Pain? Pain meds?

[lovinglife]

I went to the nutritionist today. She showed me a tube and told me that's how big my stomach will be after surgery. She also said that I might have some swelling in my stomach and won't be able to get down vitamin pills and that I would have to use chewable vitamins for a while. Well, it just dawned on me... that sounds painful. How bad is the pain after surgery and what kind of pain meds are you given?

[brookc73]

I had NO pain what so ever!!! I went to Dr. Alvarez in Mexico and none of the others I know had pain, sometimes a stitch in your side where you are healing but nothing of any seriousness..It's amazing, it's just like gall bladder surgery which I didn't have but it is really easy that is what is so amazing. You will do great, just focus on how this new adventure is gonna change your life, sip alot of water and your stomach will heal you will be fine!!!

[MoreFitDiane]

We all have different tolerances for pain, so I can only speak for myself. The first afternoon after surgery and the next day were rough, but I was in the hospital and getting good pain meds through my IV. I was actually in the hospital for 3 nights because of other issues, or I would have gone home the very next day. I used to watch the clock and buzz the nurse about 5-10 minutes before it was time for my pain meds, and I would plan my bathroom trips for 15 minutes after it was administered because getting up and down from the bed was painful. Then, after my bathroom trip, the pain meds would put me right to sleep. When I went home from the hospital, they prescribed liquid Tylenol with codeine, which also helped me sleep but really didn't do much for the pain. However, the pain gets less and less each day. By day 4, I was just taking liquid Tylenol (not the stuff with codeine, the over-the-counter stuff); and I quit that by day 6. There is also some dull pain in the shoulders and/or back or neck for most people that is caused by the anesthesia gas they pump into your body. Walking as much as possible after surgery (every day, even around the hospital halls) helps to move this gas through your body and disperse it. And the prescribed food restrictions/diet is exactly because of your tender tummy...so follow it precisely, clear liquids to full liquids, full liquids to pureed foods, pureed foods to soft foods. Once you have moved through all stages, you will be able to introduce regular foods back into your diet and will get a feeling for how much is enough and how much is too much. (Too much food creates another kind of pain...we all have to find out what works for us and our bodies.) Best of luck to you! It gets easier every day! I can eat out with folks who don't know I've had surgery and they sometimes comment on the strength of my willpower, but not on how little I eat. I'm living the dream!

[swimhard4]

Hi, The first 3 days were not so good, but not intolorable. Dont take too much pain med or you will get Very constipated which is a whole other problem! I did fine with nothing, although I did have it available.

[kahnmann]

Hi Lorrie: Congrats on having your life changing surgery. I am 7 mos out and have lost 130 lbs. As for pain meds, I was given liquid Lor-tab to take after I got home, but rarely used it. I did not have any pain or discomfort after surgery, except for the gas that was given during surgery. Once that dissipated in my body, I was good to go. (that dissipated after the thrird day) Good luck and follow your doctors advice, you will be fine.

[lovinglife]

Wow! That's reassuring!

[lshepler]

I had no narcotic pain relief after surgery, and I did have a moderate amount of pain. I had what was like an equivalent to Toradol here in the US (strong NSAID) and it was tolerable. My doctor said the reason they don't give narcotics is because you would be in the bed sleeping all day rather than up walking like you should.

[daisymax22]

Sleeved this past Tuesday (3-15) pain is minimal, scale of one to ten it's like a three and thats really when its at it's worst. Day one was sleeping had discomfort and afraid to move not know where things had been taken from and silly IVs ( I am a WUSS ) they encourage you to sit within five six hours of your surgery, that was more mental scary cause you think more pain than you really have. but helps with gas, keeping using the breathing "toy" slow and steady on the inhales hold the ball is the cyclinder more so than rushing. Day two went for a walk...felt good to be mobile helps with the gases shift I didn't burp or pass gas until third morning, but then when I got home diarrhea has been a issue for me....(I hate this, when ya wanna cork your bum you know you've had enough of the poops). Had three episodes of vomit but i will say it wasn't from tummy its like your mouth has excess water/fluid and has to expell it I did feel sick but once I got like three-four mouth fulls of spit out it was done and felt better. In ICU the first night my eveing nurse had SOOOOO much perfume/hairspray on that as she was checking my lungs and tummy noises her lovely head was inches from my nose and that was it I threw up then, nothing major just that fliud in mouth and then was fine. I was so hot from the Morphine guess it's call flushing woulda loved to of had a ceiling fan. Okay all in all....so far so good for me. Walked outside in the sunshine on third day, stayed close to potty/shower fourth LoL. Food has consisted of broth (beef or chicken) sugar free frozen edys pops, sugar free jello, and protein gatorade over ice chips.

[kitsonk]

I had one shot of morphine the second night after surgery because I was running a super high fever and high blood pressure and couldn't get any rest, so the nurse helped me. After the first week, any "pain" I had was gone.

The thing about the sleeve, which sounds scary and painful, normally turns into "discomfort" more than pain. Sometimes there is gas pain, when it gets stuck, and more heartburn is likely. But after the first couple of days, at least for me, it was all very manageable.

[lovinglife]

LOL @ Daisy! Did you vomit on the nurse?

[Lizzie]

I came home with prescription pain meds and did take a 1/2 a pill every 6 hours which was much lower than the dosage on the bottle. One thing you might want to consider picking up is a pill cutter that way you can cut any pills up to make them easier to swallow. I am three months out and I still take chewable vitamins.