD" or a Rush of blood or something! going to that area. After having pain about 40 times an HOUR for over a year and a half after my surgery, my pain decreased to only about 10 times a DAY for a few seconds. I did this procedure again about a week after the first one and that gave me even more relief. I think it was about four months til I had to do it again. Now I do it about once a year, if that.



It is worth looking into. You want to get the blood to the bone, not just the muscle....so it floods the tendons and gets lots of oxegyn there to start healing and breaking up the adhesions.



**My instructor told me to think of a steak and how the tendon is sort of splotchy with blood where it is attached to the bone...well, you want to get the blood totally to the bone so as to really break things up. Regular massage is not "deep" enough.





The ball I used measures 16 inches. Again, though, I did not get the ball thru the website. I got one in a toy section at Target and it looked similar to the one the instructor had used. It probably is bigger than the ones they recommend, but, if you think about it, it is squishy to the point where once all my weight is on it, it probably shrinks down to about ten inches. And, I just put my "front" onto the ball for the pelvic pain and not my back.



-------------------------------------

Here is how I did it...leaning my body wt. into it, literally placing the ball underneath me and "rolling" on it...slowly.



I would lay on the pubic bone and then take about four minutes or so to SLOWLY (while remembering to take deep breaths) work my way out to the right side where the ovary once was on that side. After you get there, go back slowly to the pubic bone...breathe deeply. When you get to the pubic bone again, then go to the other side, following a path, if you will, of where you imagine the falopian tube once was. So, it is like a "V" formation. After you get to the left side where the ovary once was, then go back to the pubic bone...and, you are done. But, take about 15 minutes to do the procedure.



Again, this is how I did it. I got relief. My doctor was amazed. Let me know how it goes if you decide to try it.

[Mary 53]

One more thing that I learned from my instructor...that I have not tried, however.



There is a product out there called "thera cane" that they say breaks up surgical adhesions. A search on the internet will  provide information about the company that makes it if anyone is interested. I have never tried this item. Just a thought.

[Grateful06]

Mary, what great information, I'm going to do this when I'm a few months post-op.

Visually, are you just laying on the ball?  So the weight of your body makes the ball dig deep in to your body?  You explained it well but I'm having a hard time visualizing what exactly you try to do with the ball.  Then you said never lay the spine on it, do you mean never lay the spine on the ball directly?  So you are just going on the outside of the spine? And do you lay on your front or back or both on this ball?



Thank you for sharing such an easy and inexpensive way for us to have pain relief!

[Mary 53]

Good questions and I am glad you asked for clarification. It is kind of like trying to write down instructions on how to tie shoelaces, you know!



There was a complaint a while ago that perhaps I was giving out too much "medical advice," (although that was with regard to the topic of bioidentical hormones) so, although that has never been my intention, I guess suggestions can look like ""advice"" and so I am extra careful to explain as much as I can...give all the ins and outs so to speak. Thus all the detail. And, the precautions.



That is why I threw in the comment about the spine. It actually has nothing to do with this exercise, but I thought if anyone got carried away with rolling on this ball for whatever reasons...they should never lie on their back with the ball underneath directly on or under the spine. I guess it came to mind because I do bodyrolling for an old neck