When will I feel normal again?

     I will be 4 weeks out on Wednesday and still feel like **** I thought I was healing about two weeks ago and then I got a burning pain when I would get up or down. My surgeon said it is nerves/healing pain, About 4 or 5 days later it got better. Then I started to physically feel myself healing and getting better. Now the pain is back. I know alot of ppl on the sight have had the same pain and the healing time varies. I am also so tired all the time. In the morning I could just keep sleeping and sleeping. I miss sleeping on my stomach. When did you guys get to sleep normally again? I just cant believe I still feel this way 4 weeks out.

       Mentally I still feel like **** too. I miss my old life. I miss feeling "normal" and being able to eat normal. I knew this was gonna be the hardest thing Ive ever done but this is SO much worse. All day long my life revolves around water, protein and vitamins. I miss being a fun 25 year old. When will this get better?

       The one thing I am happy about is that I haven't had any food intolerances.  Everything I have tried so far has agreed with me. That does make me feel like I have hope to eat normal someday. I know alot of ppl regret this at first. I'm assuming I will be very happy about this decision at some point.


When does this get better??? How long before you felt normal again?

I hope that you are feeling better! I have not had surgery yet so I am not a lot of help. But I wanted to say hang in there! I hope you are going to support groups I think that will help =)

It was about six months 'til I felt really good.  However, a few weeks after surgery, I developed a horrible case of pnuemonia.  I was in the hospital for three weeks with that, in intensive care on a respirator for part of that time.  I think recovering from that is what kept me feeling bad for so long.

I'm two weeks out and I have that burning pain too.  Doc said that it was the muscle healing and that it could take up to 6 to 8 weeks to get better..  It's fine for a couple of days, then it hits hard again.  I found that when it starts hurting to use a heating pad and it relaxes quite a bit.  If I didn't have that pain, I would be doing pretty well.  But I would soooooooooo love to sleep on my stomache again.  I've just been sleeping in the recliner cuz it's easier. 

I'm with you though, hoping it gets better soon.  Day by Day I guess is all we can do.

Hey girl!  We are right here together.  I can honestly say those burning pains for me JUST STOPPED last wk.  I can finally bend over to pick something up comfortably w/out needing salad tongs.  I can finally comfortably wear pants w/button or zipper vs. elastic waistband.  I can finally sleep on my side again and that is better than nothing, but I do miss the days I used to sleep on my stomach.  For me, it has been too many years as my weight would put my back and legs to sleep trying to sleep that way.  But for now, my butt and back are thankful I can sleep on my sides.

I hear repeatedly that this too shall pass and it will get easier as time goes on.  Hang in there girly!  Because you ARE so young, you will probably bounce back even quicker than you think.  Listen to your body.  I too still deal with some fatigue.  Don't sweat it.  You aren't being lazy!  When I am tired and able to lay down and rest I do.  Your body heals when it rests.  After my last episode with the burning pains, I just took it very easy and tried to do as little as possible for the next few days and it went away.

11 weeks out and I feel pretty good most of the time.  I can feel my stomach all the time!  I hate that.  I feel it every minute of the day with the small exception of time when I have a drink that will coat my stomach and give the relief from the feeling...it's weird.  I asked some people at my support group and they said it was normal and it does go away.

I do hate eating out now, in the way that everyone is enjoying their meal and I sit there after 6 bites and feel full, but still want to eat to partake in the fun that everyone is having.  I try to eat slower, but I just can't adjust.  I do order what I want from the menu, I tried that sharing thing and people would order things like chicken fried steak and I'm like "REALLY!".  

Byer remorse is what you have and yes it's normal.  Best advice I ever got for my byer remorse was this...

What's done is done you can't change it you can't go back, where do you go from here.

And it's true.  Can't dwell on what you can't change 

 I am four months out and I am just starting to feel like myself. I no longer need to sleep 12 hour nights or take long naps. I felt like **** for the longest time too physically and mentally. You will get through this

HAHA @princessfroggy I used the super long grill tongs for about 3 weeks, I'm glad it wasn't just me!! 

I am just 5 weeks out yesterday and I am finally starting to have some good days mixed with several not so good days.  I had the same burning pain and got the same answer from my doc.  Good news is it just went away suddenly last week, I can bend, twist, and sneeze without feeling like I am being stabbed by a hot butcher knife.  And.....I started sleeping on my stomach again 2 nights ago!! So it does get better, I promise!

As for the never ending cycle of eating, drinking, vitamins, protein......... I am still struggling with that too.  I have been switching up my schedule to see what pattern works for me, and today I'm on my 100th revision.  But I seem to be getting the hang of it and since I am having several good days once in a while I have a feeling it will only get better. Let's hang in there!!!

Good morning Amber,

Give it a few more weeks.  I cried week 4 and 5 regretting my decision.  I can promise you that within the next few weeks you will start to feel like a "better" you.  You don't want to feel like your old self again.  As the weight drops, you will start to realize that you feel better than you ever have.  The emotions will start to change from dread and regret to excitement.  Just give it time and know that better days are ahead!

Honestly, I was 4 - 4 1/2 months out before I really started to feel "good".  For the first 4 months I kept thinking "where is all this energy that everyone talks about?"  I slept whenever I could, I felt runn down all the time and just had a general blah feeling.  But right around 4 months it started to turn around and now I feel great.  I did also have really low B12 though, so that may have had something to do with it also.  Major surgery takes a long time for your body to adjust to and heal from.  Give it a little more time and rest when you need to.