after wls...

I've talked to a few people who have had wls, and I've gotten a mixed bag when I asked them how they felt after the surgery. A few told me they had a little pain but nothing that was too horrible. And several people told me that the pain was so horrid, that they had worried if they had done the right thing. I'm trying to research wls as much as possible. but i do know everybody is different. What was your experience with pain? Is it really that bad?

I don't think there is any real way to judge how you will feel after this surgery. I am 48, had lap RNY 2 years ago and "breezed through" the post op period, back at work full time (desk job) on day 12 post op! I had 2 c-sections and this was not any worse than either of them, in fact, I was one of those who had very little pain. (I would even go so far as to call it discomfort, rather than pain.) I have never had any regrets about having this surgery, and I would do it again in a heartbeat if I had to.A woman in my office who is 20 years younger had the same surgery by the same surgeon last August and had a lot of pain and was off work about 8 weeks, still acts like she doesn't feel well. (I also think a lot is attitude. She hooked up with a couple of other patients when she was in the hospital, and they would call each other and talk about how awful they felt! Talk about reinforcing negative feelings!) Good luck with making your decision, and you are very smart to do your research before plunging in! Sue

Bobbie, I am 8 days post op from open rny. It is more invasive than the lap rny. I have an 8 inch scar that i am trying to heal. I had quite a bit of pain the first 4-5 days but am feeling much better now. Am even able to sleep on my right side some. I stopped taking pain meds the second day after i got home, and have only needed them twice since them but mostly because my back is hurting from sitting so much. My scar is healing so well that as of yesterday i don't need any dressing on it either. Good luck! I have lost 17.5 lbs as of 6 days post op

I think you're still going to get a mixed bag of responses. There are so many variables it's hard to predict. I'm just 10 days out and had a lot of pain the first 2-3 days, much more than my hysterectomy or any other surgery I've had. However, I had had a cold 3 weeks before surgery and kept having to take deep breaths to cough up so realy vile "gunk" left over from the cold. I think a lot of my pain came from that. By day 4, I was in pretty good shape, got in and out of bed easily and really had minimal pain, usually less than "1" on the old pain scale. My surgery was open, with an 8" scar. I'm doing good now, still little pain and am moving fine. Ginny

Bobbie, I'm a 35 year old male and 7 days post op from Lap RNY and I'm really surprised by what little pain I've had. By day 3 I was controlling my pain with Tylenol. It felt no worse than a strained ab muscle. I think that I'm one of the luckier ones. Eric C.

hey, thanks for all the replies. Looks like its different for everyone. I hope I will be one of the luckier ones and have minimal pain. The pain is one of the big things that worry me. It's also stopping me from going forward with the surgery. Hopefully I will get beyond this so I can become a 'loser' like ya'all. Take care and thanks again! Bobbie

Bobbie, You are going to hear both sides of surgery. Depending on what type you choose or your doctor chooses will depend on the pain you endure. I had my surgery RNY lap I went in on Friday and was up walking around on Saturday. The first few hours were a blurr, however the next morning I was requesting to get out of bed and move around. That afternoon I was walking all over the place. I had minimal pain, and was back to work at my desk job in a week. I have had no complication thus far. I truly believe it is your frame of mind of what type of pain you will feel. Open RNY comes with much more to endure because they have to cut more, so keep this in mind. I wish you all the luck Jackie 325/255/?