I know we all gauge pain differently so it's a semi tough question, but I guess I'm asking, what you had sort of imagined mentally vs. the real pain, how did it compare??

The first 24 hours are tough but the meds help tremendously. The hardest part for me was the getting in and out/up and down of beds/chairs/toilets. It feels kind of like you did 100,000 sit-ups. Compared to my c-section though, significantly less pain. As of yesterday, I'm 4 weeks out and all pain is totally gone. The pain was significantly better not even a full week out. I was off my pain meds a few days after surgery. Hope that helps!


5'7 Sleeved 8/7 HW: 256 SW: 248
CW: 235 At 2 week post op GW: 150

It does!! I had a C-section and omg I thought I was going to seriously die. I was on hands and knees trying to get to the bathroom even for weeks!!!! I seriously couldn't imagine how painful it would be!!! But good to know after a week you felt that much better!

My wife was in severe pain after her sleeve, but she also had a lot of scar tissue from numerous abdominal surgeries. She had two C sections, gall bladder removed, appendix removed, and hiatal hernia repair. She was in really bad pain. She was doing good about a week after surgery. I was sleeved 5 days ago, never had an abdominal surgery before, and the pain wasn't too bad. Like Allie said, felt like my abs had been shredded from sit-ups. I feel fine today and stopped the pain meds on Sunday.

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The gas was killer; I had a couple cries and hit the button for them to give me better painkillers quite a few times. But after that first 25 hours, once I started getting the gas out, it wasn't that bad. Just achy. Made sleeping hard; I strongly suggest some kind of prop-up-pillow for sleeping the first week or two post op!

Wasn't bad. First 24hrs was pretty sore but was completely off pain meds 3 days out. Just make sure you walk daily and I took a gasX every day for first week and that combined with the walking helped tremendously. Only used the anti nausea melt 3x in a month and haven't even used any of the other meds at all. Don't worry. I know it's easier said than done.

Your mileage may vary, but . . . I expected worse than it was, given that the only pain I experienced was for about ten minutes after I woke up from surgery. They got the pain meds to me, I pushed the button when I remembered it was there, but I had no pain at all. Got out of bed with no problem to use the bathroom, take a walk. Compared with the hysterectomy, when I could not get out of bed by myself for two days, this was a piece of that-stuff-I'm-not-eating-again-for-a-very-long-time.

It's possible my surgeon is simply a genius, I guess.

I had 2 c sections and a natural birth and c section recovery has to be the worst.. your cut all the way through midsection making it difficult to get around. At week one post op dr cleared me to walk at week 5 post op check has cleared me to lift weights..I had a very good recovery. Took pain med 2 nights after hospital stay.. the hardest part with this sx was no being able to bend down and tie shoes etc.. the itchiness of tummy from healing was the worst of it..


Lapband placed: 8/2011
Lapband removed: 3/2017
VSG: 8/2/2017

I had had four c sections so it wasn't that bad, not as bad as a c section. I kept myself nicely drugged for the first two days in the hotel. Sipping water caused some discomfort but I kept trying. Walking was the best thing for that gas in the shoulder pain. I never for one second was in as much pain as a migraine or a sprained ankle. I stopped pain meds by day four when I flew home.

Really, it isn't bad. Honest. You just have to baby yourself, walk, take your pain meds (ask for all of them to be in liquid or melt under your tongue zofran for nause). I didn't have much nausea either. It was better than I feared. Honest.

I was grateful because I anticipated the pain and discomfort to be far more intense than it actually was. My TOM started during surgery, a few days earlier than it was supposed to, and it was harder to distinguish between brutal cramps and pain caused by the procedure. I'd brought two heating pads with me, and they were a help. I also brought a couple of boxes of Gas-X strips (the kind that dissolve on your tongue rather than in pill form) and they worked very well. I gave one of the boxes to a woman who was experiencing miserable pain from gas, and she said they helped her a lot. I definitely recommend bringing a box or two.

I was given ample pain medication and spent most of the time in the hospital sleeping because it knocked me out. I dry heaved a bit the first day, but then that stopped. I was able to do the laps through the hall within a couple of hours post-op.

I was worried about being in pain on the drive home (I had surgery in Mexico and live a couple of hours away in LA) but felt totally fine. We shopped at the outlet mall near the border, and again at another shopping center. By that point (two days post-op) the biggest issue was due to an allergic reaction I had to the tape used over the bandages. They caused raised welts. Once I removed them my skin healed.

I had the VSG in August of 2015 and am perpetually happy I had it. I've had no complications. I did need to progress through the post-op eating stages at a slower pace than normal because my stomach would react negatively at first and needed more time to adapt. By the two month mark forward I've had few problems. The entire process has been less emotionally painful than I expected, too. I didn't lose as much hair as I feared I would, and have no loose skin even though I've exceeded my weight goal.

Hummm. Wow. I watched my late husband recover from triple bypass and he slept in the recliner for 6 weeks and sneezing or coughing was murder. I'm sensing somewhere between that and the Csection pain. Which is DEFINITELY gonna hurt!!!!

I don't know how to quote so y'all know who I'm replying to!

7 hours ago, XYZXYZXYZ1955 said:

Your mileage may vary, but . . . I expected worse than it was, given that the only pain I experienced was for about ten minutes after I woke up from surgery. They got the pain meds to me, I pushed the button when I remembered it was there, but I had no pain at all. Got out of bed with no problem to use the bathroom, take a walk. Compared with the hysterectomy, when I could not get out of bed by myself for two days, this was a piece of that-stuff-I'm-not-eating-again-for-a-very-long-time.

It's possible my surgeon is simply a genius, I guess.

Oh. Ok. I did it. Wow that's awesome. When you say pushed the button what button? Do they give you a pain pump?

5 hours ago, GotProlactinoma said:

I had had four c sections so it wasn't that bad, not as bad as a c section. I kept myself nicely drugged for the first two days in the hotel. Sipping Water caused some discomfort but I kept trying. Walking was the best thing for that gas in the shoulder pain. I never for one second was in as much pain as a Migraine or a sprained ankle. I stopped pain meds by day four when I flew home.

Really, it isn't bad. Honest. You just have to baby yourself, walk, take your pain meds (ask for all of them to be in liquid or melt under your tongue zofran for nause). I didn't have much nausea either. It was better than I feared. Honest.

Thank you! That is good info. I've had liquid hudrocodone before and I don't think I could hah it down again!! What was your pain medication?

9 hours ago, Aginn10 said:

I know we all gauge pain differently so it's a semi tough question, but I guess I'm asking, what you had sort of imagined mentally vs. the real pain, how did it compare??

I had surgery Friday Aug 25th and seriously, I could have gone back to work on Tuesday if I would not have had to have a JP drain. My post op hospital pain never was higher than a 3. My drain twisted 4 days post op and THAT hurt, but once it was removed, I felt like a million bucks!! 12 days out and I am riding my motorcycle, boating, climbing into my Jeet, and everything else. You got this!! p.s. feel free to read my story which details my journey so far

Physically it was a lot easier than I imagined! The first couple of days were awful and the first 2 weeks I had to take things slow and I slept a lot. I shuffled around the house while crouched over so alleviate the pain in my stomach/incisions but it's mostly a dull pain. It feels like doing 300 sit-ups and everything aches. Don't be afraid to take your painkillers and rest your body! The mental struggle was the hardest for me. I had some some "buyers remorse" but what helped me was the realization that I couldn't get my stomach back even if I wanted to. Take good mental and physical care of yourself and you'll do great!