Hi, all! I'm very new to this so please bear with me. I just had my appt with my surgeon today and I have my appt with my nutritionists next week. I'm very excited to start this journey in my weight loss mad new life! The only problem that I really have is that I am not good with physical pain. What were your experiences? Was it something that lasted very long? If there was pain, were you able to take anything? Thanks for any info that will help me!

Hi - Post op pain is really different for all of us and I'm not really sure if there's any way to predict how YOU will react. Personally, I didn't require any pain meds after the first night (not even Tylenol). Post op, the best advice I was given was to WALK WALK WALK to help get the gas out. Feels VERY strange at first when you walk and start burping! There was definitely some discomfort swallowing for the first week or so, then one day it just went away. Again, I can't stress enough that everyone is different and I've heard stories of much more pain, but in general most people seem to feel like it's worth it in the long run!

Good luck and congrats on starting your journey!

Pain is all across the board, but the majority of us have little to no pain with these surgeries. I had none. I didn't even bother opening the bottle of pain pills they sent me home with. If you're one of the minority that has a lot of pain with this, you WILL have pain meds with you that you can take to keep on top of it. It usually just lasts a few days.

15 hours ago, HBurgeOlexa said:

Hi, all! I'm very new to this so please bear with me. I just had my appt with my surgeon today and I have my appt with my nutritionists next week. I'm very excited to start this journey in my weight loss mad new life! The only problem that I really have is that I am not good with physical pain. What were your experiences? Was it something that lasted very long? If there was pain, were you able to take anything? Thanks for any info that will help me!

I had significant pain but it was well-controlled with medication. Prior to surgery, I asked about my doctor's philosophy of pain management and how we would handle it if I had a lot of pain. He worked with me to ensure that I was always comfortable, even in those first few days. He ended up prescribing a stronger med for me, then stepping it back down once I was feeling better.

PS: my level of pain may have been related to my specific anatomy and health history. The surgeon did say I had a lot of adhesions from previous surgeries. He also repaired a hiatal hernia at the same time I was sleeved. So there was a lot going on. He said the surgery took longer than usual, but was nothing he couldn't handle. And that also might account for why I needed more aggressive pain control.

Edited April 24, 20215 yr by Jaelzion

I have a higher pain tolerance and the first two days were rough( I also had a larger hernia repair that contributed to this) . The worst pain was the gas pain in my shoulder and chest, and then I would have bouts of the hiccups that were very painful. Luckily, they do give you pain meds and it did not last. The pain from the incisions was very minimal and I didn’t have any issues eating or drinking. It’s completely worth the few days of discomfort! The hospital will not leave you in agony and you will go home with pain meds.

remembering the everyone is different is key. I spent the night in the hospital and had a wonderful nurse. Our goal was to always stay ahead of the pain, so that you are aren't trying to catch up to breakthrough pain. I took pain meds in recovery, and the first night and then began to taper down the next morning. I took one pill at home and haven't needed anything since.

I also have a high pain tolerance and I would say I had more discomfort and soreness than pain. Many people say they have gas pain after surgery but I had no gas pain. I spent the night in the hospital and was only on Tylenol the whole time. I didn’t use the pain meds they sent me home with. I know my surgeon will absolutely not send people home after surgery until their pain is under control, so maybe talk to your team.
Remember, as the others have said, everyone and their experiences are different.

I didn’t have my significant pain and never took any painkillers after the surgery. I lost worked out quite a bit before my surgery and feel that helped.

I didn’t have a lot of pain and took non narcotics even while in the hospital but I know someone else who had the same surgery with the same surgeon and she was In so much pain they gave her that button thingy you keep pressing (with morphine I think) and that helped her. So everyone is definitely different but they do everything they can to minimize your pain.

The only severe pain I had was stomach spasms as I awoke from anesthesia. The nurse gave me some IV pain medication. That was the only time I had more than mild pain/discomfort. I also had a hiatal hernia repaired during my surgery, which might have had something to do with the severe pain I had ?‍♀️?‍♀️ After that, I was very comfortable with oral pain relievers from my surgeon, and then Tylenol after a few days. I walked a lot and did not have much discomfort from gas.