Alright so this is a bit off-topic. But given that lately there's been a lot of talk about LIS recovery times (well I guess maybe there always has been) and how much the recovery process varies from person to person, I was wondering about something:
Is the highly variable recovery just LIS and butt surgeries, or does that apply to all surgeries in general?
The only surgery I've ever had was LIS plus the follow-up abscess drainage/fistulotomy. So I don't have any other personal experience to draw on. But as some of you know, I'm scheduled to have another minor surgery in a different part of the body soon (those who know where can insert a "tee hee" here :)), hence why the question came to mind.
I know we have some "surgery veterans" on this board who've had non butt related operations. So spill the beans guys ... is the aftermath of LIS more unpredictable than other surgeries you've had? Or is having lots of ups and downs just par for the course when it comes to operations?

I haven't had any other surgery myself, but know people who have. The thing with other surgeries is that mostly they're sewn shut or even done laparoscopically. So mostly the aftermath is predictable (in fact everyone I knew was spot-on with recovery).
Our kind of surgery on the other hand is in a heavily used area and sometimes the wounds are left open (fissurectomy, open lis etc), which means it depends on a lot more factors. My doc told me for a fact that the recovery is ups and downs and I think he knows what he's talking about, as he does lots and lots of these.

I have had a c-section and Laparoscopic surgery for endometriosis.
c-section they say 6 weeks bull shit lol took a long time to feel good still not back to old self if i get the flu and cough heaps i have pain a few days later at the insision sight. the laparoscopic they said 2 days took 4 days to feel good even for about 5 days after that if i moved in the wrong way i felt jabs.
maybe its my stuiped body not healing fast! but i do think that with any surgery the sight is never going to be the same again because there is a scar.

I can help you out with that NG - I've had about 14 surgeries on different parts plus another 3 dental surgeries under GA!
I think any surgery that involves cutting is going to hurt, and takes longer to heal than what the doctors tell you. And also it depends where the surgery is. I think that surgery in the private part areas are way more traumatic because we have to use them - we can't stop having a poo just because we've had surgery there! The pain seems to fluctuate daily because of different food intake whereas normal sugery follows a pattern of painful, then less and less painful.
I had two surgeries go wrong - the first was a late pregnancy operation that's too graphic and horrible to write on a forum, but left me psychologically traumatised for a long time, the second was a disc replacement in my neck, which, when I came around from the anaesthetic, left me totally unable to move my leg. Three years on, I'm registered as disabled, and have severe mobility problems. Also, they go in through the throat, and scar tissue in the area means my airway cuts off if I bend forward. But, hey, shit happens! LOL!
Other operations I've had that were laparascopic weren't too bad. Recovery time, probably around 2 weeks. Surgeries where the cutting has been inside - like when I had a laser ablation, there was aching pain, but felt pretty ok about ten days later. And surgeries where there wasn't any cutting - well the GA makes me feel weak and wobbly for about 3 days, but other than than, just tiredness.
So, in conclusion, I think the area that's operated on is the major factor, and how much cutting is involved is next.
My recovery after both my butt surgeries were the most up and down out of all my surgeries. Once I felt better after the others, there wasn't really any of this one step forward and three steps backwards kind of recovery that I experienced with these ones. They are in a class of their own!

Hey NG,
I've had a few surgeries, as you already know... I think butt surgery was the hardest to heal from because like we have all said, we have to use it everyday.
My son in-laws dad had the circumcision last summer about this time. I know he was sore and it took a couple of weeks before he went back to work. I didn't ask a lot of questions, because I wasn't suppose to know, but hey, he knew about my fissure,Lol.
Anyway, I have no doubt that you will be sore there NG, but I think after butt surgery and the fistulotomy, you know what real pain is and this should be easier. Honestly I have had four babies( 3 natural childbirth- no drugs) and would take the labor and recovery any day over a fisssure and recovery period of the surgery. I had a good LIS experience, but that is a part of our bodies that we have to use and stretch everyday after we have surgery. I know you will have to use it to pee, but just think your pee will be liquid everyday!! You won't have to work on making it the right consistency or any of the other mess that came with LIS!!
I think you are going to do fine NG and you can't compare any surgery to the recovery of butt surgery in my opinion. Not the surgeries that I have had, anyway and I had a huge lump taken out of one of my breast- in three days, it was like it never happened. My daughter who is 20 had the same surgery and same recovery with that. Honestly the sorest, I have ever been was when I got my tubes tied and that was about 6 weeks tops and the smallest cut,Lol but nothing like butt problems!! No doubt NG, the aftermath of LIS is much more unpredictable than what you are having done!
Don't back out, get this done and over while you are still young. My son in-laws dad suffered with this problem for 15 years. He had the surgery in his mid 50's.

Hey NG! I’ve had my gallbladder removed and a hysterectomy – both surgeries were easier than the LIS, and not just because nobody tried to take my internal organs out without anesthesia!
I had my gallbladder removed when I was 18 – it took the docs a really long time to figure out what was wrong with me because nobody expects a skinny teenager to have gallstones! The recovery was quite smooth (my friends snuck me out of the hospital the day after surgery and I went to Dairy Queen to get a chocolate Sunday in my hospital gown!). I did have a complication, though. About a week after the op, I had a horrible chest pain. I tried to deal with it by knocking back some vodka, but eventually took myself to the hospital because I thought it could be a blood clot. It was just tense muscles. After that, all was good. :D
The hysterectomy involved a long recovery. The worst part, though, was waking up after surgery to discover that I am one of the few people for whom morphine doesn’t kill pain! I had to wait a few hours in absolute agony for the morphine to leave my system and they could give me Demerol.
It took a while to be able to poop without pain (maybe two weeks), and I had to be very careful walking,, couldn’t lift anything remotely heavy for at least a month, etc. It wasn’t a particularly painful recovery; it just took a long time to get back to normal. There were some ups and downs – one day I’d feel like, ‘yeah! It’s over!’, but the next day I’d feel delicate and tired again. I’d say it took one month to get past the ups and downs, and about another month after that to feel like I was fully recovered. I just had to adapt to a new normal for that period, which meant moving a bit slower than usual, being careful with myself, and resting when I needed to.
But really, the ass surgery recovery was the toughest I’ve had. I agree with the others – it really matters where on the body the surgery is done. While the area of the body involved in circumcision is pretty delicate (!), the good thing is that circumcision doesn’t involve the urethra, so peeing won’t mess with the healing in the same way that pooing messes with butt healing.
I’m definitely not minimizing what you’re about to go through! I don’t think it’ll be a walk in the park. And I really sympathize. If you like we can see who can whine and moan the loudest … the fistulotomy gal or circumcised dude!
:D

Val wow, that's all I can say! You are one tough girl!

I second that!

I'm not tough - you ought to see me when I have to have a blood test - needles and blood have me hyperventilate and have a panic attack! And not to mention spiders....!
I spent some time mourning my life as it was, (and blaming the surgeon, of course!) - when I could run, dance, go to the gym, play with my little grandkids ect ect ect, but then I came to the conclusion that I could be bitter and miserable and think about the past, or accept the way my life is now and just get on with it. It's taken a while, but I do accept it now, although I do still get pissed off about it all sometimes! And there are millions of people far worse off than me.

Hey thanks guys! Just got back from the urologist and I CHICKENED OUT. So disappointed :( :( :( There was just too much on my mind with the endoscopy tomorrow, what a wuss! I've read all of your posts here and you guys are definitely some real "veterans" and have a much "bigger pair" than I do! I'll post more later, kind of pissed at myself for being such a sissy right now. Only real good news is that insurance would indeed cover the procedure at 100% and the doctor's office can put me on schedule any time with only 1-2 weeks of lead time. Pretty sad when their office is filled with people getting kidney and bladder surgery and I can't pull the trigger on a little foreskin surgery aahhhhh dammit :(