I'm pre op, with a post op question.

[reedawn 1]

How did you feel the first couple days after surgery? Did you sleep a lot?

[Alissak77 48]

I was in hospital 2 nights, first night didn't sleep much, but took a nap the next day and then second night went pretty good. Once I got home I slept really well, was in my own bed. I was taking it easy the first couple days so I did nap a few times, mostly from the pain meds, but once I went off that, not really tired during the day.

[cpower100 36]

I had surgery on Monday and was in the hospital until Thursday afternoon. I napped a lot in the hospital mostly bc I was not sleeping well at night, the after effects of the anasthesia, and the pain meds. Once I got home I was taking only Tylenol and have not napped but I am in bed and exhausted by 7:30 pm.

[hellohealthy 32]

I felt like crap. I was exhausted and uncomfortable (pain meds helped) and didn't get much sleep! I felt so much better when I got home.

[TXMissy 211]

Not much pain more sore feeling. I slept a lot. 2nd day was a little better. Left the hospital that day. Home was nice, but had trouble sleeping in my bed. I camped out on the recliner.

[Djmohr 6,965]

The first few days sleep can be difficult because of the gas still in your stomach. After a few days, that improves a lot. I had surgery on Monday evening and took my last pain meds by Thursday night.

I was not in a lot of pain but I have an extraordinary high tolerance for pain. I have had 5 back surgeries and it has helped me build that tolerance. Now, in a month I will be having a 3 level cervical spinal fusion. Ugh! That will be painful.

You should be just fine, just walk lots to get rid of that gas. By the way, pain meds don't make the gas pain better anyway. Use Gas x chewables, a heating pad, lots of sipping Water and walking. This will make you nice and sleepy.

I will tell you the combination of lack of food and low Fluid intake will actually drain your energy. The quicker you can get and stay hydrated will really help. For me, as soon as I could start drinking Protein shakes I started feeling better. I was allowed to do that starting after one week. The whole first week was Clear liquids only.

Good luck with your surgery!

[beachgal2935 596]

I only spent one night in the hospital. I brought ear plugs and my sleep mask so I slept pretty well. That is until the nurse's assistant came in to strip my drain at 4 am. My surgery was at 8 am and I went home at 6 pm the next day. Took a percocet before bed and fell into a deep sleep. Next day I felt sore and took a couple more pain pills but by my second day home I was pain pill free. My recovery has been remarkable. My incisions are barely noticeable as I was stitched from the inside and glued on the outside, no staples were used on me - Yay! This was the best decision I could have ever made. Best of luck to you.

[wascott 395]

@@beachgal2935 Thanks for mentioning ear plugs! The last time I was in the hospital I didn't get any sleep due to the perpetual noise.

[beachgal2935 596]

@wascott You'd be amazed at how the eye mask helped as well!

[reedawn 1]

Thanks for all the great feedback everyone.

[Band07 374]

I felt exhausted and more less beat up. No pain, just uncomfortable really but as soon as I was starting to feel better I ended up in the ER dehydrated with pneumonia in both lungs so then I felt terrible again. I'm 3 weeks and 3 days post op and the last 3 days has been more less amazing compared to the last 3 weeks ! I finally have some energy back and feel like myself again. I thought this would be a breeze as it's my 3rd surgery but this one kicked my butt, be prepared for anything !

Edited May 17, 2015 by Band07