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Getting down to the wire

M

Meover50

Member
I am a little over two weeks out from surgery. Re reading everything in my journey guide. Excited yet nervous. Knowledge is peer though. Listening to you guys and reading my provider instructions make me feel better. Questions for you guys:
  1. How long did you have to keep taking the narcotic pain meds? I know everyone’s pain tolerance is different.
  2. Nausea post surgery - what worked best for you?
  3. Constipation post surgery - was the water you constantly sip enough? Did you need to use over the counter remedies?
 
I had bypass June 2020 and husband had sleeve Feb 15th, 2022.

  1. I only took narcotic pain meds the day of surgery. Husband had Norco for about 7 days days.
  2. I wasn't nauseous at all. Husband is still a bit nauseous and taking ondansetron as needed.
  3. I had to take Linzess and Miralax. Husband has been fine so far with just water.

I don't think this is due to difference in surgery but I think it does really show the difference in experiences. So it could go either way for you. Still worth it. Good luck
 
I had bypass July 2021. I was lucky that they must have "pushed out" most of the CO2 gas before closing me up LOL. Plus they used a 72 hour nerve block to help alleviate much of the pain.

  1. I took the Lortabs the 1st 3 days following surgery plus powdered extra strength Tylenol. After that I only used Tylenol.
  2. I didn't have nausea but I was given prescriptions for Zofran and omeprazole. I took omeprazole the 1st 2 months daily.
  3. I was prescribed colace 2X daily which I still take. I started taking Benefiber 2 weeks before surgery mixed with Gatorade Zero, and continued soon after surgery to avoid the dreaded constipation. Only took Miralax 2X since surgery after eating too much cheese!

Good luck as you continue your journey.
 
KarenWV said:
  1. I didn't have nausea but I was given prescriptions for Zofran and omeprazole. I took omeprazole the 1st 2 months daily.
  2. I was prescribed colace 2X daily which I still take. I started taking Benefiber 2 weeks before surgery mixed with Gatorade Zero, and continued soon after surgery to avoid the dreaded constipation.
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Amen! Newbies, if you learn nothing else from this group, learn that PREPARATION is the key to success on many levels.

Omeprazole is the other med for nausea. Karen gave the brand name for Ondansetron, which is Zofran.

I took the anti nausea meds so I could hold down my pain meds. I love opioids but can barely keep them down.

And you can survive pain, but do not have this surgery without introducing a laxative before, and continuing for weeks after. I had such epic constipation, I can't even explain it without making you sick. I wrote a long, detailed post about it, so you can find it using the search feature, but trust me. You do not want to be constipated post-op. You literally could bust your sutures or staples and end up septic in the hospital.

You're not going to be using these meds forever, but this surgery is the reason they exist, and it's not the better part of valor to try to heal without them.
 
I didn't use narcotics at all. I have really bad reactions to those - not a pleasant experience for anyone around me. I had a couple of Tylenol and that was the extent of my pain meds. I didn't have pain. My mamma on the other hand can stub her toe and need a 55 gallon drum of cocaine to relieve her pain - she has no tolerance for pain.

I've been taking zofran for nausea. It helps - I don't have to take it everyday. But I do eat 4 saltines before I put my feet on the floor every morning.

I've not had ANY constipation. Literally what goes in WILL come out within an hour to hour and a half.

All of these questions will be different because we all had different issues before surgery. Best of luck to you!
 
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