What Happens The First Few Weeks?

[Look@meitsEmily 26]

I am going to meet with my NUT one on one today. Surgery should be late September/ early October. I have seen lots of posts about regretting surgery the first few weeks after but it subsides eventually... can anyone go into detail about how they felt physically/ what they thought/ emotions. I am notorious for giving up (hence the weight problem) and I'd like to prepare myself for whats to come.

[traceyinflorida 499]

I can understand your concerns and wanting to be fully prepared prior to going in. I will start by saying everyone is different in how things go for them post surgery. Also anyone having problems is more likely to post on here in the early days reaching out for support, so it may seem that there are a lot of problems for people in the first few weeks post op.

My experience was pretty good. I was terrified of having surgery, but my need for getting to a healthy weight overrulled my fears. I was pleasantly surprised at how easy that part went. Roll in to room, asleep before I even realized what was happening, woke up and was surprised to be done. I was off pain meds by the following morning. The effects of anesthesia and the pain meds were ganging up to make me very nauseous so I stopped the meds and felt sore, but manageable. I was miserable, day two in the hospital. Just tired, bored, hated the bed, nauseous. When I got over my pity party and really started walking, I started to feel a lot better. By day three, I felt really good and was sent home. Sipping Water was really hard in the beginning. I just really had to focus on SIPPING and not trying to drink. broth helped, but I would have to reheat it constantly because it took so long to get down that it would get cold. Protein shakes suddenly tasted terrrible to me (but I like them again now) and were really hard for me to get down. I could only drink an ounce the first day and slowly built up to four ounces. I found that each day got a little better. For me, pain and nausea were not an issue, but getting in the liquids was a chore. By the end of two weeks I was really craving texture and flavor of food so was happy to get to pureed. By week four I could drink all eight ounces of a Protein shake, but it still takes me about 30 minutes. I could only eat a few small bites of food before I was full. I am eight weeks out now and feel great. Making sure that I get all my Protein and Water in is still a bit of a chore. It's really just a matter of planning well and executing the plan (both things I need to get better at) But the good news is that I have very few cravings. I have learned the signals of when I am full and when to stop. Sometimes, if something I am eating is really good, I am dissapointed that I had so little of it before I get full, but I get over it when I step on the scale and see the progress that I have made!

I hope this has helped a little. Like I said before, everyone's journey is different, but the common thread that I have seen on this forum from the veterean sleevers who are four months out and beyond is that most have seen incredible weight loss and are really happy they did it, despite some of the bumps and struggles along the way.

[amykins 202]

I can understand your concerns and wanting to be fully prepared prior to going in. I will start by saying everyone is different in how things go for them post surgery. Also anyone having problems is more likely to post on here in the early days reaching out for support, so it may seem that there are a lot of problems for people in the first few weeks post op.

My experience was pretty good. I was terrified of having surgery, but my need for getting to a healthy weight overrulled my fears. I was pleasantly surprised at how easy that part went. Roll in to room, asleep before I even realized what was happening, woke up and was surprised to be done. I was off pain meds by the following morning. The effects of anesthesia and the pain meds were ganging up to make me very nauseous so I stopped the meds and felt sore, but manageable. I was miserable, day two in the hospital. Just tired, bored, hated the bed, nauseous. When I got over my pity party and really started walking, I started to feel a lot better. By day three, I felt really good and was sent home. Sipping Water was really hard in the beginning. I just really had to focus on SIPPING and not trying to drink. broth helped, but I would have to reheat it constantly because it took so long to get down that it would get cold. Protein shakes suddenly tasted terrrible to me (but I like them again now) and were really hard for me to get down. I could only drink an ounce the first day and slowly built up to four ounces. I found that each day got a little better. For me, pain and nausea were not an issue, but getting in the liquids was a chore. By the end of two weeks I was really craving texture and flavor of food so was happy to get to pureed. By week four I could drink all eight ounces of a Protein shake, but it still takes me about 30 minutes. I could only eat a few small bites of food before I was full. I am eight weeks out now and feel great. Making sure that I get all my protein and Water in is still a bit of a chore. It's really just a matter of planning well and executing the plan (both things I need to get better at) But the good news is that I have very few cravings. I have learned the signals of when I am full and when to stop. Sometimes, if something I am eating is really good, I am dissapointed that I had so little of it before I get full, but I get over it when I step on the scale and see the progress that I have made!

I hope this has helped a little. Like I said before, everyone's journey is different, but the common thread that I have seen on this forum from the veterean sleevers who are four months out and beyond is that most have seen incredible weight loss and are really happy they did it, despite some of the bumps and struggles along the way.

Thank you so much for sharing. It really helps. :-)

[PdxMan 4,292]

Like Tracy says, I am incredibly happy that I had the surgery, but the first few weeks are hard, make no doubt about it ... and not for the reasons you might think ...

For me, it was what I call the fundamental change in my relationship with food. I had to come to grips with the reality of not being able to go to a buffet and eat to excess. Going into the surgery, I knew things were going to change, but then there is the ACTUAL reality of it. I sometimes used food for comfort and now that was no longer an outlet. Bottom line is everything changed for me and there is some adjustment time needed.

But, once I got through it, I began to enjoy my new relationship with food and feel relief that I no longer have to abuse food the way I used to and lead a healthier life.

[Izuri 428]

Historically I have not been the best at following through with diets, weight loss, etc. either. This surgery has been very different for me.

I had the surgery last Thursday, so I can only give you my perspective of the past week.

Last Wednesday I was freakin out with anxiety. I was excited at the same time, but I'd never had surgery and all these things were going through my head. Luckily, I'd worn myself out at work and on the liquid diet so I pretty much passed out that ***ht at like 8pm. My surgery was Thursday morning, the first cut was going to be at 7am. I arrived at 6am. They did blood work to do a pregnancy test (They do on all females of child bearing age) and then sent me up to pre-op. Pre-op I was getting a little more nervous. They gave me a shot of Lovenox in my side and then I met my doctor and anesthesiologist. They gave me a sedative and wheeled me into the surgical room. The last thing I really remember is getting on the operating table. When I woke up I was in recovery. I had a ton of gas in my abdomen from the Co2 they had pumped in. It felt like I couldn't breathe well so I kept trying to sit myself up. I told the two nurses I didn't think I could breathe and they reassured me it was just the gas and that my oxygen saturation was at 100%. Thankfully that didn't last long and they moved me into my hospital room.

Once I was in the hospital room I was in quite a bit of pain. They had me on a PCA (Patient controlled analgesia) pump so I could push a button every 8 minutes and get some morphine. You had better believe I used it that first day. I felt a little nauseous and the nurses were more than happy to give me medication that took care of the nausea really quickly. I used the pain pump as I needed and ended up being fine. About 4 hours after surgery they woke me up and had me walk around. The first walk was the hardest. Getting out of bed it really hurt, felt like I was stretching hurt muscles (which I was in my abdomen) but once I got walking it felt better. The walking helped break up with gas a lot. I also used Gas-X strips every so often. The worst thing about this was that they put me on a catheter while in surgery and every time I walked I felt like I had to pee but couldn't. I can for sure tell you that the catheter was probably the only part of the process that made me pissed off, lol. It was also kind of sore. Thankfully, they took it out the second morning.

I had a hernia repair also, though it was small, only a couple stitches per my surgeon. The worst part that I attribute to the hernia repair is I kept getting hiccups. They were painful. Thankfully, every time I got hiccups I would get my incentive spirometer, do a couple deep breaths, and they would go away.

Day 2 was pretty uneventful. More walking, more pain pump. It was not as painful as the first day. I got a ton of sleep, which helped a lot.

At the end of day 2 I was able to pass urine after the removal of the catheter and had passed my leak test so they allowed me to go home. They discharged me on liquid Lortab, which is not as good as morphine =p The first ***ht and day after at home I spent a lot of time resting. I wasn't able to lay flat in my bed so I slept in the chair. I was all around pretty uncomfortable. My hiccups had stopped. I was able to get down some liquids.

Every day since then has been up hill. Today is day 6 or so post-op and I can really say that I feel good and have been feeling good for about 2 or 3 days now. I can get up easily. Most of my gas has dissipated. I am able to eat and drink without much pressure or pain. I can sleep in my own bed, and can even sleep on my side now for short periods of time. I get up and down stairs with little effort. I have been getting in walks at least twice a day. I feel great. I have a little bit of pain here and there, but I take my pain medications only as needed and at ***ht before bed.

It was so much better than I thought it would be. I was really worried, and my fears were unfounded. I know not everyone has the best experience, but it has been a great experience for me. I would do it again in a heartbeat. I don't have any hunger and so far the only thing I have been frustrated about is when a friend ate Chinese food in front of me (It's my favorite). Other than that it's been smooth sailing. The only things I have to watch out for are dehydration (It's VERY easy to not drink enough water) and getting in Protein can be difficult.

I hope this puts your mind at ease a little. Let us know how your surgery goes =)