Surgery 10/23 - Now on day 3 - my experience

[ShelbyMoore 84]

I’m not going to sugar coat anything. My surgery was Monday and today is Thursday. While I was in the hopital I felt great. The staff controlled everything I might be feeling through IV medications. My surgeon visited me the morning after my surgery and asked if I wanted to go home. I did because I was feeling great. BUT, after I got home and all the pain and nausea medications wore off I felt miserable. They gave me liquid pain meds but I couldn’t keep them down. I couldn’t keep Water down. As soon as anything touched my mouth I began dry heaving. I continued to try sipping but it was horrible. My stomach was bloated and felt like it was full of Fluid. I phoned the surgery nurse and she had me send her photos of my stomach. She suggested I keep walking (which is hard when you feel so nauseous) but I did it. So day 2 was a really difficult day.

Day 3, today, I feel a little better. I’m keeping up better on my nausea medication. Keeping the nausea down is helping me keep water down. I was on Clear Liquids for just 2 days and today I get to add my Protein Shakes. So far I’ve gotten down 1/4 of a premade premiere Protein Shake. The nurse phoned me a little bit ago and asked how I was feeling. She wants me to track how many oz of liquid I’m getting in. Yesterday I was so sick I didn’t track anything. But I’ll track better today. The nurse asked that I try to get 2 Protein shakes in today. She told me again to walk around, even if I do circles in my backyard. My stomach is less bloated than yesterday but still has some bloating. When I walk I have to hold my stomach. I have overall muscle aches, just like when you have the flu. I have no fever. I had minimal gas pains which resolved before I left the hospital.

It seems most posts I read others have done so much better. I find this process very difficult but I’m keeping focused on the long term goal. I hope others are doing well.

[KarenOR 180]

I'm sorry you are having a rough time. I stayed in the hospital so I wouldn't have to go through all that at home. It's one of the reasons I cannot even fathom this as outpatient. I experienced lots of the same, the bloating and hard time drinking. It lasted several days even after the hospital. Just take it slow and do what you can. It gets better.

[ShelbyMoore 84]

Hi Karen,

I’m sorry you went through this too. Today I was able to finish one premiere Protein Shake and some Water. I got close to my hydration goal. Hopefully tomorrow I’ll get two shakes down.. I feel a little better today and my hopes are each day I improve. Like you said I can’t imagine doing this outpatient. I see your surgery was about a month before mine. I hope you are doing well and your weight is progressing as you had hoped.

[Heather S 17]

It does get better each day. I had my surgery 10/20. Almost got 2 premier drinks down for first time yesterday so you are not alone. I concentrate on liquid first, use flavoring for Water made with spenda. Keep making yourself walk, even a little.

Sent from my SM-J327T using BariatricPal mobile app

[jcb123 115]

So sorry you’re in so much pain. I stayed in the hospital for 4 days. Just got out today. I felt horrible the 2nd and 3rd day I couldn’t have imagined leaving then. I am sure you will feel better soon. Take good care.

[KarenOR 180]

10 hours ago, ShelbyMoore said:

Hi Karen,

I’m sorry you went through this too. Today I was able to finish one premiere Protein Shake and some Water. I got close to my hydration goal. Hopefully tomorrow I’ll get two shakes down.. I feel a little better today and my hopes are each day I improve. Like you said I can’t imagine doing this outpatient. I see your surgery was about a month before mine. I hope you are doing well and your weight is progressing as you had hoped.

Yep. I'm doing well . I can easily drink the Protein Shakes and am doing okay with soft foods, too. It takes a while, honestly. Don't sweat it. Don't force it. The timeline is general. Everyone is different and every doctor has a different strategy. I sort of half transitioned into soft foods, like I ate something one day and not the next, until I felt comfortable with it. The whole not drinking Water before and after is a challenge for me. Like I said, it does get better! Hang in there!

[ShelbyMoore 84]

Hi jcb,

I'm sorry you felt miserable like me. In hindsight I should have stayed in the hospital. It seems I read on here how well everyone was doing right after surgery but I was miserable. I just want others to know that it can be a very difficult process.

Today I'm at day 4. I felt miserable when I woke up but once I got moving around I feel better. I stay on top of my anti-nausea medication. So far I've gotten 1 1/2 Protein Shakes and I added some nonfat Fairlife milk (3oz) so I could have a different taste. The milk tastes good. The main issue I'm having is when I drink a "sip" I feel tightness under my breastbone.. it's kind of painful. I tap, tap, tap it hoping the pain will go away. I do as much walking as I can.. it's not much.. but it's something.

Each day is a pinch better. I'm looking forward to feeling better tomorrow. I hope you feel better soon too!

[nicolevsg2 20]

My sleeve was 10/24 and I’ve been struggling with the gas pain and nausea ever since. I also have times of painful swallowing and they gave my pills for pain relief which I have to take at least 15-30 min apart because I’m so swollen internally still they take a while to get down. I’m determined to keep Fluid up and I try to walk even just around the house as much as I can. Not everyone has it easy but your definitely not alone in the fact that you’re having a rough recovery. We just keep moving forward one day at a time and soon these hard days will be just memories. Better quality lives are just ahead! Hang in there.

[LoBMI VSGguy46 56]

My first two days were tough and I wondered if I had made a mistake. I did not get to my 64 oz goal. Day 3 was a little better and I focused on sipping all day to get to 64 oz and walking. I walked up to 10 miles. Then things started getting noticeably better each day. I started jogging on Day 7. Day 10 is here now and I can almost forget that I had the surgery.

So, just breathe, sip and walk. Focus on that and you'll get through. Pray for you to feel better and happy!

[ydorodkin 6]

My sleeve was on 10/17/17. First day out was a complete blur. Once I woke up in PACU I was in so much pain and begged them to give pain meds. Kept falling asleep and barely acknowledge presence of my husband. I tried drinking Water, but started to vomit foam and blood. They kept injecting me with heparin to prevent blood clots, gave me anti nausea meds, which made me nauseous even more! Next morning my doctor came to check on me and saw that I wasn’t doing so well. I tried drinking water again but still vomited with foam and blood. Sometime in the afternoon I was transferred to a room on a floor. Still couldn’t keep water in. One of the nurses suggested that in stead of water try drinking something else, sugar free flavored water or a juice. I know that juiced are not allowed, but since hospital only had apple juice, they brought me 3 cans of apple juice, 4 oz each. I started to drink and waited for it to come up, but nothing happened!!! I drank some more and felt like myself again. My guess is that it had something to do with my blood sugar level. The reason why I think that is because when I did my pre testing in the afternoon, my glucose level was very low. Anyway, next day I was discharged. First week I lost 10 pounds. Seems like weight was melting off me. Every morning I woke up with extreme stomach pain. First few days I was taking tramadol, which made me very dizzy. I decided to stop taking it and just stick with Tylenol. Today, 10/27/17, was the first day I didn’t feel the need to take pain meds. At this point I’m very concerned that I haven’t lost any weight. I know it’s my fault for weighting myself 5 times a day, but I can’t help to wonder if something is wrong. I can barely finish one Protein Shake (so tired of them!) and drink as much liquid as I can, but nowhere near 64 ounces. I did some research and many people talk about “stall” and “plateau” and the fact it’s ok, but for most of them that happened after 3 weeks to few months, while I’m only on week 2! Just wanted to share my story!

[ydorodkin 6]

My sleeve was on 10/17/17. First day out was a complete blur. Once I woke up in PACU I was in so much pain and begged them to give pain meds. Kept falling asleep and barely acknowledge presence of my husband. I tried drinking Water, but started to vomit foam and blood. They kept injecting me with heparin to prevent blood clots, gave me anti nausea meds, which made me nauseous even more! Next morning my doctor came to check on me and saw that I wasn’t doing so well. I tried drinking Water again but still vomited with foam and blood. Sometime in the afternoon I was transferred to a room on a floor. Still couldn’t keep water in. One of the nurses suggested that in stead of water try drinking something else, sugar free flavored water or a juice. I know that juiced are not allowed, but since hospital only had apple juice, they brought me 3 cans of apple juice, 4 oz each. I started to drink and waited for it to come up, but nothing happened!!! I drank some more and felt like myself again. My guess is that it had something to do with my blood sugar level. The reason why I think that is because when I did my pre testing in the afternoon, my glucose level was very low. Anyway, next day I was discharged. First week I lost 10 pounds. Seems like weight was melting off me. Every morning I woke up with extreme stomach pain. First few days I was taking tramadol, which made me very dizzy. I decided to stop taking it and just stick with Tylenol. Today, 10/27/17, was the first day I didn’t feel the need to take pain meds. At this point I’m very concerned that I haven’t lost any weight. I know it’s my fault for weighting myself 5 times a day, but I can’t help to wonder if something is wrong. I can barely finish one Protein Shake (so tired of them!) and drink as much liquid as I can, but nowhere near 64 ounces. I did some research and many people talk about “stall” and “plateau” and the fact it’s ok, but for most of them that happened after 3 weeks to few months, while I’m only on week 2! Just wanted to share my story!

Today is 1/21/17 and it’s has been a little over 3 months since my sleeve. I already had my 3 months follow up appointment. I have lost 65+ pounds in 3.5 months. I start my calculations from the time I started my 2 weeks liver reduction diet. On average I loose about 3 pounds a week. My doctor told me that is way too rapid. I eat about 4 times a day. Still cannot get near 64 ounces of water, but I know it will chance. If everything goes well sometime in March I should be in my onederland!

[ydorodkin 6]

I’m not going to sugar coat anything. My surgery was Monday and today is Thursday. While I was in the hopital I felt great. The staff controlled everything I might be feeling through IV medications. My surgeon visited me the morning after my surgery and asked if I wanted to go home. I did because I was feeling great. BUT, after I got home and all the pain and nausea medications wore off I felt miserable. They gave me liquid pain meds but I couldn’t keep them down. I couldn’t keep Water down. As soon as anything touched my mouth I began dry heaving. I continued to try sipping but it was horrible. My stomach was bloated and felt like it was full of Fluid. I phoned the surgery nurse and she had me send her photos of my stomach. She suggested I keep walking (which is hard when you feel so nauseous) but I did it. So day 2 was a really difficult day.
Day 3, today, I feel a little better. I’m keeping up better on my nausea medication. Keeping the nausea down is helping me keep Water down. I was on Clear Liquids for just 2 days and today I get to add my Protein Shakes. So far I’ve gotten down 1/4 of a premade premiere Protein Shake. The nurse phoned me a little bit ago and asked how I was feeling. She wants me to track how many oz of liquid I’m getting in. Yesterday I was so sick I didn’t track anything. But I’ll track better today. The nurse asked that I try to get 2 Protein shakes in today. She told me again to walk around, even if I do circles in my backyard. My stomach is less bloated than yesterday but still has some bloating. When I walk I have to hold my stomach. I have overall muscle aches, just like when you have the flu. I have no fever. I had minimal gas pains which resolved before I left the hospital.
It seems most posts I read others have done so much better. I find this process very difficult but I’m keeping focused on the long term goal. I hope others are doing well.

It’s been 3 months by now, how do you feel now?!

[ShelbyMoore 84]

It was 3 months yesterday and I feel great! I've lost, since my pre-op diet, 55 lbs! The sizes in my clothes have dropped from pants 16 to now I'm wearing 12's. Top XXL to L. I can eat anything now so it's more difficult because I have to make good choices now. For those in the beginning few months embrace that you can't eat much. lol I have to focus on getting my Protein in, and when I know I'm short, I have a Protein Shake or two. I have to work on getting my Water in because I just don't seem to have the time to drink all that's required. When I work I'm in meetings most of the day. I carry my water around but find that I have to work at constantly sipping/drinking it. So, bottom line, the water is what I have to focus on. I began this journey in the 250's and am now 191. I have about 20-25lbs to go.

Thanks for asking!