Tillawen

Depends on the surgeon/individual. I had a band to bypass revision done two weeks ago as one procedure. I had the band in for thirteen years, and it hadn't been doing anything for me but causing me issues.

Went back to work a week and a half after bypass today...I work from home & do a desk job. Unfortunately wasn't possible to take anymore time off. Was definitely worn out by the end of the day, but part of that had to do with not sleeping well and being awake since 5am. I'm also still taking pain medicine, and dealing with various aches so I'm sure that contributed too. If I had to be up on my feet all day I'd definitely want more time off than a week and a half, probably more like 3-4.

Hopefully I will have some after pics to share sooner, rather than later... 😋

What I found helped me after both my Lap-Band 13 years ago, and my Lap-Band removal / conversion to bypass last week was having a body pillow on each side of me to prop against. This applies gentle pressure to my sides as needed, then two pillows for my head to adjust height as needed. I do have an adjustable bed this time around, but for my initial Lap-Band I did not. Even with that it was still difficult to sleep the first 5 or so nights home. I got about 2 hours of sleep at night, with another 1 hour nap during the day. I normally sleep on my side 100% of the time, immediately after surgery I slept on my back. After those first five days I've gradually kind of started sleeping more at an angle / somewhat on my side. I use the body pillow on the side I am facing for support, which helps keep some of the pressure off the incision on my right side.

I haven't been able to find them either! Online or in store... They seem to be unavailable and I don't see them listed on Gas-x's website. I'm wondering if they stopped making them. I've been taking the chewable version for the last week post surgery and have done alright on them, but would like to see if the strips work any better.

I'm also 8 days post-op and am experiencing pretty much the same thing. Left shoulder pain, it feels like a really bad muscle pull. The pain comes and goes, but can get up there on the pain scale. I'm also having some other pain in my abdomen, particularly the left side and chest left side, but I think this is largely due to gas/IBS. Pain meds have helped a little bit, but not as much as I would have liked. There have been several times where I considered going to the hospital or ER strictly for pain relief, but thankfully those periods pass. Usually the pain is manageable. I went for my one week follow up yesterday and mentioned my shoulder and other pain. The PA didn't seem concerned.. I was worried about a leak, but she attributed it to gas, soreness from being manipulated during the surgery, and potentially spine related due to past back issues I've had (I don't think that's the issue personally). My left abdomen pain she said was likely due to scar tissue from having a Lap-Band removed when I was converted to RNY. Personally I'm still concerned about having a leak and am going to see how I do over the next few days.

Hope all is going well for y'all. Still dealing with pain here. Not sure if it's gas pain, from having my Lap-Band removed, gallbladder removed or the actual bypass itself. Doesn't seem to be much incision pain...I think I may just have a low tolerance for pain lol. Unfortunately I've been struggling to sleep much ever since the procedure on Monday. Usually I get about 2 hrs of sleep, with a few short naps throughout the day as I can manage... This is despite being on tramadol, ambien at night and Phenergan as needed. Definitely feeling very worn down, being awake all the time has made reaching my fluid goals easier though! Interested to see how my follow up on Monday goes, should be able to graduate to pureed stage. Honestly I'm more excited about not having to crush my pills anymore.

Thankfully naseua is about the one thing I haven't had since surgery yesterday. Been fighting a fever since I was discharged. Also have incision pain and quite a bit of gas pain. While in the hospital I had some skim milk, tomato soup, beef broth, cream of wheat, low sugar vanilla yogurt and of course water. It's been a struggle trying to figure out how much I can eat at once, how quickly/slowly to eat, etc. Most of the meals I stretched over hours and didn't end up finishing before they took them away. When I got home, I had a Premier protein shake over the course of about five hours, then sipped on some Gatorade Zero, although I only managed a few ounces over the course of the evening. Right now I'm slowly trying some grits before I have my night time medicines crushed up!

Surgery went well. Gallbladder / Lap-Band removed, RNY performed. Woke up in a lot of pain and was given some diluadid and morphine pain pump. Sipping water and in my room now... Onwards to recovery! Supposed to be here overnight and released tomorrow, we shall see.

Good luck to all those with surgery dates for today or in the coming days! I'm getting ready right now to head to the hospital right now, more excited than nervous thankfully. See y'all on the other side! (Last official home weigh in... 315.2lb)

I'm having a revision from a Lap-Band I had done ~13 years ago to gastric bypass on 12/09. Two week pre-op diet of 5 protein shakes, 2/fruitv& 2/veggies per day has been tolerable. Nerves are starting to get to me...trying to stay occupied. Have to be at the hospital at 5 AM on Monday, bright and early.