Hey Guys... First Post!

[BigNorm4Life 19]

Hey guys

My name is Norman.. I'm 25 years of age and I'm starting my pre-op Bariatric surgery (sleeve) journey. My hospital where I'm having my surgery is the University of Pennsylvania Hospital.. My surgeon will be Dr. Noel Williams (head of department) and my first appointment is scheduled for 07/20/16, I attended an informational session yesterday and I say I'm about 90% sure I want the surgery.

I'm currently 5 foot 9 and 390 Pounds with a BMI of 56.6 and though I don't look like it... many people say that.. I feel/am the biggest I ever was in my life!!! this is actually the second time I reached an astronomical weight.. at 17 I reached a high of 309 accompanied by high blood pressure but some how, with minimal diet changes and labor jobs I had over the years.. I was in my 240s.. don't know but I was that low in weight and ever since 2013 and now I've reached a breaking point where I'm tired of being Obese and want to do something permanently about it!

I'm not just fighting everyday temptation from eating bad food.. though I admit I say more than half my gained weight was my fault... I'm fighting genetics. My dad was 6.2 over 400 pounds and had his first heart attack at 30, throughout his 30s.. heart disease, broken ankles (weight), numerous attacks and strokes... They found him dead in his apartment on my 12th birthday.. it was assumed he died of heart failure... I'm not going out like that !!! I plan to live as long as I can so along with the lifestyle change.. I hope this story gets me there

I've done alot of research and don't have any questions as of yet... I have 1, hows the pain during post op as you are recovering?

Edited July 12, 2016 by BigNorm4Life

[KristenLe 5,979]

@@BigNorm4Life Congrats on making this big step in changing your life!!! Good luck!!!

[Ale Nunez 80]

Wish you the best of luck!! I started the process in January and will be having surgery next week. It feels like it's been a long journey but I'm feeling very positive and anxious to start seeing results.

[shantell500 46]

Hey guys

My name is Norman.. I'm 25 years of age and I'm starting my pre-op Bariatric surgery (sleeve) journey. My hospital where I'm having my surgery is the University of Pennsylvania Hospital.. My surgeon will be Dr. Noel Williams (head of department) and my first appointment is scheduled for 07/20/16, I attended an informational session yesterday and I say I'm about 90% sure I want the surgery.

I'm currently 5 foot 9 and 390 Pounds with a BMI of 56.6 and though I don't look like it... many people say that.. I feel/am the biggest I ever was in my life!!! this is actually the second time I reached an astronomical weight.. at 17 I reached a high of 309 accompanied by high blood pressure but some how, with minimal diet changes and labor jobs I had over the years.. I was in my 240s.. don't know but I was that low in weight and ever since 2013 and now I've reached a breaking point where I'm tired of being Obese and want to do something permanently about it!

I'm not just fighting everyday temptation from eating bad food.. though I admit I say more than half my gained weight was my fault... I'm fighting genetics. My dad was 6.2 over 400 pounds and had his first heart attack at 30, throughout his 30s.. heart disease, broken ankles (weight), numerous attacks and strokes... They found him dead in his apartment on my 12th birthday.. it was assumed he died of heart failure... I'm not going out like that !!! I plan to live as long as I can so along with the lifestyle change.. I hope this story gets me there

I've done alot of research and don't have any questions as of yet... I have 1, hows the pain during post op as you are recovering?

Good for you for choosing a more quality way of life. I'm 3 days post op. At day one I had a lot of gas pressure but now the only pain I experience is acid reflux. I take the medication my doctor provide and I'm good. There is abdominal tenderness but I wouldn't call it pain

Shantell500

[BigTink2LilTink 723]

Good luck to you. As for the pain I would say that on a scale of 1 to 5 for me the first 24 hours was about a 3.5/4. After that I went down to about a 1/2 for the next 10 days are so. I think what made it mostly painful for me was the gas. I had a hard time getting rid of the gas that they pumped into during surgery, so my body took it sweet time getting rid of that and I felt ridiculously bloated and gassy at the same time. I would say that you will probably feel some discomfort for a few days, and then after that you should be good to go. Now when I say discomfort I mean that, the bloating and gassy feeling. If you still feel like you are in unbearable pain then something went wrong and you would need to get in contact with your surgical team.

[SilentBotts 138]

Good luck dude, you are making a great decision. I wish that I had this surgery done when I was younger.

Pain isn't bad at all. I went home after two nights at the hospital, and even though I think I had more than the typical amount of pain I had no trouble getting in and out of bed, sitting and standing on my own.

The surgeon will make about four or five small incisions, most will be about a half inch, one will be one to one and a half inches wide. The large one is where the removed portion of your stomach pouch is pulled out. If you have any pain post-op it'll be from that incision.

Edited July 12, 2016 by SilentBotts

[OutsideMatchInside 10,166]

@@BigNorm4Life

It depends on your pain tolerance but I have a high pain tolerance. The pain was minimal. It just felt like I did 1000 crunches, where they cut your muscles hurts the most but its not an unbearable pain. Moving constantly so you don't get stiff, helps.

[alb 10]

Congratulations on your decision! I'm a little over 8 weeks post op rny. I never really had any post op pain....I'd say I had some tenderness. I was up and walking about 2 hours after surgery and kept walking every 2 or 3 hours and I never even had gas pain. Each person is different of course but if your biggest fear is post op pain you shouldn't worry at all! Best of luck on your journey!

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[kmorri 1,689]

Congrats to you for making what will be the best thing you've ever done for yourself!...or at least that's how I feel about my own decision. As far as the pain after surgery you'll probably get a multitude of different responses....because everyone's experience is different.

For me, I didn't have anything I would call pain....in fact I never took any of the pain meds once I got home from the hospital. I did have some discomfort....for example everything tasted absolutely terrible for the first 6 days....That made it difficult to drink enough fluids and Protein.............But after that 6th day I was much much better....but the time I progressed through my post-op diet and was once again able to eat regular food I felt normal again.....

I was 8 weeks post op this past Monday and I can tell you I feel wonderful....the only difference is I'm 52 lbs lighter and when I eat I eat very small amounts but still feel completely satisfied.....It's wonderful!!!

[LadyStardust 5]

Hey Norman, you're so brave for going through with this and taking on your health is so responsible in face of tour father's unfortunate fate. I didn't have a very successful sleeve operation (very bad side effect) and I am now going for a revision BUT this is not the norm. As a matter of fact my fiance has had the sleeve with perfect results! I wish you as smooth a recovery as his!!! <3

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[sweetcat325 37]

Good luck to you! ♡

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[Raymia 565]

Welcome to group I wish you the Best! It's good that your doing this now so you can enjoy your new body : )