Question:
I'm having the Rouen-Y open procedure and was wondering how much pain to expect
I was wondering what others that have had this procedure done felt afterwards. How much pain is involved? Also is there alot of pain when you try to walk after surgery? — Teresa A. (posted on March 17, 2005)
March 17, 2005
I did not have that much pain with my lap Rouen-Y. I was sore, but not a
lot of pain. As a matter of fact I only had two doses of pain medication.
As for walking, I walked the night of my surgery. The sooner you walk and
the more you walk the better off you will be.
May God Bless You in Your Journey.
Skinny Wishes,
Becky
— becky
March 17, 2005
I felt much better than expected. The pain control they have nowdays does
an excellent job. I did not have an epidural. I used the pain pump. It was
more like I was sore than in pain. If you don't respond well to the pain
control they give you they will give you something else that works for you.
When I went home on the 3rd day and used the prescription they gave me
(demoral I believe) I felt fine. Not 100% but not bad. Everybody is
different but I wouldn't worry if I were you. Be sure to walk, walk, walk.
In addition to helping prevent blood clots you will feel better the more
you walk. Much luck! Erin
— Erin N.
March 17, 2005
I forgot to say that my RNY was open. Erin
— Erin N.
March 17, 2005
I don't understand why you would opt for the open RNY when the LAP is
available and virtually pain free! Your open will be painful for several
weeks..I was shopping at the mall on day 5 after my LAP RNY! You ought to
find a surgeon that can do the LAP for you. HUGE difference in recovery
time.
— Dec16-04
March 17, 2005
I had an open rny on 1/3/2005. During my hospital stay, my only pain came
when coughing (a pillow will become your best friend during those
moments!). I had an epidural in the hospital which really helped with pain
management. Once home, I did have pain in my ribcage and just under my
sternum...this pain was only present when I would get up and down...well,
the pain in my ribcage bothered me some when walking but not very much. I
only took oral pain meds for the first 2 days I was home...after that, the
pain was mostly soreness and very tolerable.
Good luck with your surgery...every bit of pain I did have has been worth
it...I am down to 350 from 413 in 2.5 months! Some say 'No pain, no
gain'...in our case it should be 'No pain, no loss'!!!
Karen
— karenisahogfan
March 17, 2005
I would have preferred lap but it was not an option due to the fact I had
so many other abdominal surgies..I walked the night of surgery and have
never stopped. To be real honest when I got home from the hospital I would
not have even needed anything for pain but for a day or two I treated
myself to a *buzz* LOL...I know shame on me. I am 18 months post op today
and at goal. The big disadvantage of open is the changes of getting a
hernia are much greater, I also had that surgery a year post op..My open
RNY was a breeze in comparrison. Best of luck..For me I feel it was sooooo
worth it..
— Kathy S.
March 17, 2005
Carolyn, There are many reasons why someone would not do open. For example
I was self pay and open would have been a whole lot more money. Also from
doing my own research (3 yrs) I was not comfortable with lap. I want my
surgeon to be able to see everything. There were risks with lap that I
didn't like. There are risks with open as well but when compared I was more
comfortable with open. People with open are also able to get up and around
soon after surgery as well. I was also shopping within days of my surgery.
I had to say this because it sounded like you were putting people down for
choosing the open. Everyone has to make the decision that is best for them.
No ones decision is better than another.
— Erin N.
March 18, 2005
03/18/05:"Also from doing my own research (3 yrs) I was not
comfortable with lap. I want my surgeon to be able to see everything. There
were risks with lap that I didn't like. There are risks with open as well
but when compared I was more comfortable with open. People with open are
also able to get up and around soon after surgery as well. - Erin
Noname"
I am also choosing open vs lap. I am totally un-comfortable with lap,
having had lap in the past.
— AimsMcB
March 18, 2005
Heres what my surgeon says and its backed up by years of comments here.
About 1/3 of opens get at least one incisional hernia, LAP the risk is near
zero. Opens get more infections since the inside of our body is open to
room air. LAP uses a sterile gas so infection risk is less.
LAP uses a microscope to see everything well, thats better than human
vision.Insurance pays for the more expensive LAP since it saves expensive
hospital days. Average lap 3 days open 5 although it varies all over the
lot. With e experienced LAP surgeon time is the same. My wife with a BMI of
over 60 took 1.5 hours. Since the original poster is from ohio I will
recommend my surgeon Dr Philip Schauer who now heads up the cleveland
clinics obesity center.
<P> Personally I wouldnt use any surgeon who hasnt done at least 100
RNY LAP
— bob-haller
March 18, 2005
— iaheel
March 18, 2005
The original question had to do with pain and not a debate over which
surgery is better. I only responded to Carolyn because in my opinion she
sounded like she was putting the poster down. If I misread the intent of
her comments I apologize. I just have to say though that why is that some
people can't be open minded and respect other peoples decisions. I don't
believe that lap is bad and open is good or vice versa. There are pros and
cons to BOTH surgeries. I am not going to go into specifics but anyone who
has researched this knows what they are. I'm glad you are well pleased with
your choice of lap but don't make others feel small because they made a
different choice than you did. That is your opinion. Please have some
respect and support (isn't that what we are here for?) for other peoples
decisions. We are all intelligent and doing what we think is best for each
of us.
— Erin N.
March 18, 2005
I think the experience is really different for everyone. I had my surgery
LAP but has in HUGE pain..managed well by the pump. But I know of people
that returned to work in a few days..I could not have done that...but after
two weeks, I was like a new person. No matter how much pain and discomfort
early on, keep your eyes on the prize. Best wishes to you!
— Amy C.
March 18, 2005
erin at least the question was somewhat answered you on the other hand did
not answer her at all.
— carman S.
March 18, 2005
Carmen, Please read the entire thread and you will find that I did answer
her question. It is the second post from the bottom dated 3/17.
— Erin N.
March 18, 2005
everyone is different on the pain issue. I generally do not have a great
deal of pain, but with open rny I was suprised by the amount of pain. That
being said, i had hernia repair in Jan. and found that to be significantly
more painful and it was done lap. I was able to get out of be within 3
hours of my open rny, but it was painfull, and was walking every couple of
hours around the room the first day. By day two i was walkin up and down
the halls every 4 hours. I used pain med. while in hosp. and after I was
home for about a weeks. The soarness dissappaited over a 10 day period and
I was able to resume most of my normal activities by 2 weeks. Good luck.
— bubbleboo K.
March 19, 2005
Of course everyone is different. I had the open and found it to be very
painful. In looking back, I THINK it may not have been so bad, had I known
about an abdominal binder. That probally would have made getting into and
out of bed much easier. Oh well. I can't change that now. But I really
hated that "will my guts come pouring out" feeling.
— Danmark
March 19, 2005
I had my surgery open 7/16/03. I had some pain for a few days and took the
pain meds on time. My biggest problem was being so tired for about a week
and having hot flashes. I took 6 weeks off of work and I was glad that I
had because I was feeling great after 1 1/2-2 weeks and the last 4 weeks
off I spent at the beach. Don't worry, you'll be sore for a few days
(especially when getting up) but nothing unbearable. I healed up quickly
and had no problems. Best of luck.
— citygirl1971
March 19, 2005
Ok, maybe I'm a wussy puff, but I thought it was HORRIBLE!! I had an open
RNY. I was off work for 4 weeks and worked only part time the 5th and I
felt like I should have stayed home another week. I was weak and crabby. I
only took Lortab maybe 4 times after coming home from the hospital because
it was the liquid type and the taste made me gag...which was NOT fun after
having an open rny. I was still tender for maybe 3 months afterwards.
Stairs were a no-no and getting up them to shower was an event for the
first month. I will say that I have a low pain tolerance though, so you
might fair better if you're not a wimp like me! haha
— Paula Prichard
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