"Mixed feelings"

Anything else?

Last week I had a laparoscopy to remove a cyst in one of my ovaries. I arrived at 7:30 am and by 9am I had seen the anaesthetist and the registrar, who went over the procedure with me and asked me all the standard questions. The anaesthetist was particularly friendly and put both my husband and I at ease regarding the general anesthetic. The nurses in ward 24 were very nice and friendly, even though it was clear they were short staffed. A couple ladies in my ward had to wait for over an hour to get pain medicine and others had to wait longer to get their catheters removed or 'fixed'. Anyway, I saw the consultant in the theatre prior to the anesthetic. He came to say hi and to confirm what was to be done that morning. After that I don't remember anything until I woke up after the procedure was done. It's been 6 days and I can tell that the doctor did a great job with the laparoscopy. There has been no complications and my bowel movement returned without some of the complications I've read on different forums. The expected pain is fading day by day and I expect to be back at work after the 2weeks are over. Overall the service I received at St. James' was great. The only thing that leaves me with mixed feelings is the lack of recovery information I received. I knew I was to be sent home on the same day of the procedure but had no idea I'd have to wait until 10:30pm to be discharged. It wasn't until 6pm that I learned from a nurse that they wouldn't discharge me until I was able to eat something and keep it in. I was experiencing nausea the whole afternoon, but was finally able to eat at around 7pm and keep it in. I was sent home with a supply of painkillers and instructions to go to my GP's office in 5 days time to get my stitches removed. Since it was my first time in a hospital and first time experiencing general anesthetic, I didn't know what to ask. It would've been helpful if the nurses could tell me what to expect in terms of pain, how tired I'd feel in the following days, when to expect bowel movements to return, how soon would I be able to drive, etc. So when these questions came up, the only place I could find answers was on the internet.