Question:
Just wondering how you felt when you very first woke up from surgery and were you in
instant pain? — Lisa W. (posted on July 14, 2002)
July 14, 2002
I wasn't in instant pain. It was uncomfortable, but the pain was not that
bad at all. I had the morphine pump, and I tried not to use it much. There
was only one day I was pretty drugged up. As soon as I was in my room, not
even fully awake, they made me get up off the cart and attempt to go to the
bathroom.
— candymom64
July 14, 2002
I was not in pain so much as just uncomfortable . I had that NG tube down
my throat and I hated that but once that was out I felt alot better , The
hospital was good at giving me pain meds the first few days . I have
never been sorry I had the surgery
— sallie P.
July 14, 2002
When I woke up in my room, all I remember doing was screaming in pain. I
did not know that my dr. didn't do morphine pumps. I suggest to everyone
to find out what type of pain medication you will recieve. That was the
worst pain I have ever felt, but it's kind of like childbirth pain,
eventually you forget how bad it was! However, let me throw this in.
Knowing what I know now, I would still have had my surgery, even if they
weren't going to give me my pain med. ; )
— Sherry C.
July 14, 2002
I did not wake up in pain, but I did wake up throwing up (which was
uncomfortable not painful) from the morphine. The throwing up (in my
opinion) was worse than the pain and I was off the morphine pump within
hours. The day of surgery was a blur. I remember waking up a couple times
pleading to start walking (it has been drilled into me) and I guess I wore
them down, they finally let me walk around 4pm, catheter and all/
I was lap so my pain level was much less than open.
— Nene B.
July 14, 2002
Like the others, I wasn't in "instant pain" when I first woke up.
I was just very, very groggy. The pain came later, that evening and the
next day. Keep your doctors and nurses well-informed of your pain (like I
didn't!) and it should be kept well under control.
— BlueGray
July 14, 2002
Oh yeah! And lots of it! My first thought (honest) was, "My God, what
have I done?". But it slowely gets better.
— Danmark
July 14, 2002
The first thing I remember when I woke up was how nauseous I was and how
much I hurt. I had muscle spasms off and on for about 3 days after the
surgery.
— Michaele S.
July 14, 2002
In instant pain? No. The first thing I remember when waking up...and I
was already in the ICU (have no idea about the recovery room) was that
there was something in my throat and I couldn't talk. I motioned to the
device in my throat, pointing to it, asking the nurse to take it out. They
slipped it out. I think it was the tube for intubation...I have sleep
apnea...and I guess they were just being cautious if they needed to put me
on a vent. But pain...not really at all. The nurse immediately placed my
hand around my PCA pump and told me what it was. I think I began pushing
the button right away. And mostly throughout my hospital stay (3 days), I
just used Toradol shots for pain relief as the morphine made me nauseous.
I really didn't have this awful pain that others talk about. I guess it's
just dumb luck for some of us. Hugs, Joy
— [Deactivated Member]
July 14, 2002
I remember waking up in my room and saying I was in pain. It was not the
worst pain I ever had and I really can't remember much about it. I
remember them telling me (again) how to use the morphine pump and my
insisting it did not work. Then they gave me a miracle drug called
"Torodol." That solved the pain! Ask if you will get
Torodol...it works.
Finally, my lap roux-n-y was easier than my open gall bladder operatin in
1990. I also found that walking right away really kept the gas from
building up and hurting.
— Thomas M.
July 14, 2002
Wow. I must be in the minority here, but I remember waking up in recovery.
No tubes or anything, just the nasal canula for oxygen. No pain that I
remember. They said they were ready to move me up to ICU but I had to get
up and walk first. WHAT!?!?! Well, I got up, and that hurt a little, but
I was pretty wobbley and that was the major problem. I walked around the
bed, got back in it <ouch> and then I was in ICU. It varies from
person to person, obviously, what you're going to feel like after you wake
up.
— KelBurt
July 14, 2002
4 Days post op here from Open RNY. When I first came to, I was in pain, but
it wasn't a sharp / searing type of pain. It was more like an intense
soreness. It felt like Mike Tyson had used my belly for a punching bag for
about an hour. I think I noticed the sensation of swelling and soreness
more than an actual sharp pain.
— Greg P.
July 14, 2002
When I woke up (I am 11 months post op) I thought I didn't have the
surgery. I had absolutely no pain. I had an epidural in addition to the
anesthesia and kept pestering my husband about the lack of pain. I was
certain that for some reason or another I hadn't had the surgery at all.
Because I had had other surgeries and always woke up in pain at the
incision site, I just could not get it through my head that I did indeed
have the bypass. Later on, however, I did know it and the incision HURT.
But believe me, the pain was nothing compared to the pain of being obese.
— Pamela F.
July 14, 2002
I woke up in recovery- I had no pain or nausea- I spoke to the
anesthiologist prior to surgery and requested extra anti nausea and pain
rx-
— ~~Stacie~~
July 14, 2002
My first thought was the discomfort, sure. BUT it was immediately
reassuring. My biggest fear was that they would not Complete the Mission,
so to speak. That was most horrifying of all. And finding that sore spot
was oh-so-sweet, as It Was Done.
— vitalady
July 14, 2002
I woke up in recovery room. I had the oxygen tubes in my nose, but the
tubes were already out of my mouth and just remember moaning b/c I was in
alot of pain. I had LAP RNY 6 weeks ago. They immediately gave me the
morphine button and told me i can press it, my family and boyfriend were
allowed in shortly after that! Goodluck to you. Everyone is different and
the immense pain I was in was worth it! Down 40 pounds in 6 weeks! :-)
— Lezlie Y.
July 14, 2002
When I woke up in recovery I was in "instant" pain. I am the
typical good nurse/bad patient. I never knew what people meant when they
said they felt like they had been hit by a truck until then. I have a
history of panic attacks and I panicked because I felt I was being
suffocated with the oxygen mask and ng tube. I kept pulling the oxygen
mask off. The nurse finally gave me a nasal cannula and I was much better
with that. Then I started begging for her to take the ng tube out. She
promised she would take it out before I went to my room. Every time she
came over I would beg again. I did not have a morphine pump so she gave me
quite a bit of pain meds in recovery. I was in and out of sleep. My mom
wasn't allowed back to see me. My hospital gown wasn't snapped up and I
kept moving around in bed for some reason. I kept flashing the man across
the recovery room, haha. The nurse kept coming over and pulling my gown
back up. My experience seems different than the others that I have read.
I had the worst pain in recovery, the pain was very tolerable once I was
back in my room. I do remember they bumped my bed into the side of the
elevator on the way to my room and that hurt. Once I had the ng tube out,
and was happy with the nasal cannula I was ok. I was up and walking the
halls 4 hours after my surgery. (open RNY 6 month anniversary today! down
127 pounds)
— Nichole B.
July 14, 2002
I woke up in my room. No pain. Saw my daughter asked, asked if I had
surgery and how was dad. Pushed my pumped and was out again. I am one of
the very lucky ones who never really did have pain.
— faybay
July 14, 2002
When I waqke up from a Lap procedure, my back was KILLNG me! My tummy never
hurt. My surgery was over 5 hours and the small of my back paid the price.
They gave me tons of pain meds but it barely touched the pain. I was
tachycardic and had to have some medicine to slow my heart rate. I was so
thirsty I thought I would die. My backside reamined numb for almost 2
months and my left hand was numb also. They said it was because of
positioning duruing surgery. Be prepared for the thirst. Would I do it all
over again.....YES in a heartbeat. Good luck.
— L M.
July 14, 2002
Lisa, boy! a lot of us want to respond to your question! I was one of the
lucky ones, and had only discomfort. I woke in the Recovery Room, it was
NOISY in there! I was told by the nurse that the key to using the morphine
pump was not to wait until I was in bad pain. Then, once the pump was
removed, I never even had a Tylenol.
— Marjorie B.
July 14, 2002
I woke up on ICU and tried to scratch my nose and found a tbe in there
instead! That was the only bothersome thing I really experienced. I had the
moraphine pump and apparently everytime I started to wake up one of my
family members pushed it for me so I never remember hurting. I sort of
remember walking to my regular room which was on the same floor as ICU but
I don't remember hurting at all. When doing the couching and deep breathing
stuff I was uncomfortable but never really hurt. I count my stars it went
so well since it was the first surgery I had ever had in my life -- I'm 18
weeks out and down 75 pounds :)
— lilmskitty
July 15, 2002
I was in instant pain (lucky me ... how envious I am of those who aren't!),
and had some breathing problems quickly develop. My lungs began filling up
with fluid and it took awhile before the nurses got me taken care of. It
didn't help that they kept putting the head of my bed down flat. I could
tell that was when I kept getting worse. Eventually, though, I was fine.
It was just scary for a couple of hours. Day 3 shows a huge improvement in
how you feel. You can expect to start feeling like a regular person again
about that time. Heck, two days of misery is nothing compared to how much
better you'll feel after losing the weight!
— photographer45
July 15, 2002
Hey Lisa--I had my surgery 6/4/02. I joked with the anaesthesiologist
before he knocked me out. Woke up in recovery and I was really out of it
(gotta love morphine!)I still had the nose tube in which I thought would be
taken out while I was sleeping but no...he came in once I awoke and took it
out. It didn't hurt really--just felt awkward/uncomfy for about a minute.
The only real pain I felt was getting up and down cos the incisions are new
and its not pain free. If you have a high tolerance to pain it wont be
that bad. If you are the type that cant handle pain you might think
differently. I do know the more I moved around the better I felt. I think
that helped me to be able to sleep on my side pretty quickly (within 1-2
weeks). Hope this helps! bambi :o)
— Bambi C.
July 15, 2002
I am another one who woke up with lots of pain...in fact, the first words
out of my mouth were "I want to die"..according to hubby and
friend. I felt like I had been hit by a truck several times.
However...everyone is different, you may only have discomfort. I had never
had surgery before and had NO idea what to expect. I think if I had been
able to better prepare myself for the possibility of lots of pain, I would
have been able to handle it better. For the first two weeks after surgery I
was wondering what the heck I had done to myself...but now, 5 months post,
I would do it again in a minute. Good luck!
— Jennifer G.
July 15, 2002
Sorry to tell you, but it was the WORST pain I have EVER felt in my life.
Fortunately it only lasted about 3 minutes until I passed out. I was
miserable on morhpine and later found out it was because I had an allergy.
I was then put on demoral which was 5 million times better. For the next
week and a half I was miserable. Pain is temporary though and I was good to
go (normal) around 2.5 months. It's bearable though. Don't let pain
discourage you. I cry when I get papercuts, but I could handle it, so can
you! Best of luck!! Ps- keep on that pump or the pain takes over.
— Paula Prichard
July 15, 2002
I had lap RNY surgery 6 weeks ago and when I woke up in recovery the only
pain I had was in my neck. My abdomen didn't hurt one bit. The nurses
kept asking me if I was in pain and I kept saying, YES! My neck and back
are killing me! But they wanted to know about abdomen pain. :-) The only
thing I can think of is that they had my neck in a strange position during
surgery and that is why it hurt. I had a morphine pump but I hardly used
it. The biggest discomfort was on the second day when I was very
uncomfortable from the gas they use to see inside your abdomen. The
morphine doesn't work for that pain--you just have to get up and walk
around. During the next week the bulk of the discomfort came from any
movement that involved twisting. My surgeon sent me home with strong pain
killers but I didn't need them. I was shocked how quickly I bounced back.
But as the other posters noted, everyone is different and everyone has a
different tolerence for pain. Good luck!
— Suzanne F.
July 15, 2002
Yes, when I woke in recovery it was instant pain, but it wasn't unbearable.
I drifted in and out, mostly out and it is a distant dream just three
weeks later.
The rest of my hospital stay [2 nights] was zero to one on a pain scale of
10. The Toradol pain killer was absolutely amazing and I did use the
morphine pump whenever it was time to roll out of bed and go for a walk.
I took a pain syrup on the bumpy ride home and was fine.
I quit taking any pain relief [for general soreness] after about day 12.
I have absolutely no regrets and am doing fabulous!
— C. C.
July 16, 2002
I remember the first wake up, I was in so much pain, I just kept sort of
chanting it "pain, pain, pain" they handed me my button for my
pca and it was all I needed. The pain slides away. The more you move the
better you feel.
— Ruth S.
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