What does it feel like?

[auntiemel 275]

I'm sure this has been answered multiple times...but, what does it feel like when you wake up? Can you tell your stomach is different? Did it hurt a lot? What was it like when you first tried to eat or drink something? I'm trying to prepare myself...but it's not like I can find literature anywhere on what it feels like lol

[wormiesdad 0]

This is a good question!! I get sleeved on Sept 9 and id love to know as well...even though it seems everyone's incision pain, gas pain, etc is different!

[Thinkingthinner1109 485]

Well you can't tell that a piece of your stomach is gone by the way you feel. If you want me to be honest though. The pain hurt like heck for me. The gas wasn't too bad but once it started to pass I felt much better. I have experienced horrible Migraine headaches and very disturbing vivid dreams which are continuing 6 days post op. Crushing medications is absolutely horrible. I have burning at my incision sites. When people,say your tastes change they are right. Used to love my Unjury Protein Shakes now I have to gag them down. I was sent home with a binder that has helped tremendously. And compression stockings for the prevention of blood clots. Oh and for the first time I got in the scale yesterday and had GAINED 6 pounds. I was severely depressed but have been assured on this forum that it will go away quickly. I have not cheated Ion this diet and I have been walking faithfully. I have been on a diet and exercise regimen since May 32st and had lost 60 pounds. The scale has never moved up in that time until I got my surgery, so you can see why I was so discouraged. Today is Sunday I only have a slight headache today. I can finally lay on my side. So I am hoping today is the turning point. It has been a LONG few days. Very emotional. Like I said I don't want to be a downer but I wish I would have seen more posts like this that were honest. I am hoping for a better recovery for you brut mine has been rough.

[dabberdoo 6]

Well you can't tell that a piece of your stomach is gone by the way you feel. If you want me to be honest though. The pain hurt like heck for me. The gas wasn't too bad but once it started to pass I felt much better. I have experienced horrible Migraine headaches and very disturbing vivid dreams which are continuing 6 days post op. Crushing medications is absolutely horrible. I have burning at my incision sites. When people,say your tastes change they are right. Used to love my Unjury Protein Shakes now I have to gag them down. I was sent home with a binder that has helped tremendously. And compression stockings for the prevention of blood clots. Oh and for the first time I got in the scale yesterday and had GAINED 6 pounds. I was severely depressed but have been assured on this forum that it will go away quickly. I have not cheated Ion this diet and I have been walking faithfully. I have been on a diet and exercise regimen since May 32st and had lost 60 pounds. The scale has never moved up in that time until I got my surgery, so you can see why I was so discouraged. Today is Sunday I only have a slight headache today. I can finally lay on my side. So I am hoping today is the turning point. It has been a LONG few days. Very emotional. Like I said I don't want to be a downer but I wish I would have seen more posts like this that were honest. I am hoping for a better recovery for you brut mine has been rough.

I too have been having terrible headaches. I am on the real food stage, stage 4. And ever since I went on it the right side of my head and knock hurt. I can count the number of headaches I've had over my life time on one hand. I don't know what I'm doing wrong. I was sleeved on July 18th. First the stages went fine. Lost 35 lbs in a month. Now nothing. How are you dealing with the headaches. Thanks. And good luck to you.

[Bob2013 326]

Its a hard question to answer. Some people have minimal pain, others its more. Drinking is difficult and a bit uncomfortable. As far as being able to tell the stomach is gone, No, you cant tell at first, there is no empty feeling. You really wont notice any difference for days until you start eating something other than Clear liquids.

And as far as the immediate pain goes after you wake up. Most of it will come from the incisions and bloating from the gas they fill your abdomen with. If you follow the doctors instructions and get active as soon as you are able (usually within a few hours of waking) there shouldn't be any severe pain. Walk, walk walk!!! The more you move around, the faster the extra air from the surgery will work its way out of your body.

With me, it was just being very sore. Like I severely over did it with sit ups the day before.

[mi75 1,235]

i didn't feel anything 'different' really, when i woke up. i had no pain at all, until about 24 hrs post op my one largest incision was hurting me and i took some pain med for that. i also stayed on liquid pain med at home for about 7 days just to keep away any discomfort that i could have had.

i could not have ANYTHING to eat or drink for 27 hrs post op while i waited for my leak check so i didn't know what to expect.

when i finally did drink, it was very small amounts. no pain. no discomfort. i was SUPER cautious though and took it very easy with all intake. i think the only thing that feels much different now, is if i eat to the point of 'overfull' i can feel it in one specific spot and it can be painful. my surgery was pretty easy and so far i've had a good path, no real issues.

[Thinkingthinner1109 485]

Dabberdoo.... The headaches for me are excruciating. I almost went into ER twice. The only thing I can take at this point is the liquid pain med that they sent me home with. I have never had headaches in my life either. I do not know what triggered the headaches and neither does my doctor. Hope they subside because they are debilitating. I hope your recovery goes well.????

[Paloma68 31]

I never had any major pain or headaches or incision pain. I'm hungry and think about all the things I want to eat, but never get in more than 2-3 of the things I actually want to eat because get so full quickly. I love sweets so the hardest thing for me is eating the important stuff first. By the time I've taken a few bites, what ever little treat I was thinking of doesn't get in because so full. Weight loss is steady but inches are definitely melting away. I never had the self control to stop eating or eat smarter. The sleeve has given me no option which is great. Though sometimes I wish I could just eat a burger. Glad I can't though.

[Newu68 8]

In my experience you can not really tell the difference after surgery. I had about two days of pain and another 7-10 days of soreness but everything was manageable. You can feel a difference when you start drinking your Protein Shakes but I used a medicine cup and drank very slowly with no problems. My surgeon recommended slimfast chocolate Meal Replacement with 20 grams of Protein 3 times a day for the first three weeks. My best advise is to follow the plan your doctor gives you! Don't try to rush it. Get off of soda and all caffeine well before your surgery as you don't want to deal with caffeine withdraw or headaches and get up and walk as much as possible. Just keep moving. Bottom line it is tough the first couple weeks but it gets better every day and it's worth it. I am three months post surgery today and down 49 pounds. You can do it!

[kimpossible67 608]

I've been reading these posts for 4 months and seriously, everyone is so different. I EXPECTED it to feel like a c-section. I woke up with dull pain on my removal site, was immediately drugged and honestly past that it went smooth. I had incidences of sick stomach but I could drink, had tolerable pain, very little gas. The only site that bothered me was the removal site and a Tylenol handled that. I felt great. That's not everyone's experience though. Just sharing mine. Good Luck and trust us, totally worth it.

[AvaFern 3,516]

At a year post-op, I feel exactly the same as I did my whole life, except now I eat a few bites of oatmeal for Breakfast instead of an entire plate of food, lol. Immediately after surgery, the only thing I noticed was that my largest incision was a little sore and I couldn't just sit up in bed for the first week or two, I had to roll over onto my side and swing my feet out. I was in the hospital for 3 days, during which time they kept me so drugged up I don't remember feeling anything other than nauseous, but once I got home and off the drugs, I just felt a little more tired than usual for about a week. Sometimes you twist your abdomen a little too far the wrong way, and you feel it the first week or so, but past that, after a few weeks you will wake up feeling the same way you do now, just skinnier.

[ProudGrammy 8,322]

what does it feel like when you wake up?

@@auntiemel

when i woke up after surgery

there was a big hole in the area where my tummy used to be

I was sore for awhile - but no big pain

was lucky not to have ANY gas problems

had no problem drinking

my incisions did bother me

all in all my recovery was kindof boring /uneventful - all went well

you are getting ready to start your new healthier, happier, longer life

speedy "boring/uneventful" recovery for you too

kathy

Edited August 31, 2014 by proudgrammy

[jaybird88 0]

Hey OP-

I was sleeved 4 days ago. I can tell you that I woke up with very little pain... More discomfort. The best way I can explain the pain is that it feels like you have a bad stomach flu, for me, without the nausea. Keep in mind that you will probably be heavily drugged on pain and nausea medicine. I can honestly say that surgery was not what I thought. I was like you, wondering what to expect and I, unfortunately/fortunately expected the worst and was pleasantly surprised. My pain started that night but they were hunger pains; as my stomach growled it hurt. Again, nothing to vivid or intense. I stopped my pain meds the night before last and slept much better with mild discomfort and no hangover headache in the morning! You'll do great!!! Good luck with your surgery. So far I'm really happy and glad that I did it. Worth the struggle.

Jay

4 days - 16lbs

[Karen Scott 117]

I'm sure this has been answered multiple times...but, what does it feel like when you wake up? Can you tell your stomach is different? Did it hurt a lot? What was it like when you first tried to eat or drink something? I'm trying to prepare myself...but it's not like I can find literature anywhere on what it feels like lol

to be honest u can't tell if u had a piece of ur stomach removed. The only time u come to any realization is if u gulp and wen the liquid is going down it takes ur breath away cuz it stops u in ur tracks. Or ur tummy will make weird noise. No pain in the tummy soreness in the incision sights and gas but that's about it for me.

[kjharris0775 0]

I am 6 days post op too. Lap band. My weakness level is crazy to me. But asking my doctors and NUT dizziness may come from the lovenox shots. They are a blood thinner. Headaches from being dehydrated. And pain. Well, my port incision is the worst of it for me. My husband is a triathlon nutcase and he has given me some of the electrolyte mix ins for my Water. Since then I haven't had a headache and my urine isn't as dark. I feel like I am get more fluids even though I can only do 4-5 oz every half hour. Dr says when I'm done with the blood thinners and can start eating more solid foods the dizziness will subside. All of this is why weakness after surgery is reported. I felt relief that he had some answers instead of "we only can wait and see". I suppose that's what we do anyway. Take care everyone. This is the beginning of a new life we've always wanted to live. ((Hugs))