Question:
Did anyone watch Datline last night about Al Roker surgery?
He had 6 incisions, which is supposed to reduce pain, per his Dr. He was back to work in good shape in 11 days. I keep reading on here the awfull pain post surgery & infections in incisions.. How many incisions are custom — Donna T. (posted on November 13, 2002)
November 13, 2002
I had my surgery lap. and I have six incisions. They're sort of in a
circular shape, and as far as pain after surgery...the only real, true pain
I had was from the gas they use to inflate the patient's abdomen so they
can get in there and see what they're doing. It's not like intestinal gas
you can get rid of yourself, lol, no no...this gas is trapped and all you
can do is walk to alleviate the pain from it. It went away by the time I
left the hospital though (I was there for two nights and one day.). I
didn't have any infections, either. I did have an abdominal wall hematoma
(they nicked a blood vessel when they went in to make one of the incisions)
but it didn't hurt at all...just looked like a really nasty bruise. Not
dangerous, just very ugly. :)
— Emily W.
November 13, 2002
I also had 6 incissions. But they are really small...2 of the larger ones
are about an inch, but the others are pretty tiny. Its not a long one like
the folks who have an open get. I felt great post op. Never used my PCA and
was up walking the same day (as suggested). I went home on day 3 and back
to work in 2 weeks. I never needed pain meds at home either. dont let the
stories about pain scare you. everyone has a different pain tolerance. for
me it was pretty easy. I never needed the morphine and I was glad because a
lot of people have nausea and vomiting from it and that just adds to the
misery of how you feel. I was able to sleep on my side w/i 4 days. So good
luck, and dont stress about this. It was much easier than having a baby and
I have had one by c/s and one vaginal.. this was a slam dunk compared to
that....good luck & aloha, Keniki
— Keniki B.
November 13, 2002
I only had 5 incisions with my lap Roux en y. However I was in pain for
quite a while. I think I was almost 2 months out until I was completely
pain free. I don't think it has to do with your incisions at all. I think
it depends on the person, how quickly each individual heals, and how
tolerant each person is to pain. I have seen people who have had an open
procedure and felt better sooner than I did with the lap so I think it
varies from person to person. Good luck.
— Laurel C.
November 13, 2002
I watched Dateline last night and I was just about in tears because I could
relate to everything Al was saying. I think he looks great!! As for the
incisions I have 6 and they have healed up wonderfully, omly 2 are
visiable. I had little to no pain ( except for gas post op it was the worst
pain of the whole surgery ) Thank God the whole ordeal thus far has been a
breeze. I too have wondered why so many people have so much pain and so
many problems, I suppose we all heal differently and have different
tolerents for pain. I am thankful mine wasn't so bad...
— Subrina D.
November 13, 2002
I watched Al and I kept saying (out loud), "Yep, me too."
Everything he said was exactly like my experience. As for the pain- I, too
had lap rny and really had no pain from the 6 small incisions nor from
within. That was until I pulled an ab from coughing so much. Now THAT
hurt!! Otherwise, I felt alright. I went back to work after 12 days (a desk
job, but I do have to get up semi often) and was fine and I work 12 hour
shifts. But eveyone is different. Keep that in mind. I am SOOOOO glad I
went lap. Best decision I ever made!.....Karen (lap rny- 9/20/02- down
65lbs.)
— karmiausnic
November 13, 2002
I had Open RNY (8/6/02 - incision is from breast bone to just inside belly
button) and I was ready to go back to work within two weeks. (I didn't, but
the kids and I had fun on my last week home) I know that I was blessed to
have such a speedy recovery. Now to add to Al, he gave an amazing
interview, I just am so glad that someone put such a personal touch to this
whole procedure, Carnie Wilson was great, but she didn't put as much
emphasis into the emotion decision and the pain (mentally) that you go
through to get to the point of having surgery. Way to go Al!!! It's nice
to have someone like him on the losing side!
— Dana B.
November 14, 2002
I believe I had 5 little incisions with my lap. Like Emily's comments
below, the only real pain I had was from the trapped gas-that was not fun,
but in 2 days I was home and feeling much better. Some people do
experience alot of pain, the infections are usually with open and not lap.
Everyone is different.
— Cindy R.
November 14, 2002
I am 2.5 years post op. This was the first really big surgery I had ever
had. I had the lap, four incisions. The pain was the worst for the first
3-5 days, then began to go away. I was back at work in 7 days, although I
wish I had taken 2 weeks, only because I was so darned tired afterwards. I
had no infections, and no complications, It was not all that bad. Don't let
the reports from thos who have had problems keep you from having the
surgery, because I bet the ones who have had problems are a minority
compared to the rest, whom have had no problems at all.
— twenc
November 14, 2002
I had open RNY on 7/2/2. I went to work part time 8 days after surgery. I
went to work full time about 11 days after.
— Valerie H.
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