Please tell me...

Hi everyone,  I have been home since Friday 9/21 and I need to know how long does the pain on the left side normally last.  It is so uncomfortable, I take my pain meds only when it becomes too extreme.  Also, when does the nauseaed feeling seem to go away.  I wish I could have sf popsicles, the cold seems to ease it a little but if I eat too much ice at once it makes me sick.  Any suggestions? Thanks,  Annie

Annie. I had nausea for about the first two months severely, and then it lessened over the next few months after that. Try squeezing some lemon in your water. Acid stuff isn't good on your tummy at first, but the doctor said lemon in water for nausea was fine. Lots of times the nausea is caused by dehydration or not eating enough also. So even though it's hard to drink water when your sick, the more you drink the better you will eventually feel. Are you taking the pepcid 2x a day? That will also help. I took the pepcid 2x a day for the first 90 days. If you find that nothing over the counter helps call and talk to your doctor. They can prescribe you something for it also.  If you find the first prescription doesn't work, ask for something better. (The first thing they prescribed me didn't work) As far as the pain on the left side mine was seriously painful for about a week or two. Then very uncomfortable for about a month.  It wasn't "Painful" after the first month, but it was there. It took about 6 months for me to be able to sleep on my side again. Prior to that if I tried I would end up waking up in the middle of the night with pain in my side where the staples are. So I guess the answer to the question is, everyone is different, and every one heals different. I think if you not in serious pain, everything is probably normal. I remember reading the papers before surgery that you can have side pain even a year after the surgery. If you are in serious pain after a month though, then you should contact your doctor to be sure you haven't torn anything, or done some sort of damage. If it is just discomfort, it is probably normal :)

p.s. Congrats on your surgery!

oh...also.. heating pad for the pain in your side! That helped me a lot, and I've heard others say it helped them also. Hang in there! I know this part sucks, but it will get better. Each day you will feel better and better.

Annie, Congrats on your surgery! The pain lasted for me about 1 week... I got home on Thursday and I stopped taking the pain meds on Sunday.  When I just had my gallbladder out, Dr. Blackstone ordered me to keep ahead of the pain medication, take it... if in 3hrs you feel it start wearing off, take more.  She said if you let the pain get really bad and wait to take the loratab, you are defeating the purpose.  I found that interesting.  I hated taking pain meds just of the constipation issues. Anyway... I never had nausea after the surgery...  but again with the gallbladder removal, Dr. Blackstone gave me a Rx if I had problems with nausea, forgot the name of it... maybe call the office and ask. 

Try the sugar free popsicles, they were a lifesaver for me during my first few weeks.  Don't chew them, just let them melt in your mouth.

When do you go to your one week class so you can start your lean proteins?  Getting sick of jello and broth just yet?  hehe... I know it sucks, but its all worth it!

Hang in there!

~Nicole

annie, congrats on your surgery!  i would have to agree with nicole re: pain issue.........keep taking the pain med.........if you stop taking it..........and wait until you need it..........you start at square one again.......dont wait until you are in extreme pain..........then you start at square one..........my dr. ordered me compazine supps. if i get nausea..............i hope you start to feel better soon..........i have my surgery on tues..........so all this tid bit of info is helping me..........take care robyn tucson, az vsg 9/25/07 dr. burppe

The left side is where most of the vigorous manipulation occurs during the surgery..hence the left sided pain.  I can last for a couple of months, but will ease up significantly after 2-3 weeks.  Try the heating pad...it really helped me.  Don't quite taking your pain meds.  I notice you have a little one...don't pick the baby up no matter what...it is too early!  My nausea last for a full 2 months and is back again, but due to other issues.  Keep in touch with SBC.  They are very good at helping you through the issues you are having.  Oh yes, Welcome to the Loser's Bench!!!!

Hi Annie, As has been said, we are all different and our experiences are different but I had pain that seemed to get worse.  Finally I called Dr B's office and went in for my first follow-up appointment a day early and they discovered that I had a "seroma."  I had never heard of such a thing but apparently, it is fairly common.  It's just a collection of fluid within the cells around the damaged area...the left site!  They had to open the incision and pack it with gauze strips.  Those had to be changed twice a day until the the hole healed and closed.  The clue that there was a problem was that the area was very hard...when is your follow-up appointment? I see that lots of folks are suggesting heat for the pain...I was always told to ice on pain.  It keeps the swelling down and it numbs the area as well.  If the heat doesn't work...try an ice pack. For nausea, the NUT at Dr. B's office always suggested peppermint tea.  It works fairly well.  I don't like tea but that was very tolerable.  Just take tiny sips.  Also, I sucked on ice chips rather than SF popcicles right at first & they seemed more easily tolerated. My surgery was over 2 years ago and nobody was more surprised than me at my success.  I really thought that I was the ONE person for whom the surgery would not work.  It did work but the first part was not easy.  Hold on and "this too shall pass." Get some rest and don't worry too much... Dj

Both heat and cold are good for pain. Cold reduces inflammation and swelling, and heat relaxes the muscle and stimulates blood flow. That is often why sports injuries are treated both with ice and heat. Ice at first to take out the swelling, and then heat to stimulate and get the muscles moving again. Or something to that effect. When I did physical therapy for an injury they did heat before moving, and then ice afterwards. Maybe Dr. Blackstone recommended the heating pad as she wants us to get moving every  2 hours.  Perhaps a combination of both heat and ice might work well. Heat when you have to be moving, and ice when your not.

Use Ice for pain...  heat will cause things to swell.  Ice caused things to shrink.