Pain/Recovery after VBG Surgery

I was just wondering how long it takes you to get back to your normal self after the surgery? My doctor said that I would be in the hospital for 1 to 2 days following the procedure. He said that I should be able to go back to work after two weeks. My surgery is scheduled for 5/03/04 and I am planning on going back to work as soon as possible.....is there anything that I should know that I need to be prepared for after the surgery that would make it to hard to get back to my normal routine?

Hi Karen, I had surgery on 3/9/04. I was in the hospital for four days, that's the standard for my surgeon. When I came home I only used the pain meds for a day. It wasn't a bad pain, it was more like a pulled muscle kind of feeling. I slept a lot because I couldn't sleep comfortably at night. It took about a week before I was comfortable enough to sleep in my bed. Before that I slept on my couch or sitting up in a chair. A week after I came home I was pretty much pain free, but then I had to get my drain taken out. That caused me to be in pain for another few days. That pain was more like real pain than the previous "pulled muscle" type pain. I think it took me 3 weeks to be back to normal.

Hi Karen, My vbg was open 7/18/2001. I was tired for the first month, but I was back to my routine in 2 weeks. I was in the hospital 4 days and never took anything for pain after that. I started having weird dreams in the hospital because of the pain medication. So I stopped pressing that little button on day 3. It`s not a picnic by any means, but its not all that bad either. I had an ectopic pregnancy 20 years ago and I thought that was way worse! Anyway, I pray you will have a speedy recovery. Just remember to get up and walk around alot and don`t sit with your feet flat on the floor for over 30 minutes at a time. My dr. said that is a good way the get the kind of blood clot that kills. Just remember to move around alot. And lots of walking helps with the recovery process as well.

I don't work but I think I would have been a little weak after 2 weeks. I didn't have pain but had a hard time standing up straight and felt weak. Dianne Carroll