Hi all,

This has probably been asked a gazillion times. Just wondering how everyone did with the post op pain. I'm not too worried about the gas pain but more the incision pain. I'm not a fan of pain meds, they make me vomit.....

How did everyone do? The good, the bad and the ugly.....

Also, I'm doing this alone. Will I be okay by myself or should I aske the surgeon to keep me an extra day.

Thanks

It was bearable for sure, but the first three days sucked, but I was up and mobile the second day. Don't plan on driving though.

I never suffered w my incisions (I am one week out). They are just now becoming itchy.

Pain levels are completely subjective... The hospital will try and manage your pain from awaking, let them. Ask for more time in house if your insurance will cover it. Make sure you feel well enough to go home alone or you'll end up going back.

32 minutes ago, tahoegirl96118 said:

Hi all,

This has probably been asked a gazillion times. Just wondering how everyone did with the post op pain. I'm not too worried about the gas pain but more the incision pain. I'm not a fan of pain meds, they make me vomit.....

How did everyone do? The good, the bad and the ugly.....

Also, I'm doing this alone. Will I be okay by myself or should I aske the surgeon to keep me an extra day.

Thanks

I usually have a high tolerance for pain and pain meds make me sick too. The gas pain wasn't too bad, but other pain, for my big incision (which got infected) and I guess internal incision were pretty rough. I took the anti-nausea pill they gave me and waited about 20 min and then took pain meds. I set an alarm so I wouldn't miss a dose because I could definitely tell when the pain meds would wear off.

As said, pain is subjective. I have a very high tolerance for pain aside of what was given to me in the hospital, I did not take a single pain pill post op. IMO, the gas was worse. The incision port was sore, but subsided after a week. I was up and moving hours after surgery and never stopped.

I did great!! I was walking around 5 hours after surgery. I was walking on my own. It’s not bad at all. I just suffered horrible diarrhea, that is what made it so terrible. I went to a meeting for work 4 days after my surgery! I was back at work full time 10 days after surgery.

Yes, everyone's pain threshold is different. Mine is usually super high, I used my pain meds post up and actually got refilled. My pain was not good the first few days, gas pain was ok the burping annoyed me, I walked, probably not enough. Getting in and out of bed was the bad thing for me, after a few days I used my meds mostly at the end of the day. I couldn't really drive for about 3 weeks without pain. Most people I've met barely had any pain, I had some for about a week and a half.

I did not have much pain at all. Once I got home, I didn't take any pain meds (except once 5 days post op for gas pain in my shoulder, and once for a headache). I was slightly uncomfortable when trying to get in/out of bed or bending, but otherwise I was fine.

i have a high tolerance for pain so I was up and walking around after surgery, I'm extremely independent and could of done it alone ( my m0m was here and didn't need her) I just iced the incisions when they were uncomfortable. I pretty much slept a lot and watched movies. oh and walking 10 mins 3 x a day

I got a good back, leg and neck massage as soon as I got out of the hospital and felt so much better.

Those beds and being constrained by monitors and IVs really made my body stiff, even more than the surgery.

For the first few days out of the hospital, sneezing or coughing caused a little bit of a pinch in the lungs. Also a few days after that I felt some internal pinching, which was the internal stitches and scars healing or something. Overall it was not that bad and I didn't have to take pain meds.

Edited September 13, 20187 yr by John Kitsu

My experience with pain post-op was really unpleasant. I was having some pain the first night, but I couldn't take anything by mouth until the doctor saw me in the morning.. so I got IV hydromorphone (dilaudid - synthetic morphine, very very concentrated). I've used it before when I had my gallbladder removed and did great. Didn't feel "high", just took the pain away.

Well, this time, it was causing extremely severe nausea. I assumed it was just from the surgery, and didn't put 2 and 2 together until the day after surgery in the evening. I ended up staying an extra night because I couldn't get my nausea under control, which meant I couldn't keep anything down by mouth. When I switched to oral pain medication, it was like flipping a switch - my nausea was gone, I could keep liquids down, and I didn't have pain.

I have a high pain tolerance too, but I'll be 100% honest: I hit that pain med button every time I could and took every pain pill they gave me post-op. Major abdominal surgery is no joke and the pain, while different for everyone, is definitely real. But I was the perfect post op patient, walking tons, following my plan, getting my fluids in etc etc. I just didn't want to be in pain while doing it if I didn't have to be.

The incision was sore but the gas was worse. I was not prepared for that. It was awful. Not everyone gets it. Brace yourself if you do.

Other than the gas pain, which lasted about 4 days, I had very little pain. I didn't any pain meds, other than 1 Tylenol the third day. For me, it felt like I did a killer workout and my abs were really, really sore. The gas was definitely the worst part.

The incision pain was never that bad, and I never took the pain medicine that was given to me. The gas pain was terrible for me though. I only stayed one night, then had someone drive me home. I had to take care of myself, which I think ended up helping me a lot, as it forced me to get up and do things. You'll do great!

When I woke up first thing I felt was the pain my my chest-gas pain. Worked it’s way out before I even made it to my room. I used the pain pump in the hospital and used pain medication when I got home because there was pain but it was not unbearable. Eight weeks out now and sometimes I get twinges of pain in the incision sites but nothing I need to take pain medication for. Walking was key.