Hi guys I’m having my surgery tomorrow and wondered if anyone had any tips for pain control and liquid control after. I’m concerned about my lack of water intake.

Sip, sip, sip is the mantra we all followed. Leave a couple of minutes (set a timer for your phone to help if needed) between each sip and you’ll be okay. Also put a cup by your bed and sip whenever you wake during the night. (I still drink throughout the night.) Just be aware you may have trouble swallowing the first few days because of internal swelling. I found warm/hot drinks more soothing than cool/cold but some are the opposite.

You should be sent home with pain meds or a script (opioids) but some find an over the counter non NSAID pain meds are enough. (We all have different levels of pain tolerance.) but generally you’ll find that over the counter, or nothing, are enough for the surgical pain by day 3 or 4.

Now surgical gas is another matter. That takes about a week to leave your body. You breath it out (not by burping or passing wind) so do some slow deep breathing. March on the spot. Pump your arms up & down and walk, walk, walk. Little and often are fine. Heat packs can ease the shoulder pain that occurs because the gas rises behind your lungs before being absorbed into your lungs.

All the best with your surgery & recovery.

Just to echo what @Arabesque has said really - little and often with drinking water! Don't be too worried if you aren't meeting your water/protein goals early on, your body is recovering and it will take a while to get used to it all! Just take it slow and within your comfortabilities, and you will get there No need to put any pressure on yourself this early on.

Pain meds are something you should have been sent home with as stated above, just see how you go and if you ned them. I was sent home with co-codamol and I didn't need it in the end, but everyone is different!

Remember to just try and get up every now and then and take a little walk around the house if you can, just to help with the gas pain.

Best of luck ❤️