Ive never really had any type of major surgery before, just little things, so this will be huge for me. Im really nervous about the pain after the surgery...whats it like? how intense is it? Im just trying to prepare myself so i wont be shocked when the day comes!:thumbup:

I just had surgery on Monday, January 4th, and this was my first surgery ever, so hopefully I can help you out. I wouldn't really describe what I felt after surgery as "pain." I would describe it more as "aches." I never felt any sort of shooting pain, just some intense aching, but to be honest, the aching I experienced was constant from Monday night into Tuesday evening. I am sure the pain level is different for everybody, but for me, if I had to measure on a scale of 1-5, my pain level never got over a 3. I did get morphine while I was in the hospital, but it never seemed to take care of the aching feeling in my stomach, especially around the port area. I experienced a little gas pain in my diagphragm area and in my back, but I made sure to be up and walking within the first 30 minutes that I got back to my room from recovery, and it made the gas pain go away. The first night of the surgery, I had to sleep on my back because my sides were too sore to sleep on, but the next night, the aches subsided on my right side, the opposite side of my port, so I was able to sleep on my right side.

Today my aching stomach has been a lot better. Getting out of bed was a lot easier and I haven't taken any pain pills today. I still get uncomfortable, but when that happens, I just walk around my house a little bit and I feel better.

I was told throughout my stay at the hospital that I should bounce back pretty quick because I have my age on my side, and you should to. Just try to go in with a positive attitude, you'd be surprised how much that helps!

Ive never really had any type of major surgery before, just little things, so this will be huge for me. Im really nervous about the pain after the surgery...whats it like? how intense is it? Im just trying to prepare myself so i wont be shocked when the day comes!:smile2:

You know, everyone is different. For a majority of us (and by us I mean lapband bloggers :thumbup: I think I can safely say that the pain is not that band.

I didnt have any pain from the actual surgery that I can remember. I stayed the night in the hospital and made sure to push my pain button everytime I could, but I was up and walking around about an hour after I got to my room. The incision sites never hurt me. The most pain I felt was the gas pain and mine was pretty mild and was really just showing itself in my shoulder region. I took my gas-x strips every 3 hours, took my liquid loritab at home, and walked. I had surgery on Tuesday and was back to work on Monday.

I dont like pain either and can be a baby when I don't feel good, but I just tried to be proactive by taking my pain meds before the pain got bad, walking, and eating gas-x.

Hope this helps!

Amy