things i wish they would have told me...

[glitterpockets 85]

Is there anything any of you amazing sleevers wish the doctor would have told you before hand that they didn't?

also I'm scared of the pain ill be in after waking up....how bad is it? ????

[LAG4ahealthierme 76]

Great question @@glitterpockets! I am pre-op so I do not have an answer, but I look forward to the responses. I'm a newbie, but I am learning real quick that the folks on this site are real, are very supportive and will tell it like it is.

[wheezysmom 146]

The pain of the incisions was tolerable. I only felt them when I was trying to move around or get myself out of bed. The real pain culprit for me was the gas, it was bad for about the first day but I kept getting up and walking around to get rid of it. It took about a day for me to get some relief from the gas.

[laguerr13 993]

I wish someone had told me to walk as soon as I could, i waited til night and had lots of gas and nausea pain until I walked 10 minutes and it made a great difference, I was very medicated the first day but my wife said I was sweating and kept dozing off, I was great the second day and left, also wished someone had told me I would have bad breath during the liquid phase LMAO

Edited July 28, 2015 by laguerr13

[glitterpockets 85]

Thank you LAG4ahealthierme ???? I'm actually pre-op as well but I like coming on this side of the wall to see what to expect ???? I've heard about the gas and walking is the only way to get rid of it. I'm glad to hear walking dulls the pain. I had two 10lb babies natural but I still cringe at the thought of pain haha.

[glitterpockets 85]

Haha bad breathe. I'll make a list of things to buy before I go in and ill definitely be adding flossies and mouthwash to it lol ????

[Chris Z 1]

The most valuable advice I was given was to walk as soon as I was able and to keep walking. The gas pain in my shoulder was the worst, surprisingly. The more I walked, the less I felt it.

[Debbie Jean 406]

Gas-X is your friend post op ????

[sleeveless 1962 7]

Everyone is different - I had very minimal pain, barely used the pain pump in the hospital, was up and walking hours after surgery, never had any gas pains and never even took so much as a Tylenol when I got home. So, go in with an open mind and walk as soon as you can!! Good luck!!!

[glitterpockets 85]

I was wondering if we were able to use something of that sort! Thank you Debbie Jean ????

[misswhitneym 12]

I wanted to be as prepared as possible, but I overshopped! I didn't want to eat anything more than just once or twice, so I ended up throwing a LOT away.

I wish I knew that it would take a WEEK for the gas pain to go away. Also, I didn't know that the gas pain would be worse than any other pain.

Finally, I wish I knew it would take 3-4 weeks for me to get my energy back. I was completely zonked out the first few weeks.

[glitterpockets 85]

That's good to know because my job is 10 1/2 hr shifts at a time so I cant go tired and end up getting hurt. The most I've heard about is the gas. I hope it all goes well so I'm able to get up and move around as soon as possible.

have any of you been worried about ripping your staples? That's a huge fear of mine.

[Nyelaah 77]

It's tough to sleep!! I slept on my couch in the corner with tons of pillows the first week. Also the pain meds made me feel like I wasn't me so I bought children's Tylenol instead.also buy lose fitting dresses for the first week of surgery. I went to Kmart and bought some nice ones.

Edited July 28, 2015 by Nyelaah

[glitterpockets 85]

I already know that's gonna be an issue for me cuz I'm a tummy sleeper ☹

[*Lexie* 1,486]

@@glitterpockets I didn't have any staples, they glued my incisions shut.

I was all prepared for gas pains, I wish my doctor would have mentioned beforehand that he removes the gas at the end of the surgery. Not one gas pain. Seriously, ask your doctor if he does this and if the answer is no, my next question would be why not.

Otherwise, I feel like I was pretty well educated about what to expect. The post op recovery is a very brief part of the process. It becomes a faint memory very quickly.