For those who have NEVER had surgery before!

Surgery hurts...the gas afterward hurts!  I had my first major surgery in 1976 (adenoma of the breast attached to my chest wall), I was 28, my dad had died 6 weeks before and the surgeon said most likely it was cancer...it wasn't.  I was on morphine for 4 days, had a drain.  It sucked.

My point is, you just had surgery...even minimally invasive surgery is still painful and will require you to follow post-op instructions and take some medication to handle it.  You will have gas, incision pain and feel like *hit from the anesthesia.  You need to use your spirometer to keep you from getting pneumonia and walk and drink your water.  You WILL  be uncomfortable.  Plan on it.

Your lap-band surgery will not cause you to have diarrhea, but your pre-op diet might.

Because our surgery is "elective", "minimally invasive" some people think it is a walk in the park...it is not.  You will wake up with sore abs, sore incisions and feeling like your chest has been walked on by a herd of elephants...

Take your meds, walk, use a heating pad on the areas that hurt, take your gasx and use ice packs on your incisions and the most important thing of all...eat what you are told to eat, in the amounts recommended, in the intervals you are told...you will be fine.

Sorry if this isn't sugar coated, but I am thinking that a good dose of reality is required so people know what to expect.

xo Steph

Steph brings up good points and that is everything my doc said that could happen also.

But just remember everybody is different . Just because one person had all them pains dont mean you will .  It all just depends.

I never had any of them. No gas pains, no incision pain, no chest pains .  The only thing I had was my upper stomach felt like I did a million sit ups , it wasn't worth taking no pain meds for though it wasn't that bad and it was gone within two weeks and I was back to sleeping on my tummy after 7 days.

Like Steph said some people will have horrible gas pains that could last a week or even weeks but then you might be lucky and not have a ounce of pain .

Just have all your stuff ready just in case you do have them ache and pains . I bought everything and I never once used the heating pad after my surgery that sucker comes in handy for my cramping for my periods now lol. Best 25 bucks I ever spent lol.

LOL - so you were getting tired of seeing those posts too, were you?  Don't mean to seem insensitive (who, ME?), but I seeing the "1 day post-op and IT HURTS" posts always made me go "huh?  What'd you expect?"  Really makes me wonder if people are being given the whole story by their surgeons before the big day.  My wonderful doc spent a full hour with me the week before surgery going over every single aspect of the procedure and after-care.  I knew exactly what to expect and my experience was textbook.  Yep, it hurt.  A LOT.  But like giving birth (or having gall bladder surgery, for that matter) the rewards far outweigh any temporary discomfort.

My purpose in posting this thread was a) to inform and b) to give those who think every little thing is a big deal, some perspective.  I have had a lot of procedures and surgeries:

Age 4: Tonsilectomy
Age 10: Had my wrist rebroken and re-set under anesthesia (didn't get medical attention for fracture)
Age 12: Hymenectomy (that was painless physically, but an emotional disaster)
Age 16: Kidney stone-the most intense pain I have ever felt.
Age 18: Gave Birth after 38 hours, 3rd degree tear
Age 22: Gave birth, precipitous delivery (5cm-delivery in 14 min), no anesthesia, third most intense pain I have ever experienced.
Age 28: removal of adenoma of the right breast, requiring an incision about the size of an underwire, with removal of substantial breast tissue, hemovac and morphine for pain.  It was benign, so all worth it. Very painful post op.
Age 29: Bilateral ectopic pregnancy; gestation 13 weeks.  We had just moved from the west coast to Chicago two weeks earlier and I thought I was only about 4 weeks along.  I recognized my symptoms (my BFF had an ectopic pregnancy a few years before), but could not get a doctor to see me.  I went to the ER and they admitted me to the medical floor with a diagnosed case of PID and I almost died from loss of blood.  I had emergency surgery at midnight, lost both my tubes.  The second most intense pain I have ever felt.
I recovered, leaving the hospital 5 days later, smarter and infertile.
Age 30-40: Multiple D&C, endometrial biopsies, which hurt a lot, for heavy bleeding.
Age 47: Encounter with a meat slicer almost cost me two fingers...did cost me 5 months without the use of my left hand (I am right-handed), surgery to repair and months of physical therapy.  I couldn't dress myself or make myself a meal for 5 months.
Age 52: Vaginal hysterectomy...easy peasy!  Spinal anesthesia and heavy sedation.  Very little discomfort.
Age 55: Surgery to remove torn cartilage from left knee...both minisci and articular cartilage were a mess.  Also had a chondral lesion of the left femur with marrow edema...they did a procedure called microfracture chondroplasty; drilling tiny holes in the femur to try to get it to create some scar tissue over the lesion and give me some pain relief.  4th most intense pain I have ever felt.
Age 55: Injections of artificial synovial fluid into the left knee (lubricant)...called the doctor a motherf***er, he laughed.
Age 57:2 Epidural Injections of cortisone and anesthesia into my L4-L5 space in my spine to diagnose spinal stenosis.
Age 57:Epidural Injection of cortisone and anesthesia into my SI Joint to diagnose SI Joint disfunction.
The back pain I suffered in 2007-2008 was the most debilitating pain I have ever felt, with the exception of the kidney stone, which caused me to pass out from the pain.  I couldn't walk half a block without feeling faint, sweating, feeling nauseous, my right leg and foot would go numb.  I had so many diagnostic procedures, found out I was claustrophobic (MRI), and went to physical therapy 3 times per week for a year.  The pain is better with the loss of 65 lbs, but is still there all the time...pain level ranges from 3-6 rather than 5-9 on average.
Age 60: Realize Band and Hiatal hernia repair. More painful than my hysterectomy, but not as bad as knee surgery.

I am posting this because I want those who have had few procedures or surgeries to have a bit of perspective...Surgery is painful.  There are complications, adhesions, scar tissue, that can occur.  We know this going in because we sign INFORMED CONSENT FORMS. 

If you are contemplating surgery, you need to make sure you are informed.  When you sign the consent, read it.  It does say that you could have a slip, erosion, reflux etc, or that your chosen WLS may not work, so don't act like nobody told you.  It also says you could die....all surgical consent forms tell you that.  I once signed consent, at age 28, to have both breasts removed and woke from surgery so thankful that my children would have their mother around for a long time.

I am glad this is being recieved the way I intended and someone out there will read it and have an "aha moment" 

Have a great weekend everyone! 

you speak the truth. i thought i was never going to get better but a few days later, much better and life is getting better each day!

3 mos post op
down almost 30...

 Thanks Steph.  How I wish I had read this before my surgery.  I wasn't told much about what to expect after the surgery, so I imagine I'm not alone.

Now how can we keep this where the pre-op ppl can easily access it...

I will copy and paste it to my blog...feel free to re-post it once in a while yourself.  Thanks!

Your right Steph, I mean everyone should realize that surgery is surgery, it hurts, but I can tell you first hand, I was never told from the doctor about these gas pains.  Hell I never even saw my doctor the day of surgery.  Not that I was looking for medical advice, but just for people that could relate.  I know, I have had many surgeries in the past, not on my abdominal area, but knees, ect..., so I was just looking for someone to say, "oh yeah that happened to me to and this is what helped".  I think some people just write on the board because sometimes just venting helps with everything and maybe just maybe someone had a similar experience and can help someone else get through the pains a little bit better.  Isn't that what this board is for?  Helping everyone get through this and be a sounding board for our issues and support?  I am not trying to **** anyone off or anything, but being new to this process, even though I researched it for many years, still have a million questions.  Nothing beats first hand knowledge.  It seems like there isn't a lot of banded people out there and trying to find one to talk to is like trying to find a needle in a haystack.  So i was gratefull when I stubbled upon this board, everyone seems nice and answers any questions....

Good luck everyone and I hope I didn't make anyone angry.....this is a great board, it has given me lots of great advice!
Jamie

Jamie, You have had a lot of the usual questions that newly banded people have...gas and incision pain and hunger post-op.  You have gotten a lot of good advice from the vets on the board and that is exactly the purpose.  No one minds answering questions from "newbies'...that said:

There are some who just don't know what to expect and the purpose of my post was to give them the information that apparently their medical professionals don't.  I think there is an assumption within the medical community that people know more than they do.  Also, there are a lot of "Surgery Mills" out there whose purpose is to just make $$$$$, and they often do not inform their patients thouroughly.  We all have to take responsibility for our own safety and being completely informed before making medical, legal or even purchasing decisions helps to keep us safer...that means reading the fine print before signing.  Just doing that should make all of us think twice.  I think one of the most scary moments I have had as a parent is reading and signing them for one of my kids!  Yikes!

I am glad you are finding the members of this board to be helpful.  Hang in there, you'll be feeling great very soon!

Steph

Steph, you got that right...working at a large ortho office, often times patients will call in asking questions regarding there surgery but haven't got a clue of the doctors name or what he is doing.  I hve to ask myself, WTH are you having surgery for.  its scarey but surgery can mean death.  Thank the good lord that with a lot of medical advancements that, that number has gone down, but the risk is still there.  I think your post was extremely informative and a great post. 

I think that would be one of the scariest things in a parents life, signing a consent form for my kids, knowing there is a small risk of death...wow...very scarey....

thank you for your post and kind words...everyday seems a little bit better...I do have one question.  Why does  my right side hurt much worse then the rest of my abdomen?.  I honestly wouldnt even know I had surgery, but that right side is pretty sore.  Like I said, i didn't see my surgeon before or after and at my post op I intend on telling him how ****ty that was...any words of wisdom? 

thanks so much Steph!!