Post Op Pain

I am scheduled for surgery on November 4, 2015. I am expecting to be in great pain after surgery. How will I be able to endure this pain after my surgery?

I am sure that pain and tolerance really varies from person to person. I had surgery on August 26, 3 weeks ago as of tomorrow, and my pain was NEVER unbearable. In the hospital, I awoke from surgery with enough drugs that pain wasn't an issue and for me, but as that wore off, I began to experience discomfort. The key for me was to sit in a position that I wasn't putting any weight on my stomach. Keep on your nurse to make sure that you're getting whatever they've prescribed you as often as you can. For me, it was 4mg Morphine every three hours, so every three hours, I called the nurse in and told her to administer. I always rated my pain as 6 or higher even if it wasn't, because they tend not to give pain meds for rating it under a 6 and it is ALWAYS easier to let the pain chase you rather than trying to get the drugs to chase the pain. I recommend walking right after the meds kick in if you're able to, that way it's not painful. My biggest pain was the pressure that you feel in your shoulders, neck and collar bones as a result of the gas. It feels like you've pulled the muscles in your upper chest and causes pain when you turn your head, cough, etc. I don't know if you've ever been sick and dry-heaved, and then the next day your neck/shoulders are sore from dry-heaving, but that's EXACTLY how it feels and the most you can do really is to keep walking in order to try and wake your intestines up and start passing gas.

Post-surgery, my incisions were sore for about 2 weeks, not so much that I couldn't work. I returned to work 6 days after surgery (though my job is part-time and sitting then entire time). They felt a bit like paper cuts. For some reason paper cuts are just annoyingly painful, but again, trying to sit in positions that you're not bearing weight on your belly and avoiding lifting and stuff will definitely help, and again, take your meds even when you don't feel like you need them. I was given Vicodin and I took it every 5 hours unless I was sleeping.

I am very excited for you and wish you well on your surgery. Remember to make sure to take meds regardless of pain, that way you rarely find yourself truly in significant pain.

Much luck and feel free to contact me if you'd like more info or my experience.

Hi Jim

I had mysurgery on  August 4th.  The pain was not as bad as I expected and my doctor prescribed pain medication.  

Good luck on your surgery.  I suggest discussing pain management with your surgeon. 

Pain tolerance can vary for people, but honestly I wasn't in a ton of pain after surgery. The one good thing is from being in the hospital, they got me in on a pain med rotation so that by the time I got home I kept up the same rotation until I was able to starting weening myself off of the pain meds. My body felt more sore than in actual pain. The only major pain I had was a massive migraine that I got right after surgery which was a pain in the rear. 

I was fortunate and had very little pain. Left hospital next evening on no pain meds. Didn't need even a Tylenol. Don't freak yourself out on this. Everyone does have different pain but it can be managed effectively. Well worth having the surgery.

My surgeon professed to me over and over that there was hardly any pain with this surgery. .Well in my case he was dead wrong. I have had numerous surgeries before this one and I totally wasn't prepared.  I left the hosp with an 8 out of 10 pain. . I did feel a little better once the drain was removed a week later... It took a full 3 weeks before I wasn't taking anything for pain. . I also used an abd binder which was a God send!! Good luck