Post Op pain

[Guest Rosalind]

I just had my last visit with my pcp. My pcp is faxing all her notes to the surgeon's office so I can be submitted for approval. I asked again at the surgeon's office about the pain after surgery. My docs assistant assures me that it is more from gas. I would appreciate it if those of you who have had the sleeve done could answer questions for me.

1. Did you have a lot of pain? Do you have a surgical history?

2. Did you have a preop diet to shrink your liver?

3. Did you keep up your pain medication?

4. How old are you?

Just wanted more info from someone who has been through it.

Rosalind

[smkeller 3]

I'm sixty-three and two weeks out. Not much discomfort now. I didn't even get an epidural, which you probably will, and that lasts a day or two by itself. They will give you IV pain meds too.Ask for what you need. I personally haven't had any nausea or vomiting, but that can be rough, trying to get your first Water down. Really though, this is laprascopic surgery, fairly minor as surgeries go. Not in the class of a 'C' section, for example. I had no sharp or stabbing pain ever. The gas is a drag, but you can walk it out. Take LOTS or GasX, chews and strips, AND Tums. Don't be afriad; you'll be fine. If I did it, you can too.

I just had my last visit with my pcp. My pcp is faxing all her notes to the surgeon's office so I can be submitted for approval. I asked again at the surgeon's office about the pain after surgery. My docs assistant assures me that it is more from gas. I would appreciate it if those of you who have had the sleeve done could answer questions for me.

1. Did you have a lot of pain? Do you have a surgical history?

2. Did you have a preop diet to shrink your liver?

3. Did you keep up your pain medication?

4. How old are you?

Just wanted more info from someone who has been through it.

Rosalind

[Penpen 28]

I'm 37 and am now in my 8th week post op. I have no pain at all now. In fact, if it weren't for the food restriction, I wouldn't even know that I had had surgery. If that makes sense. Though, I did have some pain up until about week 4 or 5. But it was bearable.

1. Yes, right after surgery I had a tremendous amount of pain but once they got me drugged up, I was fine. Once I was home, the gas and pressure was really rough. It didn't seem like anything helped but that lasted only a couple of days. And yes, I had gallbladder surgery in July of 2008. It was a day surgery and I did have some pain with it but it seemed to me that it was under better control than my sleeve surgery. Also, just remember that the sleeve surgery is major surgery and it takes a lot more time and energy to recover than with something like the gallbladder surgery.

2. Yes, I had a pre-op diet. I started 3.5 weeks before surgery and managed to lose 25 pounds. It was a very hard process but it was necessary and important to follow through.

3. Yes, I kept up with my pain medications. I didn't like taking them because they were liquid and tasted really bad but they definitely worked. Oh, and they made me feel sleepy. I stopped taking them, maybe 2 weeks out, so I could drive again. After that, my pain was minimal and I didn't even feel the need to take Tylenol.

4. 37

I thought I'd add that for me, the hardest thing I had to deal with was the lack of energy. I felt so weak and tired sometimes that I thought I was a sickly person. I'd have to ask my husband if I would ever get better..while at the same time crying. He'd reassure me. Of course, I had lots of buyer's remorse! But slowly things started getting better and my energy started to come back. I feel 100% most of the time now and am VERY happy I had the surgery done. I'd do it again if needed!

[Guest Rosalind]

Thanks Guys! :rockon:

[wondering1 103]

Yes the pain is ridiculous. Post op day 4 for me. Days 1-2 I was sure I was dying or having serious heart problems. Kept up with my pain meds like a champ. I've had 2 previous surgeries but wasn't prepared for this. I had a 7 day pre-op of full liquids only. I am 39. Hope this helps.

[Heatherr 149]

1. Did you have a lot of pain? Do you have a surgical history? It was a lot more painful than I expected. It wasn't from gas, but from surgery. I had my gall bladder out a couple of years ago.

2. Did you have a preop diet to shrink your liver? A 9 day liquid diet was expected, but I dieted on my own and exercised to the tune of -53lbs before surgery by following the post op diet of no caffeine, low carbs and high Protein.

3. Did you keep up your pain medication? I had to beg for it in the hospital and once you get behind, it took an hour to get relief. Stupid way to do it, really. Once I got home and was able to take it on the clock, it was much easier, but it wore off after about 3.5 hours and I was quite uncomfortable the first few days. I was off the vicodin by 6 days post op and Tylenol handled the pain ok, though I still needed it every 4 hours round the clock for a few more days.

4. How old are you? I am 37 and very healthy other than being....er.....<cough> fluffy. Before surgery, I was running and weight lifting regularly, though it took me a couple of months to work up to that point.

GL!

[cam 15]

I guess everyone has different experiences with it, I never had the horrible gas pains. I had a slight twinge under my left ribcage but it didn't last long. The only real pain I was ever in was heartburn because I couldn't swallow the nexium powder without vomiting. That eased after about a week. You are supposed to let that powder sit and gel for 3 minutes but it was sooooo gross. So instead, I just mixed it with Water and shot it down and was able to keep it down. That helped the heartburn. I never felt any pain at all from incisions or the drain removal. Good luck! PS, be sure to bring a sleep mask and ear plugs with you to the hospital if you want to get any sleep at all. Otherwise, the noise is crazy and lights are always going on and off!

[Indymom 132]

1. Did you have a lot of pain? Do you have a surgical history? ~ No real surgeries other than my c-section. I was just sleeved Weds and the pain is very bearable; I've started to pass the gas and that has made me feel 100% better. I just have some aching pain around incisions but nothing major.

2. Did you have a preop diet to shrink your liver? ~ My surgeon did not require a lengthy pre-op diet. The day before my surgery I had light Breakfast (oatmeal), full liquids for lunch (yogurt/applesauce) and clear liquid for dinner (popsicle and broth).

3. Did you keep up your pain medication? ~ I got my pain meds pretty regularly in the hospital but I came home this morning and only have had one dose since midnight last night.

4. How old are you? ~ 36

[mythreechildren2001 7]

1. Did you have a lot of pain? The pain was a lot worse than I expected...mostly caused by gas.

Do you have a surgical history? I've had knee surgery, a c-section, a myomectomy... I expected it to be comparable to the pain I felt after my c-section, but it was far, far worse.

2. Did you have a preop diet to shrink your liver? My dr only required a liquid diet for the day before surgery.

3. Did you keep up your pain medication? My surgery was on Tuesday (July 12). I took pain medicine through the Friday after that.

4. How old are you? 47

[Shell77 0]

I am 3 days post op, I had my surgery on Tuesday 8-9-11.

I was having problems with the pain medicine in the hospital because the moriphne was making me vomit, which made my belly hurt even more. I decided to tell them on Wednesday to not give me anymore moriphine and just the toradol which is a non-narcotic. That helped me fine with the pain. I came home with a script for liquid percocit but it made me throw up as soon as I sipped it, I'd rather suffer from soreness than throw up and be in worse pain. I have not had any medicine to help with the pain since Thurs. morning and am doing pretty good. I have the worse soreness when I am laying down and go to turn or move around. Today I was even able to take a walk with my family with no problems.

I am a 34 year old female and have had 2-c-sections, for me the pain is nothing compared to those. I also suffer from kidney stones and have had several lithotripsies in the past.

I did do a 2 week pre-op liquid diet before surgery and am now on another 2 week liquid diet. Weeks 3&4 I will move onto a pureed diet.

I hope some of this helps you

[phillygirl 1]

I had very little pain after... a lot of discomfort from the gas but very little pain. I took pain med only twice and the second time was more so I could sleep better the second night. My larger incision was sore and I used a pillow to "splint" it when I got up form the sofa or out of bed. I had my surgery on July 18 and it is still tender at times, but not painful.

I did not have a pre op diet. I ate what every I wanted up to a few days before the surgery.

I had my appendix out when I was 18 and at that time it was a major surgery and a huge incision... 5 day hospital stay. That was bad this was nothing in comparison. I had my surgery at 9:30 am and was released from the hospital at 3:30 pm....home on the same day.

I am 48l

[lola659 0]

Rosalind,

I didn’t have much pain in the hospital, matter of fact I was rather annoyed that the nurses kept coming by so that I would press on the morphine drip. I didn’t realize that it was keeping pain away, until I realized that my knees didn’t hurt until after I got home, but I did feel much pain from the surgery. I had a tonsillectomy as a child and cope biopsy in my early twenties

1. Actually what hurt me the most was when they pulled out the drain; it felt as if they were pulling out my guts…but it didn’t last long. I did have a lot of gas (and still do from time to time) and Constipation.< /span> Try to drink lots of Water it was difficult for me.

2. My doctor did not put me on a preop diet to shrink my stomach. I just had to go on liquids the weekend before my surgery on Tuesday.

3. I didn't need anything, except for the medication I took for my knees.

4. I am 52 years old.

At my highest, I weighed 332 lbs. While I was at the hospital, the nurses madesure that I was moving beginning that night. They had me sitting at the edge of the bed; and had me walking as long as I could up and down the hallway. I have been walking pretty consistently ever since. I now walk 30-60 minutes, 5 days a week; and whenever I get a chance I add extra walking time or exercise on the stationary bike or elliptical. So far I have lost over 120 lbs., and I would like to lose between 60 to 90 lbs., depending how I feel.

If you haven’t gotten any samples of Protein and supplements request some from the following: powders?utm_source=BariatricPal&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_campaign=CommentLink" target="_ad" data-id="1" >unjury.com; celebratevitamins.com; bariatricadvantage.com, etc. Also research other sites.

Anyway, if there is any other way I can help let me know.

Take care, Ivonne

I just had my last visit with my pcp. My pcp is faxing all her notes to the surgeon's office so I can be submitted for approval. I asked again at the surgeon's office about the pain after surgery. My docs assistant assures me that it is more from gas. I would appreciate it if those of you who have had the sleeve done could answer questions for me.

1. Did you have a lot of pain? Do you have a surgical history?

2. Did you have a preop diet to shrink your liver?

3. Did you keep up your pain medication?

4. How old are you?

Just wanted more info from someone who has been through it.

Rosalind

[BroadwayBaby 19]

HI Roz - I just had my surgery on the 15th.

1. Did you have a lot of pain? Do you have a surgical history? The first 2 days were pretty tough - not just because of pain but because of the pain medicine which made me feel so woozy and the lack of sleep in the hospital. Right after surgery I had a lot of nausea also which didn't feel good. I've had 3 c-sections.

2. Did you have a preop diet to shrink your liver? Yes, I had to do 2 weeks of liquid except for a dinner of 4oz Protein and veggies - I lost 8 lbs.

3. Did you keep up your pain medication? I religiously pressed the morphine button at the hospital for the first 2 days. By the 3rd day I was given another medication to relieve pain and I liked that it didn't make me so out of it so I just relied on that and stopped with the morphine. I also got a nausea patch behind my ear which helped a lot. When I got home I took Tylenol for days 4-5 both morning and night but now I just take some at night.

4. How old are you? I am 39

Good luck!

[To Be Thin 2011 80]

I just had my last visit with my pcp. My pcp is faxing all her notes to the surgeon's office so I can be submitted for approval. I asked again at the surgeon's office about the pain after surgery. My docs assistant assures me that it is more from gas. I would appreciate it if those of you who have had the sleeve done could answer questions for me.

1. Did you have a lot of pain? Do you have a surgical history?

2. Did you have a preop diet to shrink your liver?

3. Did you keep up your pain medication?

4. How old are you?

Just wanted more info from someone who has been through it.

Rosalind

Hi!

I had pain immediately out of recovery room, it was more intense than I thought it would be, but they do keep you drugged up and it passed by day 2. I had small amount of pain getting in/out of bed or a car, anything that used stomach muscles to do kind of gets you for a week or so. I have had other surgeries Hyst & bladder sups... I am fabulously fifty! I was on my pain meds for about 3 days post op, then only at night for about another 3-4 days. My doc did not require any pre-op diet.

[treequeen 13]

I had surgery 8/15 It was my first surgery ever and I'm 39. The first 2 days were very difficult because of pain and nausea. After that I did have main incision pain when walking. Only other pain was gas in my left shoulder which didn't subside until they took out the drain (which did not hurt) on day 4. Haven't taken pain meds at all since day 5. I still have some aching around the incisions ;more if I over-do it and rolling over in bed. As far as a pre-op diet I was required to do Clear Liquids and a bowel prep the day b4 surgery.