Challenges

Hi Everyone,

I am a newbie, just started my journey for WLS. I am planning on getting the sleeve option probably sometime in April.

I am wanting to learn everything I can so I can make a very informed decision with this. It is a big deal, and I know this will be hard, especially initially after surgery.

Some questions for those that have had the sleeve-

What are/were some of your biggest challenges after surgery and how did/do you overcome them?

What things do you wish you knew before you got into this that you know now?

What are the best things you have experienced since surgery?

Thanks!
Josie

Hi Josie,

Regarding challenges, my biggest one was that I had complications with persistent nausea and vomiting for several months after surgery. Don't worry though; it's really rare to have that happen. The way I handled it was to keep in frequent contact with my care team. I had to get a PICC line and have IV fluids several times a week. Fortunately that problem eventually resolved and I'm fine now.

Even though I had complications, the benefits of surgery far outweigh the negatives! Now I'm wearing a size 8 or 10 and feeling wonderful. I sleep so much better.  I can run up the stairs without getting winded or sweaty. I don't obsess about food anymore. My hunger is greatly diminished and when I do get hungry, it's easily satisfied with a small amount of healthy food. And the best part is that my success inspired my mom to have weight loss surgery and she is doing great!

I wish you all the best in your weight loss journey!

I am by no means a veteran here.  The hardest part for me was the pre-op, 6 month supervised diet and all the testing and the two week liquid diet post-op.  I had never had any surgery before this one (5 weeks ago).  I had the sleeve.  I expected actual pain - didn't happen.  I had mild discomfort.  The recovery was much easier than I had anticipated.  The only real issue I have had is constipation.  The best thing is the weightloss, I sleep better, and have more energy.  I don't think about food all the time.  I still struggle with preparing food for my family and not being able to eat it. However, the soft food stage is getting better.  I have been in a 2 week stall lately- and that is frustrating.  My tastes for sweets are still there - but not like they use to be.  I strongly suggest you do your research and check in here regularly to read what people have to say realizing it may or may not be the same for you.  I was so scared of going thru all the testing and then being rejected.  The pre-op scope was a piece of cake, the surgery went great too.  Listen and follow your doctors instructions to the letter.  This won't always be easy because you will feel like you can eat this or that which isn't on your instruction plan.  Good luck you will do great.

I wasn't prepared for how annoying finding clothes was going to be.  I switched to one size fits all skirts at some point just because finding pants that fit correctly was too big of a pain.  I wasn't expecting that - or the cost of clothes in general.  Or, really, that I'd care about how clothes fit this new body of mine more than I've ever cared.  

I'm not sure that I expected Obesity Recovery to become my full time job, but it is.  I'm glad I don't have an actual full time job.  :P  

I've lost 119 pounds since the beginning of the year and I'm surprised, at 200, how much more comfortable I feel in the world.  I feel like I fit better.  I don't feel huge and ungainly and awkward all the time.  It's fairly amazing.  I also love that I've developed a love of exercise thanks to starting slowly and sticking with it.  And I ran a 5k!  OMG.  That's definitely not something I ever thought I'd even -want- to do, much less actually do.  

Pre-op I made myself this list of promises and it was really helpful to me.  It still is!  

1. I will not panic if I stop losing weight for a few weeks. Instead, I will re-evaluate that my eating is on plan and wait until the stall has lasted 4 weeks before I start to panic.

2. I will not ask OH what I need to take to the hospital, I know these things. Chapstick and a pillow. And the pillow really just needs to be in the car for the trip home.

3. I will not lie when people ask me how I’ve lost the weight. I will either be honest and tell them “surgery, diet and exercise” or I will tell them “I’m not comfortable talking about this with you.” These are the options, lying by omission is not one of them.

4. If I fail, and I will fail, I will forgive myself and return immediately to plan. It’s okay to screw up, it’s not okay to beat myself up for it or let it become the start of a downward spiral.

5. If I don’t start losing sizes right away, I won’t freak out. Chances are the clothes I wear now are too small and tight, and I just deal with it. It might take awhile for my current clothes to fit correctly and that will happen before I can get into smaller sizes.

6. I will own my mistakes. They’re mine and result of my own choices, no one is ever going to hold a gun to my head and make me eat crap, I control what goes into my own body.

7. I will not compare my weight loss to that of anyone else. I’m me.

8. I will do everything I can to find a therapist I can work with. This will help me out in the long run.

9. I will be hyper aware of potential addiction transfer issues and especially aware of getting too caught up in numbers as I already know I am want to do.

10. Extra skin is a fact of life, get the **** over it. If I really hate the way my body looks, I can save my pennies and nickels for plastic surgery once I’ve maintained for a year or two. People will still have sex with me if I have weird skin, and Under Armour sells compression gear. I will, however, have every issue with my skin documented.

11. I will be kind to myself. I will keep getting to my monthly massages, I will keep engaged in my hobbies, and I will spend time with my friends.

12. I already know that being a “hero” about medication is stupid so I’ll work on remembering that when the time comes. Pain keeps us from healing, it’s not noble.

13. I will only weigh myself once a week. I will not let myself get obsessed with the scale. See #9.  (I weigh daily and it's working well thanks to TrendWeight.)

14. My stomach will probably gurgle after surgery, this is normal. Just don’t go to silent Meeting anytime soon.

15. I will not worry if people don’t comment on my weight loss. I will assume that they’re being polite and not commenting on another person’s body, which is what they should do.

16. I will work to break the compulsions to “clean my plate” and to “not let food go to waste.” Sure, there are starving kids in Africa, but throwing away food will not change the situation.

17. There is nothing to be done for hair loss, assuming that I’m eating on plan. It will happen, or it won’t, but I will remember that it will grow back eventually. I will be a shavee with St. Baldricks six weeks post-op.

18. I understand that my hormones will be all messed up after surgery. I will do my best to remove myself from the company of others instead of taking my hormonal changes out on them.

19. I won’t weigh myself for the first two weeks post-op because I know that I’ll gain weight from all of the fluids and swelling that surgery entail. I’ll wait to weigh until I’m off liquids. (I made it a week.)

20. I will not panic if I don’t feel restriction immediately post-op. Chances are restriction won’t kick in fully until I’m eating dense proteins and that will take 4-6 weeks on my plan.

Gwen,

Thank you so much for this list! This is very helpful and eye opening.

Thanks again,

josie

You're welcome!