Hi Julia,
I just had my surgery last Wednesday (the 17th), so it's still fresh. Coming out of the anesthesia was the most painful, but that wasn't very long and there was someone to talk to, though I remember only bits and pieces. They inserted a medicine ball, that automatically dispensed pain med and they had one you could control if the pain got too much. The only time I used the button was just before getting up the first couple of times, as a precaution. I stopped using it the day after surgery. They also give you a prescription for pain med when you are discharged. I haven't used it yet and I've been home three days.
The biggest issues I had is with the gas pain creeping up into the shoulder and with dry mouth the first day. For the dry mouth, they had a swap with some sort of cream on it that helped. Then I gave my teeth a good brushing and rinsed, do not swallow. Finally, I had them wet a wash cloth and I would "wash" my mouth every so often and moisten my lips, again, do not swallow. They made me get out of bed on Wednesday night, which helped with the shoulder pain. Get up and walk as often as possible, it helped me tremendously. It relieved the gas accumulation and the boredom of sitting in bed.
I really didn't want any liquids the first day, just to not have the dry mouth. The biggest suggestion I have, and I've seen it repeated by many others on this board, follow the Drs orders. Be sure, if you're put on the liver diet, follow it and know that it is for your future that you are doing this. It always helped me to remember that.
Keep in touch and good luck.