My 1st Week's Experience Post-Op Sleeved!

[goodday 0]

Wow! I'm finally sleeved!

Just a few months ago I didn't even know what sleeved meant. I was sold out to the lap-band until I spoke with the psychologist and surgeon who educated me on all of my options. I then knew the sleeve was for me. I was sleeved on 3/23/10. Going into surgery, I was at peace with my decision and I had a positive state of mind. My recovery has had its ups and downs but overall I am recovering very well. When I woke up from surgery, the first thing I noticed was terrible pain in my back. I felt no pain in my stomach. It was all in my back. I was told that it was a combination of the gas that they pump into my stomach for the surgery and the position my back may have been in during the surgery. Thank God for Dilaudid pain medication! Walking does wonders too. It helped my back pain to leave within a few days.

The scars can be a little alarming. When I look in the mirror, I see what looks like six bullet wounds in my stomach. Hopefully the scars will go away. The best way to describe my new tummy is "weird feeling". I was told it's a little longer than my thumb. I believe it because I can barely eat 2 ounces of pureed food before I feel the "weird feeling". It's like a deep pressure, slowly coming up from my stomach to my chest. Also, I am suppose to get 60-80 ounces of Fluid in a day. Who in the world can get this much Fluid in within a day? I sip all day and still can only get to 55 ounces. My stomach is so swollen. It's really difficult getting in the fluids. But I must try because I do not want to be hospitalized for dehydration.

One major mistake I made was to bend over in the shower to wash my feet. OMG! I had an indescribable pain in my stomach. It was unbearable! But thank God it only lasted a few minutes. I just kept saying, "This too shall pass!" Today was my first day back to work. I did well but was really exhausted when I got home. I am looking forward to my new journey to good health. I just pray that I can get control of my mental love affair with food. I keep dreaming about donuts and pastries about as large as my bed. Last night, I dreamt I beat up the waitress because she refused to serve me more pork potstickers. She said I had met my limit. Please pray that my mind, body, and soul will all get on board to be committed to succeed at losing this weight. Thanks for listening.

- Michelle

[notsofluffy 3]

Yay Michelle!

Good luck and thanks for sharing your biginners issues . I will refrain from bending!

[Lee 19]

Michelle, congratulations on a great first week. It gets better every day and your energy will return. Even bending over gets easier! Welcome to the Loser's Bench!

[pnw218 14]

Congrats Michelle!!

The first week is the hardest for sure! Yes, dilaudid is my favorite! I was down with a bad back for 6 weeks over a year ago and it was a combo of dilaudid and some other good stuff that actually kept me in bed for three weeks!

The scars will go away. The ones I had from a prior lap surgery were hardly noticable.

I totally agree about the fluids and the mental. I have taken a few days off from logging everything I eat or drink. Just needed a little break.

Sounds like you are doing great tho! Congrats again!

[Faithful D 0]

Hi Michelle, we were sleeved the same day! I've been doing pretty well until today, I bent down, I guess too quickly since my incisions aren't bothering me that much, and OUCH!

I've been sipping every 30-45mins and have been doing pretty good on the fluids. Maybe that can help you some with your fluids

I wish you a speedy recovery!

[FabBy50 0]

Hi Michelle

Thank you for you detailed account of your surgery, it really helps pre ops to have an idea of what it is really like!

So glad to hear that you opted for the sleeve, I made the mistake of having the band first...hated it!

Your scars will be just little silver lines after awhile, I'm 3 months out and mine are just little silver lines. The ones on the sides are so small you can hardly see them.

Yes your new stomach will definately tell you when you have over done it. I get a pain in my chest when I'm getting full. I have only pushed it past that once, and I did not like the amount of pain I had. Now when I feel that slight discomfort I stop. It is very hard to get your Water in, especially in the first few weeks. If you are getting 55 oz in right now you are doing good. Just keep trying to get more in.

I think one of the hhardest things for most of us to deal with is the fact that we can't gorge ourselves anymore, but you really won't want to. My favorite thing about the sleeve is that I can eat anything!!! I have not found one food that bothers me, I just eat smaller portions. You won't have to feel deprived at all.

Good luck and happy losing!

[thinoneday 445]

Wow! I'm finally sleeved! :lol0:

Just a few months ago I didn't even know what sleeved meant. I was sold out to the lap-band until I spoke with the psychologist and surgeon who educated me on all of my options. I then knew the sleeve was for me. I was sleeved on 3/23/10. Going into surgery, I was at peace with my decision and I had a positive state of mind. My recovery has had its ups and downs but overall I am recovering very well. When I woke up from surgery, the first thing I noticed was terrible pain in my back. I felt no pain in my stomach. It was all in my back. I was told that it was a combination of the gas that they pump into my stomach for the surgery and the position my back may have been in during the surgery. Thank God for Dilaudid pain medication! Walking does wonders too. It helped my back pain to leave within a few days.

The scars can be a little alarming. When I look in the mirror, I see what looks like six bullet wounds in my stomach. Hopefully the scars will go away. The best way to describe my new tummy is "weird feeling". I was told it's a little longer than my thumb. I believe it because I can barely eat 2 ounces of pureed food before I feel the "weird feeling". It's like a deep pressure, slowly coming up from my stomach to my chest. Also, I am suppose to get 60-80 ounces of Fluid in a day. Who in the world can get this much Fluid in within a day? I sip all day and still can only get to 55 ounces. My stomach is so swollen. It's really difficult getting in the fluids. But I must try because I do not want to be hospitalized for dehydration.

One major mistake I made was to bend over in the shower to wash my feet. OMG! I had an indescribable pain in my stomach. It was unbearable! But thank God it only lasted a few minutes. I just kept saying, "This too shall pass!" Today was my first day back to work. I did well but was really exhausted when I got home. I am looking forward to my new journey to good health. I just pray that I can get control of my mental love affair with food. I keep dreaming about donuts and pastries about as large as my bed. Last night, I dreamt I beat up the waitress because she refused to serve me more pork potstickers. She said I had met my limit. Please pray that my mind, body, and soul will all get on board to be committed to succeed at losing this weight. Thanks for listening.

- Michelle

Hi Michelle, I did that dreaming thing. . for me it was i beat a man with a steel pipe cause he was coming after my curried food. . so i beat him, picked up my plate and escaped through a tube. . . stupid dreams. . i was about 1 week out too. . . don't worry sweetie, that will eventually go away, the head cravings and hunger is what i battle with, sometimes i succumb to it and eat what is giving me grief and sometimes i don't, i just combat it with Water or SF crystal lite. . . good luck on your journey, it definately is different. . . i'm 13 weeks out and tummy still feels weirdo to me. . . hehehe:lol0: but the obesity was much much more weird:scared0:. . . glad to be getting rid of that!

[goodday 0]

Thanks for the reassurance and support. I'm thrilled to have found this site! Can someone please let me know how long before I can expect to see a significant weight loss? I loss 15 pounds prior to my surgery because I was on a liquid diet. I have loss another 5 pounds after surgery. Will it be a good two months before I see, let's say another 20 pounds gone? I guess I'm a little anxious. Thanks again for all of the comments and suggestions. I truly appreciate it.

Edited April 1, 2010 by goodday