What was it like for the first couple of weeks after surgery?

I am scheduled to have Roux en Y Jan 20 and was wondering what people have found regarding recovery time.  I have 2 young children and need to be up and able fairly quickly.  If this isn't realistic, I may have to delay surgery until april (ugh!!!).  Thanks in advance for any input!

I had Lap RNY. Had a 2 night stay in the hospital. I was tired and sore when I returned home. I stopped taking the pain meds after the 1st day home. I didn't like the fuzzy head feeling and really wasn't in terrible pain. The first 2-3 days I took a morning and afternoon nap. After about 3 days I had the energy to stay up all day. I did have a 10 pound lifting restriction.
After 3 weeks at home I returned to my 1 hour commute and full time job.

If you can call on family, a friend,  or church member it might be good to give yourself at least a couple of days with help at home.

This is major surgery and it takes a while for the medications to leave your system. Also there's no guarantee when you go in that your surgery will be Lap or open. I would have my ducks lined up just in case.

I was up and walking the day after surgery. It may have taken some extra time but I did it for myself. I got my broth ready and everything. I was able to stand for awhile at a time so I did cook some quick meals. Chicken nuggets mac and cheese soups things in the crock pot all for the kids. I was sore but it was fine. I know it takes more time but it is something that can be done. Does not mean you cant use some support from family and friends to help out some. I was feeling a 100 percent better after a week.

Let me start by saying that everyone is different! I am one of the lucky ones who had no pain following my Lap RNY surgery almost 2 weeks ago. I was perfectly able to care for myself as soon as I came home from the hopsital the 2nd day after my surgery. I don't have small children that need constant care, so I was free to take the time to rest as needed. My youngest children are teenagers, so I just needed to get them off to school and make some meals.

Do you have a friend or family member that you can count on to help out if you need it? Nobody can tell you how quickly you will recover. Good luck!!

Martha

I definitely recommend asking someone to come help you if it is at all possible. You really can't predict how you and your body are going to react to major surgery. Just line someone up...just in case. You can always cancel if you feel up to taking care of everything yourself.   If people offer you help, take it. You will have just had major surgery.

Best of luck with everything.
Hugs,
Lisa

It's tempting to assume you will be one of the people who feels great when  you get home and back to a normal routine in a week.     But - everyone is different.  It's common to be sore and tired when you get home.     I tried to quite the pain killers too soon - and it got out of hand, making me more tired and miserable.   10 days out I was still needing the pain killers and I used ice packs for almost three weeks.

Plus - becuse of the limited calorie restriction - chances are really good you are going to be very tired and need extra rest as your body adjusts to the shock of surgery and focuses it's energy on healing.

So - hope for the best - but have a  back up plan for some assistance.

 I've been home for 2 days and I am doing alright at home but there is NO WAY that i will leave the house for another week, besides my 2x daily walks outside.

I fade in and out of sleep all day/night, thanks to the pain meds.

When I am not in bed, I am sitting in a chair outside on the patio or inside watching tv, on the laptop, etc.

I feel pretty content.

I have two young children (5 & 1 1/2 yrs old) and thankfully my Mom was there for the first two weeks for me!  She had RNY 5 yrs before and knew what I'd be dealing with, so she offered to come over every day until I felt better (and it's great that she lives like 20 mins from me!).  I had her mostly come over and watch my kids and do some light housework.   I just mostly didn't have a lot of energy and was really tired a lot, which is hard when you have young kids because they can be demanding!!   For the first week or two, just taking a shower in the morning wore me out!!   And you do have lifting restrictions for the first 6-8 weeks, so having someone else there is nice to help with the kids.   I started lifting my daughter (she's only 23 lbs) at like 3 weeks out and was fine, just mostly lifting her out of her crib after naps and sometimes in the morning when she woke up.   I let her climb up into her highchair and other things if she could do it for those first few weeks, so I wouldn't have to lift her and she did fine.

Before surgery, I made like 6 homemade meals and froze them for after surgery.   It made it so nice because I didn't have to cook and my family still had something nice to eat for dinner!   We did do take out and a few pre packaged frozen meals, but I liked having the homemade stuff for them too.   I started to get my energy back and was feeling better at around 3-4 weeks and was totally myself by 8 weeks.    GL to you!!!

(Copied Response from a Previous Post) I held/lifted my children (5 month old & 16 month old)  three days post-op. You can ask your surgeon if he has any restrictions on lifting, mine did not. You can also ask for an abdominal binder that can help keep you feeling secure while doing activities. Basically you need frequent breaks/resting periods which is going to be hard with children. I actually felt good a week after WLS. I took care of the kids, vacuumed, cooked meals, did laundry, took my 7 year old to school and picked her up. I only took pain meds in the evenings, once all the children were in bed.
Every patients recovery time is different so you will have to prepare the best you can. Not sure if you have a spouse but you could possibly try to get a doc note to use FMLA to help take care of you and the kids for a few weeks (just as a back up).

Melissa

Thank you! to everyone for your responses.  I really appreciate the insight and support.  Hearing others' experiences makes all the difference!