Surgery and periods

[Butterfly01]

Hi

I’m due to have surgery under general anaesthetic later in the year and I’m worried about the what ifs. I have quite heavy periods (and messy!) and very irregular at that so it’s hard to predict when my period might come. I also get rather bad cramps as well. I’ll be wearing a pad on the day as a just in case if I don’t but what if I do? do I need to let the nurses and surgeon know? what if I need a catheter and I’ve got my period- that would be kinda gross but I can’t reschedule the op, can I still wear some sort of protection?

can anyone share what happens if you’ve had your period during surgery?

sorry for all the questions!

[-_-]

Hi @butterfly01 thanks so much for the question. Surgery can be a bit daunting, so questions / concerns are 100% normal! @nurse_nettie will be able to offer you some advice for sure.

[Nurse_Nettie]

Thanks @ekoorb9 I’m happy to help. @butterfly01 having your period during surgery is really common! It’s totally ok to wear a pad on the day. It’s important to let your nurse know that you’ve got your period. Depending on what kind of surgery you have & even if you need a catheter, they’ll support you in deciding the right kind of protection.

[Butterfly01]

thank you @ekoorb9 much appreciated. im pretty scared and have lots of questions but this one was the only one that i forgot to really ask about

Thank you @Nurse_Nettie for responding
Can i ask even if i dont need a catheter why its still important to let my nurse know? i will for sure despite my embarrassment but was just curious to know.

[tea]

Hmm I haven’t had surgery on my period before @butterfly01 but I’ve gone to get a pap smear when I had my period and was asked to wait until it finished to do that. @nurse_nettie Why would that differ to surgery?

[Butterfly01]

Hi @tea
interesting question 🙂 fortunatley my surgury isnt sexual health related so i dont think id have to wait. just a guess though going off Nurse Netties last post where she said surgury with periods is pretty common

[Nurse_Nettie]

@butterfly01 it’s hard to predict how long the surgery or recovery following a general anaesthetic will be. A nurse will care for your whole body during this time. By letting your nurse know, she will know that this bleeding is normal & not a possible complication of surgery. @tea surgery is very different procedure to a pap smear (cervical screen test). The best time to have a cervical screen is 2 weeks after a period. This is because the presence of the blood can affect the accuracy of the test result.

[Butterfly01]

thank you @nurse_nettie for explaining that. that makes sense, i wouldnt want them to think it was a complication if it wasnt! i really hope wont have my periods then though, would be rather awkward and more messy than usual! i know nurses are juding but it would still be pretty embarrassing too

[aphrodite9]

Thanks for sharing this question @butterfly01 – I can’t believe I’ve never thought about what happens when someone is on their period during surgery, when it must be so common!

If it helps to put you at ease, statistically speaking I’m sure that every day there would be multiple patients on their period in every hospital, so nurses must be totally used to it 🙂

Also, I don’t know if you usually take any pain medication when you get bad period cramps, but if so it might be a good idea to check in advance about whether there are any restrictions on what you can take before surgery. I think it usually says this on your pre-op information sheet or you could ask your doctor. And if you do take some medication beforehand, its important to tell them this when you’re admitted. A lot of people don’t realise that when the nurse/anaesthetist ask this question, it includes even basic over-the-counter pain relief like paracetamol, ibuprofen and naproxen, as well as actual prescription medications

Best of luck for your surgery later in the year Butterfly01! <3

[tea]

Good to know @nurse_nettie! I hope everything goes well @butterfly01 🙂

Really good idea too @aphrodite9, super important to let your doctor know about any medications you’re taking even if it’s just over the counter pain relief!

[Butterfly01]

hi @aphrodite9

Its ok, id never thought about it either till it was a possiblity it would happen to me. i guess its not really something that you think about or isnt the forefront of thoughts when it comes to surgical procedures.weve already been pretty thorough in going through medications etc at my last consult and will again a few days before the surgury itself in case things have changed, more updated info and such. thanks for meantioning that though, ill make sure i at least let them know what over the counter meds i take.

thanks for the well wishes too @aphrodite9 @tea

[tea]

So good to hear that your medical team is being super thorough with all of your medication checks @butterfly01!

[Butterfly01]

thank you @tea

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