Anyone ever had abdominal surgery

I had a colon resection 2009.I had an epidural first 3 days so only pain was when I got out of of bed and back in.It was basically the same after they took out the epidural,I was surprised how little pain I had.
I had the tube in my nose for a frikken week because my bowel function was slow to return,that thing was hurting bad last couple days,worse than the incision.Only pain pills I took was for the pain where the tube was in the back of my nose.Hopefully you won’t have it in that long.

Make sure to get out of bed and walk around 3-4 times a day to minimize risk of getting blood clots in your legs.

Laparoscopic for gallbladder removal. Wasn’t the worst time I’ve been cut on.

Do you know what type of incision? Midline, etc? Assuming it’s open and not laparoscopic.

Picc said it all. You use the muscles in your stomach for damn near everything. Laughing, sneezing, and even farting hurt. This was after my hernia surgery.

I am having a GIST tumor removed from upper stomach area, I have kind of avoiding “googling it” just because. I am having it done at MD Anderson. It’s smaller than a golf ball or so right now.

How many weeks before you can lift stuff, etc

I can’t speak for your exact procedure, sounds like yours may be a gastrectomy or at the least, not laparoscopic. Mine was lower abdominal, obviously, and yours may be higher with a midline incision. Either way, you won’t need to lift anything more than 8-10 lbs for likely 4-6 weeks, minimum. It’s frustrating if you’re an active person who’s used to exercise. But let me tell you from 3x experience (and feeling like I’ll never get back to myself again), you will heal and you can be back to it better than before. Allow yourself to heal and treat your body well. Eat right and do light walking and such once you can.

When is your surgery? Keep us updated and if you have any questions I will help if I can! I’m not a doctor but having done it a few times, I can at least speak to my experiences.

I cannot reiterate enough drinking plenty of water, eat lean protein and veggies once they offer them. Don’t be me after child #1 and order cheese quesadillas from the cafeteria everyday. That coupled with pain meds was a horrid idea. I didn’t know any better. Suffice it to say, I knew better for the second and ordered grilled chicken and veggies for every meal post op. Didn’t want a repeat bathroom experience that I had with my first.

Pro tip: if the nurse/doc allows it, ask for some prune juice, sprite, miralax cocktail a day after surgery. Do that once a day until GI function normalizes. It’s good warm.

You may have a very different diet laid out by your physician, though, since your surgery is to remove a tumor. If that’s the case, disregard some of the above. Move around and treat your body like its own entity—be very good to it and your recovery will hopefully be very smooth. If you’re struggling mentally, you can post here and get lots of encouragement! Best of luck and I hope you’re able to turkey hunt, as well. Just don’t push yourself too soon with a hunt if you’re not ready.

Good luck.
Had some of my colon removed 12 years ago. Major infection and I almost was septic. 40 staples in my gut. I was in decent shape before and I have never been the same. Several hernia surgeries since and I can't seem to drop weight on my stomach no matter what I do.
I hope it goes better for you.

I have no idea why they don’t go through midline for c sections

I mean I guess it may be more aesthetically pleasing but it’s more traumatic