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Worried About Recovery Room Pain & Nausea



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This was also my biggest fear. I worried for weeks about post op pain & Nausea. Let it go ! I woke up, dont remember the first hour of recovery, but after that - I was fine. I was walking laps within 3 hrs post op. yes its uncomfortable to move quick or get out of the bed, but if you take your time You'll be fine. Nausea, I was VERY concerned about. I requested pre-op to have a scopolimine patch (I know I spelt that wrong) & Zofran. I also told them pre op that I dindnt want IV pain meds - That I would request them if I needed. I took zero Pain meds until bedtime & that was really because I knew it would help me sleep - Not so much because of pain. I was given liquid lortab & it worked. I promise You'll be very suprised at the post op feelings - It was not 1/4 of what I had expected. My belly button hurt the worst of all - Thats it. Yes you will walk slow, have aching pain, and get in and out of the car VERY slowly. HOpe you have a speedy recovery. I dont know how you can find it, but I posted somewhere on here to someone else about post op, explaining what to have with you post op. If I find it I'll get it to you.

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I woke up and was hit by bad nausea. The nurses managed it quickly, I remember thinking it was odd to be so nauseaus, but then it dawned on me that I'd just had part of my stomach removed. For me the nausea was worse than the pain, but it was managed. Since then (I"m 3 weeks out) I've had very little nausea.

The pain was manageable with medications, then lortab. I wish they would have let me stay another night, but I have 2 small children and it was hard, I did pull a muscle near my big inscision, and it still bothers me but it's totally manageable. For me the gas pressure was worse than the pain.

I think the general consensus is that it's manageable, you'll be fine. Don't have any crazy expectations and let yourself have the time to heal.

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"Beauty is painful"...my mom used to say...when she was wacking my hair putting it in braids or curling or pinning it up...when I was laying on the bed stuffing myself into those pants that fit last month....

A little pain is well worth the gain of what you will lose....Now I experienced ZERO PAIN I do not even remember waking up in recovery...I remember being wheeled back down the hallway but don't remember getting into the hallway....

You will do just fine, I had myself syked out for a ton of pain...when I was pleasently surprized by the ZERO PAIN factor.

Good Luck, God will keep you safe and with little pain trust in him...

Thanks for sharing your experience! I sure hope mine goes just as well. :)

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I woke up throwing up. I continued to throw up post op for a few hours. I barely remember this. Then they wheeled me into my room. I continued to throw up for all night. I couldn't drink anything. I finally started to be able to get Decaf tea down the second night in the hospital. Honestly, it wasn't that bad and the pain medication worked. I felt pretty good. But, I have a very sensitive stomach and I wasn't surprised that surgery medication would make me naseous. They stopped my vomiting in post-op with medication but it began again in my room. They finally put me back on the strongest medication to stop vomiting (I think it was called phlegren?) on day 2. Even though it sounds bad, it wasn't that bad. I just wish I spoke up to my idiot nurse the first night. She left me vomiting all night and even laughed at me when the vomit was coming out of my nose. She was not helpful at all. When she left and the new nurse came on duty everything got better. I wanted to ask for a new nurse or to see someone else, but I didn't want to be a pain. My advice is to speak up! Even though I stayed an extra night in the hospital, I too was at the local fair one week later walking around. It is surprising how quick you recover. Good luck to you!

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You have gotten so many stories already but I kind of liked thinking about this again so I will give you another...I had a little trouble waking up...I guess I am a light weight:) But anyway once they woke me enough to move me I slept for msot of the day...as soon as I was awake I wanted to walk and be up and using the restroom on my own. I would say on a scale of 1-10 pain never got above a 5...and they asked me oftern how I felt. I assume I could have what ever I needed as far as pain. But it really was nothing for me. Praying you have the same experience (I know some have not).

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I had extreme burning stomach pain! I was screaming when I awoke! They told me to be quiet because I would frighten the other patients...it didn't last long thanks to the morphine, and the good news is that I haven't heard of anyone else with this type of pain.

Also, remember everyone is different. I personally know some people that did not experience any pain what so ever. I do think it's better to expect the worse and that way it won't be as bad. All I had read prior to surgery is how everyone LOVED their sleeve and went shopping right after surgery. I was not prepared mentally.

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I woke up throwing up. I continued to throw up post op for a few hours. I barely remember this. Then they wheeled me into my room. I continued to throw up for all night. I couldn't drink anything. I finally started to be able to get Decaf tea down the second night in the hospital. Honestly, it wasn't that bad and the pain medication worked. I felt pretty good. But, I have a very sensitive stomach and I wasn't surprised that surgery medication would make me naseous. They stopped my vomiting in post-op with medication but it began again in my room. They finally put me back on the strongest medication to stop vomiting (I think it was called phlegren?) on day 2. Even though it sounds bad, it wasn't that bad. I just wish I spoke up to my idiot nurse the first night. She left me vomiting all night and even laughed at me when the vomit was coming out of my nose. She was not helpful at all. When she left and the new nurse came on duty everything got better. I wanted to ask for a new nurse or to see someone else, but I didn't want to be a pain. My advice is to speak up! Even though I stayed an extra night in the hospital, I too was at the local fair one week later walking around. It is surprising how quick you recover. Good luck to you!

That sounds awful! I'm so sorry your nurse was cold hearted by letting you be sick all night long. I really hate to throw up and doing so with a freshly operated stomach sounds even worse. I hope I am able to have a better experience but it sounds like you were a trooper. :)

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I had extreme burning stomach pain! I was screaming when I awoke! They told me to be quiet because I would frighten the other patients...it didn't last long thanks to the morphine, and the good news is that I haven't heard of anyone else with this type of pain.

Also, remember everyone is different. I personally know some people that did not experience any pain what so ever. I do think it's better to expect the worse and that way it won't be as bad. All I had read prior to surgery is how everyone LOVED their sleeve and went shopping right after surgery. I was not prepared mentally.

OMG! Burning pain? That sounds like they didn't have you on enough pain meds to stop that from happening. Glad you made it through ok and are doing well. :)

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      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
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      1. summerseeker

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