Gallbladder removal vs. Bariatric surgery

Hi everyone.  I'm relatively new here and I am getting nervous and super excited as my surgery date has been scheduled for February 19th!  I can't wait to use the new tool :)  At any rate, I'm just curious as to how post-op goes.  I know everyone is different, but I'm just looking for some info.  I had my gallbladder removed and have had 2 c sections.  Just wondering what the recovery time will be compared to these surgeries...  Have any of you had your gallbladder out or have a c-section and then the sleeve?  If so, can you compare the recoveries?  I know with my c-sections, both recoveries were so different.  The first csection I had, it was such a difficult recovery.  The second was a breeze compared to the first.  I know my gallbladder surgery recovery was a little difficult and longer than my mom or my sister's recovery.  So, I'm curious as to what some of you have had.  I've heard so many things, so I'm just curious.  I've heard that some people were bored in the hospital and they only took 1 pain pill right after surgery then they were fine.  I've also heard people being in excruciating pain and having meds when they get home.  So, I'm just looking for a little perspective.  Thanks so much everyone!!

For me VSG was a walk in the park compared to my gallbladder removal. My gallbladder removal was laproscopic surgery, but the pain management sucked and in my opinion, they sent me home too quickly.

With the VSG I had no pain except for actual muscle pain in my abs when I tried to get up. No internal pain at all. My doc had a wonderful protocol to manage post op pain and he kept me in the hospital (surgery Wednesday morning, went home Thursday night about 8 pm****il it was clear I could tolerate liquids and could manage getting out of bed and walking easily by myself. 

I was up and about the very next day and haven't stopped since!

Hi michellebrad!  I am pre-op (waiting for the call to schedule my surgery right now) but I wanted to say "hi" from the west side.    

Good luck with your surgery.  I've heard wonderful things about Dr. Ben-Meir. 

Hey!!  Thanks for saying "HI!"  It's always nice to have someone 'close" say hi! :)  Thanks for the well wishes..  I wish you well too!!!  Who is your surgeon?  Dr. Ben-Meir and the staff are so wonderful.  I am so thankful I found them, it was just kind of luck that I did. 

Thank you!  I am going through UH-Case and my surgeon is Dr. Novitsky.  I started the process at St. V's 7 years ago and met with Dr. Ben-Meir when he was working there.  I liked him a lot but his new program is too far for me with a busy schedule. 

I had lap gallbladder removal 17 years ago.  Physical recovery from that and the lap VSG were about the same.  The harder recovery with the VSG is the total change in eating habits and the eating limitations immediately post-op.  THAT made recovery from the VSG different/harder than gallbladder.

This.  I had gallbladder removal almost 2 years ago and I'd have to say, the recovery period was about the same. With the GB it was an outpatient procedure. The VSG (w/ hiatal hernia repair) required an overnight stay, and in my case due to some unforeseen complications I ended up staying 4 nights. The sleeve itself was okay, but I had some other problems to overcome before it was safe to go home. So that part was different. I had somewhat more pain with the sleeve surgery, but I wouldn't say it was excessive. My doctor gave me plenty of pain and nausea meds, so I never threw up.  Can't say that for the GB surgery!

By far the most difficult part of the sleeve surgery has been coordinating the drinking, protein, vitamins and calcium. For that reason, I took 3 weeks off because I was struggling a bit. At this point, 4 weeks, I'm doing pretty well with it all.

GB surgery, Csection and VSG are such different types of surgery I don't think you can reasonably compare them.

I had gallbladder and c-sections pre-VSG.  The c-sections were FAR worse than the other two.  The incision pain from gallbladder and VSG were the same.  I vomited a few times after VSG.. That was the worst part of it for me.  It was much easier than I'd imagined but I didn't take pain meds at home except to sleep - and that was only for two nights.

Good Luck with your surgery!!

Elisa

I've had both surgeries and the VSG surgery was the easiest of all 3.  The mind games were my biggest struggle... thinking I'm hungry but I really wasn't.  Good luck!

I had my gallbladder out, actually by the same surgeon that did my VSG as well 11 yrs ago and I had surgery similar to a C-section. For me personally the VSG was much harder on me. I walked out of the hospital same day with gallbladder and took no pain meds. I was in the hospital for 7 days with my other abdominal surgery, but felt I had better pain control. They had a difficult time controlling my pain for my VSG and I had a lot of swelling. So many people had told me this would be similar and/or easier than my gallbladder, so I was devastate when I woke up in postop in excruciating pain. It's great to prepare, but just keep in mind that your situation may be different. I had trouble with that for weeks, because I kept comparing myself to hubby, who had VSG 3 weeks before me and others here on OH. Good Luck and keep us updated on your progress!!