Please give it to me straight...with no chaser...

[A_ReNUDE_me 148]

I am still so apprehensive about the surgery.I know it's necessary to save my life,but I would really like to hear from those post ops that have endured thier strugglesbut know that the surgery was still the best decision of thier life. I would like to hear 3 specific areas.

#1 Post sleeve what has been your personal worst day/week and why?

#2 What is the one thing that you thought getting the surgery would change, that hasn't and how have u learned to cope?

#3 What is the one thing u wish u knew to discuss with ur surgeon prior to getting sleeved?

I hate to be so specific, but your responses help me out since I feel knowledge is the one thing that is helping me get through the mental requirements of having this procedure. Thanks in advance to anyone who takes the time to respond

[SerendipityHappens 1,594]

Almost 7 months out.

1. worst week...Breaking up with my boyfriend week. Not sleeve related. It just wasn't working. There was no sleeve related worst week for me.. The surgery itself was a cake walk.

2. I knew that the surgery wouldn't help with emotional or boredom eating..... and yes it continues to be a struggle.. MORE than I thought it might.

3. I had read soooo much pre-sleeve that I arrived with a laundry list of questions all of which were answered to my satisfaction prior to getting sleeved!

[joatsaint 2,814]

I am still so apprehensive about the surgery.I know it's necessary to save my life,but I would really like to hear from those post ops that have endured thier strugglesbut know that the surgery was still the best decision of thier life. I would like to hear 3 specific areas.

#1 Post sleeve what has been your personal worst day/week and why?

#2 What is the one thing that you thought getting the surgery would change, that hasn't and how have u learned to cope?

#3 What is the one thing u wish u knew to discuss with ur surgeon prior to getting sleeved?

I hate to be so specific, but your responses help me out since I feel knowledge is the one thing that is helping me get through the mental requirements of having this procedure. Thanks in advance to anyone who takes the time to respond

1. It was the 1st week post op. I got the hiccups right before leaving the hosptial and stretched my stomach staples. I was hurting a lot for that week. I refused to take the liquid pain meds - they made me want to wretch.

2. Don't know. My only expectation was to lose weight... so far so good.

3. I would have asked him how much it was going to hurt right after surgery. And what pain meds he was going to use. And when he planned to sign me out of the hospital - my friend was coming to pick me up and it was a 2 hour one-way drive for him, so it would have been nice if he could have timed his arrival at the hospital instead of having to sit around for 4 hours waiting on my doc to arrive.

Pretty much everything else, I already knew to expect. I had hung around this board for a few weeks prior to surgery and seen lots of posts from new sleevers.

[crickee 85]

1. Worst had to be getting the flu 3 weeks after surgery was a nightmare that I lived through.

2. Nothing really, it has changed everything.

3. Nothing, my doc was great!

Read, read, read on this forum and you will be very informed! There is such a wealth of info from all of us sharing that if you do have an issue, it is likely to be covered somewhere on this forum. We are all here supporting you in your journey!

[A_ReNUDE_me 148]

1. Worst had to be getting the flu 3 weeks after surgery was a nightmare that I lived through.

2. Nothing really' date=' it has changed everything.

3. Nothing, my doc was great!

Read, read, read on this forum and you will be very informed! There is such a wealth of info from all of us sharing that if you do have an issue, it is likely to be covered somewhere on this forum. We are all here supporting you in your journey![/quote']

Thanks!

[sixbuttons 102]

1. Day 5 was hard for me. I had a total breakdown and cried most of the day. I didn't regret the surgery, but I missed not being able to eat. I wasn't even hungry - but I just WANTED to eat. I wanted chips, a burger, or anything that wasn't just liquid.< /p>

2. I really thought things would taste a lot different. I am almost 3 weeks post op and so far everything I've tried tastes exactly the same. I thought I was going to constantly be sick and I've not even thrown up once. Also, I guess I kind of expected to wake up a new person, but I didn't. I'm still me. I just eat a lot less.

3. I researched for years before actually having the surgery. I knew what I was getting into. I do wish I'd had better coping skills for head hunger, but that's pretty much went away at this point. The first week was the hardest, the second week I only experienced head hunger a couple of times, and now I just don't do it. I honestly think that has a lot to do with exercise. Exercising keeps me focused on something else and I'm getting to the point that I feel better when I exercise, so I guess my brain is just distracted.

[Macy6 356]

#1 Post sleeve what has been your personal worst day/week and why? #2 What is the one thing that you thought getting the surgery would change' date=' that hasn't and how have u learned to cope? #3 What is the one thing u wish u knew to discuss with ur surgeon prior to getting sleeved? [/quote']

Love this!

1. I would say around day 5. I was still fighting between Protein and hydration. Having terrible Protein reactions (horrid gas and diarrhea) I was tired, weak and just sad. It was around that time that I literally kicked protein to the curb. I went 100% to Water and staying hydrated. I felt better within 24 hours, my gas/diarrhea stopped and gave my body a much needed rest. When I started back with protein around day 12 I was 90% better.

2. I was hoping hoping hoping I wouldn't experience hunger but I do, and have since day 10-11. I cope by eating 5-6 small meals/snacks a day. If I stick with high protein I do great. If I eat crackers etc. I struggle. I have never struggled to hit my recommended calories of 900, or my minimum 60g of protein and avg around 85. I have never struggled with any food and somedays I just wished I would experience an issue with foods but I don't.

3. This is harder. I did a lot of research and had a lot of questions for my surgeon. I read a lot of books and frequented this forum and support groups through my clinic. I think I would say for you... Find out a post op nausea action plan. Does ur surgeon send u home with Zofran? I had Zofran dissolvable pills and phenegran suppositories (never needed those) I took Zofran around the clock and never got nauseous. It is something I see frequently complained about and I am thankful I never experienced it.

[A_ReNUDE_me 148]

1. Day 5 was hard for me. I had a total breakdown and cried most of the day. I didn't regret the surgery' date=' but I missed not being able to eat. I wasn't even hungry - but I just WANTED to eat. I wanted chips, a burger, or anything that wasn't just liquid.

2. I really thought things would taste a lot different. I am almost 3 weeks post op and so far everything I've tried tastes exactly the same. I thought I was going to constantly be sick and I've not even thrown up once. Also, I guess I kind of expected to wake up a new person, but I didn't. I'm still me. I just eat a lot less.

3. I researched for years before actually having the surgery. I knew what I was getting into. I do wish I'd had better coping skills for head hunger, but that's pretty much went away at this point. The first week was the hardest, the second week I only experienced head hunger a couple of times, and now I just don't do it. I honestly think that has a lot to do with exercise. Exercising keeps me focused on something else and I'm getting to the point that I feel better when I exercise, so I guess my brain is just distracted.[/quote']

Thanks for sharing!

[A_ReNUDE_me 148]

Almost 7 months out.

1. worst week...Breaking up with my boyfriend week. Not sleeve related. It just wasn't working. There was no sleeve related worst week for me.. The surgery itself was a cake walk.

2. I knew that the surgery wouldn't help with emotional or boredom eating..... and yes it continues to be a struggle.. MORE than I thought it might.

3. I had read soooo much pre-sleeve that I arrived with a laundry list of questions all of which were answered to my satisfaction prior to getting sleeved!

Thank you

[A_ReNUDE_me 148]

1. It was the 1st week post op. I got the hiccups right before leaving the hosptial and stretched my stomach staples. I was hurting a lot for that week. I refused to take the liquid pain meds - they made me want to wretch.

2. Don't know. My only expectation was to lose weight... so far so good.

3. I would have asked him how much it was going to hurt right after surgery. And what pain meds he was going to use. And when he planned to sign me out of the hospital - my friend was coming to pick me up and it was a 2 hour one-way drive for him' date=' so it would have been nice if he could have timed his arrival at the hospital instead of having to sit around for 4 hours waiting on my doc to arrive.

Pretty much everything else, I already knew to expect. I had hung around this board for a few weeks prior to surgery and seen lots of posts from new sleevers.[/quote']

Thank you for sharing

[A_ReNUDE_me 148]

Love this!

1. I would say around day 5. I was still fighting between Protein and hydration. Having terrible Protein reactions (horrid gas and diarrhea) I was tired' date=' weak and just sad. It was around that time that I literally kicked protein to the curb. I went 100% to Water and staying hydrated. I felt better within 24 hours, my gas/diarrhea stopped and gave my body a much needed rest. When I started back with protein around day 12 I was 90% better.

2. I was hoping hoping hoping I wouldn't experience hunger but I do, and have since day 10-11. I cope by eating 5-6 small meals/snacks a day. If I stick with high protein I do great. If I eat crackers etc. I struggle. I have never struggled to hit my recommended calories of 900, or my minimum 60g of protein and avg around 85. I have never struggled with any food and somedays I just wished I would experience an issue with foods but I don't.

3. This is harder. I did a lot of research and had a lot of questions for my surgeon. I read a lot of books and frequented this forum and support groups through my clinic. I think I would say for you... Find out a post op nausea action plan. Does ur surgeon send u home with Zofran? I had Zofran dissolvable pills and phenegran suppositories (never needed those) I took Zofran around the clock and never got nauseous. It is something I see frequently complained about and I am thankful I never experienced it.[/quote']

Thanks for shraring. Definitely asking about the nausea plan!

[sixbuttons 102]

I should have mentioned too that once most of my gas was gone, so was my nausea. Right after surgery, when is have a gas bubblevin my stomach, I'd feel like I was going to throw up and then I would burp and feel better.

[Bufflehead 6,358]

I haven't had a worst day/week since surgery, but I did have about an hour early on (maybe about 10 days out) when I was so tired of obsessing about counting carbs, calories, and Protein that I just wanted to give up and cry out of frustration and sadness. I just thought, I don't want to do this for the next three days, let alone the rest of my life! At that point I was feeling very sorry for myself. But I got over that pretty quickly.

What did I think would change that hasn't? Not much. Of course I was hoping to never, ever be hungry again and that didn't happen. I wasn't hungry for about the first 10 weeks but then hunger and cravings started creeping back. However, it's a different level of intensity with the hunger and cravings. Now I can acknowledge them, dismiss them, and keep going with my healthy eating.

What do I wish I had discussed with my surgeon? The only thing I can think of is the pneumatic booties I had to wear in the hospital to prevent blood clots. Sounds like a minor thing but they were the MOST annoying thing about the hospital stay and I wish I had been more psychologically prepared for them.

Overall, basically minor stuff I think