After surgery

Rather new to the vsg forum.  Would like to hear from other vsgr's how it really is after surgery?  No sugar coating.  Half way thru liquid diet only 7 more days to go.  June 6th is my vsg surgery.

Thanks For The Input. 

Michele

this is the way I experienced surgery but everyone is different. At first I felt like it was the end of the world. I had never been through surgery before, and honestly I was so naive as to what to expect. I hated myself for putting my body through what I thought, AT THE TIME was the worst thing I could possibly do. I remember all I wanted to do was have a sip of water but you cant drink anything until the next morning after you have an upper GI. Getting up and moving seemed impossible the first two days, it was hard to get up and go to the bathroom but it was manageable. The nurses were there to help you through everything. I had trouble peeing actually, it was weird I could get myself to the bathroom but couldn't empty my bladder all of the way. Not sure of the reasoning why, but the nurse had to put a catheter because of it. I regretted the decision to get it while I was there and trust me I thought I would never get better. But it did. As the say, everyday it gets better and better. And trust me, it does! I'll be two weeks post op tomorrow and I'm completely back to normal. Not to mention lost about 35 pounds already. I look back now and think of it as a breeze. You just have to keep in mind how it will all be worth it in the end. That's what got me though, and what keeps getting me though. I wouldn't take any of it back yet, and still have a long way to go! You can do it!!

Well congrats on being so close, yeah for you.  I had a really easy time of it.  It is major surgery so you won't feel like dancing for a while,  the first two weeks are not fun, but when you keep it in perspective it's a small price to pay for the wonderful changes in your body, health and life.  The main thing to remember is get up right away and walk, it really is the best thing you can do for yourself,  it prevents blood clots,  gets all the juices moving and recovery is much easier.  so walk, sip, rest and repeat,  be really good to yourself this first month.  but like i said, its not fun and you'll feel bad for a couple of weeks but you'll have a lifetime to say it was all so worth it.   I hope you have an easy time of it like i did :o) jeani

I am a week out tomorrow.  I had a really easy time of it as well.  It is like really sore abdominal muscles, that you can use a pillow for support and that helps alot.  I woke from surgery, went straight to my room and taking ice chips.  In about 15 min I got up and walked to the bathroom with no problems.  It is a full time job getting in your liquids.  I have been doing light yard work the last two days, but just in short spirts.  I walked 12 blocks yesterday.  I walked alot in the hospital too and I think that helped more than anything with the pain.  My Dr. took me off my high bloodpressure meds while I was in the hospital, so I left feeling like I had already helped myself alot.  I think the hardest thing so far has been the head hunger as I don't have any physical hunger at all.  Good luck!

As someone who had surgery on the 25th and has been home a couple of days now, here are a few random thoughts:

The whole hospital experience can be a little overwhelming, but Pre-op moves pretty fast and you are in the operating room before you know it.  

When I woke up the only significant pain I had was in my left shoulder, and one walk around the hospital corridors took care of that and I never felt it again.  It was really intense, though, while it lasted.  Suprisingly no pain from the cutting.  After five days, my incisions itch a little bit, but don't hurt.

The JP drain bothered me a little, but it was more the idea that there was a tube sticking in me than any real pain.  They put in a catheter while you are in the operating room because your bladder won't work right for a few hours/days.  They took mine out the day after.  It was a little too soon.  Things still weren't flowing so they had to reinsert a new one.  That was, without question, the worst part of the entire hospital experience (at least it was fairly fast). 

The other really annoying part of the hospital experience is nurses bothering you every few minutes for blood tests, checking your vitals, etc.  You'd think that they would want you to rest and recover in the hospital, but that apparently violates some unwritten law of the medical profession (or the nursing profession, anyway).

I was very tentative about using my abdominal muscles to sit up, etc. while I was in the hospital, but have no problem at all with it now.  I won't be doing crunches this week, or probably next, but no problem using the muscles for normal activity.

I have felt significantly better every day.  Probably couldn't run a marathon, but if I walked about three miles today.  I am still tired and sleeping a lot though. 

Don't know if this is the type of info you were looking for, but hope it helps.  For me, the experience was really not as bad as I expected. 

GOOD LUCK!
Dick

Don't do it!!
Just kidding
The first two weeks were okay for me. I felt really well just out of surgery but bummed I still had hunger. The worst part of my hospital stay was when I shattered my new ipad2 I left the hospital and went directly to apple and they gave me a new one, yippee!
I have had c-sections and shoulder surgery and by far this was the easiest. One thing you have to remember is that this experience is really different for everyone. I did have walk, sip rest on my mind and made sure to really follow that and everything else my doc said. Make sure you stay current with the fluids and pain meds.
I am three and a half weeks out and stalled right at 3 weeks but I have lost almost 17 pounds since surgery and for the first time in my life feel like I will be able to have control over food and my weight. Something I never thought possible for myself before this. It really does work if you are committed to it. I would do it again in a heart beat!
Try and stay positive because there will be ups and downs.
Good luck!

I was only in the hospital for 24 hours.  The only real pain I had was my throat, which was raw from the tubes that go down during surgery.  I had no gas and more soreness than pain.  I was able to pee just fine, although my bladder felt sluggish.  I think the anesthesia affects all of the organs and it takes them a little while to wake up.  I was up and walking the next morning and checked out a few hours later.

I had a bit of a harder time than others. I knew I would, I have had surgery before, and I always have a rough time healing. My surgery was scheduled for 9:30, and I went in about 11:40. They were just running a little behing in Pre Op. The surgery went very well, no problems. I dont remember being in post op, I just remember being wheeled into my room and seeing my family. Some peole say that dont have a lot of pain, or they just have sore muscle pain. I had a lot of pain from the gas. It was trapped in my chest and it hurt like a b****. Thankfully I had a PCA pump for the forst 24 hrs, and I used it religously. After that I went to liquid pain meds, and I had the nurses in there every 4 hours on the dot giving it to me. lol. It was painful to move and to get out of bed, but I did both quite a bit. My surgery was on a Wed and I went home on a Sat.  I had to stay an extra day because my blood sugar was low, and I wasnt taking in enough protein. They switched me from a milk based (cant tolerate milky stuff since surgery) protein drink to a grape flavored water based drink, and problem solved! I had a lot of pain at home, but the pain meds (oxycodone) took care of it. I will be 2 weeks out this Wed, and I feel much better! Still have some muscle pain when I move, but nothing near what I was having. 2 things I wasnt prepared for... 1) the JP drain. Not that it hurts when they pull it out, but holy cow did it feel strange and uncomfortable! It felt like it was coiled under my ribs or something.. Didnt bother me when it was in, just when they pulled it out. 2) The emotions post op. I thought I was prepared for those.. But I really wasnt. I have gone through regretting my decision, being angry at myself, crying because of what I had done, and finally accepting that I made the right decision. I have seriously mourned food. I felt like I would never eat things I liked again. And it made me upset that I would never eat them in the amount I had before. There were many nights in the first week that I cried with my Hubby about what I had done. Thank God for him! I had read a lot of posts on here about people feeling that way, so I thought I would be able to just recognize how I was feeling and move past it. Not quite how it happened. lol. So anyway, sorry this is so long, I tend to be a little long winded sometimes, lol.

I am close to 3 weeks out from surgery so I am literally recovering from surgery.  I went into surgery a little nervous but mostly like a blank slate, not really thinking about what it would be like.  Recognizing that it is major surgery of course, realizing that there would be pain but understanding that the pain would pass.  And it has, not completely but a whole lot.

Above and beyond everything I kept reminding myself that I could get thru this because it is a temporary period of uncomfortablity and that will turn into a lifelong blessing.  I remind myself that can get thru this because I no longer want obesity to run my life; causing me illnesses, taking my energy, limiting what I can do, causing people to pass judgement on me, etc. etc. etc.

I can only pass on the advise that has been passed on to me from the folks here on OH, Sip, Walk, Rest and take care of yourself.  You can do it!!

Hi Michele,

I was just sleeved this morning! I am a lap band conversion and have to say 'I can't believe how good I feel.' My lap band surgery (2003) was extremely difficult on my body and I vividly remember the horrible gas pains. I have a hiatal hernia which caused my band to slip. they fixed that along with the vsg. It's really pretty tolerable pain at this point. I'm sure tomorrow will not be as easy , but this was so far, worth every penny.  I am being careful with my fluid intake as I am so used to chugging water. I am feeling like I want something other than clear liquids, but sugar free jello, broth and water are my best friends. I am glad I did this and good luck to you your journey