Question:
Pain - How bad was it? Really!

Directly after surgery, on a scale of 1 to 10, how bad was the pain? And do they give you enough pain medication to really help?    — S. Troxell (posted on April 5, 2006)

April 5, 2006
Hi Sherry, I have a Lap RNY on 01/18/05 and honestly I was not in any major pain post-op. I did not even use the pain pump that they gave me. It felt more like I was stiff than anything else. However, everyone has a different pain tolerance.
   — Tiff's On a Mission

April 5, 2006
On a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being the worst ever), my pain after surgery was about a 3 or 4. The hospital staff was great at administering medication, plus I was hooked up to a morphine pump. Very tolerable, and an overall good experience.
   — Dawn Potter

April 5, 2006
Honestly, on a scale from 1-10 10 being the worst...I was a 4 most of the time. They do give you pain med. as needed. Ask for liquid if it is available to go home with. I have had other surgerys and this was much easier than my hysterectomy. It is all worth it for the end result. Best Wishes...
   — vhoupt

April 5, 2006
Hello Sherry... You are almost there!!! I am so excited for you. I can tell you I did not experience any pain. There was discomfort the first night after the surgery but other than that, there was no pain. I think it was mostly the desire to drink water and the gas. However, the very next morning they make you walk and they give you water so the discomfort goes away. All the time you are in the hospital, they give you the pump that you may use any time if you do have pain. I hardly used it at all. The times I did use it was to sleep a little because I had difficulty sleeping. Then they gave me Benadryl in the evening and that took care of that. You are going to do great!!!
   — mavila07

April 5, 2006
The pain was minimum compared to my previous life of being overweight!!!
   — fitn06

April 5, 2006
Haven't had wls yet, but did have abdominal surgery for an ovarian cyst a few years ago. Yes, the pain was initially bad ... I was on a morphine pump but hated it b/c morphine makes me nauseous. Switched to some oral painkiller. The truth is that much depends on your pain tolerance. Mine is pretty high. Even if yours is not, you will survive. It's never fun to be in pain, but the outcome will be awesome! Good Luck!
   — peacefuldaizy

April 5, 2006
Hi Sherry: Hang in darling, and don't be scared. For my LAP RNY, the pain was about a 3-4 on a scale of 1-10. This was on the first day, but I managed to walk around the floor 8 times, just a few hours after surgery. The subsequent days got better, and it merely felt like a pulled muscle after a few days. I was almost 400 pounds at the time. I am sure the Doctors and Nurses will be very attentive to your pain. The biggest source of discomfort is gas after surgery, and walking helps diminish that considerably! Don't worry, it really will not be as bad as you anticipate! My thoughts will be with you!
   — pjwilsen

April 5, 2006
Hi..I hardly had any pain at all. I had surgery early in the morning. I woke up in recovery, was hooked up to a morphine pump and brought to my room. I remember being very tired and sleeping for several hours. Didn't really wake up totally until around 9pm and my pain level was totally fine. Morphine was discontinued the next day with no problem. Was sent home with a few oxycontin but never even needed them. Was mostly uncomfortable at home rather than pain. Make sure you have a recliner. I wish I did. Was very hard to get comfy in the bed. Good luck!
   — KellyL

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
There really isn't a whole lot of pain to speak of. From the surgery itself, I never experienced any pain from incisions, etc. My back did hurt from being in one position for a few days, but once you get back in your bed and can move around after a few days, you should be fine! Good luck!
   — SJSlesnick

April 5, 2006
I had my Lap RNY on March 2nd. Not much pain at all. Sometimes I would take the pain medication just so I could get some sleep in the hospital!! The drain tube is uncomfortable but not painful. Good Luck
   — jomamma

April 5, 2006
I had the Open RNY. And I thought it was pretty bad. I've had 16 surgeries, so far, and this was the 3rd worst. I'd give it a 6 or 7 of ten. Actually the worst part, for me, was getting up or going in and out of chairs and bed. My insidea felt like they come gushing out. In hind site I wish I'd had an abdomial binder to wear. I don't think it would be needed for a LAP? Sure would have helped alot for the Open. I can stand pain pretty good, but it was hard. But everybody is different and it probally varies some by the surgeon.
   — Danmark

April 5, 2006
Good Luck Sherry...I had lapascopic and I had no pain...heck my cats have hurt me more when they accidently scratched me LOL...I did ask for something for pain for the ride home as it was a 2 hour drive....hope you have just as good recovery!!!!
   — HubbysBrat

April 5, 2006
10! My problem was my back went into spasms so no position was comfortable. I just walked the halls. Walking helps a lot. Just be sure to use your pain drugs on a schedule. Dont wait for them to wear off.
   — Isabella

April 5, 2006
Hi Sherry, I agree with the majority. Not the worst pain I've ever had...but some advice....take a pillow to hold against your tummy on the ride home. It REALLY makes a difference! ~christi
   — christi_in_VA

April 5, 2006
Morophine was useless- it only made my body burn...vicadin wasn't bad for when I had overdone it walking. Honestly though, the pain was only about a 2-3 most of the time (except when I overdid it)
   — Ravenwulf

April 6, 2006
Hi Sherry, I had the lap RNY gastric bypass and I did okay with the pain. Yes the 24 hr morphine drip is nice but even after that I was okay. I am allergic to hydrocodone so my doctor had me on childrens liquid advil and I stopped taking it by the Saturday after my surgery. I would give it maybe an 8 right after and then a 4 or so a few days out. BUt that is just me and I had the lap. I hope this helps.
   — tonifrisina

April 6, 2006
I had open, so it's very different than lap. With open I would say it was about an 8 out of 10, but only for a day or so. Then I would say it went down one number a day until I was a week out. -- Jennifer
   — j_coulter

April 6, 2006
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
I've had a sprained ankle that hurt worse than open abdominal surgery. They gave me liquid vicadin after surgery and I only used maybe 1/4 of the bottle. It just seems that when operating on your innards, they just don't have the pain that other parts of the body due. The pain I experienced was from the cutting of the muscles, other than that, I would not have experienced pain at all. I was back to working half days on the second week.
   — [Deactivated Member]

April 6, 2006
I had my surgery open and I would rate my pain about a 3. I was more sore than anything.
   — Diva4Him

April 6, 2006
A lot depends on whether you have your surgery open or lap. The pain was very minimal for me except when getting up out of bed. Yes, most of the Dr's use the pain pumps where you push the button yourself.
   — blm4602

April 6, 2006
Hi Sherry, Recovery room was the worst part, but the pain was not bad at all. I used my pain pump the day of surgery and that was it. Since it was a lap procedure, there was much less pain than the open procedure my friend had. I had surgery Thursday, came home Saturday, and was at a BBQ Sunday sipping my protein shakes! I only used the pain meds to sleep at night. Good luck!
   — Minnunu

April 7, 2006
I had Gastric Bypass on 3-28-06. For me the pain was unbelievable. I couldn't breathe, cough, sneeze or move without pain on my left side. Miserable. I came home 2 days later and a few days later pretty much fine. Hope this helps.
   — nygiantsfan1969

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