I am such a weenie.... I mean to the point of I got my epidural when I was only 2cm dialated with dd and I will never get another tattoo because I screamed so much durring the first one (lol now.... but that crap HURT).

Does post op hurt really bad? I imagine there will be some sort of pain and lots of pain meds. How long does it hurt?

I'm probably going to ask a million questions... sorry in advance!

Hey there. :smile2:

I just got banded on Friday so I'm definitely still in that recovery period...

I left the hospital that same day at like 6 pm and pretty much went to sleep at 7 or so. The pain.. I'd say it wasn't horrible. The first day.. my stomach felt like it had been punched a million times over and over again. But it was clear that this was just a "sore" type of pain. And I didn't really take any meds.. besides a little liquid loritab. The next day it felt a lot better but still sore. and today, I'm feeling pretty good. My stomach is still sore..but it's definitely only when I move lots and it's not a constant pain.. I'm perfectly comfortable sitting down right now typing on my lap top :biggrin2:

It's definitely tolerable and definitely worth it :rolleyes2:

Yeah, it hurts. It's major surgery :rolleyes2:

But, it's not THAT bad. You will be on pain meds and sleep a lot. After day 3 -5 post op is when I was really feeling better. Most of my pain was in the port area from the muscle. It was hard to sit down, get up (Anything that uses ab muscles).

I haven't had a baby yet, so I can't compare birth to the surgery experience :smile2:

Hey Katiebugs! I wont lie lol, I was banded Friday and (unlike my mom who had it done 2 ½ weeks ago) when I woke in recovery I was crying out in pain, my moms claims that she never remembered the recovery room lol. It defiantly hurt! (I also had a hiatal hernia) But then they gave me morphine and I was so much better. I have been able to move around and every thing just fine. I have a 12month old who is extremely clingy (just us too...well my BF works nights and hasn’t had a day off in 16+ days) and I had to hold him and cuddle with him as soon as I got home lol.

I got banded around 7am and I left the hospital at 4pm, made it home around 6pm (traffic sux in Houston) and my son came home around 7pm from my ex-husbands (who only thinks I had a hernia repair, I didn’t want him and his family knowing about the lapband. Especially since he claimed a big part of his affair was my weight). I am taking my liquid vicodine, I honestly wouldn’t have been able to tolerate the pain or recovery and carrying around my son with out it. I am very lucky that I do not have the back and shoulder pain from the air that they pump into you. My chest hurts in the center between my breasts; it gets really tight and feels like I’ve swallowed a pill wrong but after a few seconds it passes. The stitches hurt a bit, but I think that if you take your pain medicine you will be just gravy.

I’m a really big baby when it come to pain, though I waited till I was 3cm for the epidural when delivering my son and I do have 2 tattoos but the only reason for the 2nd is because it is my son’s name, Zodiac and birthday hehehe.

Hope this helps.

Edited April 14, 200818 yr by asherje

I can tell you it is uncomfortable but not very painful. I did not use pain meds and I was fine with Liquid Tylenol. When I first started walking after surgery I felt like I needed to hold my stomach, and repositioning myself in bed was a chore....but to say it was a very painful even I would say not ..of course that is for me. Bottom line is if I had to do it again tomorrow I would do it with no fears at all.

Just a little bit sore at the incision site....was shopping at WalMart the day after surgery. I went home same day of surgery...no worries!

It all depends on your pain threshold.

My sister had her op and was off work for 3 weeks - had to sleep in a recliner because she couldn't lay down or get comfortable.

When I had my op, I was back at work the next day and after 3 days had stopped taking panadol.

It hurts, but I'm not sure it's as bad as labor. Does that help? LOL

Does it hurt? Not really. I don't think I even felt the 'punched' feeling that everyone else did. Of course, it WAS very uncomfortable. I had trouble sitting still after the surgery and spent several days either sleeping or walking around aimlessly wishing I could just sit down and relax. I think that was due to the gas, though. I'm eight day post-op now and almost back to normal. The worst part of the entire surgery for me was the lack of energy. I am just getting my energy back and I still can't stomach those disgusting Protein shakes.

Good luck! Don't be afraid of the pain - it's worth it! Worse case scenario, you get some lovely pain medicine and sleep your recovery away.:confused:

The area that I hurt most after surgery - my throat. I had a killer sore throat for 2 weeks and could barely talk. Maybe that's why my belly didn't really hurt - the pain of my throat overtook it.

The only pain I had was at the port site. It was just a little uncomfortable. I did have some nauseau too. My doctor prescribed me an anti nauseau medication for that and I took it for a few weeks following surgery. Other than that, the surgery was very easy.

For Me It Wasnt Too Bad. But Then Again I Have 7 Tattoos Lol ... The Day After I Was Discharged Home I Think I Took Pain Meds Once. By The Next Day The Worst Pain I Had Was I Felt Like I Had Done Wayyyyyyyy To Many Sit Ups. Actually Seeing How I Dont Do Sit Ups It Was Like I Had Done 2 Of Them..lol. But Everyone Is Different , But I Have Yet To Hear Of Any Pain That Bad

i got an date for 4/30 i am excited i really getting the band due to high blood pressure, borderline diabetes and i just had a grandchild first one!!!! and i would like to get on some rides with him at disney LOL

... and just like childbirth, the memory of the pain fades away and it's SO worth it.

My experience is probably a little atypical, but I had essentially no pain at all. When I woke up from anaesthetic, my throat felt scratchy from the intubation and I would have happily knifed someone for a sip of Water, but I wasn't feeling any pain.

I was in hospital overnight, and every time the nurses came in asking if I wanted a painkiller I declined. It just didn't hurt. I ended up having a couple of soluble paracetamol at the surgeon's insistence.

The only real discomfort I have felt has been the gas, but that is far from a major issue. Also, I flew home three days post-op, and the changes in air pressure made the gas pains a bit more intense.

For me, it was a breeze - probably because I was expecting so much worse. The worst part was the IV needle. But - I was out of the hospital and on the computer within 2 hours after I left the hospital. the only pain I had was when I was laying down and needed to sit up, slight pain when burping, laughing, sneezing - anything that required use of my stomach muscles (which I didn't know I had until surgery). All of the pain was completely gone after about 7 days. You can read about my entire experience via my blog (link below in my sig).