Hi all, I'm new here but I just got my vsg date for October 4th! I'm super excited. I am curious about your experiences with post surgical pain though? I'm a recovering addict and would prefer not to use any pain medication stronger than Tylenol or NSAIDS. My doctor says it's possible but hard. How was your pain?

I was lucky and had very little pain afterwards.  I DI use my pain meds for a few days just because it was there.  Then I only used it at night so I could sleep.  Good Luck to you! 

I had pain meds in the hospital, either Morphine and another one that started with a "d", maybe dilaudid. I'm not a fan of needles and considering I already had an IV and was getting blood thinner shots in my leg or belly, I wasn't asking for any extra needles than I had to. By the time I got home, they gave me Codeine syrup (it tastes way too sugary) and Children's liquid Tylenol (cherry syrup).  The first day or 2, I took them 2-4 times, then nothing then, I tried sleeping on my side on the 5th night and it hurt so bad I went back and had 2 doses of Codeine the next day.  I'm on day 8 and no more drugs. The pain is more there when I move a certain incision, so I don't think they were doing enough for it.  If I had been in constant pain, it would be different. 

Use alternatives, like a heating pad or cooling pad.  Get up and walk, sip, and rest.  And change positions as much as possible. I found it good to go between my bed and the couch because I could sit up on the couch.  

Good luck!

Have you discussed this with your doctor?  Maybe the doctor will have a treatment protocol that can help you through it.

Sadly pain is one of those things that varies so much from person to person.  You won't be able to use NSAIDs post-op, ever, and we can't really guess at whether or not Tylenol would cut it for you.  

For me, I needed something stronger than Tylenol for the first few days post-op.  I have a very high pain tolerance - I've had multiple kidney stones over the course of my life.  

The pain was pretty bad freshly post-op and I needed a couple shots of Dilaudid to carry me through until that evening. I took Oxycodone for a couple days post-op and then didn't need anything more than Tylenol after about post-op day 2. I would think it would be very difficult to get by without narcotics but everybody is different. 

The pain wasn't horrible for me. The dilaudid they gave me after surgery made me nauseated so I refused pain meds until I could take something orally. They wouldn't allow anything orally until the next day after I got my leak test. I took an oral dose 1 time that afternnon and that was it. I didn't touch my prescription either. I didn't touch any of my nausea meds either. 

Good luck! It's possible! I had babies with no pain meds either.

It's been a month for you now. So how are you feeling. Have you noticed a difference yet?

I feel completely normal for having a major surgery a little over a month ago. Actually, I take that back...I feel better than before! My recovery was easy. I was grocery shopping and running errands the day after I got out of the hospital. I could tell I got tired easier so I made myself take naps. I went back to work (full time) the following Monday after surgery. I've been walking 4 or 5 miles about 4 times a week. Some days at some point in time I feel a little fatigue but it always passes when I drink more water. Have I noticed a difference? Absolutely. My clothes are getting too big. I'm not very hungry, just some head hunger sometimes. I do miss the enjoyment of eating food sometimes (my husband is a chef) but not enough to get me down. I don't feel anything from the incisions anymore. They are completely healed up.

Not everyone is the same nor had the same outcome after surgery. I feel that I prepared really well before surgery so maybe that helped. I was drinking 80oz of water a day, only eating protein and veggies, exercising and taking vitamins. Don't wait to start everything after surgery. All I did was walk in the hospital so the gas pains were gone by the time I left.

so happy to hear your results!! I go in tomorrow at 1030 for surgery and a little worried about pain and about getting liquids down. Your story gave me a bit of relief!!!! Congrats on your successful decision!