How long for hospital weight to drop off?

[greenchilegoddess 14]

Hello all,

I was sleeved on Wednesday and I've heard that most people end up gaining weight during their hospital stay due to the extra IV fluids and swelling from the procedure. If this happened to you, how long did you feel it took before that extra weight had dropped and weighing yourself was useful? From a physical appearance standpoint, how long do you think you looked or felt swollen after?

Thanks for your help! Trying to not psych myself out by weighing too early.

[Tupelo 23]

I was sleeved Weds as well. I’ve been up by as much as 9 lbs from the surgery weight. I was up by a little over 3 this morning. I do feel my abdomen is considerably swollen/ bloated still.

[The Greater Fool 2,024]

I still haven't found weighing useful

Good luck,

Tek

[Nicoled 0]

Vsg 10/14. 7 days post op I was down 7 lbs. I still think I’m a little bloated.

[Arabesque 7,240]

It differs person to person. Some say a couple of days some say a week. I didn’t drink much for the first 3 or so days because of pain on swallowing from swelling so the IV fluids likely compensated for me not drinking. I wasn’t peeing any more than I usually did. I weighed myself day 4 post surgery & I was 1.5kgs less. I didn’t notice much abdominal swelling either & had no gas pain at all. This was totally different after my gall removal surgery - gas pain for days, bloated & took 4 days of peeing like a racehorse to lose the 2kgs I’d gained.

But as I said we’re all different. We retain fluids differently. Our body reacts to trauma differently. Our surgeons operate differently (mine uses little gas in bariatric surgeries but uses more for gall). We heal differently. As long as you realise any weight gain is likely from the surgery you’ll be fine. It certainly won’t be from eating copious amounts of food 😉.

Hope all goes well with your surgery.

[Lynnlovesthebeach 626]

I lost 9 lbs on the 2 week preop diet and gained exactly 9 lbs from the IV fluids. At the end of week one I was back to my preop weight and the end of week 2 I had lost 6 lbs.

I wore an abdominal binder so I really couldn't tell how much swelling I had.

Good luck on your journey.

[Summermoose 193]

I felt swollen for about two days, don’t know if I looked swollen but I could not have cared less if I did at that time 🤣
My surgeon & nutritionist are very strict in that I am only allowed to weigh myself once a week, so I never noticed the fluids on the scale!

[cheryl o 60]

Hello all,
I was sleeved on Wednesday and I've heard that most people end up gaining weight during their hospital stay due to the extra IV fluids and swelling from the procedure. If this happened to you, how long did you feel it took before that extra weight had dropped and weighing yourself was useful? From a physical appearance standpoint, how long do you think you looked or felt swollen after?
Thanks for your help! Trying to not psych myself out by weighing too early.

How was your pain level, leaving and now? Im having the rny in one week!

Sent from my SM-G973U using BariatricPal mobile app

[lizonaplane 1,612]

I gained 2.4 lbs in the hospital and lost it by the 2nd morning home. I didn't notice any swelling but I was in so much pain I'm not sure I would have noticed it.

BTW, the pain was totally manageable by like the fourth day. The only thing that really hurt was getting up from lying down and walking.

You've got this!

[Starwarsandcupcakes 2,046]

When I had my VSG I was 278.2 the week before surgery, 271 when discharged, and 258.3 at my post-op appointment 10 days later. I had very minimal bruising or swelling that time.

When I had my revision (8 months later due to gerd), I was 222 a week before surgery, left the hospital at 234.4 (was there 4 days due to needing iron), and was 215.7lbs at my one week post-op appointment. I had loads of bruising this time around. The picture is from a week post-op and I still had visible bruising at 20 days post-op (second picture) though it never hurt.

[ms.sss 15,581]

Yep everyone will have a different result/outcome after their hospital stays. I was one of the ones who lost weight upon my return home, had no gas pain and no visible swelling (but then again, if i did have swelling i probably would not have noticed cuz my stomach was already rounded from my existing fat, lol)

I cant be certain of this, but I think the following helped (YMMV):

(1) sipping Water every 5 mins while i was awake - i set a timer - (i vaguely remember reading somewhere if u keep hydrating regularly your body won’t retain water? I dunno though) … note: i had no probs peeing and did so several times (which was so annoying being hooked up to an IV and a having an achy tum)

(2) doing (very slow!) laps of the halls any time wasn’t sleeping (i also read that this helps with gas). Which honestly was exhausting, but i did it anyway.

For what its worth, there are probably lots more folks who had a similar experience, but they don’t post much as generally it’s the peeps who have issues that seek advice.

Good Luck! ❤️

[Splenda 257]

Gastric bypass on Monday morning. Returned home Wednesday afternoon.

Thursday morning, stepped on scale and weighed 5 pounds more than I did Monday morning. Wasn't until Saturday that I was below my Monday morning weight.

I felt tender/swollen for about 10-14 days after surgery.

Knowing what I know now, I wouldn't step on a scale until 7 days after surgery (and I do best when I check the scale daily -- I need the daily feedback).

[Jule 9]

I had my sleeve on Wednesday (20th) also and still haven't returned to my pre-hospital weight yet.

[ShoppGirl 4,785]

I didn’t gain any weight while in the hospital. But then again I was clearly not overly hydrated as most people are because I had to go back and get fluids. My clinic did tell me not to weigh myself for the first two weeks though and I think that was probably because of Fluid and inflammation causing weight gain.

[Sleeve_Me_Alone 656]

I opted not to weight for a full week post-op. Surgery was on a Tuesday, I stepped on the scale for the first time the following Tuesday. Everyone will shake off the IV fluids at their own pace, so no point weighing sooner than is realistic. Staying on top of your fluids, walking as much as you can, and getting adequate sleep will all help healing tremendously. Congrats! You're going to do great!