Tell me what to expect after surgery

positiveone · February 15, 2009

Hello All,

I am going in on Feb. 25th for sugery. I have gone through many posts on this forum to help me understand what it is going to be like. I think I will be able to handle the starving feeling...hey, I have dieted so many times, I am used to that feeling;) And doing the pre-op shakes, I think I am prepared for that feeling.

My question is....how bad is the pain afterwards? I have never had surgery and I am petrified of how I am going to feel afterwards. My surgeon said I can be back at work in 6 days (wed. surgery, work on MOnday). I also have theatre tickets on day 5, and I am hoping that I can drive & sit in a theatre without being in pain?

Tell me your stories of how long you up & at it!

K.

alyciaboo · February 15, 2009

you will be fine i had hardly any pain from the cuts just a bit from the gas which is like trapped wind i was back at work with in a week and i have physical job you will be surprised

Edited February 15, 2009 by alyciaboo

jakeblues63 · February 15, 2009

Hello,

Congrats on your surgery. I am 4 weeks post op and feeling back to normal. Since my initial visit I have lost 42 lbs. Most of your after surgery pain/discomfort will be from the gas that is used to inflate you so the surgeons can perform the surgery easier. In my opinion and experience this was far more painful than the surgery itself because in part I wasn't expecting it to be as bad as it was. I had my surgery on a Monday and it took until Saturday morning ( each day it progressively got better) for the gas to disipate from my body ( this is a normal reaction from the surgery). The bad part is that with this gas, it has to work itself out by walking/movement and burping or trying to pass it and medication won't do anything for relief. But keep in mind, IT WILL GO AWAY. Your trip to the theatre may be a last minute decision, I know I felt better on day 5, but not driving and going to the theatre better. Everyody heals differently though. Another thing they will tell you about driving and sitting too long is that you should walk at least 5 minutes every hour and move your feet at the ankles to keep blood clots from forming which is a common practice up 6 weeks after ANY surgery. Good luck, everything will go fine and don't rush things, especialy after surgery. Feel free to contact me with any additional questions.

Bjornsyouruncle · February 15, 2009

I just had surgery Feb. 12th and I feel fine. I never had gas pain and the worst I've felt is sore. I kept expecting something to hurt, but it has been great.

Right after surgery it felt like I'd been doing tons of sit ups, but on the 1-10 pain scale the nurses wanted me to rate pain on I was a 0-1.