Question:
After you wake up?
Hi guys. Well, June 7th is just around the corner, and I'm pretty well prepared. I think! But I do have a question for anyone. When you are in the recovery room and start to wake up, how do you feel? Are you in A LOT of pain? Pain like you feel like your going to die? Thanks to all for answering my question. This site has helped me so-so-much!!! Wish me luck also!!! God Bless, Kristin — MissAuntieK (posted on June 1, 2000)
May 31, 2000
I was so out of it when they woke me up. I couldn't believe the surgery was
over. I felt my stomach to make sure I had the surgery. I had a pain pump,
but I had really bad back pain I didn't have an epidural. They told me
before they put me to sleep not to be surprise if I had an IV in my neck.
Well I am glad that didn't happen. But everybody experience is different.
— Sharon T.
May 31, 2000
I chose to have an epidural because of my sleep apnea. I was never
sorry for that decision. When I woke up I too wondered if I had even
had surgery, I felt no pain what so ever. I even asked if I could get
up and walk, they said not yet and made me wait 8 hours before my
first laps around the ICU nurses station. I did wake up with the NG tube
which wasn't bad I sucked on ice and that was fine.. Before I had my
first walk it was taken out. The epidural stayed in for several more
days with reducing dosage each day.. I remained pain free the whole time
and went home pain free. Good luck with your surgery and my thoughts and
prayers are with you..
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— Victoria B.
June 1, 2000
Right after surgery, I remember them trying to rouse me in the O.R. and
telling me to take a deep breath, to get the breathing tube out. THAT
HURT!!! I remember telling them it hurt to take a deep breath and fell
back to sleep. Then I awoke in the PACU and I was in excrutiating pain.
*Sorry, don't mean to scare you* I told my nurse that I was in horrid pain
and she called the anesthesiologist over and he told her to give me
Marcaine, and they put that in my epidural and it took about 3 or 4 minutes
and I was feeling absolutely no pain! I was literally numb on my incision.
That particular pain medication helped to stay on top of my pain. It's
best to get on top of it instead of trying to catch it midway through your
pain. If you stay on top, it makes it easier to stay pain-free. Does this
make sense? At any rate, everyone's threshold for pain is different so
everyone is going to be different. I am by no means a baby when it comes
to pain, but right after surgery hurt the worst. It became increasingly
easier and less uncomfortable to move around once I got up and walking. If
anyone asks me what the best thing to do right after surgery is, I tell
them to WALK WALK WALK. Good Luck on June 7th... =)
— Marni
June 1, 2000
Hello Pooh Bear!! I do not want to scare you, but while in recovery is
when I experienced the worst pain of the whole ordeal. I did not have an
epidural. I remember dreaming that I was in recovery and in pain and that
I was moaning to the nurse about it. Then I realized I wasn't dreaming. I
wasn't thrilled to experience it but it was by no mean intolerable. By the
time I was wheeled up to the room, I was reasonably comfortable. Hang in
there and don't get caught up with thinking about the pain beforehand. It
will all be ok. Your medical team will take care of your pain needs for
you. 6 days to go - soon you'll be on the other side!!!
— Paula G.
June 1, 2000
I had an epidural before my dgb/ds and had no pain when I awoke. In my
opinion, you should never have pain. My pain was always under control.
When I got home, I only took pain meds for about 4 days, and only a couple
a day. Talk with your surgeon about pain management before
surgery...You'll do fine! http://www.myWLS.com
— [Deactivated Member]
June 1, 2000
Hi! I just got home from the hospital post op now 6 days! My answer to
your question is NO. When you wake up you are really still out of it. The
first thing out of your mouth will probably have to do with the last thing
you were thinking about before you went under...ie your loved ones, that
this surgery is gonna to be the best thing you ever did etc. The next 6
hours was the killer for me. Please dont let my answer disturb you,
because, I am not regretting my descion. My doc was one who gives both
the epidural and the PCA for pain control. Unfortunately, they could not
get the epidural in, (small spaces) and later on the Morphine did make me
sick to my stomach and I kept forgeting to use it. The pain is trapped gas
and massive sore muscles. I am still struggling with it. I was sent home
with a drug called roxicette and it has been my life saver! Also know that
a couple work friends of mine had the same surgery within a week...one was
bragging that she had nearly NO pain and the other thought her epidural was
in half assed and caused her more pain! The only way you are gonna find
out is get to the other side. YOU WILL GET THROUGH IT!!! Please email me
any time! I just wanted you to get my story. If this is your last resort
for weight loss, and your mind is made up, you will have no regrets!
— Lisa N.
June 1, 2000
DONT LET ANYONE TELL YOU THAT THE PAIN IS OK - THERE IS NO REASON FOR
ANYONE TO HAVE PAIN POST OP. It interferes with your recovery!!!!! I
didn't want morphine because I didn't want to be 'out of it' during
recovery. The epidural went in before surgery so they didn't play around
with the afterwards - the pain management team met with me before surgery
(insist on this), were there putting in the epidural and were right there
when I woke up. There was pain until they adjusted the proper dosage - but
it was so short lived (5 minutes?). When you meet with the hospital's pain
management team, find out what alternatives will be immediately available
if an epidural doesn't work for you. The best advocate for you healthcare
is YOU.
— Toni B.
June 1, 2000
I don't even remember the recovery room. I must have been awake or they
wouldn't have let me leave, but the first thing I really remember is being
wheeled into my room. My back hurt quite a lot right at first. It took me a
while to mention it to the nurses & when I did, they pulled me up,
straighter, I think, in the bed & that helped. The lesson I learned is:
if you are in pain TELL A NURSE! I NEVER had pain so bad I thought I would
die or wished I had! There were some times those first few days when I was
moderately uncomfortable, for example getting out of bed for the first
time. I also was asked frequently to rate my pain on a scale of 1 to 10. I
never said higher than 8 & even 7 or 8 was rare & in the first two
days only. I was down to a 2 or 3 within a couple days. Truly, the pain
itself was not a big factor. Good luck to you!
— Kathy W.
June 3, 2000
Hey Kristin,
I did not wake up in the recovery room. I woke up on the way. I do not
remember the recovery room at all. The nurses said I woke up and talke to
them but I dont remeber at all. I do wish you lots of luck....see you on
the other side!
— Lee Ann B.
March 23, 2001
The pain nedication mixed with an anti-nausea agent was wonderful. I never
had the sensation of nausea at all, and got as much pain meds as I asked
for. Let your surgeon know BEFORE your surgery that you are a pain wussy (I
am, and proud of it!)and he will make sure you are taken care of. I had a
LAP RNY on Monday and am feeling pretty good now. The drain tube comes out
in 4 days, I can't wait...
— Kirt S.
March 23, 2001
Kristin...you didn't mention if you were having a LAP or not but I'll
assume you're not...just to show you how different everyone is...the only
pain I had after the surgery was back pain for one day from the way they
bend you for the surgery during a LAP...out of recovery I couldn't stop
vomiting and that was my only negative experience...I never had any pain
and didn't go home with any pain meds.
— Debora H.
May 30, 2001
I was not in a lot of pain when I woke up. I had RNY-lap. I did feel kind
of queasy and just wanted to sleep. But you don't feel pain when you wake
up because you still have anethisia in you and they are already
administering pain meds through an IV.
— Melissa C.
February 15, 2003
I had a lot of pain when I woke up because morphine didnt work on me if you
have a lot of pain (and i mean a lot of pain as in if in 5 hours of when
you wake up if they try to sit you up in bed you stop breathing!...this
happened to me) then they may want to switch your pain med to Dilantin...I
had to deal almost 12 hours with pain like this....i couldnt even move at
all. They also had to go open on me because my liver was lacerated so I
had most of the lap scars plus the 6inch open scar
— Wendy S.
February 15, 2003
When I finally woke up in the recovery room, (the morphine had really
zonked me OUT!) I rmember kind of feeling around and assessing my level of
pain. There wasn't much! I had lap RNY. I had a morphine PCA (patient
controlled analgesia) the first day. I didn't use it much and they were
giving me Toradol IV push every 6 hours - no pain and no grogginess. (BTW,
Wendy - they gave you Dilaudid, probably, since Dilantin is an anti-seizure
medication). In the recovery room, I asked for a folded, lighweight
blanket and I held it against my upper abdomen and coughed. Even that was
not too painful. And the RR nurse was impressed with my cough effort, to
boot! ( I did not want pneumonia or atelectasis to complicate my
recovery.) Before surgery, I really tried telling myself to expect pain
and be ready to deal with it, but it wasn't that bad!
— koogy
May 14, 2003
I am a month post op and I can tell you this: I had a c-section two and a
half years ago and by no mean was my gastric bypass surgery (laproscopic)
as painful as that. I only had pain for about two days, which morphine
helped. I had to get up from the bed and walk a day after the surgery. It
will only be difficult the first time around. Make the effort though, you
will know when your surgery comes around. I kept hearing these horrifict
stories, but ultimately it depends on each person. Don't worry, it does
hurt, but it's not as bad as people portray it to be. I don't regret
having the surgery. I feel great and am down thirty pounds in one month.
— Melissa T.
April 29, 2007
It is long after this thread was started but since I'm a newbie and dealing
with pain right now, I will add my two cents. seems most previous posters
had lap RNYs and it wasn't too bad. My doctor is very conservative, as well
as highly experienced, and since I am almost 60 and was worried about the
risks of surgery, I decided to go with the best -- and (I checked all the
stats) he is. I was dismayed when he told me he only will do open surgery
because it is safer. He can see everything better. So here I am 6 days out
and yes, it hurts. It wasn't very bad at first because you are still under
the effects of the anesthesia (I had a general.) I did feel lots of pain
after that wore off. I used a morphine pump but it didn't really seem to
help that much and the morphine made me groggy and drugged and also made me
itch. I went home on Torinal elixor, but, as with the morphine, I felt so
groggy and actually had mild hallucinations from the narcotics. So I have
been using just liquid tylenol the last few days, but not all the time. I
didn't notice any improvement from the pain until Day 5, and am now
gradually noticing improvements. The pain was not fun, especially in the
beginning, but when I scaled it,(from 1 to 10 high) it was only about a 5
or 6 at most and bearable. By day 5 I was pretty tired of it but I knew it
had to get better sooner or later.
My husband had the same surgery 18 months ago and went garage sale-ing with
me at one week out, though he mostly sat in the car. I am in no way ready
to do that. I apparently have a worse pain tolerance than he does. It is
also true that women feel pain more acutely than men do. It is very true
that everyone is different, so no one can predict how you will experience
pain. I figured going in that it would hurt but that the results in my
health would be worth whatever it cost in terms of pain.
— [Deactivated Member]
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