Do these things improve?

[LouLouM 70]

First, apologies for asking so many questions. I look forward to the day when I am farther into this journey and will be answering more questions than asking.

Tomorrow will be two weeks since I had gastric sleeve and hiatal hernia repair surgery. I think I might be expecting too much too soon and I am wondering if the following things will improve:

* Reflux. It's gotten worse the past couple of days.

* Eating is difficult. It feels like food gets stuck, it's also difficult to gauge when full.

* Gas/burping.

* Constipation.

* Fatigue and hunger. I can say that I am feeling slightly less hungry in between my 1/4 cup meals. I do feel like my body is not accustomed to eating so little, so I often get lightheaded and feel tired. Will this improve with time?

* I take thyroid hormone replacement in the morning and wow, does that first sip of Water hit my stomach like a ton of bricks.

I think I need to remember that I am still healing. I'm just looking forward to when eating is a bit less painful and when I'm not on such a restricted diet. Don't get me wrong, even though I can't a variety of textures, food does taste wonderful and it's amazing to feel so full on so little, it's just that everything seems a chore right now and I certainly haven't quite got the hang of it.

Edited December 13, 2021 by LouLouM

[GreenTealael 25,383]

Yes, it does get better with daily improvement.

It’s not the majority but some of us have a rough start, prolonged pain and delayed healing but turn out just fine!

I felt a lot of pain the first 2.5 weeks after VSG and then one day I felt significantly better.

If you feel like things are not getting better in a reasonable time or getting worse let your team know.

Congratulations and speedy recovery

[catwoman7 11,215]

you're not likely to feel restriction until you move to solid food. For one thing, liquids and purees move through your stomach pretty quickly. For another, you've had nerves cut, and it takes awhile for them to regenerate. Also, once you start feeling restriction, your "full" cues might be different than they were pre-surgery, and it can take awhile to figure out what the new ones are. Some of us (myself included) feel a pressure in our chests. Some people get runny noses when full - or start sneezing. I know it's weird, but.... I don't feel "full" the way I did before surgery - as mentioned before, I just start feeling pressure - and when I do, i know it's time to stop eating or I'll be sorry...

Constipation is common and in fact can be a chronic issue for some even years after WLS. Many of us take a capful of Miralax every day to keep on top of it. Others take magnesium, stool softeners, or eat a few prunes every day. Whatever works for you... Of course, yours might be temporary - but for some of us, it's a chronic problem. It's mostly due to the high Protein diet and some of the supplements (namely, Iron and calcium) rather than the surgery itself.

fatigue will go away

as for reflux, does your surgeon have you on a PPI like omeprazole or panteprazole? A lot of surgeons just put the patients on them automatically for the first 3-6 months. If yours doesn't, let them know you're having reflux issues.

[WildWill 22]

57 minutes ago, LouLouM said:

First, apologies for asking so many questions. I look forward to the day when I am farther into this journey and will be answering more questions than asking.

Tomorrow will be two weeks since I had gastric sleeve and hiatal hernia repair surgery. I think I might be expecting too much too soon and I am wondering if the following things will improve:

* Reflux. It's gotten worse the past couple of days.

* Eating is difficult. It feels like food gets stuck, it's also difficult to gauge when full.

* Gas/burping.

* constipation.

* Fatigue and hunger. I can say that I am feeling slightly less hungry in between my 1/4 cup meals. I do feel like my body is not accustomed to eating so little, so I often get lightheaded and feel tired. Will this improve with time?

* I take thyroid hormone replacement in the morning and wow, does that first sip of Water hit my stomach like a ton of bricks.

I think I need to remember that I am still healing. I'm just looking forward to when eating is a bit less painful and when I'm not on such a restricted diet. Don't get me wrong, even though I can't a variety of textures, food does taste wonderful and it's amazing to feel so full on so little, it's just that everything seems a chore right now and I certainly haven't quite got the hang of it.

I too had a GSV with a hiatal hernia repair AND I also take Synthroid and Omeprazole.

I began taking Omeprazole 20mg 5 years before my GSV because I did have acid reflux - and it was further suggested that I have GERD. At almost a month out... I still have Acid Reflux. Nothing has changed - Same amt of acid pours into the smaller pouch. I forgot to take my Omeprazole pill one morning and OMG did I suffer. Now that our stomachs are smaller, it is by far easier for developing gas to be pressure released upward and along with it, some stomach acid. So, I am still taking Omeprazole (as directed) and I'm "back to normal."

I strongly believe those who have had GSV and a subsequent RNY procedure AND/OR RNY or MGB out the gate do not have the same problems with acid reflux post surgery and beyond.

After two weeks, I also experienced insufficient intake and moved to soft foods. Bare in mind, you can use your food processor or your given process (your teeth) to chew chew chew chew. I moved to FF refried Beans, a little bit of cheese), avocado, and Sweet Baby Jesus... if you enjoyed pudding as a kid... get some FF SF Jello chocolate Pudding. 2, cups of FF milk (if you can tolerate milk products) and stir yourself up some yummy goodness. I have small containers and I split the batch into 4 and have two per day.

I just could not do some protracted all liquid diet without suffering dizziness, light headedness.

One thing I need to look into is if I am insulin resistant. Those who have normal levels - eat food and their system processes food and their body is able to utilize that energy more efficiently. So, that has been on my mind.

As a side note, there is a LINX device which can be implanted around the lower esophageal muscle that surrounds and closes the opening to the stomach which helps to prevent the contents of the stomach from back up into the esophagus (which is what reflux is). I know I'm a candidate for that but I don't think the surgical group that performed my procedure does the LINX procedure.

Drink, Drink, Drink... gatorade zero has helped me immensely.

Take deep breaths and you are still healing and will continue to do so for another 1.5 months. Talk to your NUT if you need encouragement to replace what you are eating with something that has a little more kick. Avocado - that does the trick for me.

Best wishes.

[Arabesque 7,332]

Agree with what everyone above has said. Try adding an electrolyte drink to your Water routine - I found it helped with the energy lags & was a change from drinking plain water (some can be very sweet - just dilute them). Take your meds after or as you’re finishing your morning ‘meal’ so there is something on your tummy.

It does get better but it happens in our own time. All the best.

Edited December 14, 2021 by Arabesque