What are some things that you wish you would have known before you got sleeved?

[MK1986 78]

hummm let me see.1. i didn't know my stomach would make loud noise "forever". 2. chronic Constipation and that is with treatment. 3. i miss eating. it feel like someone shot my best friend. i had surgery for medical reasons' date=' and it has helped. honestly i didn't mind being fat. i guess i would mind being dead. good luck and get gas x.[/quote']

Loud noise? Why??

[mattsbelly 76]

What do you suggest to suck on? I didn't realize you couldn't have any Water or anything for 24 hours.

You may not go as long but my surgery was delayed for several hours and it was 24 hours before I had my leak test which was my first drink. It may differ elsewhere. They gave me some lemon flavored moistened sticks to suck on. But my mouth was extremely dry and it was terrible. I'd look around for a product like that.

[MK1986 78]

I have read these forums forever...and I wish I would have known that there is a possibility that you would feel flu like after surgery... I am 4 days post op and feel like crap!!! No pain where surgery was.. just freezing cold...no energy..and gas moving through me like a freight train...and it wont come out...also a freaking killer Migraine and stiff neck from the hospital bed.. not to complain or anything... lol

Oh wow! Hope you feel better!

[Alamoloser 70]

I wish I gotten myself in the habit of eating slower beforehand. Still to this day I have a tendancy to just inhale my meal which in turn makes my sleeve uncomfortable. Plus, I eat so little at a sitting that I'm literally through with my meal in like 5 minutes.

[MissMissy3 2]

WALK....and walk....and walk. Your stomach is not going to fall out..hell, it's dam near gone! Roll your shoulders after surgery as much as possible to prevent gas from traveling up. Start a stool softener ASAP. Chapstick is a must! Listen closely to what you are told...it's all true! Eat slow and drink lots!!

I feel amazing and I had surgery Jan. 23. Down 38 lbs!

Good LUCK!

[PhilyNurse 119]

hummm let me see.1. i didn't know my stomach would make loud noise "forever". 2. chronic Constipation and that is with treatment. 3. i miss eating. it feel like someone shot my best friend. i had surgery for medical reasons' date=' and it has helped. honestly i didn't mind being fat. i guess i would mind being dead. good luck and get gas x.[/quote']

Lol. Although, Im rarely hungry. I also feel like someone shot my best friend. I miss food, but Im only three weeks out. Hopefully food won't feel like a chore at one year out.

[Heyher 581]

Heating pad for gas pain. Chapstick. Small pillow to place over tummy for when you cough.

And my tummy is talkative as well. Has an opinion about everything. :-)

[michelle38 23]

I will be 4 weeks post op Monday. My stomach still makes noises to. Sometimes it's funny to see other people reactions when they hear it. I wish I had of know I would stall so early at week two. It very discouraging. And that it would last so long. Two weeks to be exact. I had ice chips a few hours after surgery. Good luck to you.

[NikkiV1986 121]

Heating pad for gas pain. Chapstick. Small pillow to place over tummy for when you cough.

And my tummy is talkative as well. Has an opinion about everything. :-)

Oh my that's another one!!! My stomach/abdomen makes SUPER weird noises! You can feel it growling and gurgling around in there!! It happened last night at a friend's and everyone laughed!! Lol!! Just go along with it!!!

[NurseGrace 509]

I wish I would have realized how much my left shoulder was going to hurt and purchased a heating pad BEFORE surgery instead of hobbling around the pharmacy late one night like a freak bent over in pain trying to get it for myself freshly post op. Good times.

[clk 3,519]

I would phrase it much more nicely now that I'm not feeling as frustrated, but everything in my rant about ridiculous expectations applies here.

1) Surgery hurts, be prepared for discomfort.

2) Losing weight doesn't happen overnight, so please try not to weigh daily post op or you'll make yourself insane. It should take a lot less time to reach goal than it took to pack on enough pounds to need surgery, but it doesn't all fall off in just a few months, so try to be patient. Also, I'd add that it's important to scrap any expectations about the pace you'll lose before you even have surgery. You'll lose at the pace your body sets, and it's unlikely that you can affect that pace much.

3) Eating will be a challenge for a while. You'll lack energy until you can eat. You might feel like you're "hungry" when you're stuck on a liquid diet. This will all pass eventually and it's normal.

4) PPI, PPI, PPI. Take one. Be proactive. Lots of "hungry" folks just need better acid control.

5) Remember that the sleeve will help you lose weight, but only you can choose to overcome whatever obstacles or issues in your life made you obese in the first place. It's fully possible to graze and binge post op if you want to, so you have to keep that in mind and work on those issues right out of the gate if you want an easy time in maintenance.

VST is here for support and advice. Joining a group of people sleeved at the same time will be beneficial as they'll be right where you are in your journey. You shouldn't be afraid to ask questions or look for support, but remember that every question you have has also likely been asked before, so don't be afraid to search out old threads, too. Trust me - the three week stall was the same for us sleeved years ago as it is for folks sleeved last month. Don't miss out on a wealth of useful information that's out there because you might only get two or three quick replies to a question if it's a common one, but you'll have hundreds of answers to choose from if you go searching.

Most of all, good luck. I do not regret my surgery at all, even if the journey took a bit longer than I thought it would and had it's moments of frustration for me.

Do the work and you get to enjoy the results for a lifetime.

~Cheri

[rdt210 82]

I have read these forums forever...and I wish I would have known that there is a possibility that you would feel flu like after surgery... I am 4 days post op and feel like crap!!! No pain where surgery was.. just freezing cold...no energy..and gas moving through me like a freight train...and it wont come out...also a freaking killer Migraine and stiff neck from the hospital bed.. not to complain or anything... lol

A couple of years ago I had given up all flour and sugar, cold turkey... about 4 days after doing that, I felt the same way and I suspect this is what is happening to you. I felt AWFUL... it's like detoxing! And I was exhausted. Then after about a week, once it was really out of my system, I felt awesome and had tons of energy. You no longer are giving your body those sugar highs/rushes and crashing down from them - you're just in the crashing down mode for now. I'm getting sleeved on the 25th and am already anticipating this happening, even though I've been cutting way back on this stuff for the past couple of months. Hoping you feel better in the next couple of days.