What was the biggest surprise for you at or after surgery? What do you wish you had known?

[sunmeadow 82]

I'm scheduled for VSG on 7/17 and I've read everything I can get my hands on and feel generally prepared, but I wonder what they don't tell you or what no one ever talks about.

What, if anything, do you wish you had known before going in to surgery? What was the biggest surprise for you?

[Dabearo 118]

I'm surprised how hungry I was weeks 2-3 of my full liquids post op. It's a battle between head hungry and real hungry. today is day two of soft food, and I'm not hungry. At all.

[Mrsa 28]

I'm surprised how hungry I was weeks 2-3 of my full liquids post op. It's a battle between head hungry and real hungry. today is day two of soft food, and I'm not hungry. At all.

100% agree with this!

Also, I never thought about how hard it would be to maneuver in the bed. For the first two nights, it was very hard to find a comfortable position and even harder to try to change the position. I was too scared to sleep in my recliner because of the fear of blood clots. (I have a clotting disorder) I'm 5 days post-op and am finding it much easer to get comfortable now.

[Mrsa 28]

Also, I had a few moments of sheer panic of "Why did I do this; what have I done to myself?!?" It always came after a nap. I'd wake up and for a split second forgotten I had surgery and then when I remembered, the panic would come. I could talk myself down but prepare for a few moments of "Whyyyyyy". It has subsided now. [emoji4]. For now. 🤞🏼

[hvmontoya 27]

Surprised how painless it was, and how quick I'm dropping weight. But shocked at how weak I'm a month out. Maybe it's because I'm still on purée diet. But it's getting better

[LaLa Ladybug 57]

Also, I had a few moments of sheer panic of "Why did I do this; what have I done to myself?!?" It always came after a nap. I'd wake up and for a split second forgotten I had surgery and then when I remembered, the panic would come. I could talk myself down but prepare for a few moments of "Whyyyyyy". It has subsided now. [emoji4]. For now. 🤞🏼

Good input. Thank you for sharing!

[tcheere 13]

I had my sleeve on June 20th. The one thing I wish I would have known was that I would have a JP drip for a week after surgery, and more detail on how to take care of it. It seemed to be the worse. Also right after surgery you can not have any thing to drink, so you will have major cotton mouth. I couldn't even have mouth swabs.

[alcn1derlnd 146]

How gross the drink for the upper gi X-ray the day after my surgery was. It tasted like soap. It was not the same drink I had pre-op.


HW-292

SW- 256.6

CW-256.6

[LaLa Ladybug 57]

How gross the drink for the upper gi X-ray the day after my surgery was. It tasted like soap. It was not the same drink I had pre-op.


HW-292

SW- 256.6

CW-256.6

My surgery is still a week and a half away. I'm wondering how we can even drink that stuff the day after surgery. Did they have you drink as much then as they did pre-op?

[VSG_Man_Vs_Food 55]

Just sleeved 7 days ago, I thought I was mentally prepared but I had a hard time the first few days, especially while in the hospital since I barely could get any sleep. There was a lot more pain and nausea than I expected. I didn't feel any pain from the actual stomach sleeve, it was the 6 incisions which were like 6 stab wounds that makes any movements that use your ab muscles (almost everything) very painful. It was managed well with the pain and nausea meds (be sure to keep taking them every 4 hours or so) but simple things like shifting around the bed, coughing, sneezing (ouch), hiccups, even peeing the first couple times were painful for me. After coming home and getting a good nights sleep, I was off the pain meds and it was downhill from there. You may feel a lot of regret at first but after the weight starts flying off, it will all be worth it! I'm down 11 lbs in 7 days so I would do it all over again if I had to!

HW: 330

SW: 294 6/27/2017

CW: 282

GW: 180

VSG, Dr. Jawad, Orlando, FL

[VSG_Man_Vs_Food 55]

Also my throat was really sore from the breathing tube but I was allowed ice chips the first day and it really helped! And fortunately my leak test was just Water with blue dye which went down easy, and they checked my drain after 30 mins then I was cleared for clear liquid diet. And the last thing was I didn't realize how hard it is to swallow crushed pills, they didn't taste good with anything. I ended up skipping a few doses of blood pressure meds and after I started full liquids, I just started swallowing them whole.

HW: 330

SW: 294 6/27/2017

CW: 282

GW: 180

VSG, Dr. Jawad, Orlando, FL

[sunmeadow 82]

How gross the drink for the upper gi X-ray the day after my surgery was. It tasted like soap. It was not the same drink I had pre-op.


HW-292

SW- 256.6

CW-256.6

I hadn't even started thinking about the testing afterwards. I know they test for leaks, but hadn't thought about the details. Thanks for the heads up.

If it's anything like the "orange juice" they gave me before my appendectomy, things might get interesting.

[sunmeadow 82]

My surgery is still a week and a half away. I'm wondering how we can even drink that stuff the day after surgery. Did they have you drink as much then as they did pre-op?

I was thinking the same thing. How can we only sip Water, but be expected to drink contrast stuff down?

[sunmeadow 82]

Just sleeved 7 days ago, I thought I was mentally prepared but I had a hard time the first few days, especially while in the hospital since I barely could get any sleep. There was a lot more pain and nausea than I expected. I didn't feel any pain from the actual stomach sleeve, it was the 6 incisions which were like 6 stab wounds that makes any movements that use your ab muscles (almost everything) very painful. It was managed well with the pain and nausea meds (be sure to keep taking them every 4 hours or so) but simple things like shifting around the bed, coughing, sneezing (ouch), hiccups, even peeing the first couple times were painful for me. After coming home and getting a good nights sleep, I was off the pain meds and it was downhill from there. You may feel a lot of regret at first but after the weight starts flying off, it will all be worth it! I'm down 11 lbs in 7 days so I would do it all over again if I had to!
HW: 330
SW: 294 6/27/2017
CW: 282
GW: 180
VSG, Dr. Jawad, Orlando, FL

Thanks for the detail and congratulations on the quick weight loss.

[sunmeadow 82]

Also my throat was really sore from the breathing tube but I was allowed ice chips the first day and it really helped! And fortunately my leak test was just Water with blue dye which went down easy, and they checked my drain after 30 mins then I was cleared for clear liquid diet. And the last thing was I didn't realize how hard it is to swallow crushed pills, they didn't taste good with anything. I ended up skipping a few doses of blood pressure meds and after I started full liquids, I just started swallowing them whole.
HW: 330
SW: 294 6/27/2017
CW: 282
GW: 180
VSG, Dr. Jawad, Orlando, FL

Oddly enough, I'm more worried about the dry mouth/sore throat than a lot of the other stuff. It's something that really stands out in my memory from my appendectomy, probably because the morphine took care of most of the pain.

Your description above did make me remember the incision pain when moving about or worse, coughing/sneezing.

I was able to get an Rx for liquid versions of my medications so that shouldn't be an issue for me.