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Pain after sleeve surgery?



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Sounds like a stupid question, but I was wondering about your experiences and if there would be pain after surgery. It would make sense there is--they are cutting some of your body off--but some people I have talked to said it really wasn't that bad. Then again, others said there was significant pain. All inputs appreciated.

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I'm 2 weeks out and overall I'm pain free. At first it was hard to get I. And out of bed with the incisions but over time it gets easier. I've been off pain meds for over a week now. I had no issue with gas pain but if you do walking helps with that. The biggest challenge for me is getting my energy back it's been slow and at times still I need to nap because I'm so worn out. Everyone is different and it all depends on how well you tolerate pain.

Edited by stacielynntate

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You won't know until you do it, because everyone has different pain reactions. Some are miserable and on narcotics for weeks, sleeping propped up, need 4-6 weeks off work, etc. Others are pain free. I luckily was the latter. No pain Meds once I left the hospital, shopping, driving, walking, sleeping on my back or sides from day one. Back to work in a physically active job within one week. Tired but no pain. Don't know if it's the surgical technique or the individual patient....probably both.

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I have had many surgeries but I am also worried. This is because I am very physically active and go to the gym 4-5 times a week. Yes, there is a lot of fat on my stomach but also hard muscle underneath and I fear the puncturing portion of those muscles painful. My most painful have been Ortho surgeries though.

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As @@Kindle writes - everyone is different.

I took 2 pain pills on days 3 and 4 after surgery and it was so I could sleep more than about pain management. I felt more discomfort than actual pain. The discomfort would subside when I walked.

My pain level was less than recovering from my c-section.

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I had a band revision to sleeve....I had alot of scar tissue and they removed my band on the left side and my stomach on the right side...my biggest fear PAIN....while in the hospital one night i was only a lil sore with the exception of horrific gas pains in my back which subsided after abt 20min of me taking my own gasx....day 2 im home feeling fine just a lil tired and sore on my right side. I was able to walk a mile everyday and no pain and no pain meds! I did wake up every morning for abt 2 weeks a lil sore where they remived my stimach and i was tired the first week but I was doing all my normal stuff on day 3 except not picking up anything.

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The worst pain I had was when I woke up from surgery. I was immediately medicated and was fine. From there on out it was discomfort and was easily managed by Tylenol with codeine for 3/4 days and after that nothing.

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Hi, I was worried about this as well. This was my first real surgery besides having my wisdom teeth out. So I have never been in the hospital even. I had mine on JUne 25th, so it is still pretty fresh. The day of, I basically felt nothing and the IV was worst for me than the actual surgery. The next say, I wouldn't say it was pain so much as just really sore. Plus, I was not happy because i was plugged up to machines and not used to just laying around. Today, I would say it just feels like I overdid an ab workout. Getting up from a laying position was a challenge. However, all this is my own experience.

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I was a band to sleeve revision and the pain was much worse than my band plcmt in 2009. My dr took an extra 30 mins to dig my band out of my stomach so I was in a lot of pain. The IV Dialudid while in the hospital for 2 days was my saving grace. And the bottle of liquid Vicodin was my buddy for about 12 days. That stuff is good!

For about 2 weeks, I felt like I was hit by a truck. I regretted my decision. My husband then reminded me that the band had to come out anyway, why not just add 1 more thing? It probly woulda been close to as much pain with just removal. After 2 weeks I started feeling more human. And when I started eating real food (4 weeks of liquids), I felt much better. Got my hunger back on day 10 and I woulda eaten my arm had I been able to suck it thru a straw!

Good luck! I envy those who used tylenol and had no pain. The gas was difficult for the first few day. My shoulder ached the most from it (gas rise up to the shoulder).

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I had a rougher go then most, I was in a lot of pain and could barley walk the first day and was very drugged out. That being said I was told I was on the worse side of things as far as healing/dealing with pain and I would do it all of again if I had to.

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Thank you all, very good advice. I'm hearing a lot of moderate pain (but with the assistance of drugs), some gas discomfort, and of course I would guess for some with bands that had grown into the stomach the removal might have contributed to the pain.

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Thank you all, very good advice. I'm hearing a lot of moderate pain (but with the assistance of drugs), some gas discomfort, and of course I would guess for some with bands that had grown into the stomach the removal might have contributed to the pain.

Good luck I had No Pain from my surgery of band to sleeve, only abt 20 min of gas pain....once i took the gasx i was fine!! I wish the best for you and hope you be Pain-free as 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
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    • Alisa_S

      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.
      · 1 reply
      1. summerseeker

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        BTW, the liquid diet sucks, one more day and you are over the worst. You can do it.

    • CaseyP1011

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