ShellBell25

Constipation and nausea are first complications following surgery for sleevers. The doctor will give you something for the nausea and it usually resolves itself in a couple of days. I was proactive about the constipation having had complications with it following my gall bladder surgery about 6 months prior. My doctor suggested I start taking daily Miralax about a week before my surgery date and man, did that help! Some people really complain about the pain of constipation or even just the outrageous pain of the first BM following surgery....I had none of that. My body did not void for a few days, but when it did it was soft and manageable....and not painful! I would suggest to anyone to be proactive and start on the stool softeners BEFORE surgery to prevent that problem. Good luck!! I think you will be very happy with your decision!

Well, as soon as the pain meds start to fade you will feel like you have been run over by a truck... but welcome!! The best advise I can give is get up and walk! I am on Day 12 post op and my surgery was mid-day....by evening I was starting to feel pretty bad so I actually asked to get up at around 5 am to take some laps around the hospital floor. That was the best thing I could have done! Everytime I started feeling really bad, I got out of bed. When it hurts to move, you really don't want to, but it really is the BEST thing you can do. The first 4 days will be the worst, but remember the good times are coming!! You WILL feel better soon. Also, do not be concerned with the weight GAINED.....no one told me that being on an IV for 2 days would put so much of my hard earned weight loss back on!! I came out of the hospital having gained 6 lbs. and I think mine was pretty conservative! That was discouraging after the sacrifices made to take it off pre-surgery.....but like all things, it came back off pretty easy. Good luck friend!

I am on day 12 post op and have also had 3 days with no weight loss, but I think it's because I haven't been eating enough. My body is comfortable with so little and always being overweight I know that its always been that the less calories I take in the more weight I lose, but at this few calories I'm sure my body has reached starvation mode and is just holding on to everything I put into it for fear that there is nothing more coming. I have reached that plateau before when trying to lose weight, when you put in too little your body just doesn't think it can get rid of ANY. It never has really made sense to me, but today I am going to focus harder on getting all of my nutritional needs met, eventhough I am not hungry, and see if there is a weight change tomorrow. I'm also going to try to be more active today...go for a walk or maybe a swim. I am one pound away from ONEDERLAND and it's killing me that I can't lose it!!

I certainly respect your opinion....I guess I've never thought that much about negative thoughts other people have about me. I can see how you might think others might think of you that way......perhaps it's because I don't have that many thin friends! LOL I'm pretty comfortable in my own skin, as big and stretched as it is, so I guess I just have never been bothered with worrying about how they see me. Perhaps they have talked about me behind my back, and will continue to once I lose the weight, but I know if they are THAT type of person, they would probably find something else to talk about me for. If you feel that way, I agree you should tell just the people you feel really close to. This is YOUR journey, and each of us will have to travel it our own way. Wishing you the best!

The pain definitely gets better!! I am 11 days post surgery and am feeling great! I am back to water aerobics and trying to walk at least 2 miles every day. Walking is really the BEST thing for the pain. When you hurt, you don't want to move, but the more you move, the better things will be. A friend of mine who also had the surgery said she came home with a binder cuff (like a back brace that goes around your midsection) and she said that really helped. I did not have that, and was in quite a bit of pain for about 4 days, but by day 5 I was feeling much better. At first, it will feel like you've been run over by a truck....but keep getting out of bed. My NP suggested walking, and she said, "I don't mean to the bathroom and back, I mean to the mailbox or around the block. As soon as possible start that walking!" It will help. I still have a bit of pain with the big incision when I move certain ways, but everyday it gets better. Good luck!

I am in the camp of "Tell everyone you know!" Being overweight my entire life, when someone close would lose weight and I would ask "How did you do it?" and they just said "Oh I just ate less and exercised more." I would want to throw up! I have tried that repeatedly throughout my entire life and it hasn't worked for me. It would leave me hopeless and defeated to hear comments like that. There are others LIKE ME....others who have tried EVERYTHING and can't seem to lose the weight. I don't want to be dishonest with them and pretend that it was that easy! I tell everyone that I had surgery, that I tried EVERYTHING else and I just couldn't lose the weight on my own so I made this decision for me. I think it validates others who are struggling but just can't seem to lose the weight. AND it opens doors for others to talk to me, maybe about surgery, maybe just about my preop diet, maybe about first steps to make, or maybe it recommits them to try harder at what they are already doing to lose the weight. As someone who was always seeking what worked, I would have been disappointed by someone who lied about having the surgery so I tell the truth about it. To each his own, but that's my take on it.

Well Angel....I felt very similar to you and to many of these other people on here. I had a bad experience with a gall bladder surgery earlier this year and developed a bile leak....which hardly ever occurs, so I was pretty afraid of an "unnecessary" surgery. I really just gave it to God. I really feel He opened doors for me, even the things that went wrong with my gall bladder caused things to happen that made getting the sleeve easier for me. I was nervous about another surgery, but with a lot of prayer, trying things on my own to find that they didn't work AGAIN, I realized that God made all things come together so this surgery was possible for me. I am only 11 days post surgery, but already feel so much better. I too feared that I would not be around in the future for my kids. Having a baby is a great time to reclaim YOU and to make sure you are there to be the parent that you want to be for your little girl! I'm sorry your family is not supportive. I cannot imagine the conflict of having a twin who does not understand your desire to have this done, although most likely some of that comes from jealousy. My husband is actually in poorer health than I am and his insurance will NOT cover his surgery either. But he is trying my preop diet and is losing some of the weight. Some of the basics like getting lots of protein and eating less carbs works well for him too. I rejoice and celebrate people who can do it without surgery, but I just was not one of those people. It's really not the easy way out though, it makes it easier, but you still have to make the change. The regret that I hear from most of the people who have had the sleeve is "I wish I had had it sooner!" I think at 45, with my youngest now 9 and my oldest already out of the house on his own, I think this will be my regret too.....that I couldn't be the parent that I wanted to be to my kids when they were younger. I applaud you for wanting to do something NOW when it will make the greatest impact on your relationship with your child and your child's relationship with food! Unfortunately, I believe I have passed on some of my unhealthy habits with food to my kids creating their own problems that they will have to overcome. Had I done this surgery when I was younger, I probably would have taught them different habits that would have only benefitted them as growing adults. Pray girl, that's what I did. Seek what God has to say about this. Did He have your Dr. suggest the surgery....even when you were expecting him to exalt you about your weight loss? Have doors opened for you without any effort from you? Has He put things/people in your path to make this easier? I'll be praying for you and for your family.

Autumnrain, I just had my sleeve done on June 24th. I was 224 lbs. and 5'3" with a starting BMI of 36.8, I believe. Today, 11 days out from surgery, I got to change the # in my hundreds place!! How cool is that! I'm at 199 lbs. Still a long ways to go, but I am very happy with everything so far. I lost 17 lbs. on the preop diet, but including the weight put on during surgery because of all the fluids they give you, I have lost 14 lbs in the last 11 days. I've been amazed at what it feels like to NOT be hungry. I think you will do fine!!