male only Guys - Be Honest Please.

[Huntingnurse 510]

Ok - I know a lot of you are probably "tough guys" but I'll admit - post-op day one scares me where the pain's concerned. So can you guys HONESTLY weigh in on how bad the first few days are on a scale of 1-10: 1 being "didn't feel a thing - literally" and 10 being - "worst thing you could possibly imagine."

I've never had surgery so a little nervous about what to expect.... If you could break it down by the first couple of days that'd be great - for example: Day 1 post-op: 7, Day 2 post-op: 5, etc.

[mjs6206 7]

My surgery was August 6 2012, i have never had surgery before either so i was very concerned about what to expect, Day 1= had some nausea when I woke up from recovery, pain=5, gas=5...i slept most that day!

Day 2= pain=5

Day 3=pain 4

Day 4 Pain 4

Each day is better and better, i was surprised at how little pain and nausea i had. There is heartburn that comes along with it but it can be controlled with a PPI...I'm feeling wonderful now! But honestly my pain was not unbearabale at all.....and i dont handle pain well either!

[Bubbaloo10 55]

The day of surgery I had a pain level of about 2, most likely due to the morphine. The next morning, about the same until I had to do the swallow test. Because I had to gulp the solution down, I got a stomach ache that the morphine couldn't override, about a 6. I was released that afternoon and went home, walked around the block, no pain at all. For the next two nights (nights only) I woke up with stomach pain and took some liquid Lortab (Vicodin), which went right to the source of the pain, and I slept great the rest of the night. No day pain after the first day. Very little pain at the incision sites, mostly just an irritating itch. Pain should be the least of your worries. They have meds for that, and in my experience, even without the meds, I don't think the pain levels would have been excessive, just uncomfortable. Good luck!

[punkaroo26 7]

Immediately post op in the Recovery Room my pain was a 10/10 but it was in my back. I also felt I couldnt breathe. So they gave me a heat pad for my back and some more meds to sedate me better.

By the time I got to my room, my pain was a 5, but that slowly went down to a 3 and i stayed there throughout the night.

Yesterday was my 2ns day and the day I went home. I could tell a difference being off the PCA pump, but its more achey than pain.

I walked around the park yesterday and today. It helps. I was also able to shwer today so I feel better. My plan is to just take it easy, cough and deep breathe, walk and relax. My goal is to avoid pain meds today. We'll see.

[gustavo52974 369]

I'd say a 5. But I've been through a lot worse. Plus the pain didn't come anywhere near the worst of my Migraines.< /p>

[Butterthebean 8,146]

It was not that bad, and they give you some good pain medication if you need it. The better shape you're in going in, the easier your recovery will be. The lack of energy was much more noticeable than the pain. Just taking a shower wore me out that first few days.

Having a wisdom tooth removed was worse than this.

[mattr2 32]

I'm day 2 post op.

The pain the day of was about a 4 for me. Last night was rough becuase I couldnt sleep, took a pain pill and a gasx and viola, I went down. Maybe there is a little pain but I don't notice it? Maybe just laying in bed for the last three days made me stir crazy. I still made my rounds walking every two hours and that helped a ton.

Once they took out the drain and the IV it was easier. I also sleep walk and tried getting up in the middle of the night which made my main stitch hurt. I remember that.

The next morning (today) I think pain is at a 2. liquids are getting a little easier too.

[charcol 2]

My surgery was on aug 2 The day of surgery I didn't have much pain at all maybe a 1. Day 2 maybe a 3 after that really not much pain at all. It will be two weeks tomorrow since my surgery and I lost 25 pounds so far. The first week really sucked I couldn't get much of anything in and I was thinking I made a big mistake having this surgery. But now it's getting easier every day and I am glad I had it done now

[windycitymom 60]

I'd say the pain was a 2 on post op day 1 if even that. I had a fever with some long complications so honestly, I don't really remember having pain. I will tell you though I gave birth to two children without any pain meds at all so I probably have a high threshold for pain although I still dry with needles..... BTW, I purchased 4-5 boxes of the pain meds and I never even opened the box. They tried to give me pain meds in the hospital and I think I took them day 1 but my tummy didn't feel great so I refused them after that and I was more than fine (just excited about what was in store for me!)

[O.T.R. sleever 3,386]

When I woke up from anestisia I had some nausea for about an hour before the I.V. meds kicked in. I experienced absolutely no pain at all. I did have a bit of soreness at the incision he removed my stomach from. And I only felt that when I twisted my torso.

I can really say this has been so much easier than I expected.

[SpecialK1960 252]

I was a 3 or so on day 1. I pushed the morphine drip when I wanted to fade off to sleep, but I did not have any real pain. Sitting up was a bit tough, but not anything terribly painful. More like very tender. After a day or so, I guess I learned how to get out of chairs and bed without directly squeezing the stomach muscles. I used 1/3 of the first bottle of liquid pain meds they prescribed for at home. I never refilled the bottles and could have twice.

I think I was very lucky, but you might be too. I think that the pain level is different for everyone.

I agree it is way less than dental or headache pain.

And in my case, if I was not moving my pain level was absolutely zero.

[titania2875 4]

I had my surgery May 15th,2012. I had very little to no pain. I did not use the morphine pump in the hospital and did not take any of the pain medication I was sent home with. The only time I felt discomfort was when I would get up from laying down position, but the pain was very bareable. The key is when you are in the hospital try not to rely on the pain medication and get up and walk every two hours so that you keep the gas moving in your body so that it does not settle in your back or shoulders. I can not emphasize enough walk, walk, walk. Best of luck with everything.

[ouroborous 519]

Ok - I know a lot of you are probably "tough guys" but I'll admit - post-op day one scares me where the pain's concerned. So can you guys HONESTLY weigh in on how bad the first few days are on a scale of 1-10: 1 being "didn't feel a thing - literally" and 10 being - "worst thing you could possibly imagine."

I've never had surgery so a little nervous about what to expect.... If you could break it down by the first couple of days that'd be great - for example: Day 1 post-op: 7, Day 2 post-op: 5, etc.

Immediate post-op, about a 3, because I was still drugged up.

Day 2 (first day after surgery), about a 5 -- all around the incisions. Nothing hurt "inside"

Day 3, about a 2 -- just a dull ache, starting to itch

Day 4, about a 4 -- itching (healing!) scar driving me insane

Day 5-onward, zero -- nothing hurt. I felt better than I have ever felt in my life.

Honestly, a case of strep throat is worse. Hell, in some ways, a bad chest cold is worse!

[BizTraveller 101]

Day of Surgery 3

Day after Surgery 4

My biggest problem was Constipation. I made a serious mistake and left on hanging in the chamber when I went to surgery, so I could not pass gas. Once I got that worked out, the Day 2 pain was a 1. This really did not hurt much at all. I have had much more painful recoveries from dental work.

Really....

[pookiebear 6]

I was just sleeved on the 14th, so this is fresh in my mind. Post-op never got above a pain level of 5 as they were pushing dilaudid whenever I needed it (but not too often, naturally) I'd wait until it was really beginning to bug me before asking for another hit.

I'd say the worst it got was a 6 before I asked for another :-) It was never as painful than a rib bruising I took earlier this year, which involved a torn muscle on my side. At home now, and I'm on taking the hydrocodone/tylenol liquid everyone 6 or so hours, with more time passing between each one, and I'm up and about/no longer in bed. The gas pain stinks, so does the hiccups when you get them, but they pass relatively quickly.

There is very little incision pain, only when I overly leverage that area while moving about, so I'm favoring that area for now.