# Wow. Um...surgery hurts. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 28, 2004, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-um-surgery-hurts/231652 "2004-02-28T19:32:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2004, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-um-surgery-hurts/231652/21 "2004-02-29T21:03:54Z")
I was on estrogen until last year, since I had my stuff removed when I was 35. I had no problems and now that I’m experiencing the joys of hot flashes, I want my Premarin back!! But I guess that at 50, I would have been going thru it anyway. Don’t know for sure - both my mother and my grandmother had surgically-induced menopause, and all of my sisters are younger than I and I think all of them have been fixed too. And, um, sorry, I’ve got a full schedule of upholstering thanks to the necessary cushion replacement on the boat. Since we’ll be living aboard for the next year or so, it’s gotta be nicened up! ---
**Author:** ![Persephone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecc23a/32.png) [@Persephone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Persephone)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2004, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-um-surgery-hurts/231652/22 "2004-03-01T01:30:13Z")
Question: Why is my stomach so sensitive all of a sudden? I mean, I didn’t have surgery on my stomach. It just can’t seem to tolerate the things it used to. Or is it just me? ---
**Author:** ![meyer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ccd318/32.png) [@meyer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/meyer)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2004, 9:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-um-surgery-hurts/231652/23 "2004-03-01T09:02:05Z")
> [@Persephone](#): > > Question: Why is my stomach so sensitive all of a sudden? I mean, I didn’t have surgery on my stomach. It just can’t seem to tolerate the things it used to. Or is it just me? I think that’s normal after surgery. I had surgery on my hand and wrist, and I found my stomach was really sensitive for about a week. Maybe it has something to do with aftereffects of the anasthetic/painkillers? Not sure. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2004, 9:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-um-surgery-hurts/231652/24 "2004-03-01T09:17:26Z")
> [@featherlou](#): > > Oh, the fast - that was completely miserable for me. After I woke up from surgery, I barfed for about five hours straight, and this after I hadn’t eaten for 24 hours. I kept drinking milk and orange juice in the hopes of some of the sugar was getting into my blood and stopping the low blood sugar crap that I also had going on. Bleah. On the plus side, if you have to barf anything, orange juice is surprisingly pleasant. Nothing like citrus-fresh nostrils. Yeah, I’m an insulin dependent diabetic, and I did NOT like the idea of having a low blood sugar episode. My doctor is most accommodating now, and won’t order tests that require fasts unless she really, REALLY needs that particular type of test done on me. I was able to keep stuff down after surgery, but I think that was partly because I knew that I’d have to at least sit up to vomit. And I couldn’t manage sitting up without a great deal of pain. ---
**Author:** ![DAVEW0071](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e19b73/32.png) [@DAVEW0071](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DAVEW0071)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2004, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-um-surgery-hurts/231652/25 "2004-03-01T12:31:06Z")
My wife is the friend who had similar surgery just a couple weeks before Cristi’s. Not a complete hysterectomy, but she had her ovaries removed. And yeah, she’s been moving pretty slow since then. Every day gets a little better, though. From my own personal experience, it wasn’t the period after the surgery that hurt. But I guess that’s because I underwent a vasectomy with the anasthetic not working on the left side. Yeah, it hurt. ---
**Author:** ![tanookie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/48db29/32.png) [@tanookie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tanookie)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2004, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-um-surgery-hurts/231652/26 "2004-03-01T13:38:13Z")
I’ve had 2 Csections. Not as major as getting all the girlie parts removed but still pretty sore afterwards. It really does take a few months for you to really be yourself again. By 6 weeks I was pretty much functional as long as I didn’t lift anything too heavy or do anything too strenuous or press on my belly. My pain pills were my best friends in those first couple of weeks. I also had 5 days in the hospital which was helpful. Getting up is much easier when you have a craftmatic adjustable bed to help. At home I had my hubby thankfully. I feel for Dave, I had a kidney biopsy with no painkillers many years ago. I have never felt such pain in my life. Kidneys do not like to have pieces of them suctioned off with sharp pointy needles. With my Csections, I hurt, but I never cried from the pain or even moaned. With the biopsy - they moved my mother to a different floor to wait so she could not hear me scream. ---
**Author:** ![whiterabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/cab0a1/32.png) [@whiterabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whiterabbit)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2004, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-um-surgery-hurts/231652/27 "2004-03-01T14:41:26Z")
> [@Persephone](#): > > Question: Why is my stomach so sensitive all of a sudden? I mean, I didn’t have surgery on my stomach. It just can’t seem to tolerate the things it used to. Or is it just me? I’d guess it’s some combination of drugs (much to my horror, while I never had the problem as a kid, the last time I was knocked out I was sick as a dog afterwards) and having your innards physically disturbed by the surgery. Major surgery can put your body out of whack temporarily even if everything goes perfectly. ---
**Author:** ![Chanteuse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9de053/32.png) [@Chanteuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chanteuse)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2004, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-um-surgery-hurts/231652/28 "2004-03-01T14:52:08Z")
I’ve had five abdominal surgeries in 10 years time (one tubal pregnancy, three C-sections, and gallbladder removal). I found out that everything you do in life is connected to your belly. I couldn’t raise an eyebrow without pulling my incision! And after my second Caesarian, I had a 12 pound newborn to take care of! Lessons learned: 1) A horizontal incision hurts like crazy, but a vertical incision is hell. Laparascopic is definitely the way to go, whenever possible! 🙂 2) People think it hilarious to tell you jokes when you’re stapled together. 3) Post-surgical depression can be real bitch, especially post-partum. 4) No one is handing out medals for pain endurance. Take any and all pain meds offered! 5) When someone offers help, take it! Doing too much too soon only prolongs recovery and rest is essential! 6) Trying to get rid of the phlegm in your throat by just clearing it never works. It is apparently a rule that you must COUGH at least once, making you feel as if you’ve been ripped open again (a Murphy’s Law sort of thing). 7) Do not try to answer verbally if the nurse asks if you feel sick. Simply nod your head (very gently) and the nice nurse will get you some meds. Opening your mouth to speak gives your stomach permission to empty immediately. 8) Good nurses are worth ten times their weight in gold. It’s been about two years since my last surgery–I’ve made jokes that I’m about due for another, to keep up my average. Damn, I hope it’s only a joke! ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2004, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-um-surgery-hurts/231652/29 "2004-03-01T16:21:22Z")
> [@](#): > > No one is handing out medals for pain endurance. Take any and all pain meds offered! This is just brilliant advice. I’ve never understood why people are so squeamish to take pain pills. Yes, there are possible side effects, but I’d rather have a third arm growing out of my head than writhing in pain all afternoon. ---
**Author:** ![Persephone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecc23a/32.png) [@Persephone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Persephone)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2004, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-um-surgery-hurts/231652/30 "2004-03-01T18:19:40Z")
_4) No one is handing out medals for pain endurance. Take any and all pain meds offered!_ Oh yeah. The nurses in the hospital even told me this one. “Do not be ashamed or afraid to ask for pain medication,” they said. And I’m definitely taking my prescribed Vicodin, once every four hours. I’ve learned that the scrip I’ve got does not make me fuzzy-headed, and does a decent job on the pain. _5) When someone offers help, take it! Doing too much too soon only prolongs recovery and rest is essential!_ Got a friend coming over this evening with some groceries and stuff (former Doper **BunnyGirl,** in fact). It’s difficult for me to _not_ do stuff, when I’m here, even though I am inherently lazy. But I just can’t help it sometimes. I’m not suffering from the lack of energy that others have had after surgery, but I’m also learning very quickly that I just _cannot_ bend over the way I could a week ago. I’m not supposed to anyway, but I really took bending over for granted, you know? _6) Trying to get rid of the phlegm in your throat by just clearing it never works. It is apparently a rule that you must COUGH at least once, making you feel as if you’ve been ripped open again (a Murphy’s Law sort of thing)._ Oh good heavens. The first time I coughed after I came to in recovery, I thought I’d cry. Ow, ow, ow. Still kinda hurts, actually, but at least now I don’t feel like I’m going to explode. :eek: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-um-surgery-hurts/231652.md?page=1)