Question:
How bad it the pain
I just got off the phone with someone 6 days post-op and they are in a lot of pain. She said no one told her it would hurt this bad. I'd like to hear how Open RNY post-ops dealt with their pain and how they would compare it to anything else. I'm well educated on this surgery and realize I will be in pain also...I am having my surgery a week from Thursday and this kind of scares me. Your input would settle some very frayed nerves right about now. I've heard it was compared to a really bad period cramp being a 5 on a scale from 1-10 and the post op pain being about a 6 on very very bad days.... — Robin O. (posted on August 27, 2001)
August 27, 2001
I had a LAP RNY and I believe that pain is relative to the person
experiencing it...however...I'd have to say mine was at least a 7 on the
pain scale most days, and by about the 8th day I was down to about a 1 or
2. The pain was the one thing I hadn't quite been prepared for. I'd say be
prepared for alot of pain, and be happy if you don't have much!
— [Anonymous]
August 27, 2001
As long as you can handle the pain medication given to you, the pain is
tolerable.
I would rate the pain right after surgery to be a 4-5. If you have given
natural child birth the pain of this surgery is easy to handle as you do
have pain meds. I am 6 days post op and I stopped taking my pain meds this
morning. I am getting out of bed and up and down fairly easily. I just get
tired easily. Also the pain reminded me of doing a workout in the gym,
doing too many situp and as long as you are not moving the pain in greatly
reduced. Hang in there and good luck on your surgery. I am the biggest
baby in the world and was afraid of everything. I made it through and so
will you.. good luck hon.
— Celtic B.
August 27, 2001
Hi!! I feel that I was very fortunate in the pain area. Bear in mind that
I do have a very good tolerance for pain. After two days on the morphine
pump, it was discontinued. I was given tylenol with codeine at night just
as a precaution for the next three nights. After that nothing. I didn't
have any pain so didn't need anything. I am now 19 days post op open rny
and doing fine. Maybe I am the exception.
— Paula G.
August 27, 2001
Hi Robin. I am 10 days postop from open RNY. The day I had surgery, I had
absolutely no pain at all! In addition to general anesthesia I had an
epidural. When I woke up I was convinced I hadn't had the surgery at all.
Day 2 wasn't quite so painless LOL. But my pca pump was my friend.
Actually the only time I truly hurt after the epidural wore off was when I
tried to sit up and walk, or when someone made me laugh. I was able to
come home on the 4th day. The first day home I took pain meds every 4
hours, the second day about every 8 hours. Since then, I have only taken
it at bedtime (probably for insurance). I would rate the pain since I've
been home as a 2-3 the first couple days and little to none since. In my
case, I have had very little trouble coping with it. My back muscles have
bothered me more than the incision! Probably because I am using muscles
that haven't been used in a long time! Talk to your surgeon prior to
surgery about pain management and explain your fears. I am sooooo glad I
had the epidural!
— Pamela F.
August 27, 2001
I had Open RNY almost six weeks ago and I did not expect to be in so much
pain afterwards. But I think that the gas pain that I experienced the first
week was the worst. I would compare that to active labor. And I couldn't
take my liquid pain meds because it made me vomit. And I developed an
incisional leak the first week which got infected and that was also very
painful. My advice is take it s-l-o-w when eating, drinking, walking,
changing positions, getting up and down. I feel pretty good now, just
occasional incisional pain. Good luck you will get through it too!
— Dawn H.
August 27, 2001
I am 1 year post op and having a hard time remembering how bad the pain
was. Pain was one of my biggest fears! The worst part is getting in and out
of bed. I felt I could handle everything else pretty well. The drugs they
give you should take care of most of it. Just remember to stay ahead of the
pain - don't wait too long to push that button!
— georgiacarol
August 27, 2001
Robin, the best thing would be to talk to your surgeon about what pain
management techniques the hospital uses. I am almost 9 months post-op and I
can honestly say, I really don't remember the pain. I remember I was
uncomfortable in the recovery room, but the nurse put the little PCA button
in my hand, and I was all set! I was taken off the PCA after 2 1/2 days,
and the pain was fairly manageable. I did recieve a couple of morphine
shots when I requested, but that was mostly because I was afraid it would
START hurting. It was the soreness that made me most uncomfortable, not so
much the pain. At home, I took relatively few pills for the pain (can't
remember what I had) and by my fourth day home, didn't need any pain meds
at all. I did have a Lap RNY, not open, so that may have made a difference,
but I am a big baby when it comes to pain. So, for what it's worth, I
survived and I'm sure you will too. It's really not all that bad, and
DEFINITELY hurt less than my hysterectomy. Good luck.
— Maria H.
August 27, 2001
No one told me about pain either. I was in for a surprise when I came to
and it felt like someone kicked me real hard in the stomach. I never had
any kind of surgery before; not even a broken bone; never had a baby;
period cramps - no, for me it didn't compare at all to that either. It was
a unique pain. Before the morphine kicked in, I thought I was dying! But
you'll get morphine and then everything will be just fine. It'll be nothing
you can't handle. When it comes time to move (when those battle-ax nurses
make you), sure it'll hurt, but you'll be able to cope. Believe me. I'm the
biggest wus on the planet when it comes to pain. Of course we all have
different pain thresholds. I find that for me, the worst part is the FEAR
of something, like pain. Then when I find myself IN the situation, there's
nothing I can do but cope (& luckily for post-op pain, you have
MORPHINE!), and then I find it's not as bad. It gets better with each
passing day. And funny enough, the more you move during the day, the less
painful it gets. The best thing is to NOT focus on the pain you MAY have
afterwards. If you ANTICIPATE pain, then you will be more likely to FEEL
pain. Focus on getting yourself to the OR & then on to a healthier you.
— lalasmommy
August 27, 2001
Robin, I knew it was going to hurt because they are cutting you from stem
to stern so to speak. The worst part for me pain wise was when I furst
woke up in the recovery room. I won't lie to you, it was pretty awful at
first. After they gave me about 3 pain shots, they finally got the pain
under control and then after that it wasn't too terrible. It was quite
manageable with the pain pump, and I am a big baby when it comes to pain.
I have a very low tolerance to pain and I found that it wasn't as bad as I
thought it would be. Other than the pain, the next worst part was everytime
I stood up, it felt like my insides were going to fall out. I guess that
kept up for about 2 weeks. I had my surgery on tuesday and was off the
pain pump by thursday and on liquid pain medicine. I took that at home for
1 week every 4-6 hrs., then I only took it at bedtime after that. Again I
was very surprised how well I handled the pain considering that I hate
pain.
— Terry H.
August 27, 2001
When I first woke up, my shoulders hurt terribly - most likely from the
clamps that hold you open during the open procedure. They added toradol to
my IV and, combined with my epidural and PCA pump, was totally manageable
after that. Went home with pain pills, and had no problems. It is
different for each person and their threshold of pain, but please feel free
to discuss pain management with your surgeon and anesthesia team.
— [Deactivated Member]
August 27, 2001
As you know, the pain is different for everyone. I tried to be optimistic
and planned not to have any pain, and was surprised that I felt like a
truck ran over me. The good news is that it got better every day -- and at
the end of the week, I actually was amazed how good I felt. The bottom
line is that I don't care about the pain -- it was worth it!
— Audrey M.
August 27, 2001
I had the Open RNY and it was extremely painful. And I'm a veterin of
surgeries. I used to have a very high pain tolerance and still do but not
like I once did. My first thought as I woke up in my room (never was awake
in recovery) was "MY GOD, WHAT HAVE I DONE"?!!!!
The first 9 days (maybe 10) was HELL. I'll be 16 weeks post op tomarrow and
I'm down at least 82 pounds. (15 pounds of that I lost the month before
surgery). I've been so fortunate not to have many of the complications that
many on this site have had. Yes the pain was awful, but I do believe it was
worth it. IF I HAD KNOWN BEFORE SURGERY, THE AWFUL PAIN OF THE SURGERY AND
RECOVERY, I STILL WOULD HAVE DONE IT. You see there was nothing else left
for me to try and my body was giving out under the weight. I can stand pain
when I KNOW there is a "purpose" for it.
— Danmark
August 27, 2001
I thought the pain was horrendous. I had 2 children 25 hrs of labor, back
surgery , apendix , but nothing I ever experienced was as bad as this.
Would I do it again? I'd do it once a year if I had to. The physical paid
would pass , and could be controled with meds ,so that pain was not nearly
as bad as the psychological pain that I endured by being so obese. When you
actually hate your own reflection what could be worse than that?
— Rose A.
August 27, 2001
Robin...pain is such a personal thing...I had none at all..LAP RNY 1/16/01
90lbs down.
— Debora H.
August 28, 2001
I agree, everyone is different. I was surprised at how much pain I was in
and for how long (11 days) and this was EXTREME pain! I did go back to the
emergency room at day 9 because I was sure there was something wrong. They
did a CT scan and everything was ok. The Dr. attributed it to my not being
able to cough up the junk ( I couldn't because I was IN PAIN!) and my lungs
had started to collapse around the edges. That was there only explanation.
It hurt for me to do anything and I did try to walk every day for short
spurts. I was also using the spirometer thingy all the time. I just
couldn't cough. I've gone through 3 births, one being a c-section and they
weren't even close to the pain I experienced with WLS. But, most people on
here say the pain is manageable so I would say I am the exception to the
rule. I would STILL do it again if I had to.
Best of luck.
— M P.
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