Gottajustdoit

Maria My Turn---I never had major surgery, but I was surprised how well I felt a few days out from gastric bypass. I think this will be fairly easy for you compared to what you've been through! I, too, want to ditch my CPAP and feel more energetic. Good luck with the pre-op diet. I hated it and had headaches all the way through for 10 days. Hope it goes better for you!

HI Dubchild. Welcome! I had gastric bypass on Feb 13 and my chief complaint was a sharp stabbing pain on my left side, about midway down. After a week post-op I called the nurse to see if it was a normal pain. She wasn't all that concerned and explained that a lot of the surgical work was done in that exact spot so that is most likely the reason for the pain. I think you are experiencing the same thing. For me, the pain was almost constant, but did subside at times. Given it's a sharp pain, it's doubtful you pulled a muscle--I would assume that would be more like an ache. Give it a few more days and it should subside. If not, just give your surgical team a shout to see if they want to do imagining of the area. The longer you wait to start pureed foods the better to give your stomach time to heal. I imagine I will start pureed foods after I see my doctor for my first post-op on Tuesday (13 days after surgery) but I'm a slow healer so he may suggest I wait another week.

That is all fantastic news, iDawn! My NUT is making me go much slower. I have another week of full liquids, then two weeks of pureed food, then after that, I graduate to soft mushy foods, like scrambled eggs. I have heard that eggs are not often liked after surgery. I like eggs, so hope I will in the future. Thanks for the good ideas on what you've been eating. I went to Wegman's (a grocery store) tonight that is one massive food mall with a full dining service and lots of prepped foods. This was my first grocery store jaunt since surgery and I found it to be a very interesting experience. I wasn't so much hungry as I was craving certain things--not sweet things though (odd). I scoped out foods for my mush phase and I'm looking forward to refried beans, mild guacamole, mashed potatoes, mashed cauliflower, deviled eggs, egg salad (maybe?), and Laughing Cow cheese. Did you have any issue with the cheese stick? I suppose you had to chew it very well. Did you heat up the refried beans and add a little shredded cheddar? Tonight by "dinner" was strained baked potato soup from Wegmans. I also bought all the ingredients for Shelly's Baked Ricotta. Great job on meeting your goals!

Wahoo! Where's the smile?

I had a horrible headache for a few days when I first started my pre-op. I hope it passes for you! 3 day left!! I'm not sure what a "diabetic" diet is (I'm a Type 1 diabetic), but if you are pre-op and radically cut out sugars and caffeine, you will have a whopper of a headache. I felt the same way for most of the ten days on my all-liquids--like my brain was too big for my skull--just a relentless exploding headache. I also felt a bit nauseated and very light-headed. The day before my surgery I got my period....and I am going through perimenopause so I hadn't had it since November. Of all the times for it to come back! So, given my PMS symptoms are similar to what I was going through on the pre-op diet, I was miserable. Thankfully, once through surgery, the headaches were gone.

Are you getting up and walking around? The gas is NOT FUN but I found some relief in getting out of bed and walking a few laps around the hospital floor. I went very slowly with my husband close by, then gradually got up to a brisker pace by the end of Day 2. Honestly, the gas does linger. When I got home I took a few droppers of the baby gas reliever. Helped some. A few days after I got home I did marches standing in place. That seemed to move some of the gas along too. I did not have any flatulence for the first few days either, but it slowly came. I'm 9 days out and fortunately, most of the gas is gone, but there are still twinges here and there. It just takes some people forever to get rid of it. Hope you find relief soon!

Great idea! Thanks for sharing. I am getting so tired of the same liquids as well. Head hunger is starting to set in. i think I'm a week away from pureed foods, although I'm not really sure how the fat-free/sugar-free Jell-O is all that different from pureed foods. I definitely will be making the ricotta bake first thing!

Sounds about right. I was able to get in two Premier Protein shakes (60g protein) in and three 16 oz water bottles in about 5 days after the surgery. The trick is to keep a bottle in your hand and never put it down. Just sip, rest, sip, rest, sip.....Oh, make sure to put the lid back on! I had one incident where a bottle of water leaked out all over the bed. Ugh.

I had my surgery on Wednesday this week and got discharged last night. The pain in my stomach feels like a combination of gas and swelling--like I was punched in my stomach 1,000 times or did 1,000 stomach crunches. Any idea how long this swollen feeling and gas will last? Is it normal to feel like this for a few weeks? A week? Just trying to figure out what the "normal" is for the tummy pain.

Finally and answer. I figured such a specific relentless pain could not be gas alone. I feel better knowing that. I understand that is the area where a lot of "rerouting" was done so it make sense to have the pain there. I was beginning to wonder.....

Welcome to the Feb 2019 group! You will get a lot of great info binge reading our posts. Some of us have already had bariatric surgery and some of are on the warm-up bench. What surgery are you having and what has your journey been like so far?

Ha ha! Good one! Sounds like you've been through a lot!

Same, same, same. I'm more of a constant sipper of water than breaking it up by 2 oz every 15 minutes. I do the same with my Premier Protein shakes. Sip, sip, sip. I'm still sleeping on my back, but feel as if side-sleeping might be in the next night or two. Surgery date: Feb 13.

Interesting. It looks like you have 6 incisions. I have only 5. One in (or right above) my belly button, two on the right, one in the center between my ribs, and only one on my left. Anyone else have 5 for gastric bypass?

Hi EmzBee--I'm one of the 13th "quads" and this morning was my first really "feel good" day. So, it took until about my 6th day post-op to feel less swollen and tender. I still have one area that hurts on and off--must be a persistent gas bubble on my left side--but other than that, I'm feeling pretty good. I have had very little nausea--thank goodness. I heard that smelling Vicks or peppermint oil helps with the nausea. I sip water constantly and have gotten in two protein shakes a day, but not much else. I have had small amounts of soup and sugar-free fat-free chocolate pudding. Today is the first day I felt actual hunger and had minor cravings for some foods. Hang in there...I was very frustrated by not feeling well and today it was so much better. It does happen! Wait a few more days....and keep sipping that water!

How did you make the ricotta bake? I've got a few weeks before the puree stage, but starting to think of ideas that might sound good. I really love cheese so I already have some Laughing Cow Cheese on my counter waiting for me!

Definitely do! They gave me something in the pre-op room too, so if you do take the Ativan, let them know you already took a mild sedative.

So good to hear you are on the other side of surgery!

Hi there, Yes, I am 6 days out and still have sharp, periodic pain in my left, about midway in my abdomen about 3 inches down from my ribcage. It comes and goes, but it's the most notable pain I have. On day 2 I started getting a horrible pain in my right shoulder, which was definitely gas and lasted 3 days. I'm home now and today I'm feeling really pretty good...just that periodic sharp pain in my left side and sore stomach.

Thanks for sharing your experience. Did you find a Tylenol liquid that was not Children's Tylenol?

Thanks NH1 and BlueiGT! Right now it seems as if the gas pain is in one specific area...a sharp pain in my left side in the middle of my abdomen. No other gas in the shoulders, just in that one specific area, as if a hot poker is jabbing me. It's a very sharp pain. Because it is so specific and persistent, I sometimes doubt it is a gas bubble. I'm hoping it goes away soon! Surgery was Feb 13.

Does your stomach feel sore and tender, like you did way too many stomach crunches the night before? Or is your pain mostly gas pain?

How are my fellow February 13 surgery friends doing? What sort of pain (if any) are you having? I'm concerned that my pain is more than I should be having. Sharp shooting pains in my midleft stomach and just a feeling of soreness when I get up and start moving around. The nagging pain in my right shoulder has finally gone away. I can't sleep on my side yet, which is a bummer because I'm a side sleeper. How is your energy level? Are you doing OK getting in your protein and water? My goal is three 16.8oz water bottles per day and 2 30g Premier Protein shakes a day. I've had a little sugar-free, fat-free pudding, but I"m not really hungry for food.

Congratulations! I had that same feeling--a sense of accomplishment as I wavered so long as to whether to get gastric bypass surgery. I hope you're healing well.

Welcome to the group Skyguy!