Question:
Does this surgery feel like like a c section?

Hi, I was wondering if anyone had a c section with their children/child and if so, does after the wls surgery, Do you feel like that? Also I NEED A ANGEL...PLEASEE..ANYONE IN THE ILLINOIS AREA WILLING TO BE MY ANGEL.    — Angela A. (posted on September 14, 2000)

September 14, 2000
Hello from Chicago Angela!!! Where do you live? I had a c-section 15 years ago. I had wls 7/18. In my honest opinion, I thought the c-section was a bit more painful. It was harder to get up and get around. I was up walking the hospital corridor with 2 hrs after my surgery. I suppose everyone is different though.....it depends on each individual's pain threshold (I have none)! Who will be doing your surgery, and where? I don't know too much about being an angel.....can you share some information? All the best to you.....
   — cheryl W.

September 14, 2000
Hi Angela. I've had a c-section and an open RNY. There are some similarities between WLS and a c-section. One of the things you'll be glad to remember is how to get out of a bed...and the muscle and the incision pain is quite similar. The biggest difference, though, is that with an open procedure, your mobility is more compromised because the incision is so long and is vertical. The first few days, bending at the waist is difficult and can interfere with hygiene (there are tricks, though, don't worry). Driving is difficult if you wear a binder. Because the lap procedure is less invasive, recovery is quicker and less constraining. Before I had the surgery, I kept telling myself, if I survived a c-section and natural childbirth, I can survive this...it helped keep me positive. Good Luck to you!
   — Allie B.

September 14, 2000
I had two sons by c-section ... and my open VBG in April was a walk in the park by comparison. You don't get that "my guts are going to fall right out onto the floor" feeling with WLS that I got with my sections. It's because the incision is above your belly button, rather than along your pubic bone. It was easier to move around, sit up, and walk with the WLS. I was up and walking fifteen hours after my surgery (all the way to the bathroom and back) and really didn't have any difficulty with it at all. When I had my sections, I also had a great deal of pain at the epidural site (I was awake for both births) and back pain for weeks afterward. Neither of the above happened with the WLS. Hope this helps!
   — Cheryl Denomy

September 14, 2000
Like you, I haven't had the surgery yet (still waiting for that approval from the insurance!), but that is my fear, too -- I had a full hysterectomy in '97 and woke up to major pain (and, thankfully, a demerol pump..!) and I've wondered if this surgery would be anything like that. I've had a bikini-line c-section in '90, but NOTHING compared to that hysterectomy :::shudder::: I pray this surgery doesn't compare.
   — Michelle F.

September 14, 2000
To be honest, my c-sections hurt much less! But looking back it was worth all of the pain. I went from a size 26 down to a 10 since December 8, 1999!!!! And i am still losing. Of course it is much slower now, but it comes off. I will not lie to you, the first week was like i was going to die from the pain, but if you get moving, even though it hurts, it gets easier faster. MY only complaint is that i can eat just about anything still, only a lot less. I was hoping everything would make me ill and that way i would not want to eat. YEAH RIGHT! Sometimes, i find myself even more fixated on food, i just can't eat that much! thank God!!! The pain is worth it in the long run.
   — Jessica W.

November 25, 2001
Absolutley not!! I had a c-section that was a classical (up and down) cut and this hurt much more. They say a classical c-section hurts more than a bikini cut. And it did not even compare to the bariatric surgery, but I am 4 months out and have lost 67 lbs and I feel so much better. I would do it again in a heartbeat. If you are only scared about the pain, you can handle it. It is certainly do-able. Good luck.
   — Callie F.