6 days out and having a rough time

Hi everyone. Im almost a week into this and having a tough time with the pain. Im more sore than I thought I'd be at this point and having trouble dealing with it. Im doing OK on the diet - getting in almost if not all of my protein although Im a little bored with it - not looking forward to another week with protein drinks and chk soup. I have been lucky not to have trouble getting things down. I am real tired of that protein drink taste though. I am wondering when I'll feel normal if not 100%. When will I be able to run the vacuum, bend over wihtout substantial planning, get up and get my kids a snack, and laugh or cough without crying. I swear I almost lost it the other night - got into a laughing jag with my husband and then wanted to die.... Im also dying for a hot bath - is that too much to ask? Im having the most trouble with pain at night and am having some weird sharp stabbing pain occasionally on my left side. Oh well, thanks for listening.....Ive had a few of those what did I do moments but I know it'll pass.

Hi Michelle, I am 12 days out, my pain did not subside until about 8 or 9 days, until then I was still taking pain medication. It was not as bad as the first few days but the port area was still sore, it still bothers me now but it is tolerable and I know in a few more days I will not feel it at all. I found that putting ice packs on the port site a few times a day really helped. Hang in there, every day it gets a little better.

Michelle - 6 days is not a very long time for such a major surgery - you will be able to bend over and laugh and do other things without pain - it won't always be like this - just give it some time and focus on healing. Your body has gone through a lot, be gentle with yourself. It will get better, it just takes time...........my prayers are with you for a quick recovery! Tammy

Everything you are feeling and experiencing is normal. Don't expect so much from yourself. You have very recently gone through major surgery. It takes everyone a different amount of time to recover and feel back to normal. You will soon find out the great rewards after GBS like large weight loss, more energy, getting off some prescription medications, fitting in clothes better and just fitting in everywhere better,(seats, booths, planes, amusement rides). Hang in there, you will gradually be progressing to foods and have an increased variety of things to eat. Also if you find that you really have trouble getting in your protien there are lots of different protien drinks, powders to chose from. Sometimes after surgery our taste buds change and we find that what we enjoyed prior to surgery we don't like anymore. Things will get better. take care, don't hesitate to talk with OH members if you need support. Sher

Michelle, Hi. Like someone else posted, 6 days out is a very short period of time. Remember, your body just went through major surgery with general anesthesia, had your guts taken out, dissected and put back inside! Your body is trying to figure out what you just did to it! Also, your hormones are going through a lot, too. Where is your pain, exactly? Is it deep, internal pain from the cutting or is it after eating, intestional pain? It took me a good two weeks until I was totally pain free. He should have sent you home with some pain meds. Take them on time as directed. If you skip some, than your pain will get worse and will be harder to control. Supplement with Tylenol as needed. As a patient of Dr Aranow's you should have been sent home with "no restrictions". That means, if you feel like lifting a sofa, lift it. He doesn't feel like anything bad will happen to you if you do things. In fact, the more you do, the better you'll feel. I didn't do too much, except get up a lot and walked. My husband had the surgery, too, and he walked like 30 laps in the hospital a day and also when he got home and got out and went to the mall and park, etc. And his pain was a lot better than mine was. Did you also have your gall bladder out? If so, you may experience more pain. I did. Those that don't have it out seem to have a bit of an easier recovery. (In my opinion) Who said you can't take a nice hot bath? As long as someone (an adult) is home when you take it (in case you get light headed and need help standing up) I say fill that tub and soak. You'll feel SO much better. Wear your hose 24/7 for 2 weeks. Daytime, too. As far as the blah-ness of the protein drinks. It's something we've all been through. Next week will be better once you get to puree everything. My favorite was pureed shrimp with some ****tail sauce put in. A soft shrimp ****tail! You can make sugar free jello or sugar free/fat free puddings, too. Just to have some change. If you're wanting something salty, I did the soup or bouillion broth. I added unflavored Unjury (my favorite and in my opinion, the BEST unflavored protein) to it for a 20gm boost. But wait till the broth is at 130 degrees before you add it or it will curdle like cottage cheese! If in doubt, call Lois at the office. She'll help you out in access your pain and maybe you'll have to go in to have him check you out. One other thing he told me as he looked at my husband cause he knew he'd be getting the brunt of my moods! He told me, that this surgery brings out every single kind of mood in the world, so, if that happens, accept it and do the crying, laughing, moping, sleeping, etc. It'll pass. The most important thing right now is getting yourself up and around and moving as much as possible. It'll stretch your tummy out and your pain should feel better. Check to see that you're not wearing your binder too tightly. That may be another cause. But, wear it. You can take it off for a little while from time to time, but it generally should be worn so that your internal sutures can stay pressed together and heal. You may have some pulling feelings about 2-3 inches on each side of your incision. You have internal sutures pulling your incision back together from the inside up and down your incision. The tapes on the outside are just holding the outside together. The inside is doing all of the work. Hang in there. And if you have any questions...email me, post here or call Dr A's office. That's what you paid them for! Soon, when the pounds are just meling off, you'll forget this part of the process. Kind of like childbirth! Get ALL of that protein in. It speeds the healing and gets you going! Paula

hi, i did not have a rny i had a band but i can sure can relate to how you are feeling what did i do has been a big ? for me lately but it is to late now so we must make the best of it and remember why we did it good luck deb .c

I had lap RNY 12-07 and it took me a good 6 weeks to even sleep well. Some just have it easy.. and some don't... I didn't expect it to hurt so much either. I'm just 2 months out.. and still feel some very faint left side pain. But almost totally back to normal! So it will get better. Sleep sitting upright if you can. And keeping a pillow shoved against my left side helped. HUGS