Gastric Bypass Surgery Support Group

Gastric bypass (GBP) is any of a group of similar operative procedures used to treat morbid obesity, a condition which arises from severe accumulation of excess weight in the form of fatty tissue, and the health problems ("co-morbidities") which result. If you are considering gastric bypass or have had it, join the community where we share our experiences and find support.

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Read4ever 10/02/2015

Hey all - I just got home from having my gastric bypass surgery on Tuesday and all of a sudden I am coughing. Nothing is coming up but it is hurting my stomach. Any suggestions out there?

The surgery went well - but i had to stay an extra night because my blood pressure dropped and i couldn't get my pain under control. They felt that it was probably from dehydration and they gave me extra saline bags. They changed my pain medicine as well and that seemed to help. So now i am home and having this cough that is giving me wracking pain throughout my body. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

ratsack 10/02/2015

Maybe the cough is from the breathing tube down your throat, would some cough medicine help, maybe not swallow but gargle with it.

just a guess, hopefully someone else will be able to help out

MNMama 10/02/2015

I would call your team and ask them about it, unless you're sure this is from allergies or a cold or something.
Sometimes, rarely, after surgery, clots can form. If you have one in your lungs, you would want to be seen right away.
If you picked up a cold or virus, you may want to try holding a pillow on your belly when you cough. That helped me a bit after my C section with my son, right in the middle of hay fever season!
Hope you feel better soon.

farmgirl392 10/02/2015

MNMama gave you the best advice. Contact your team and get it checked asap. :)

pianodiva 10/02/2015

I too was going to suggest the pillow-on-the-abdomen trick (I also had a C-section with my daughter and it helped a lot), but definitely see your doc if it doesn't clear up soon.

Lcat4 10/03/2015

Please call your doctors office. Cough syrup generally has sugar which could make you sick after this kind of surgery

Read4ever 10/03/2015

Thank you all! I am now 4 days post-op and the cough seems to have eased up. I still have a lot of abdominal pain but that was expected. it's hard to find a comfortable position on the recliner or the couch but i guess that's a good thing as it makes me move more :--)). I am walking every hour and take the stairs several times a day - albeit slowly.

Lcat4 10/03/2015

Glad you are feeling better! If you sip while you walk you'll be able to get more water in. It really helped me

happy2bme4ever 10/03/2015

What you describe seems to be right on course. The coughing is to clear your lungs. The same reason they have you breath into that little plastic thing. So the coughing is good but yes it does hurt your abdomen a ton because there was a lot of surgery in that area. It will hurt for awhile but every day it will hurt a little less.

So glad that you are doing better.

MNMama 10/05/2015

Glad to hear you're doing better.
I wasn't able to sleep in my bed until nearly 2 weeks out. I slept reclining on the sofa with pillows on both sides to support my belly and arms.

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