Question:
What were your experiences the day of and the few days after the Lap procedure?

I have learned alot about my sisters open rny, but I am going to probably have it done Lap and don't know all that much about the pain, or what you go through the day of surgery and days that follow.    — Lori P. (posted on October 26, 2002)

October 26, 2002
Hi Lori. I had lap RNY just over 5 weeks ago and I have to tell ya, it was much easier than I though it would be. I had NO pain from surgery, just slight soreness when bending and twisting. I was having coughing fits afterwards which caused me to pull an abdominal muscle. Now THAT is what hurt. I became extremely sore due to this, but even that only lasted about a week. I went back to work after 12 days (a desk job, but I do have to get up often) and was fine. I had a tube (not all surgeons send patients home with these) that was taken out at 4 weeks and now I feel wonderful! As for the day of surgery, please read my profile. Its a little lengthy to post here....GOOD LUCK TO YOU!!!...Karen (lap RNY 9/20/02- down 51 pounds!)
   — karmiausnic

October 26, 2002
Lori---I'm 3.5 weeks post-op and the first few days were really not that difficult, considering all that is done to your body. I'm not going to say I had no pain though, because I did. I don't think that cutting into tissue is normal, so I would expect pain to result. It's not that bad though and after day one, it's much better and days three and four are that much better. I back to work about a week after surgery, with very little restriction. Probably the most difficult thing was getting out of bed the first time (in the hospital)and --depending on how large your stomach is--the gravity pull on your incisions. I am a "lightweight"(relatively speaking, of course), but I still had pain from gravity (and the weight) pulling on the incisions as I walked. That quickly went away though...and each day is better than the day before. I wish you the best.
   — Karen K.

October 26, 2002
Lori, I have to echo the posters down below. I was amazed at how little pain there was. I had my operation on a Friday and was released Monday morning. The first day you're a bit groggy and dying of thirst and either the morphine or the anesthesia made me nauseous. Your stomach feels HUGE and bloated, LOL. But the incisions themselves cause very little pain at all. It's very hard at first to switch from a lying down to a sitting up position - you'll feel about 100 years old! It can be hard to bend over to pick something up. You feel the need to protect your belly from any jiggle or pull from gravity. But it gets better so quickly. By the end of the first week, I felt pretty much back to normal. I took two weeks out of work, but I think I could have gone back to work after just one. Looking at my small incisions - which are barely noticable five weeks later - it's hard to believe all the rearranging they did through those little holes! I definitely think Lap is the way to go, if at all possible. The pain was very minimal and there were no messy drains or anything. I was able to concentrate right away on my new lifestyle, able to walk for exercise, etc.
   — sandsonik

October 27, 2002
The worst pain I had was from a pulled muscle in my back that must have happened during surgery. My stomach hurt very little and was sore. Remember with Lap your risk of getting a leak is higher than open. I had a "leak" so they thought and ended up with a feeding tube for 18 days. Turns out it wasnt a leak after all. BUT even though I went through that, I still would have it done lap instead of open.
   — Debbie W.

October 27, 2002
I am 5 months post-op. I had LAP RYN. The first day is barely memorable. All you do is hit the morphine pump for the pain (tolerable) and doze all day. The second day is when you are more conscious, but still, just hitting the pump and examining what was done to you. The third day you get to go down to x-ray (horrible) and then when you get the green light they bring you some broth and jello. After that if all goes well, home you go. It's when you get home that all your problems will start. You'll question what to eat, when to eat it, if it's enough, how are you ever going to get in all the protein and water. Why the heck are you crying at everything? The answer is: You will never be able to get in all the protein and water they recommend, so just do the best you can. You will overeat and get an uncomfortable feeling between your shoulder blades when you start trying new foods. You will cry because that is a reaction to the morphine coming out of your body. Hope this helps, and remember, everyone is different, so you may have a totally different experience than I had.
   — MURRAY