4 Days Post Gastric Sleeve Surgery Pain

[CajunCutie 1]

Hi All! I've been lurking around this site for a while now and I'm so thankful y'all are here. In my pre op and post op stages y'all have been incredibly helpful and inspirational !!! So thank you

I was sleeved on Tuesday Dec 6th by Dr. Thomas Lavin in New Orleans and also had a hiatal hernia repaired (that I didn't know I had). Things have been going pretty well so far, have been able to get in almost all my liquids, am walking a good bit, doing laundry, household chores etc etc

But I am concerned about the amount of pain I am in when I'm late on the pain meds. I have the liquid Loratab that I've been taking pretty much every 4 hrs. This morning when I woke up at 7am i decided not to take it thinking maybe I didn't need it anymore and it's been 4 days and shouldn't I be off pain meds by now??!! I fell back asleep, woke up at 11ish in a good bit of pain, took the med. Its finally kicking in now. The pain is mostly situated right below my sternum. It also feels super tight when I swallow like the liquid is just sitting above my stomach before going into it.

When I'm taking the pain medicine I feel pretty great, no problems. But at 4 days post op I'm wondering why I still need it every 4 hrs!! I'm worried there is something wrong with me.

I'm also having occasional painful hiccups (that don't relate to eating/drinking).

I'm taking Prilosec daily. I'm also taking Levsin SL 4x day. Tums occasionally. Haven't really needed the Gas Ex since day 2 post op.

Any advice/word of wisdom/encouragement will be greatly appreciated.

C.C.

[waterlover 15]

i haven't had surgery so i probably don't know what i'm talking about, but maybe your stomach is still quite swollen and tender at this stage? plus you had hernia repair which might be tender too. last year i had two surgeries (not in my abdomen) and i was on oxycodone every four hours for a week!

[CajunCutie 1]

Ahhh. That makes me feel better! Thanks!

When is your surgery?

[Lissa 2,631]

Cajun Cutie, From what I've read, the hernia repair is pretty painful in and of itself. Your doc gave you enough liquid meds for 10 days because that's how long he expects most people to need them, and you may need it for that whole time.

Keep sipping and walking as much as you can. That will help handle the pain from the sleeve, but the hernia pain is out of my league. I was very thankful that I did not have one that needed repair. My surgeon told me that a hernia repair would increase the pain level a lot!

Oh, and there is no blue ribbon awarded for not taking your pain meds. If you need them, take them. There is enough to deal with right after being sleeved without adding pain to the equation!

Good luck with your journey!!

[waterlover 15]

Ahhh. That makes me feel better! Thanks!

When is your surgery?

i'm still not sure if i want to have surgery. my mind changes every day. today is a bad day and i don't want to do it. there is still a part of my head saying that i am being lazy and i can do this on my own, i'm just not trying hard enough.

enjoy those meds! i agree with lissa totally. if you need them take them. i actually like the painkillers, they calm me down after surgery and i don't worry as much lol.

[gfawcetti 13]

I was sleeved on 11/14 & also had a hietal hernia that surprised everyone LOL. I didn't stop taking the pain meds till the 7th or 8th day! My pain was is the exact same place & I am sure it was because of the hernia repair... Don't rush to get off the pain meds, they help with the healing because you can just relax & heal.

G

[CajunCutie 1]

Thanks Yall. I will keep taking the meds.

Waterlover- I was set to have the sleeve almost a year ago and backed out for very similar reasons. Then I spent the past year struggling the same as I always have losing weight, gaining it back, exercising, etc.

I think we can all attest that we all have tried very very very hard and struggled with out weight if not for an entire lifetime, then at least for a good bit of it.

You are not lazy.

C.C

[Sassygirl06 962]

it is very normal to have more pain with the repair. it is also a good idea to stay on top of those pain meds, and make sure you take them on time because it takes longer to get rid of the pain once you are in it, then it does when you stay on it. also, taking the pain meds will keep you from being tense, which is proven to help speed up recovery. you wont get addicted to them after 10 days of taking it, if that is what you are worried about. hope your pain goes away quickly, but until then.....take um