How Do You Feel Post Surgery

My husband is scheduled for surgery on Dec. 6th. Can you please tell us how or what to expect. Our bedroom is upstairs. Can you tell me if you think that he will feel like going up the stairs after he comes home. He is having Gastric Bypass. If not I will need to have one of my sons trade him bedrooms for a while. Any other tricks that you may have would be greatly appreciated. He is really nervous.

Angela - Is he having open or laproscopic? I had open and so I can only relate my experience to you. Let me start by saying I think that I have a pretty high pain tolerance. I used my morphine pump twice in the hospital and once was because they made me. I took one pain killer when I got home, that is it. All that being said, I did stairs without much problem. I did not run up and down them and tried to get as many things done in one trip as possible but they did not bother me at all. I will say that I did not sleep in my bed for about 8 days or so after surgery. I found it much easier to sleep in a recliner rather than lay flat on a bed. The first time I slept in my bed I thought that they were going to have to call 911 to get me back in an upright position. I gave it a couple of days and it was fine. I think that the stairs should be fine for him but can you have your son on stand by just in case?? If you have any more questions or concerns please feel free to write, Nancy

Nancy, Thank you so much!!! My husband is having open. Your advice was very helpful. I never thought of the recliner. He may feel more comfortable there also. Thank you so much for your help I really appreciate it.

So did you use liquid medication after you had surgery or were you able to take all of your meds okay. I had another person state that I should check into get liquid medications for my husband. I just assumed that he would be able to swallow all of his blood pressure medications in pill form as usual.

I had to crush all of my pills for the first 6 weeks or so. I just bought a pill crusher at Walgreens. I threw it out a while ago or I would have mailed it off to you. They are not expensive at all. He will NOT be able to swallow pills until his pouch is healed. The crushed pills taste nasty but you get over it fast enough Let me know if you have any more questions!!

Thanks I did not know that. That is why I love this message board. I am sure that I will have a lot more questions. Thanks again.

Hi, I just had surgery 10/24/06 and came home on 10/26/06. I had lap rny and was dreading stairs thinking of surgery I had 20 years ago. I managed the stairs fine, just held onto the rail and walked slowly. Just make sure someone is with him in case he feels weak, but he should manage them just fine. Regards, Mary

Hi Angela - I had open RYN on 8/30. I was pleasantly surprised at the quick recovery I had. I had noe problem w/ the steps. Just took them slow. I think I took pain meds the first night at home and then did not have to use them after that. I was driving after 1 week and back to work 2 1/2 weeks post op. I was on liquids 10days prior to surgery and 14days post op. I found having small little medicine cups.. 2tbsp size were great to have on hand because I could only drink 2oz at a time every hour on the hour. I would go ahead and make sure he has purchased all of his vitamins he is going to need post op prior to the surgery. Switch over all of his perscription meds to chewble or liquid. You may want to start doing this soon so he makes sure he has no problems taking them. He's going to need to drink protein shakes but some peoples taste buds change so what you like prior to surgery you may not be able to handle after so I'm on the fence about buying the protien mix prior to. I did not knowing any better and did just fine. Tell him to relax, my open gallbladder surgery was 20x worse then this. Best of Luck & Congratulations. Christina

What kind of job did you have. My husband has a factory job and does a lot of lifting. And secondly, so you weren't able to swallow your pills as before? Why did you have to change to chewable of liquid. I have already started him on a multivitamin. What type of protein shakes did you use. Thanks for all of your help. I don't know what I would do with out this site.

I work in a calibration lab. I have a very physical job and I'm on my feet most of the day. I was on a 20lb lifting restriction for the first six weeks. I've heard others that have said they were not able to lift more then 10lbs. It all depends on the Surgeon. The big concern is hernias which is common in gastric bypass patients. I was told by my surgeon and nut that I could not swallow pills whole unless they were the size of a birth control pill or smaller. I was on wellbutrin and they had to switch me to another brand because wellbutrin does not come in liquid form. Glad I started about two months out so I could get adjusted to the new meds. Nothing like being depressed or not well when your going thru such a drastic life style change. I'm still taking liquid and chewable vitamins. I use a brand of protein mix called Unjury. I order the mix on line. If you have not already, you guys may want to consider checking out some books at your local library. There are so many books that can help answer many of your questions or just hang out on OH. This is a great place to meet people, share each others experience, strengths & hopes. Take care and feel free to ask more questions. Christina BTW, There is a mens board if your hubby wants to chat w/ some men that are going thru or have been thru what he is about to experience or is experiencing.