3 Days Post-Op And Feeling Regret :'(

[LorenaVaca 29]

My post-op experience has not been so good. I ended up having to stay at the hospital 3days 2nights. A day after surgery they tried to get me to start getting liquids in and as soon as i took one droplett of any liquid i started to dry heave. My blood pressure shot up to 186/118 this was very scary. I was finally able to get liquids down without getting sick. Im home now but feel so helpless so fragile. The gas is killing me. I think if it werent for the gas i would feel so much better. Ive only had Water and sugar free popsicles. Im scared to take my Vitamins. I feel like crap :'(

[7carol3 212]

Hang in there! I'm sure it's no fun but in a week you won't feel regret. This is just one of the bad moments, it will get better!!

[miminyekye 2]

My post-op experience has not been so good. I ended up having to stay at the hospital 3days 2nights. A day after surgery they tried to get me to start getting liquids in and as soon as i took one droplett of any liquid i started to dry heave. My blood pressure shot up to 186/118 this was very scary. I was finally able to get liquids down without getting sick. Im home now but feel so helpless so fragile. The gas is killing me. I think if it werent for the gas i would feel so much better. Ive only had Water and sugar free popsicles. Im scared to take my Vitamins. I feel like crap :'(

I felt the same way the first week it was very hard I questioned my decision I cried I was so weak and had no energy but it gets better :-) I'm now going into my third week and can have mushies and it only gets better from here on out hang in there and try some Vitamin Water and get those vitimins in it will help u feel better and have more energy.

[GoState 12]

So sorry to hear you are having a rough time. I'm 11 days out, and would be lying if I said I haven't had some thoughts of remorse (b/c I'm addicted to food and will miss the old days) but hang in there. Let your body heal and it should get better. Can you walk? Try walking short distances several times a day and see if that helps with the gas. God Bless!

[luckylady131 51]

You sound like me. I was unable to keep anything down the first 24 hours even with a anti-nausea patch, zofrin and phenergan! A couple of ice chips had me retching and puking. It was god awful. My blood pressure shot through the roof and my heart rate would not come down below 110bpm being perfectly still. Any movement at all and it would shoot up and make the alarms go off. They finally had to reset the alarms!

Now I am 12 days out and feeling a lot better. I just started my pureed phase. I'm still figuring out what works and what doesn't. The gas pain in my left should FINALLY went away 2 days ago. Walking does help with that. Don't worry about Vitamins. Don't worry about Protein. Just try to find something you like to drink - preferably room temperature and just nurse it. I stuck to Gatorades the first week. I tried to get down some clear Isopure (Isopuke is more like it), but I found it barely tolerable. Could only get through half a bottle each day. I recently started drinking Crystal Light in Water, as regular Water still tastes nasty and makes my stomach hurt. It doesn't help I have to crush up my medicine and drink it in plain water - so nasty and bitter.

SF popsicles were also good. Hated orange but liked purple and red. Also try a bit of sugar free Jello. I usually hate the texture of Jello, but I found it tasted good - kind of let it melt a little in my mouth.

Hang in there, it does get better. Those first few days are a doozy for a lot of people. I took naps every day, and I never (I mean NEVER) take naps. I knew then that I had been knocked on my butt! Listen to your body...it does let you know what it needs.

[kimmy*custis 276]

Hang in there, it does get better. The first week can be quite tough on some. Every day you will be a bit better. Make sure to walk as much as you can, it helps with the gas. Best of luck to you!

[Catracks 865]

If you still have trapped gas, you need to get up and walk. That's all I did when I came out of surgery. I was warned about the gas and everyone here was right. Walk and sip, walk and sip. The more you use your muscles, the faster you will recover. This is your single and only job right now.

[OakCliffMom 13]

I'm in the same boat right now. Surgery was Tues. So sick on Wed that they didn't even try to make me drink. I had constant dry heaves despite all of the anti-nausea cocktails. Home now and barely nursing Water and tea. Woke up at 4am nauseous and so scared that I have done this to myself. Somewhat calmer in the light of day, and I'm sure I'll be glad in the long run, but if I had it all to do over again. . . I don't know what I'd do.

[lollyfidy1965 402]

I had my surgery on June 19th. On the morning of the 10th, they took me down for a swallow test...and found that my sleeve was so inflamed it was completely closed...nothing would go through. I went back to my room, where they put an NG tube back in (to suck out any acid/fluids that worked their way out of my sleeve), and I was NPO for 4 1/2 more days. Thank God I experienced no hunger, or I would've gone mad!! LOL I experienced horrible nausea for 4 days, and the acid reflux was terrible...even though the NG tube sucked it all out. I stopped using any pain meds after 3 days. They finally removed the NG tube after 4 1/2 days, and allowed me to try sips of Water overnight. With Water conquered, I was allowed Clear Liquids the following morning...chicken and beef broth...which went down with no problems. On the 25th I was released to go home, on "full liquids".

When I went home, I was given a script for liquid Zantac (remember the bad acid in the hospital??). I took it religiously, but still started experiencing breakthrough acid about 4 weeks after being home. An added Prevacid has kept the acid under control. Unfortunately, when they added the Prevacid, they bumped me back to "full liquids", after having been on "soft/pureed" foods for a week. 3 additional weeks of "full liquids" ended yesterday, so I'm slowly reintroducing some soft foods again.

Even with these challenges, I'm so incredibly grateful for the change I've been given...to get my life, and my relationship with food, under control!! I felt like crap the first week, and was exhausted the first month after coming home, but I'm finally feeling really good...most days, at least. What's my point?? Hang in there...I promise it WILL get better!! Follow your doctor's instructions to the letter, be as active as you can be, and don't let low-energy days get the better of you, psychologically. You've made an amazing decision, to get healthier, and get healthier you will!! Best of luck!

[Nimm 31]

Same boat as well - sleeved on Tuesday (8/7) and I think by the next day I was in my bed crying because I had ruined my life. I was in the hospital two extra days, I didn't want to drink anything, and when I did I could only have a sip before my body hurt so much I couldn't stand it. WALKING HELPS. That's pretty much all I did when I got the chance, and even though I got the hiccups every time I went for a walk (and boy did they hurt) I could tell they helped with the gas. I think the gas was my biggest issue as well, even when I was cleared to go home, my biggest fear was that I'd have to live with the gas forever.

I'm home now and I still dont think I drink as much as they say I should, but I feel tons better. Stitches are of course sore, but I barely have any gas problems. I kept thinking that it wasn't going to ever get better and it did! So hang in there it can only get better from here.

[LorenaVaca 29]

Thank you to all of you have given me such great advice and for reminding that there is light at the end of the tunnel. I am not soneone who tolerates gas or nausea very well. I could prob do the pain better. I feel soar but not to the extent i cant stand it. The gas has been my main complication. I myself cant get all the liquids in that they would like and what makes it worst is when i do take a sip or two it cause even more gas. I know it is all worth in the end but what makes it harder for me is having a 4yr old to take care of. My husband works two jobs so there hardley any help there. I just feel selfish i guess knowing that i cant be the mommy that he is used to. Its almost as if he is taking care of me. Again thank you ladies for all of your encouraging words! Cant wait to see the outcome

[LorenaVaca 29]

I started to walk on my treadmill today. I did a 10 min walk then a 5 min walk and then back to the 10min walk it seems to help lil by lil i will up it up i just dont want to over do it.

[Catracks 865]

Wait until he see the mom you will become. You will feel so good that you may run circle around him soon. I'm not kidding. I drag my daughter up mountains these days. Dang lazy teenagers.

[DivineMissM 60]

If it makes anyone feel any better, typically post op day 3-4 are the worst days, NO MATTER WHAT SURGERY YOU HAVE. So, just give yourself some time for your body to adjust.. even though you dont' have big incisions in your belly, INSIDE there has been some major changes. So be kind to yourself. Rest, take your pain meds, Walk. Do as the nurse tells you to do ( being a nurse, I just HAD to put this in..). Things will get better. And your new life waits! Goodness knows I am so excited about my future! Its all good. Hang in there.