Question:
Has anyone had open RNY, and what was the pain like 1-10??
I read some answers to Lap 1-10 pain, but I am having open RNY plus gallbladder removal on Tuesday, please tell me what the pain was like 1-10 for anyone with open or open and gallbladder. Thanks! Dawnya — Dawn1 (posted on April 5, 2006)
April 5, 2006
Well, I'm not trying to frighten you, but for me it was an 11 the first
day. But, after they start the morphine and you give it a day or so, the
pain drops pretty quick. I think if you've ever had a baby, this should
be no sweat. My wife and I have 8 kids and she thinks I'm just a big wimp!
I would do it again and again if had to chose again. Don't worry about it
as the hospital will make sure to help you manage your pain. Good luck!!
— Tom
April 5, 2006
hi dawyna - pain is as individual as fingerprints. Have you ever had any
type of surgery where you were cut open mid breast to bellybutton,
appendectomy? I had open ane GB removal, and it depends on who you talk
to, and how they interperate the pain scale. on a scale from 1-10, 10 being
the worst, some might say 1 was horrible, but that is because many have no
pain tolerance. No one can tell you what it will be like, because we dont
have your body etc, and what will be tolerable for you, may not be for
someone else. For years, I tried to predict the pain tolerance of my
patients, and I was always surprised. Sometimes those who had a lot of
tolerance to certain types of pain, could not deal with the slightest of
pain post op, and those who had no tolerance pre op, sailed through it. I
was so used to pain in general, this was a no brainer for me, the incision
line didnt bother me except when i had to cough or sneeze, or get in and
out of bed, but because i had taught myself how to move, i got along fine-
and so fine I didnt need anyone here post op to stay with me- wouldnt have
wanted people underfoot anyway. if you have little kids who need picking
up, you wont be able to do that for a while. Everything depends on
outlook, and actually not anticipating the worst because it usually doesnt
happen. They will hook u up to a morphine pump, with a certain dose of
medication in it for you to use over a 24 hours period- but me, of course I
am allergic to it, and frankly, demerol works better for pain than
morphine, in my book at least. You will discover you are made of stern
stuff simply because you really want this surgery and a little pain for a
little while will go quickly and be forgotten just as fast. Good luck on
your surgery, and let us know, on the main message board rather than in
here, how it went and how you are doing.
Cindi
-223#
— DollyDoodles
April 5, 2006
Hi Dawnya,
Cindi is right in that pain is a very individual thing. On the average, I
think that guys have a much lower pain threshhold than woman. For example,
both my husband and I had laporascopic cholecystectomies (gallbladder
removal). He was down and out for two weeks. I was up and back to work in
three days. I had open RNY on Jan. 25th of this year. The one thing I was
told by a nurse before surgery was to never allow my pain level to go above
three on the 1 to 10 scale. It is much easier to manage pain and keep it
at a low level then it is to bring it down from a high level. So don't
bite the bullet and try to tough it out and let the pain get to a 7 or 8
before being medicated. Ask for meds or use the pump if you have one when
the pain starts to inch up. You should be comfortable all the time.
Personally, I had an incision that started from about one inch below the
breast bone and ended about one inch above the naval. I never felt any
pain from the incision. No staples, just disolvable sutures and steri
strips, no drains or NG tube and the leak test was performed while I was
still asleep. I never really felt pain, just discomfort, and was up and
walking the same day. My only complication was I became allergic to the
dilaudid they were giving me for pain. I had the dry heaves which severely
contracted my new stomach. Yes that hurt, but once that was under control,
I felt fine. I managed at home with a few doses of percoset, then tylenol.
After a few days I needed nothing. I could bend, use the toilet, and get
up from bed. Getting my socks on was a little tricky, but I managed that
too. Just no heavy lifting. So I guess that personally, I felt less pain
than some people who had it done lap. Plus there is no gas. My advice,
learn everything you can about how the surgeon performs the surgery,
drains, etc. and how they will manage whatever pain you have. Good luck.
Karen
— Karen W.
April 5, 2006
I'm 3+ years out., had an open. I've had other surgeries before so I sort
of knew what to expect. The pain was not a problem for me it was
manageable with drugs. I stopped taking all pain pills 2 days after I got
home. It depends alot on how you view the whole surgery...attitude...it
was heaven just to have it done and a beginning of a new healthy life. I
walked and walked other patients held unto the door and hallways and sobbed
because they were so sick. The nausea was the worst, breath and walk. You
will do well. Promise yourself you will stay awayfrom sugar and pop...no
matter what other postops say. You will be fine. Best wishes to you.
— debmi
April 5, 2006
ive had 4 other surgeries and my pain was way over a 10. i was that way for
3 days.
— shellypoe
April 5, 2006
The worst pain for me was the gas the other pain was a breeze my c- section
hurt waaayyy more. It is worth it totally.Good Luck.PJ
— sunnie
April 5, 2006
I also had open rny....4may04. I would say my pain was about a 10 when I
first came out of surgery only because the morphine didn't work for me.
Once they switched my pain pump to Delaudid(sp)...it was fine. The worst
issues where gettign up out of bed ...for which I needed help for the first
3 days. By the 4 day....the day I was leaving...I was able to get out of
bed on my own. I was on pain meds for less then a week after being
discharged from the hospital...I mainly needed them at night. I slept in a
recliner at first. If you have ever had a baby then you will understand why
we say we would do it alal over again...just like giving birth...the
excitement of losing weight (like having a newborn) outweighs the pain and
makes you kinda forget. I wish you lots of luck..it is ALL so worth it. I
went from a size 22/24 down to a size 6...
Julie
— J. Stinard
April 6, 2006
I was about an 8 and I would guess I went down a point each day following.
But it's like having a baby - you forget the intensity very quickly and
what you're left with is well worth it. -- Jennifer
— j_coulter
April 6, 2006
I'm going to copy and paste what I wrote on the last question in case you
aren't following what those answers were. I was open and went to Mexico.
Oh - and I'll preface that with this: I had lap gallbladder surgery in 96
and it was much worse on me mainly because the gas they pump you full of
can cause shoulder pain and mine was intense. Morphine did nothing for me,
but demerol helped immensely. If you find the morphine doesn't work, just
cut to the chase and ask for demerol. I asked for the change before I had
my RNY in Mexico and never had one problem. Here is the rest of what I
wrote: ----------------------------------------------------------
I'm with the little to no pain group. I am happy to see, however that some
of the folks with pain are weighing in on the subject. It's hard to say how
you will fare, but generally I think most people will have good pain
management because, let's face it, these doctors and hospitals generally
specialize in this. I had an open RNY and was surprised at how good I felt.
The first day I was so groggy and out of it, I didn't notice much.
Discomfort was in the sense of a feeling of tugging and knowing that I had
been opened up. I moved gingerly but mostly because I just wanted to be
careful. I would get a little twinge of pain on a few occasions, but when I
did, I asked for more meds because I had heard that if you keep on top if
it, you fare much better. So I never let it go to where I felt more than a
little twinge, but that at the least 4 hours between doses. Can't remember
a whole lot though. Mostly I asked for meds because it made me sleep
through the thirst. LOL! I had surgery on Wednesday and was released
Friday. I didn't take anything after that at all. I mostly just felt
pressure/tugging, but I did feel occasional pain in my pouch that just felt
like strong hunger pangs. Having dieted a lot in the past, it wasn't a
foreign feeling, but it was on the sharp side. And infrequent, I thought.
On the day I went home (I had surgery in Mexico and stayed for a week after
surgery), I took one sublinqual pain pill for my shoulder because I slept
on it funny and it hurt. Seriously, that's all I needed the whole time. My
main pain came from my shoulders and back when I would sleep funny or get
tweaked out. That's it. I wasn't turning cartwheels, but I felt really
pretty good. I'm a pretty sedentary person by nature so I found it easy to
take it easy. Some people overdo it and want to do too much too soon, and
they pay for it, and they don't realize how easy it is to go too far. My
son was 2 1/2 when I had my surgery, and when I came home from the airport,
I was sitting down when my son came to me and I picked him up. He jumped on
me and hit my incision. It didn't really hurt much but just that little
jolt combined with me lifting him (he was a light kid too) I felt a little
tug on my incision. A few days to a week later I ended up with a small
seroma in that area. I don't know if it was related but can't help but
think so. Thankfully I couldn't arrange for all my staples to come out as
soon as they should have, so I think that kept me from opening up again as
sometimes happens with seromas. So all I did was leak some of the fluid out
on my binder while I napped. The liquid soaked through and was about the
size of a small pancake. I never opened up even a bit and figure it leaked
out from one of the staple sites. Anyway, all this to say that if you feel
little pain, still take it easy and don't assume that just because you feel
good you can take on normal tasks. Better to be safe than sorry. This isn't
the time to test your limits. Walk to keep the blood circulating and to
help heal but be a slug otherwise until you are healed up. This is the time
to really go easy on yourself. You don't go through all of this to present
more risks. I see way too many people push the limits and some pay for it.
Others get away with it, and I'm happy they avoid problems, but for those
who pay for it, it's not worth it at all. Keep that in mind and good luck
on an easy recovery!!!
— Dinka Doo
April 6, 2006
Hi. My pain was not mainly from the surgery and the wound outside/inside,
it was from the aggravation of the nerve running from the diaphragm to the
left shoulder. The surgery pain itself was about a 6 but the shoulder pain
was about a 9, morphine wasnt doing anything, the only thing that helped
was Dallaudid (sp?)
— cblighter2005
April 6, 2006
I had open rny, but only after an atempt to do lap, so I had a "double
whammy". The pain was bad, however I would do it again. You will
probably wonder what the heck you did, but it get's easier the more months
you're out. I didn't think I would have the skin removal when that time
came, but I'm thinking more and more that yes I will do that as well. Just
give your pain to God and he will in return take care of you.
— mytellica
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