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What is the post surgical pain like?

themaestroswife

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themaestroswife    62

themaestroswife
Posted

I had a lap band put in in 7/05 and had no post op pain at all. The gas pains weren't even that bad. I was nauseous on day 5-12, but that was the extent of the discomfort for me.

I'm having my lap band removed on 2/13 and have been told that there is some port site pain. I have what I think is a relatively high pain tolerance, but either way, hope that it won't be any different a recovery as the initial time. I may have take 1 or 2 pain pills in total for the in total after the first surgery, and had a total thyroidectomy in 10/15 with about 4 pills in total taken for that.

My BIG concern is the VSG pain post op. I have a close friend who had VSG in 11/16 and she was still on painkillers 2 weeks post op because she said the pain was unbearable. Is it really that bad, and please be honest. I don't want to discount her experience, nor think that it's the norm, but I'd like a few others feedback to compare it to. I know that the gas pains suck afterward, but they were bearable for me. I had HORRIBLE diarrhea for the first 3 days after surgery from the anesthesia, but that was about the worst of it, well, other than learning to distinguish between being hungry and head hunger, but I've got that down now. I am on Synthroid for my thyroidectomy and have to remind myself to eat on most days because it's a pretty amazing appetite suppressant for me. To bad that my body isn't dropping weight as a result of it.

looking forward to hearing everyones feedback.

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KitsuneMiko    43

KitsuneMiko
Posted

Honestly its different for everyone. I know some one who had no pain at all post op. I just had my sleeve done the 25th and i experienced some really bad pain at one of my incisions sites, although everyday the pain lessens a bit which is another reason to walk as much as possible to help elevate the pain. It is normal to have pain though , im only 4 days post op and my pain is pretty minimal now. Im only having some sore muscles near one of my incisions which isn't that bad anymore. I hope this helped out a bit. ????

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erica_ozzy73    241

erica_ozzy73
Posted

Yep different for everyone ...

I experienced no pain at all. I was home day 3 cause 2 days is minimum here for a stay in hosp.

No pain meds after day 1.

If it wasn't for the fatigue but I could of gone back to work within days.

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mylighthouse    782

mylighthouse
Posted

Hi :)

I'm 11 weeks post op.

I had quite a bit of pain after my sleeve surgery. Day 4 was the worst and had me thinking, why did I do this? But of course, that passed. In fact, day 5 was better than day 4. I continued to have quite a bit of pain, but I have a larger incisional hernia that is located right under the largest incision from the sleeve surgery. Maybe that had to do with some of my pain. Anyway, I continued to take the liquid pain med for a total of 3 weeks after surgery. At 3 weeks, I was still hurting a little, but not enough for pain med. I had quite a lot of bruising on my tummy around the largest incision and that was really sore.

Fortunately, I did not experience any gas pains at all like many have after surgery. So I didn't have to deal with that part of it.

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_Kate_    2,224

_Kate_
Posted

I had moderate pain but nothing that couldn't be controlled by pain medication.

From the sound of it, you will be fine :D

Kate

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themaestroswife    62

themaestroswife
Posted

Thanks everyone. It seems very similar to what oven been through. I'll push my booty to walk, walk, walk! Fatigue has nothing on me since I've suffered through probably the worst fatigue ever with the removal of my thyroid. That was extremely difficult and lasted an entire year! I'm strong, I will survive!

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sweesee    30

sweesee
Posted

I'm a lap band to sleeve conversion and honestly I had more pain with the lap band. The sleeve was no walk in the park for me either, but the lap band was unbearable. It really does vary from one person to the next but if you didn't have a hard time with the lap band, you have a good chance of having a fairly easy recovery with sleeve

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themaestroswife    62

themaestroswife
Posted

I'm a lap band to sleeve conversion and honestly I had more pain with the lap band. The sleeve was no walk in the park for me either, but the lap band was unbearable. It really does vary from one person to the next but if you didn't have a hard time with the lap band, you have a good chance of having a fairly easy recovery with sleeve

Good thing that if there is any significant pain, it'll eventually subside and go away! I can't expect to be totally pain free. 80% of my stomach is getting cut out!

Thanks for your response!

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sweesee    30

sweesee
Posted

I'm a lap band to sleeve conversion and honestly I had more pain with the lap band. The sleeve was no walk in the park for me either, but the lap band was unbearable. It really does vary from one person to the next but if you didn't have a hard time with the lap band, you have a good chance of having a fairly easy recovery with sleeve

Good thing that if there is any significant pain, it'll eventually subside and go away! I can't expect to be totally pain free. 80% of my stomach is getting cut out!

Thanks for your response!

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No problem, good luck!

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criolelaie    31

criolelaie
Posted

I think the first 2/3 days were the worse pain wise. I hardly had any pain at all from the 3rd day onwards and I stopped taking paracetamol from day 5. After that you could still have some discomfort swallowing because of the gas, the more you walk the quicker it will go

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Go To Topic Listing PRE-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A

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      Four days post surgery. I am sipping as fast as I can and getting NO WHERE near the goal of 60 - 80 grams of protein or the 64 oz of liquids. I just feel FULL. I don't know if it can still be the gas build up (I would think by now that would be gone) but it is a struggle to drink. And so far I have not had the nausea or spasms and don't want to wander into that territory by pushing too hard with liquids. I about passed out today as it was my most "strenuous" day. Went from second story to basement for shower and I was sure I was going to pass out. Looking back on my last few days I have had a total of less than 1000 calories. Am I just not getting enough nourishment in me? Once again a friday where I can't get ahold of the doc until Monday rolls back around so I am hoping maybe someone here has some experience on how to keep energy going. I do have fibromyalgia too and that may be where some added fatigue comes into play. How did you all fair with the goals the week after surgery?
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    • Doughgurl

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      1. Phil Penn

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    • Doughgurl

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      Hey everyone. I'm new here so I thought I should introduce myself. I am 53y/o and am scheduled for Gastric Bypass on June 25th, 2025. I'm located in San Antonio, Texas. I will be having my surgery in Tiajuana Mexico. I've wanted this for years, but I always had insurance where bariatric procedures were excluded. Finally I am able to afford to pay out of pocket.  I can't wait to get started, and I hope I'm prepared for the initial period of "hell". I know what I have signed up for, but I'm sure the good to come will out way the temporary period of discomfort and feelings of regret. I'd love to find people to talk to who have been through the same procedure or experience before. So I look forward to meeting you all. Hope you have a great week!
      · 2 replies
      1. Selina333

        Selina333

        I'm so happy for you! You are about to change your life. I was so glad to get the sleeve done in Dec. I didn't have feelings of regret overall. And I'm down almost 60 lbs. I do feel a little sad at restaurants. I can barely eat half a kid's meal. I get adults meals often because kid ones don't have the same offerings at times. Then I feel obligated to eat on that until it's gone and that can be days. So the restaurant thing isn't great for me. All the rest is fine by me! I love feeling full with very little. I do wish I could drink when eating. And will sip at the end. Just a strong habit to stop. But I'm working on it! You will do fine! Just keep focused on your desire to be different. Not better or worse. But different. I am happy both ways but my low back doesn't like me that heavy. So I listened (also my feet!). LOL! Update us on your journey! I'm not far from you. I'm in Houston. Good luck and I hope it all goes smoothly! Would love to see pics of the town you go to for this. I've never been there. Neat you will be traveling for this! Enjoy the journey. Take it one day at a time. Sometimes a few hours at a time. Follow all recommendations as best you can. 💗

      2. Doughgurl

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    • Alisa_S

      Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
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      · 1 reply
      1. LeighaTR

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        I hope your surgery on Wednesday goes well. You will be able to do all sorts of new things as you find your new normal after surgery. I don't know this from experience yet, but I am seeing a lot of positive things from people who have had it done. Best of luck!

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