Pain: the sensation of acute physical hurt or discomfort caused by injury, illness, etc.
I looked it up because I wasn't sure. I'm happy to discover that I do indeed know what pain is and I am here to report..loud and clear...My RNY was NOT Painful. I am sick and tired of being made to look like a liar, or worse, a person trying to deceive simply because I tell the truth. The fact that really pisses me off is that I'm not alone. There are many of us who, if we could, depending on the job, would return to work a week after surgery. I resent being made to be foolish, brain dead or numb from the neck down, because some people complain of pain and I did not. I totally resent ANYONE who hasn't had this surgery, standing up and saying "regardless of what you hear, this surgery does HURT"...Well how in the hell would you know?? That's like someone who never had a child saying Childbirth is a walk in the park...How in the hell would they know and who are they to express an opinion on the subject? If you haven't done the walk, don't do the talk.
I found childbirth to be about a 5 in the pain category, I've had worse and the good thing about childbirth is you get a prize which makes it all the more tolerable. I've been with many women in the labor room and most would rate it a 15 on a scale from 1 to 10 and they have every right to...It doesn't mean I'm numb..just means that pain didn't hurt as much as others in my life. Now I personally know someone who had a baby in the toilet, not one labor pain...first baby, very skinny girl...go figure. If you are having a baby you may not want to listen to her because she will tell you there is NO pain connected to childbirth. She is not the norm.
I am not one in a million, right off the top of my head I can name 6 people who had their surgery and felt NO pain. Not only did I feel no pain, I used NO painkillers and I also know tons of people, who even though they had some minor discomfort (their words not mine) right after surgery...Never resorted to pain pills...
When did this surgery become a freaking contest, when did it become a wash woman's work shop? One of the reasons I deplore being with a group of women is because we all eventually get around to Labor Pains...who had the worse delivery, who suffered the longest, who had the biggest baby, who was torn from stem to stern...who the HELL cares? It's over, deal with it and move on..It's history...women have had babies since time began. Most of the world population still has babies with no help , no anesthesia and no pain pills. Would I trade with them? Hell no...I saw my children born, it was beautiful and yes there was pain...But it's over.
When people ask me about my experience I tell the TRUTH, my surgical experience was as pleasant as anyone could possibly ask for from the time I entered the hospital until now...I felt NO pain, discomfort on my left side, but not pain. My stay in the hospital was horrific, perhaps that's why I didn't feel anything...I was so pissed and so up set my endorphins numbed the pain...who knows.
I tell it like it is and some people are very put off by that. Too flipping bad!! I will never tell someone they will feel NO pain...I tell them I didn't and I'm not alone, but on the other side of the coin there are people who complain of pain months after surgery.
Do we look in a nursery and assume that every baby crying is in pain? Every baby sleeping is not...Perhaps the baby crying needs to feel the warmth of the mommy, maybe it's hungry, wet, or maybe it actually has a gas pain that hurts. The baby sleeping is content, maybe because it isn't hungry, or thirsty or in need of any attention...maybe it just likes the feeling of contentment which is more important then any other need at the time.
I have said time and time again that this is a very personal journey. We all react to things different and we are all stimulated by pain differently. I do not think any less of a person who feels pain then one who does not. Because I know all the factors that relate to our tolerance of pain. I may not have any fancy initials before or after my name, but trust me when I tell you I have experienced LIFE, the very worst and best that life has to offer. I have been out in the REAL world for a very long time...I'm not an idiot and I'm not dead from the neck down...I do feel pain. Even the dictionary backs up my claim :-)
For those of you waiting for surgery who may stumble on this blog..I say what I've always said..gather your info, talk to people who have HAD the surgery, we will be honest. The team at Cooperstown is tops in my book and they know their stuff...However, only one can truly speak from experience, having had the surgery...The rest can give you info based on what they have heard and seen...Not all of what they have heard and seen has been based entirely on the "norm". I will say one thing...If you PLAN on being in pain after surgery, you certainly will be...and that's a promise.
