Just Wondering

Hello everyone, I have been gathering up as much information as possible. I will be calling in a another week to make my first appointment to meet all the people on the team.  I have been wondering what to expect right after surgery. How bad is the pain, how long does it last, is it hard just taking small bites and or drinks, what about vomiting, and how bad does that hurt, if I have a lot of gas can I take gas x, I take a lot of pills how much sips of water can I have before eating breakfast( I know I have to wait 30 min. before I eat after drinking water). I know I can probably get all this information on my appointments but would like to here it from people who actually went through it all. The other thing I was wondering is I have to go on a 6 month medically supervised diet and then the liquid diet before the operation, if I lose to much I might not qualify any suggestions on how not to lose too much during the 6 month MSD but just enough to keep them happy? I know when it comes to the liquid part I will lose a lot.

People's post op experiences vary quite a bit, but for me the pain afterwards was pretty bad and lasted a while but I had open surgery, not lap.

i did not find it difficult to take small bites, but my surgeon did not make the ridiculous suggestion of "pencil eraser" sized bites.  She said just to limit our bites to what would fit on the front third of a normal spoon and to chew everything to applesauce consistency.  I started on soft foods Day Three after surgery and didn't vomit at all until I was 18 months out.  I also never got anything stuck (if you chew to mu**** is extremely difficult to get anything stuck).

I was able to take pretty normal sized swallows of water just a couple of weeks after surgery (and was able to swallow enough to take pills one at a time from right after surgery.  They tell people to "sip" because some people (but not everyone, and I am not even sure that it is most people) find that drinking causes discomfort until the pouch heals a bit.  You cannot damage anything by swallowing too much water at one time, but it may be uncomfortable for a while. Even if you drink a lot very quickly, the worst thing that can happen (other than possible pain) is that if you drink more than your pouch will hold, the water will start to back up into your esophagus.  It doesn't hurt, but feels VERY weird!

There is no reason to wait 30 minutes after drinking to eat.  Your pouch is essentially a funnel and liquids move out of your pouch VERY quickly.  You only need to wait to drink after eating.  If you try to not drink for 30 minutes on either side of eating, you may have a really hard time getting in enough fluid.  I would suggest that you ask whomever told you to wait 30 minutes after drinking to eat WHY they suggest this and mention how quickly water exits the pouch.

Gas-X can help with the gas in your intestine, but for most people, the painful "gas" is the pain from the small amount of gas that they use to inflate your abdomen that remains in your body. No gas preparations will help with that.  Walking, however, helps a lot, and it usually lasts only for a couple of days.

Your insurance company will base your eligibility for surgery on your STARTING weight, not on what you weigh after the 6 month diet, so there is no reason for you not to lose whatever you can.

Lora

Thank you for the information I was really happy to hear about the starting weight that made my day. I Can't thank you enough for all the information. I have had abdominal surgery before (when I go my tubes tied and my hysterectomy) and I remember the gas they inflated my stomach with and how painful it was but I did it before I can do it again. Also very glad to hear about the water. I do feel a little less nervous now about the surgery. Thanks again

Pain is so subjective.  I've got a high pain tolerance and I never found the pain to be horrible except for my throat before I could drink.  I took the prescription pain killers for about 4 days.  

I think it's easy to take small bites and sips.  I bought teeny appetizer forks and spoons and those help.  

I haven't vomited at all - I had the sleeve.  

I have used some gas-x strips, but walking is what you need to do for the internal post-op gas.  

Which surgery are you having?  I think that might matter with the sipping thing.  I swallow a few pills with meals and I take them with a very small sip of water right before I eat.  Again, I have the sleeve.  I don't know how it works for RNY.  

I don't know about losing too much on the medically supervised diet - that might be worth asking your insurance company about.  

Did I miss it? Can't see which surgery you are planning and that makes a big difference to the post-op period.

I'm not sure which surgery I will be having yet I still need to talk to the surgeon but for now I'm leaning towards the sleeve. Walking is sometimes difficult for me because of a dieses I have in my back. Movement makes my nerves rub together and causes pain. I can tolerate it for a small amount of time on my good days. I told the surgeon at the seminar that I couldn't exercise and he said as long as I can move my arms it is considered exercising. I can do that. Last night I spent time looking at the before and after pictures of people on here and was in awe. Every one has done such a great job. I can't wait to see my out come. It will be nice to feel better and not feel like it is so hard to breathe or bloated all the time. Thanks again to all that replied I'm very grateful to all.

I haven't waited 30 minutes after drinking to eat for a while with no ill effects

The pain was WAY less than my hysterectomy!

I used a baby spoon for several months post op, so I didn't have to think about bite size.  Actually I should go back to that as I eat too fast now.  My nut said use a baby spoon and chew everything 30 times.  this is to prevent discomfort.

I only vomited once and it was at about 10 mos out, my own fault I ate 3 pieces of banana bread!

I take my pills with meals with a sip of water,  the vitamins absorb better with food.

My surgeon's program required me to lose 10 percent of my excess body weight pre op.  My insurance reqired me to be at a certain BMI at my initial surgeon consult.  You should check with your doc and insurance, but I was told the lower I went the better preop.

Anne

Hey, first let me say good luck with your program! I am 12 days post op and wishing I had done this 20 years ago.

i had an RNY on 3/25/14. They did it laparoscopic and it went really well. My surgery lasted 3 hours and they had me walking that evening. There was some general pain from the surgery that pain medicine keep well under control (but it was significantly less than pain from my lap hysterectomy!) I walked as much and as often as I could which always eased my pain and even helped release nausea. I went home from the hospital after two nights and started back to work after 8 days. I only took pain mess for 6 days (including day of surgery).

before weight loss, I couldn't walk for more than a few minutes because bone on bone caused too much inflammation and pain. I invested in a medium priced recumbent bike to exercise on. This is what I continue to use in place of the walking. I am hoping some day I can actually walk for an hour or so without the knee pain, but for now I am getting in my exercise on the recumbent bike and about to add resistant bands.

i have had to work hard to get in enough protein, fluids, and vitamins every day. But it helps staying in contact with others on OH. They keep me focused on my journey and give good suggestions to get me over the bumps.

The pain of the actual surgery was a cakewalk. I had a bile leak from getting my gallbladder removed when they sleeved me and my body filled with bile. That hurt.

I am almost 1 month out and I still can't take in more than 1 or 2 oz. It's every bit as much of a mental journey as a physical one