Ablation recovery question

[jlt19]

I set up an ablation for February 12. I'm taking off the 12th and 13th. However, daycare just posted a "date night" event on the 13th, where you can keep your kids there from 6-9pm. We don't usually do anything for Valentine's Day, but the 13th is DH's birthday and since a babysitter was just kind of thrown in our laps, we may utilize it. My question is, if you've had an ablation done, do you think I'll be "up" for going out to dinner/having a few drinks the night after? I don't plan on getting rowdy, but one or two drinks with dinner would be nice.

[gummybear]

Definitely. My was done under anesthesia (twilight) and afterwards I came home and took a nap and was fine that night. By the next day I was back to normal.
And yay for having an ablation Life changing.

[tigerlily]

I just had an ablation done last month, I was perfectly fine the next day. You should be fine, have fun!

[revolution]

I would do it! I had it done in November, I napped all afternoon - due to ablation or just exhausted in general and had a nice excuse, who knows. But I was up and running errands and doing normal mom stuff the next day.

And, yes, the ablation was fantastic! It's only been 2 months, but holy cow!

[cc]

I was fine the next day. Maybe some minor cramping, but I was up and moving around.

I had my ablation in April 2013 and I am so glad I had it done. I've had zero periods since.

[jlt19]

Ok, since you're all around, I'll ask you my other questions. (I'll ask my doctor too, but that's a months away!)

How long until you can have sex?

How long until you know it "worked"? The following month? Is it a gradual loss of period?

I know many don't stop having a period all together, so what have your experiences been?

I'll just be happy to not have a period for 14+ days, every 28 days, with 3 days in the middle so heavy I have to change my tampon every hour AND wear a large pad.

[revolution]

Jan 16, 2015 8:53:09 GMT -5 jlt19 said:

Ok, since you're all around, I'll ask you my other questions. (I'll ask my doctor too, but that's a months away!)

How long until you can have sex?

How long until you know it "worked"? The following month? Is it a gradual loss of period?

I know many don't stop having a period all together, so what have your experiences been?

I'll just be happy to not have a period for 14+ days, every 28 days, with 3 days in the middle so heavy I have to change my tampon every hour AND wear a large pad.

I was on a 'no sex' order until the bleeding stopped from the surgery.  And, honestly, I only had some spotting the first day.  

Two weeks later when my normal period was due, I spotted for two days.  THAT WAS IT.  2 months later now, and I've had not a drop of blood.  So... fingers crossed that was it for me.  And I hope this works for you!

ETA:  I did have a clear/yellowish discharge for about a month.  It was annoying the first week or so, but then it tapered off and wasn't bad at all.

[tigerlily]

Jan 16, 2015 8:53:09 GMT -5 jlt19 said:

Ok, since you're all around, I'll ask you my other questions. (I'll ask my doctor too, but that's a months away!)

How long until you can have sex?  I had another procedure at the same time so for me it was 4 weeks (yesterday ).  If I just had the ablation alone it would have been one week, though I still had a watery discharge at that time and probably would not have been comfortable.

How long until you know it "worked"? The following month? Is it a gradual loss of period?  My doctor said at least 3 months, though some people have their periods return after several years. 

I know many don't stop having a period all together, so what have your experiences been? I'm still waiting to find out.

I'll just be happy to not have a period for 14+ days, every 28 days, with 3 days in the middle so heavy I have to change my tampon every hour AND wear a large pad.

Good luck!

[lostlenore]

We're ablation date twins! I was wondering some of the same things, so I'm glad you asked. My kids have off of school Friday the 13th and Monday the 16th, so I was hoping I would still be able to do some fun things with them.

I had a uterine polyp removed last august and have just been expecting recovery to be similar to that (I came home from the procedure and basically slept through to the next morning, but felt pretty much fine the next day).

[cc]

How long until you can have sex? I don't recall there being a set restriction.

How long until you know it "worked"? The following month? Is it a gradual loss of period?

For me, I knew it worked around the time I was supposed to have my next period. I never got it and haven't since.

I know many don't stop having a period all together, so what have your experiences been?

I was one of the lucky ones who stopped getting my period. I still have the PMS symptoms, but no bleeding. I had discharge for about a week. Before I had the procedure, I had very heavy periods and they would last almost two weeks.

I didn't get put under, but rather, had it done in the office with pain pills since my copay that way was only $15.00 vs. the $1,000 to have it done in same day surgery.

[jlt19]

Jan 16, 2015 9:27:41 GMT -5 cc said:

How long until you can have sex? I don't recall there being a set restriction.

How long until you know it "worked"? The following month? Is it a gradual loss of period?

For me, I knew it worked around the time I was supposed to have my next period. I never got it and haven't since.

I know many don't stop having a period all together, so what have your experiences been?

I was one of the lucky ones who stopped getting my period. I still have the PMS symptoms, but no bleeding. I had discharge for about a week. Before I had the procedure, I had very heavy periods and they would last almost two weeks.

I didn't get put under, but rather, had it done in the office with pain pills since my copay that way was only $15.00 vs. the $1,000 to have it done in same day surgery.

Holy shit, they did it with only pain pills!!?

I don't even know HOW this is done. When I was with the dr. last week for my annual he said there are many methods for it to be done. He said "I use the one that works the best, but if I'm in there and it's not working, I'll use one of two others. There are about 5 or 6 methods, but some work better than others". He never said WHAT the methods were. But if he's got to be doing multiple different things inside my vagina, I prefer to NOT know what's going on! I would have to reconsider though, if I had been in your position. That's a big price difference!

[cc]

Jan 16, 2015 9:41:29 GMT -5 jlt19 said:

Jan 16, 2015 9:27:41 GMT -5 cc said:

How long until you can have sex? I don't recall there being a set restriction.

How long until you know it "worked"? The following month? Is it a gradual loss of period?

For me, I knew it worked around the time I was supposed to have my next period. I never got it and haven't since.

I know many don't stop having a period all together, so what have your experiences been?

I was one of the lucky ones who stopped getting my period. I still have the PMS symptoms, but no bleeding. I had discharge for about a week. Before I had the procedure, I had very heavy periods and they would last almost two weeks.

I didn't get put under, but rather, had it done in the office with pain pills since my copay that way was only $15.00 vs. the $1,000 to have it done in same day surgery.

Holy shit, they did it with only pain pills!!?

I don't even know HOW this is done. When I was with the dr. last week for my annual he said there are many methods for it to be done. He said "I use the one that works the best, but if I'm in there and it's not working, I'll use one of two others. There are about 5 or 6 methods, but some work better than others". He never said WHAT the methods were. But if he's got to be doing multiple different things inside my vagina, I prefer to NOT know what's going on! I would have to reconsider though, if I had been in your position. That's a big price difference!

I scared myself by reading stuff online about the pain, but it wasn't too bad (for me at least).

My doctor did the Nova Sure procedure. A day or two before, I had to take some strong ibuprofen, then the day before, I started the pill that opens your cervix. That caused some painful cramps, kind of like I was going into labor.

The morning of, I had to bring in the remaining pills (ibuprofen, and a strong pain pill that the doctor had to give me, and Xanax to relax me.) The doctor injected a shot of something (I can't recall if it was pain meds or an antibiotic) and I had to wait an hour for everything to kick in. They put me into a really comfy room in the back of their office and I snuggled up with a blanket I brought with me and read my kindle until the meds kicked in and made me loopy.

The doctor came in, inserted a camera probe thing that would take a biopsy of my uterus, and also measured the lining. That part was not painful, but uncomfortable, as it felt like I had a baby in there moving around.

The next part was the hard part. He inserted the wand thing that does the actual ablation. It beeps right before it starts (while gauging how high the frequency needs to be) and then there is intense (and I mean intense) cramping for about 90 seconds while it is doing the ablation part. I felt like something was in there sucking my uterus into a vacuum and my body was trying to fight it. I held onto the handle of the monitor that was next to me and gripped it while breathing in and out like I was having a contraction.

Once that part was over, the pain was gone, and it was done. The procedure itself was very fast and I was home by lunch time. (I went in at 8:00). They kept me in the office until I felt like I was able to stand and then they wheeled me to my car.

[Dagny]

Hooray! You'll be so glad you did it!
To answer your original question, you'll be fine the next day. The day of, I napped off the anesthesia. The next day I was 100% normal. No pain, no cramps, no bleeding. It was amazing.

As for the other questions:

There was a timeframe that we had to abstain from sex, but I can't remember how long. A few weeks? Worth it. Promise.

I didn't have any signs of a period at all the first month or two. After the initial couple of months (it's been almost 2 years since mine) I do spot for a few days. I'd say 3-5 days of SUPER light spotting (I just wear a liner). I used to have 2 week long periods, with only 2 weeks in between. It was awful. Now, the spotting doesn't even come every month. More like every month and a half.

I'm so excited for you! I put it off for so long because I hate medical procedures, and now I'm kicking myself for now doing it sooner!

[gummybear]

How long until you can have sex? I think my Dr said 3 weeks? I hardly bled but I had watery discharge for a couple weeks

How long until you know it "worked"? The following month? Is it a gradual loss of period? My results were immediate. I still bleed, albeit very lightly. Like a liner/lite tampon is enough for 2 days, then spotting only when I wipe for 2 more days. While it would be great to have no period, I am kind of glad I still do because I have severe anxiety issues and I would be constantly thinking I was pg.

FWIW, I used to bleed for 7+ days, 2 or 3 being so heavy the "ultra" tampon would soak through in a hour or so. I tried the diva cup and was filling it up in like 30 minutes. I felt like a freak.

Feb. 18 is 2 years for me. Best decision ever. I still find new ways it has affected my life. Like going to the beach. Or running a half marathon. Or going out to a fancy dinner with just a small clutch. Wearing a short skirt in summer. Lifting heavy weights. Sleeping on hotel sheets on the heaviest day. The list goes on and on.