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can anyone tell me what to expect after surgery??

how sore were you?

how long till you were up and running?

when did you feel like eating?

after how long did you feel like you were yourself again?

i am just wondering about anything and everything.

ladyrat

For me I was done lapo and it took me a good 2 weeks before I felt like venturing out. I mean I did go on short trips. It wasn't until got my stitures out that I felt I could breath again, lol. Many people felt ok to do things the day they got home from the hospital (they were brave souls, lol) but I was so tight and sore for a bit. Wasn't in real pain for much long but more just discomfort and just sore.

As for eating, this board was a tremendous help in helping me figure out what to eat and how to eat. I have all my journals saved for my first year and can email you what I ate my first few months to give you some ideas. I stuck by the rules to a *T*!!

Everyone kept telling me you will never feel "normal" as far as how you eat. I could not grasp that but soon worked my new lifestyle and became my new normal. I now look at other people's plates and cannot grasp the idea that I used to eat like that. It seems horrible to me. I look at my skinny cousins at christmas time and see their plates and wonder where they put it all. (They are teeny tiny girls) and remember that I used to eat three times what they do. It will become about balance and moderation and you will think at first (at least for me) there is no way I can eat like this the rest of my life…and you might look at your portion and think…this will not do…this will not satisfy me. But it does and it will.

The hardest thing for me is resturants. Even when eating healthy it will look like you haven't touched anything and I always get "Was there something wrong with the food", My answer is always no, it was just fine. But they take my plate away looking puzzled. I sometimes will explain but other times I don't, lol.

Just remember each day will get better and you will get into a routine and you will get to know your little pouch and how it all works. It's an interesting thing..but each pouch will work the same but yet differently for everyone!

Your day will be here before you know it. One wise advice I got from many is take this time to learn everything you can! It helps as a post op forsure! Heck, we will never stop learning :)

ladyrat said:

can anyone tell me what to expect after surgery??

how sore were you?

how long till you were up and running?

when did you feel like eating?

after how long did you feel like you were yourself again?

i am just wondering about anything and everything.

ladyrat

I was miserable for the first week and a half.  I could only take sips of water and ice chips for the first 4 days.  I had lots of pain, but not from the stomach area.  It was the shoulder and chest pain from the C02 they use to inflate the belly.

But I'm feeling great now 3 weeks out.  I've got more energy, I've been out walking (although I do tire out after a few hours of being out and about.  I need naps, but I don't get them.  I have 3 kids 1, 4, & 7, so it's been hard trying to recover when they are all so needy and don't understand why Mommy can't do a whole lot still.

Francina

suzanne said:

What type of surgery are you having done.

When you are done lapriscopicly rather than open surgery the recovery time is a lot less.

I didn't feel like eating for months, everyone is different, and I basically measured everything at first that I ate, took a while to get used to not drinking with a meal, and to get all my vitamins and water in daily but it happens to come easier over time.

 I was done open so recovery was longer for me, it took me month and a half to feel more human again  I had the RNY done a year ago.  Most surgeries are done lapirscopicly.

Suzanne

I have to confess – that I had a really good recovery.  Very little pain, incisions healed well etc.

What I did find challenging in the hospital is understanding when my pouch felt full as it was confusing between the bloatedness I felt with gas that remained in my abdomen after the surgery and differientiating that from bloatedness from the pouch.  So one thing I would say is go easy on the liquids, clear and full, that they give you once you get the ok to start having them.  The hospital will give you alot – broth, pudding, juice, jello, and don't feel that you have to have all of it – just take a very little from each -otherwise you will feel bloated and sore after.  This, I learned from experience.  Also once you do start taking in fluids other than water, be prepared to have the runs – my were green (gross – I know)!  I double-checked with a couple of people in hospital and they said that this was normal and any colours other than tarry black or bright red were fine – phew!

The last suggestion I would have is if you are able to exercise – try to exercise as much as possible before the surgery – just walking will make a huge difference in how you recover and this is was I attribute to my very quick recovery.

Hi ladyrat!

Congrats on your new date!  The time will fly by!!!  I'm so excited for you….

From my experience…I was actually rather sick.  I could not keep anything, including water down.  I was throwing up repeatedly several times a day.  It was not nice!!  Whenever this happened, my pouch would also hurt.  They seemed to be part and parcel…the sickness and my pouch hurting.  They weren't sure if I was throwing up because I was in pain or if I was in pain from throwing up.  Yeah…it wasn't nice.  They ended up keeping me in for an extra day as well for they had given me the wrong blood thinner and I had a possibility of bleeding to death.  Fun, fun! 

One doctor did tell me "for most, it is a walk in the park…you just didn't get to go to the park that day!"  How true!

The food I was given….I couldn't eat as it was not sugarfree or low fat.  I would've dumped terribly!!  I have heard that Dr. Malik was getting the menu changed for his patients.  That would be nice for those of you that will be able to eat!!

Some advice….don't rush your recovery!  Take your time to get back to the way you were.  But, do try to walk a bit every day. 

Bring a pillow to put between your belly and the seatbelt for the ride home.

Good luck!

Jodi

I am sooo happy with my results!  I would do it over again in a heartbeat!!  I remember at one point thinking "oh my, have I done the right thing?"  but then thought…"of course you have…you've waited and wanted this for so long…stick with it…it will get better!"

My surgery was on September 8th.  So, just about 6 months ago and I'm down 82 pounds.  It still seems very surreal to me.  I look in the mirror and still see me…  My family keeps freaking on me cause I still try to wear my old clothes.  They are way to big!  ha ha!  My journey started with me wearing a size 24 pants and now I'm just going into a 14.  So weird!!

Once out of the hospital, I would walk around the house and sometimes around the block.  I didn't get back to a regular workout until 6 weeks.  I was only off work for about 3 weeks.  Once out of the hospital, I recovered quickly and was able to do a fair amount. 

Jodi