AvaFern

Me too! I bring straws with me because I can sip my way through a lot of fluids with a straw, but as soon as I have to drink regularly, I feel like giant chunks of air get stuck in my esophagus. Straws are totally what has kept me from becoming dehydrated.

The first week of surgery I was miserable and every chance I had to sleep I did. Oddly enough, forcing myself to walk made it better, which seems counterintuitive because you're already so tired. Even now, 3 weeks post-op after being at work all day (which involves the very exhausting task of sitting at a computer) I get home and I feel like I could go to bed for the night. I force myself to go for a 2-3 mile jog or if I'm feeling lazy, a walk, and by the time I'm done I'm not tired anymore. I sleep like a rock at night, but forcing myself to keep a schedule instead of just sleep was the only thing that seemed to fix the pervasive exhausted feeling.

I didn't tell a single person before surgery and after surgery I told my three best friends, all of which I trust to not tell a soul. I used vacation time at work, however had it been questioned I would have said that I had a medical appointment (if I had to miss a meeting) and that there was no way to schedule it another time. Legally, they're not allowed to ask you what your appointment or surgery is for, although they may require a doctor's note...which is a matter of googling the doctor's name to find out your surgery. There's nothing wrong with keeping your surgery private and your job is legally obligated to respect that.

I am 3 weeks post-op yesterday and drinking is still awful. The only way I could get enough fluids was to use a straw (the doctor cleared this as long as it didn't cause extra gas). When I drink with a straw I don't have any pain through my chest as long as I'm not gulping. I feel like I can take the smallest sip without a straw and I feel the Fluid go all the way down, which is awful. I read somewhere that this may be the result of silent heartburn so I've been taking prilosec the last few days. So far it doesn't seem to be working, but I'm optimistic that it will improve in the future.

A few people have posted other forums with this on it, so you may find advice with a search (I did that before I packed for mine). I brought with me a giant suitcase of everything I could possibly need because I didn't have anyone with me. What I ended up using was a pajama top and pajama capris because it was really nice to walk around the halls without having to worry about a hospital gown. I also brought a sports bra because again, it's nice to be able to walk without the girls hanging loose. I was very happy I had brought my own pillow and my own blanket- it made it so much less miserable and for some reason I was freezing the whole time. On that note, the heating pad I brought with me was a lifesaver the entire time- it made the gas pains in my shoulder better and kept me warm. I brought with me an eye mask, which was amazing and I could sleep so much better. Deodorant, chapstick, contact solution, and Gas-X strips were all really nice to have as well. Oh- and grippy socks. Having your own socks is great and as long as they have the grips on the bottom the hospital doesn't mind if you don't use theirs. Don't forget your phone charger and if you have more than one thing to plug in, a powersaver strip is a good idea. I also brought with me a robe, which I didn't use because the IV is annoying to undo to get your arms in the sleeves. I had slippers with me, but I ended up just using the flip flops I wore in to surgery to walk around. I thought I might get bored so I had my laptop and iPad with me. I used the computer to complete something for work that needed to be done (which given I don't remember writing it because I was fairly high at the moment ended up turning out decently), but past that I had no interest in anything other than sleeping and trying not to puke. This is apparently different from people who don't have a reaction to the IV narcotics, lol. I was glad that I brought everything that I did because I didn't need anything the entire time I was in the hospital, but in reality you really end up only using a few things. Good luck in surgery!

I also asked my doctor about this because straws are the only way I feel like I can get enough fluids. The doctor said they advise against both straws and carbonation because it can cause excess gas, which causes pain. They also said that they urge people not to drink carbonated beverages for the first few weeks for healing purposes and after this because it eliminates the sugary sodas that many people like to drink. I had my 2 week post-op appointment last Tuesday and my surgeon said that if straws don't bother me, then I was free to use them. He also said it was fine to have carbonated beverages again, but I haven't had any yet- so not sure if that would cause gas or not. My surgeon is kind of jerk as a person (his bedside manner leaves something to be desired) but he currently has a perfect record- no leaks, no complications, and he's completed a few hundred surgeries. I wouldn't mind if he was a nicer guy, but he's an excellent surgeon so despite the fact that he treats me like I'm stupid, I do trust his medical advice.

So this topic is kind of old, but I just found it. Did you start back with the BJJ component of MMA at 3 weeks or did you wait a bit? Any issues with knee on belly? (that part concerns me the most because that hurt before the surgery!) My doctor cleared me to go back to practice in 5 weeks, but not a lot of people on here are into MMA and BJJ and it would be interesting to know how comfortable you were back in the gym following surgery. Thanks!

I do MMA, so both BJJ and boxing/kickboxing. I was concerned about missing practice, so it was a major question before surgery about how long I had to be out. My doctor cleared me for 5-6 weeks post-op and last week at my 2 week follow-up he said going back in 5 weeks was fine. I was also concerned about getting hit in the stomach and he said that the chance for injury is the same as it was before. By 5 weeks our stomachs have healed to a point that a little normal trauma (like a nice punch to the gut) won't hurt us anymore than it would have in the past. If you want to start slow, do a few bag rounds until you're comfortable. I notice now at three weeks that when I pivot, I can still feel a little bit of a pulling near my biggest scar, so I assume that if I give it the full 5 weeks, there shouldn't be any issues by then. I don't plan to hop into sparring my first day back though, so take it at a pace you're comfortable with.

I used mederma. I had 3 giant right red stretch marks that popped up a few weeks before surgery. One of my incisions goes right through them, so I had to wait until about 2 weeks ago to start using mederma. The scar is still a little red looking, but the stretch marks are already going away.

My prayers are with you and your family!

Hey! Another girl MMA person! I've been doing MMA for almost 6 years, but I really like the BJJ part the best. During that time I've gone from 130-237, with like 4-5 periods of 70-90 pounds loss and gain, so the boys at the gym are used to me being both fat and thin, lol. Before I got the surgery I confirmed with my doctor that it would not affect by ability to participate in the sport. He cleared me for both full MMA and just BJJ at 5-6 weeks post op. Last week was my 2 week-check-up (surgery was 9/9) and he said I was good to go back to practice on October 14. He said if anything hurts, don't do it, but at that point the chance of being injured was not any greater than it had been before the surgery. I explained to him the concepts of knee on belly and that you get punched in the stomach and his reply was "well that sounds awful, but at 5-6 weeks your risk is the same as before". From your post I get the idea you're new to the sport? If you have any questions about what to expect- message me!

My surgery day weight was 228.8 (I started at 237 on the pre-op diet 1 week prior to surgery). My weight 1 week after surgery was 218.2. I am now 3 weeks and 1 day from surgery and I was 213.6 this morning. If I'm reading your ticker right you are 5 days post-op and you have lost 1 pound? If you feel like things are going slowly, don't worry about it....you are likely retaining Water from the surgery and when the swelling goes down, so too will your weight. Good luck!

I sleep on my side and on my stomach and after about 10 days postop I was completely comfortable going back to my old sleeping patterns. My doctor told me it wouldn't hurt me to sleep on my side or my stomach, but that if it made me uncomfortable then why would I do it? He had a point, lol, and it just took a bit of patience to wait until I was healed enough to stop sleeping on my back.

I didn't have shortness of breath or bradycardia, but I had a hard time taking a deep breath for almost a week after surgery. I was concerned that it was something other than gas, but it went away at around the same time as the pain that I knew was gas went away. I thought I had ruined my life the first few days after surgery. I had never had surgery before so I was not at all accustomed to how horrible I would feel. As of tomorrow I will be 3 weeks post op and I feel great. Each day really does get better. I hope you're feeling better soon!

I was sleeved on 9/9 so I'm almost 3 weeks out. I had gas pain through the end of the second week. It went into my shoulder and my lower back. I felt horrible, but honestly what fixed it is walking. I went for my first run again last night and I had no issues, so every day gets better.

I've been sleeved for almost 3 weeks now and I asked my doctor about carbonation just yesterday. He said "if it hurts, don't drink it- otherwise enjoy". He said he tells people to stay away from it a lot because they want people to avoid sugary sodas. I like seltzer water and it's nice to know I can have it again if I want to.

Have you tried a toungue scraper? I had this problem too after I finished the liquid portion of my diet. I used a toungue scraper each time I brushed my teeth and my toungue was back to normal in a couple of days.

I've been on depo for almost 10 years. During that time I've spent about half the time being in the 130's, 1/4 of the time in the 150-180 range, and the other quarter from 200-240. I have been able to maintain at a low weight while on depo and I've easily gained while on depo- my weight has always been dependent on my habits, not my shot. It may make you hungrier (which I don't personally notice), but in the end if you choose to eat, it's not depo making you fat, it's you making you fat! Just as a note, I had my sleeve done about three weeks ago. I had just finished a cycle of depo when we scheduled the surgery and my doctor asked me to wait 3 weeks after the cycle was over to schedule the surgery and one month after it was over to resume out of concern for potential blood clots. I love depo and while some people don't tolerate it well, I have never had a problem with it and I don't feel that it impacts my weight one way or the other. When I eat like crap, I gain weight and when I eat well, I lose weight- depo is an excuse I could use to justify the gain, but it's really not the problem.

Jacksonville!

I stalled for a few days right before I switched to soft foods and now I seem to be losing again. I was eating a lot of broth and V8, which has a ton of sodium, so I wonder if that contributed to water retention, which made the weight seem to be stuck.

The first week after surgery I was freezing, especially in my arms and legs! A friend who is a nurse told me that a lot of her surgical patients report being really cold right after surgery and she thought it may have something to do with the anesthesia. I'm two weeks out now and I feel like I'm back to my normal body temperature. I live in Florida though, so it's kind of hot here at the moment either way.

Me too! I've only been on soft foods for 3 days now, but I don't feel awful- in fact I feel really decent. I am a little curious as to how my entire life people have been onto me when I was on my 800 calorie diets, but now it's totally acceptable to have even less than that. I don't quite know where the cut off is between acceptable and starving.

I was SO nauseous after surgery and for the first few days. It turned out my biggest problem was the narcotics because as soon as I was off them (day 2) things started getting much better. I'm 8 days out now and I still don't feel awesome, but there's no more dry heaving every 30 seconds.

I was sleeved 9/9 and I was SO sick until probably about a 6 days later. I'm slowly starting to feel better, but the first few days I was convinced that I had ruined my life forever because I just HAD to have a stupid weight loss surgery. Reading these boards helped a lot and just letting time pass. I hope you feel better soon!

I was sleeved on 9/9 and I have back pain too! I feel as if maybe (at least for me) it's because I'm not moving the way I usually do and my abdominal muscles are tensed in different ways than usual (because when I untense them I feel like my stiches are pulling). I'm also sleeping in a different position and I'm sitting differently too because my big incision is still kind of annoying me. Hopefully when our stomachs heal a little bit, our core can go back to supporting our back like it used to and the back pain will go away.