Ok so here is my question..........What kind of pain, stiffness, irritation did you feel when coming home? I am mainly questioning the physical aspects of the "after surgery" feelings. I am curious as to whether or not the doc sends you home with any pain meds, is there a need for any? All meds have to be crushe dor liquid form at this point right? Is movement restricted? I know rest, sip, rest, sip is often given as get well words of encouragement, but will a week or so off from work be enough for me? I sit at a desk for the most part so there isnt any real strenuous activity done. It seems some people bounce back from the surgery quicker than others.

Any input or advice is welcome. I will likely have surgery in January and I want to be fully prepared. I am hoping I dont need to take 2 weeks of vacation but I can if necessary!

My Dr. sent me home with a prescription for liquid Lortab. (I think that is how you spell it) I took them, because I didn't want the pain to come. I had horrible gas pains from when they blow you up in surgery. That lasted a week and a half, but it was bearable. I had surgery on Wednesday and went back to my desk job on Monday. I was still groggy from the anthesia... but I was feeling excellent by Friday. This whole ordeal was a lot less painful than birthing a 9 lb baby... If I can get thru that, I can get thru anything.

The first couple of days, I took it easy, so I would say movement is restricted. I think a week off from work will be plenty, but it all depends on the person.

Let us know if you have any more questions.

I keep telling my hubby that if I can give birth twice and get five tattoos, I can handle ANY kind of pain!!!!! :(

I completely agree!!! This should be a piece of cake for you!

You should get a prescription for liquid Lortab (or something like that). You should take it, because if pain gets away from you, it's hard to get it back under control. You'll know when you don't need it. The gas pain from the surgery was the most uncomfortable and bothersome part...it did take 1 1/2 weeks to 2 weeks to get over that. Other than that, turning over in bed was a little painful, becuse the prot incision is the most tender. Frankly, I barely noticed the other 4, they are so small. Getting the tape off the incisions is another fun thing, but only irritating, because the sticky is so hard to get off. Use alcohol, and be careful around the incisions. All in all, not too bad...just a few little things. Good luck, Cindy

i ended up using crushed vicoden (using a pharmacy pill crusher $4.99) but the taste of that stuff will sure keep you from getting addicted to painkillers! yuk! but i never experienced actual pain. they had me getting morphine in the hosp every four hours for about 24 hrs. then vicoden every 4-6 hours at home. i didn't wake up in the middle of the night and take more pain meds or anything. so i think they say that interval so that you won't be afraid to take what you need.

so i would describe it as more discomfort than pain. i have a large tattoo, though no kids, so i can say it was less painful than a tattoo. as far as going back to work before 2 weeks, it's probably doable. what you're probably going to experience is fatigue as opposed to pain.

and on the gas pains, it's real! that was the most painful part. crazy as it sounds. it felt like someone had stabbed me in the shoulder. the gasx helps but doesn't cure it. mine took 2.5 weeks to go away completely. so i wouldn't worry about the pain too much. i think you'll be more than tough enough to handle it.

So does everyone experience the shoulder pain? And am I understanding this right the pain in the shoulder is caused by gas?????? Doesnt sound right, I would assume the gas pains would be in the belly??

My doc had me on ibuprofen & liquid vicoden for the first few days. Then only vicoden as needed. I really only needed the vicoden for 3-4 days. There was no problem with swallowing the ibuprofen pills -- they even gave me pills in the hospital right after surgery with no crushing or anything.

I had minimal pain. About a 2 on a scale of 1-10 (1 lowest, 10 highest). I did have some severe shoulder stiffness though but I have shoulder issues anyway. I was definitely groggy for a couple of days and seemed "slow" but other than that, I was fine. About a week after I noticed a bit of bloating in my stomach then it went away the same week. I fart a lot, but then again, I was windy anyway so it didn't make much difference. I did not take any pain medication other than liquid Tylenol. I am a stomach sleeper so that didn't work well for the first 2 weeks, so I was a bit grumpy from lack of good sleep. A nice pampering massage was done around week 5 too. Really nice.

Comfy clothes and my heating pad were my biggest saviors that first week. I had my surgery on Wed and was back to work at a desk job on Monday. However, I wish I would have taken the full week off. Just that extra 2 days would have been more comfy. Not really "needed" but just more relaxing and pampering to me.

Overall, this was easy for me. But, I am a super fast healer! Even my swelling around the band went down quick and I was STARVING for the next 3 weeks. I think that was the worst part was the hunger pangs I had and the grumble of my tummy.

Everyone is different in their healing though. For me, healing was less than a week, for others it is 3 weeks. I think a lot of it has to do with your size to begin with and the stress the surgery puts on your body.

I had a sore tummy and gas pains, The sholder pain came about 1 week later for me somehow. I had a Rx to get filled on the way home. it was liquid something. I sleept like crazy the first week and I didnt have my head on straight, sort of confused, I attribute that to the meds. It did take me a lot longer to get ready to go out as bending over was not good.(I have to dry my hair like that) A week out I would tire easy and require naps, probably from not eating as much. I was banded on 11-28-05, eleven days ago.

I was told by my Doc that you "may" get the shoulder pain because the gas can push on a nerve behind your stomach that leads to your shoulder. I always wondered why the two were connected. Just my 2 cents.

I was one of the lucky ones who didn't have much gas pain. I took GasX once in a while just in case but never had any trouble.

The painkiller, Lortab, did not work on me. My pain would kinda come and go from time to time. Heating pad helped and I would massage my tummy. I didn't sleep much because I couldn't get comfortable. That lasted about a week or two.

The unexpected pain came from being tubed during the surgery. My thoart was very sore and I sounded like crap for a couple of days.

I had surgery on Wednesday and worked again on Thursday night. I work from home and have a phone job so I may be cheating by saying I "went" to work.

i had my surgery 2 dec. i took a week off and i think that will be perfect. it is day 7 for me and i feel great!!

i was in pain the day/day after surgery. my doc gave me vicadin. i was still in pain but didn't really mind (i slept mostly)!!!

pain from the gas was really bad, but the only way to get rid of it was to move around. after 2 days mine was gone!!

my tummy is puffy but other that that i feel pretty good. i am moving and lifting like normal...no problems.

best of luck!! i was really scared, but now i am so excited!!!

I got sent home with a prescription of percocet and boy did I need them. I won't lie, I was in alot of pain, they say its b/c of the gas. On the 3rd day I did not need any meds. I was sore but not in pain.

I just had surgery last week. The pain of the surgery is NOTHING compared to the shoulder pain I experenced.I am glad to say now day 8 it has finally let up and is just a small pain now. At times it felt like bone on bone.It can and went very strange.But since I have already lost 13 lbs it was worth it. lol

This may sound strange, but someone once said that gas naturally wants to go up, so she suggested laying on the bed, if you can of course, on your belly and laying the top half of you over the edge. Is that weird? I'm not sure if it works...I don't know if anyone has ever tried it.....but I can't personally imagine laying on your belly after you've had surgery there.

I wonder if the key is to move around as much as possible as Maggie says. Hopefully if I get banded, I'll have to keep that in mind.