What Was It Like The First Day After Sleeve?

[lglavish 15]

My surgery is tomorrow- I'm nervous! How is it after waking up? Please tell your stories.

Thanks!

[Almostthere34 128]

I woke sore but in very little pain. I actually asked if I had been sleeved. I had pain meds in my IV. I was very lucky as I was really burpy but did not have gas pains. I hope you have a similar recovery. I completely expected to be laid out. Keep in mind every person is different. I asked for a nausea patch from the anesthesiologist. I highly recommend. I never took nausea or pain meds when I got home.

[ourjonesfam 18]

I'm not so good with anesthesia so it took me a while to wake up. It also took 3 different kids of meds to control the nausea. You will probably sleep the majority of the day as it will take the anesthesia about 6-8 hours to wear off. You will not eat or drink anything that first day. I did get up that night and walk the hallway up and back but that's all I could do. You won't be in pain because they'll have you on good meds! I was given morphine...the kind you could press for a dose but I hardly had to use it.

[BoBann 42]

I'm not going to lie, I was in pain but everyone is different. Each day brings remarkable improvement. Don't be scared, it's just a small moment in time and the sleeve is worth it. Good luck to you.

[Kabooboo 4]

The first day was kind of hard, but not due to pain really. I found it hard because I was so knocked out by the drugs that I just wanted to sleep, but the nurses wanted me to drink some and walk some. I finally "woke up" and felt alert late on the 2nd day and then I felt much better. I didn't really have any gas pain, but many people do. I had a really dry mouth and was a little afraid to drink. It takes some getting used to! Ice chips helped. The first week was hard due to the fatigue and feeling so tentative and unfamiliar with drinking, plus getting in so few calories. I felt much better the 2nd week and it's been getting better every week. I am exactly one month out now. Best wishes to you for a quick recovery and lots of success with your VSG!

[lglavish 15]

Thanks for the input- you guys are awesome

[MinaT 669]

When I woke up I was in a great mood. I went into surgery humming and I woke up with the thumbs up and smiling. The first day and night were fine. I know I hurt, but the pain wasn't overwhelming. I walked 3 times that night.

The next morning, day two was rough. I had a little tiny bit of nausea, but I was worried about the upper gi leak test. Luckily they gave me an anti-nausea shot (plus I had a patch) and I went for the leak test, the gastrique was horrible. I had an allergic reaction to the stuff and I broke out in hives. They never saw that happen to someone before. I was extremely nauseated and sick the rest of the day and they gave me tons of different anti-nausea medications. I still walked a lot. The third day, wasn't too bad. I was in the hospital 5 days. I had a drain 9 days, so I went home with the drain.

I made sure I walked....a lot. I brought decaff peppermint tea and truvia with me to the hospital. It made everything bearable.

Go into the surgery with a positive attitude. I had to remain strong and positive for my husband, son and parents. They were all terrified. I refused to let them see me terrified.

Sometimes all the world indeeds a stage and we are merely players....one of my mottos is fake it til you make it. I put on a brave face and I woke up with one.

I had complications during my surgery, some very serious ones that had nothing to do with the sleeve, and my family seeing me wake up after spending 7 hours in surgery, and 2 hours in recovery was just what they needed.

Best of luck to you. Smile, go into the hospital with a favorite song playing in your head and hum it to yourself into surgery.

My father had surgery recently and before surgery I told him that I used the family theme song (Sanford & Son) as my theme song into surgery and I hummed it to the nurses and he laughed. He said, I just want to wake up after surgery, and he sung, "Wake me up, before you go go" and we laughed. It's hilarious cause he's 74.

Edited to say* He actually sang it to his anesthesiologist before he went to surgery....

Good luck again.

Edited July 30, 2012 by MinaT

[Izuri 428]

I woke up in the recovery room with 2 nurses and I can remember telling them that it was hard to breathe. They told me that I was breathing fine and my O2 sat was 100%. I told them that I realized this but I just couldn't breathe well. They laughed and told me it was the CO2 and helped me sit up a bit so I could breathe better. I told them they were just so very nice =p

Once I got back to my room I felt quite a bit better, though still in a ton of pain. The morphine helped tons and a few hours later they had me up and walking around. I think the hardest part was getting up from the bed, because it felt kind of like my insides were stretching.

You'll do great =) The pain is totally worth it, and it is definitely manageable. Just don't be afraid to tell them if your pain is uncontrolled.

[Thinner Peace 24]

I did not have pain until day 2 which was easily controlled with pain meds. I had zero nausea. I walked immediately which felt like my stomache was falling off but it did not hurt. I was released day 3 and was completely off pain meds on day 4. It was so much easier than I imagined. Just make sure you walk and drink. The more you walk the better you will feel.

[Nikki613 120]

Love reading these stories. My hope for everyone is to have huge success!

[lglavish 15]

Thanks for all the great feedback!!

[Smoggy 152]

When I woke from anesthesia I was pretty sore but the nurses kept on top of my pain. I had one incident where I felt faint when I had to stand on the X ray machine to do my leak test but otherwise I was OK. I had a REALLY icky dry mouth the first day but lip balm helped a lot, and I was up and walking within hours which REALLY helped. The whole procedure was WAY less painful and traumatic than I expected it to be and I followed my surgeons instructions precisely and still am. I've had a very smooth recovery so far and I LOVE my sleeve!

[Sleevealicious 43]

Good Luck, lglavish! Definitely thinking good thoughts for you!! Be sure to let us know how it goes!

[NurseJenn 44]

My surgery is tomorrow- I'm nervous! How is it after waking up? Please tell your stories.

Thanks!

Best wishes today!!!

[lglavish 15]

Well I made it- surgery went well but the first part of recovery was rough. It hurt to breath and I felt like I couldn't catch my breath. They gave me some iv valium and brought my anxiety level way down which helped a lot. I stayed 24 hours and came home this morning. Have moderate pain but the pain meds are keeping up with it. I didn't have any nausea at all- none, zip, nada- which surprised everyone. Going back to sleep for awhile.