Question:
This may sound stupid but do you feel this?

Hey guys and gals, this may sound stupid but after open gastric bypass surgery, obviously you are going to be in alot of pain, but besides the incision pain, do you feel inner pain? Like, can you actually feel that your insides hurt? Just a thought! Thanx a bunch :)    — Jennifer M. (posted on January 12, 2002)

January 12, 2002
Not a stupid question. I often wondered about others myself. My incision hurt, my ribs hurt, but as far as my insides.......... I would never know what had happened, nothing felt as if it had changed, other than the effects of the surgery itself. But no pain, no awareness of stomach being cut, or intestines being moved. I thought that was strange, as I've had 3 C-sections and my uterus hurt afterwards. Just my experience.
   — Phiddy B.

January 12, 2002
Your question isn't stupid. I can only speak for how my recovery went. The first two days I felt a pain throughout my gut, inside and out. After that, I mostly felt pain along the incision line for the next ten days. as that pain started to go away, I began to feel the pain inside more. All of the pain is bearable. By the fourth week I felt no pain at all.
   — Julie S.

January 12, 2002
This is a good question. Before surgery, I thought the pain would be a searing, intense pain. But when I woke up from surgery, the pain felt more like "exercise burn"-- you know how you feel when you do ab crunches or sit ups forever. I could tell my muscles and guts had been rearranged but it was not the most intense pain. Thank God for demerol.
   — Jan M.

January 12, 2002
Jennifer, I had open RNY. The only time I was in alot of pain was when I first woke up in the recovery room. Some people have no pain upon awakening, but my experience was that I was in the most pain I had ever felt. Don't let that scare you, everyone is different. Most of my postop pain came fromt he incision but after that first hour, nothing was unbearable. The worst of it was when I had to get up out of bed. After a couple of weeks, the incision pain lessened dramatically. Occassionally now (I'm almost 5 weeks out), I can feel a bit of discomfort on my insides when I turn in bed or move in certain ways. In fact, I get scared that I'm pulling something apart in there, though I'm sure that would hurt much much more than the twinges I am feeling. Don't get too nervous about post op pain. The worst of it is over before you know it and its true what so many say, everyday is better than the one before. Good luck!!
   — Donna L.

January 13, 2002
Not a stupid Question for sure. I am 4 weeks Post-op, and still cannot sleep on my sides in bed, because of what feels like pressure on my lungs, and my ribs. on my right side the ribs hurt, and on the left side my ribs seem to push on my heart causing discomfort. I am forced to sleep on my back which I have not done in years, because my back starts to hurt after a few hours, so I have been still sleeping in my recliner. Don't get me wrong it has gotten way better than the first few weeks after surgery, but it is still there enough for me to not want to sleep in my bed.
   — sbinkerd1