How much swelling should I expect?

[possumtrot 2]

My mom had colon surgery earlier this year and had significant swelling that lasted quite a long time, but she was not active either. I'm looking at my wardrobe and wondering how much swelling I should allow for with the clothes I will be wearing those first few days post-op.

Was your swelling from surgery very much and how long did it last?

[pnw218 14]

I didn't have any noticeable swelling and by the time I got home (day 3 post op), I was already in a smaller size of jeans! I didn't feel like I had lost any weight, but when I weighed on the morning of day 4, I was down over 10 pounds.

When I had a Tummy Tuck tho in 2007, the swelling from that lasted for weeks. For me, that was a much more difficult surgery with a cut from hip to hip. The sleeve was a lap surgery and very few discomforts at all.

If you have a pair of sweats, yoga pants or something similar, you should be fine. I like the danskin pants from Walmart. Inexpensive and comfy in the waistband.

good luck! I hope your surgery and recovery goes smoothly! it is an amazing surgery!

[possumtrot 2]

Thanks! Funny you mention those Danskin pants...I have 2 pair and had already planned on taking them. Good to hear about the swelling, although I'll save my favoritist pair of pants *ever* for after surgery just in case...terry cloth capris, as those babies fit whether I'm a size 18 or a size 24. I'm an apple shaped person so the swelling thing could make or break my wardrobe since if I swell too much my waist will go haywire I'm sure.

[educationrulz 18]

I'm 11 days out and until yesterday couldn't even think about pants without an elastic waist. Just last night I tried on some regular waist pants and was able to fasten them but the smaller sizes that fit everywhere else were very uncomfortable in the waist. But, I'm probably an exception to have this issue go on for so long. Luckily I haven't had to force the issue by wearing any nice pants since I'm on vacation right now. I think I may have more swelling because I've had so much trouble getting fluids in. Maybe I'm just starting to really flush some of that stuff out of my body. I'm determined to wear something cuter than my rubber waists today so I'll figure something out. :thumbup:

[possumtrot 2]

I've lost 10 lbs already (yay) so hopefully that trend will continue and if I just pack my regular clothes from right now I'll be comfortable enough. Thanks for the input folks. It would be a nightmare to have to take my post-op flight and be so swollen still that even my regular clothes are uncomfortable...although I made sure the flight back home is a non-stop just in case! I figured that would also decrease the liklihood of dvt. We will be staying 4 days after surgery so hopefully I'll be jellin', lol. Will definitely plan on wearing elastic on the trip home though!

I am stupidly sad, though, at the loss of my current wardrobe as for the first time in years I actually like my clothes...even if they are humongo by regular standards. I'm currently trying to find a seamstress who will be able to alter them for me as much as possible. After keeping huge totes full of clothes that were too small for decades, this past Jan. I finally got rid of them. Go figure. They probably would have been too outdated anyway, right?

[ANITALOU 2]

Hi Possomtrot,

I am hoping to get scheduled next week for my sleve...I see you are here in KY like me... (love to know that squash blossom recipe!) you are going to Las Vegas for surgery? Any particular reason why... I was thinking St Joes.. Lexington...they are highly rated...good morbidity rate below the national average, do you know something i need to know???? Please reply!

[SParkle 4]

I gained everything I lost in my pre op whilst in hospital, together with 2 inches around my waist!!

Take something very comfortable, both for wearing in bed and whilst walking around.

Good luck

[steve-o 0]

AnitaLou, I was sleeved June 3 by Dr. Weiss at Central Baptist. He has a very low complication rate. He told me that he personally has not lost a patient, even after several thousand weight loss surgeries, which as you know is much better than the standard morbidity rate of 1 every few hundred. He's only done 50-something sleeves, but, in my opinion, he really knows what he's doing, and I have always been extremely comfortable with him as my surgeon.

However, this is not the low cost approach.

[possumtrot 2]

Hi Possomtrot,

I am hoping to get scheduled next week for my sleve...I see you are here in KY like me... (love to know that squash blossom recipe!) you are going to Las Vegas for surgery? Any particular reason why... I was thinking St Joes.. Lexington...they are highly rated...good morbidity rate below the national average, do you know something i need to know???? Please reply!

No, don't know anything you need to know...I wish you nothing but the best on getting scheduled! I'm self-pay so I needed to go a more affordable route. I flat out couldn't afford the weight loss surgeons in KY or TN that I contacted.

DH insisted that I not go out of the country so Las Vegas it is! Looking forward to doing a tour of the Grand Canyon.

[ANITALOU 2]

I should have read all your replys... St Joes has a morbidity rate of .03 which is way lower than the national average that is between ,4-3.0. I have attended the "workshop" and also attended the workshop at Georgetown several years ago... at the time I just couldn't give up the soda.... I love Coke Zero....I bet I down 3 or 4 a day...I am dreading giving that up... one of the school secretaries here had the RNY and she drinks Diet Coke and I cant believe that...I would be afraid... I have been told about 18 months out you can have a few ounces on rare occasions... I'm thinking if I can go without it that long I will just do without...

[SarahD. 0]

Anitalou,

I too was a HUGE coke drinker. It was something that worried me also! I finally realized that i couldn't continue to hold myself back from being healthly all because of a drink! But I was pleasantly surprised that I really don't miss drinking Coke. I just don't crave it like I did. My family members still drink it and at times I wish I could have one, but it is'nt like a big craving for it, I believe that feeling is more of a head thing than a stomach "need". So, that was one battle that I was pleasantly surprised with! For me it is sort of hard to explain about the cravings. It seems like I just flat don't have them anymore. It took my husband a while to get use to eating in front of me. He felt like I was feeling deprived, but that wasn't it at all. It just doesn't bother me. It isn't like the dieting that I went through either. It is a very different feeling.

[ANITALOU 2]

SarahD,

I sure hope so... I am so addicted...and I do think you are right it is a head thing... I have my "whitening trays" in right now and am so wanting to just taken them out and get me a Zero...I even have hooked a couple of my friends... they willl freak when I quit..How do you really quit? Cold turkey or just cut down?

[Mi-Mi 0]

anitalou, i agree with steve-o, i think weiss is probably one of the best around. of course i'm sure st. joe's will be great too. i too attended a seminar at g'town years ago, so i just sort of followed weiss when i finally decided to do this and he practices at bluegrass bariatrics out of central baptist.

possum... i know it's a nosy question but i'm also a self-pay patient, so how much cheaper IS surgery in las vegas? and WHY

[Mi-Mi 0]

.... sorry i accidentally cut that last post short.

what i was gonna ask is WHY the surgery is cheaper there.

and last... steve-o... weiss has actually done about 70 sleeves now. still no personal deaths. and if i remember correctly, no leaks either. yay! we're in excellent hands, i truly believe that.

oh yeah! almost forgot! surgery date is set for JULY 19TH! woo woo!