Whoever said they had ZERO pain post surgery is a LIAR!!

[Libbyjane1976 1]

lol I love this post! You are so correct. I know I felt very uncomfortable. I couldn't sit down because it pulled at my incisions, I couldn't lay down because it pulled at my incisions. I would get back spasms from the gas pain. I could hardly sleep the first 4 days because i'm a side sleeper and I couldn't lay on my side. I was tired and constipated (get used to that). It will get better once the gas pain goes away and your incisions begin to heal (although you will get a case of the itches from healing lol) and of course as you begin to drop the weight you will really begin to feel great. good luck!

[Cricketsnoise 0]

Surgeon's skill is an important factor. I had the same surgery on my feet by two different surgeons: one the surgery was painless and I recovered quickly short term but there were long term complications. The second the surgery was terrible, recovery was long and hard but there were no long term complications. Believe it or not, the crappy recovery was the surgeon who was practicing for 25+ years and the smooth recovery was a surgeon in her 20's.

It's hard for me to fathom a painless lap band surgery because it was the worst pain of my life but I can see how it is possible. Lucky people! If you need pain meds by all means you should be taking them. There's no sense in suffering.

[terril 0]

I had my surgery on November 17th and I'm happy about it, however, after reading all of these posts I was led to believe there would be minimal to no pain...HAHAHAHA THAT'S A JOKE!!

I was certain that death was imminent on the day after surgery until I got my hands on the GOD-SENT GAS-X. My doctor prescribed Demerol and I say TAKE IT!! There is no need to walk around thinking, 'Oh a little extra strenght Tylenol will get me through it', that's a crock of crap!!

I'm totally paranoid about how much I eat. I'm sustaining myself on about half a cup of food per meal. I'm scared of what a stuck situation will be like. Also I'm chewing everything 28 times. So having a conversation while eating is out of the question. Imagine counting in your head and talking... bad idea!! food isn't fun anymore, after you have chewed something 28+ times it doesn't even taste good anymore...I had 31 years of food tasting unbelievably good, hence needing the surgery!!!

So now I'm 7 days post-op and I generally feel fine. I'm nauseated when I wake up in the morning, could it be because I haven't had a bowel movement in days... um yeah!!! I can't find a comfortable sleeping position and I don't know if i'm coming or going most days but I still think this was the best procedure for me. I have made a call to my doctor to better understand why I feel the need to sleep sitting straight up in the bed, she called me back and laxatives here I come. This is less that ideal for longterm so I hope we can nip this in the bud. Best of luck Bandsters, please don't take my rant as advice not to get the surgery. I think this tool is going to actually work, heck I've lost 6lbs since last week!!!

My appetite has increased which means the swelling around the band must have gone down. I guess this means I'll be increasing my intake to 1 cup of food per meal. I'll keep you posted on my progress. I'm still excited about the new me that is waiting in the wings!!

6lbs down.... 78 to go!!!!

Sorry that you have had such a rough time post-op. I hope things get better for you. I was banded on 11/16/10 and fortunately had minimal post-op pain. I did have problems with gas – but I used suppositories immediately and resolved that issue..lol, but the gas was the only discomfort that I had. I can honestly say that the emergency appendectomy that I had a year ago hurt worse - it was a week before I could even walk upright! Two days after the lap-band I coordinated and hosted a Community Health & Wellness Expo.

Good luck and feel better soon!!!

[Momto3redheads 18]

Yea, I do think everyone is different and has a different pain level threshold. I have a high threshold, myself. I only used the pain meds for one day after surgery - I had a 6 week old at home and didn't wanna be totally out of it as I totally zonk out with that stuff. I had my tubes tied and a hernia repair along with my lapband - but most of my pain for the first week was the gas pain in my shoulders....that always is when I have surgery. Heating pad helped tons, as did the Gas X and walking around. The more I walked the better it seemed to get. I never did really have any port pain - though I have friends who did say theirs was tender for a few months afterwards. I think everyone is different - so it isn't realistic to base your own experience or your own weight loss time frame on anyone else's.....that is the biggest thing I have learned. I can't look at someone else and say "OK three months out they lost X lbs...." and assume that I would be the same.

Hang in there - once you get through this hard part and learning to chew everything it all becomes second nature.....I still have to be careful to eat slow when I am out with friends and talking a lot, otherwise I won't chew as well, but I never have to count or be hyperfocused on it. You'll get the hang of it!

Good luck on your journey!

Kim