Surgery Nerves

Hi all.  I am about 8 weeks out and I am totally excited about having surgery.  However, I am also starting to get really nervous.  I wanted to have the sleeve but ended up going with the DS due to the amount of weight I need to lose and other health related issues.  Please be honest and tell me what to expect immediately afterward and any advice you can offer would be welcome.  

You are going to feel like you got hit by a Mack truck immediately post-op. Take it slow and easy. Concentrate on fluids and more fluids. Put protein and vitamins second on the list of must-dos that first week. Start now taking in extra protein, cutting carbs and taking vitamins. Have you gotten any pre-op labs done? Are you bordering on low on anything? Work real hard to bring those levels up before surgery. Start drinking low sodium V8 juice and using Morton's Lite Salt to boost your potassium levels if you aren't already on a potassium supplement. Potassium may crash a bit immediately post-op so you want it to be a good levels pre-op. Good luck and keep us posted.

--gina

Read this - it explains it all:

http://www.dsfacts.com/What-to-Expect-Following-Surgery.html

I thought I would just tell you what surprised me most post op. There was abdominal soreness / pain but I expected that. Drinking was much harder than I thought it would be - staying hydrated is a real challenge. Just focus on drinking and don't worry about anything else for a few days. Dehydration sneaks up easily and is a real beast!

i was so nauseous - and that made me feel miserable!!!!  I didn't really throw up but I hated that feeling.

I was propped up for much of my surgery - revision from lapband to DS- and my feet really really hurt from being in that vertical position.  I was NOT expecting that. :)

the other thing that has been THE BIGGEST challenge for me has been protein shakes. I was always fine with them before but after surgery I vomit every time I drink them. This is making me very nervous as I don't know how to get past this struggle and I do worry about becoming protein deficient.  So far my doc is telling me to just keep trying and I am trying to eat as much real protein foods as I can ... But thought I would share that because it has been a real challenge. 

Also remember that you will have days where you wonder "what have I done?" That is normal!!!  :)

good luck with your surgery! 

Thank yog for responding.  I know there will be struggles, that is why i decided I better get hooked up somewhere like this sight to ask questions of people that have been through it. How far out post op are you if you dont mind me asking? Good luck with the protein shake thing......I know it is really important

I am three months out - just had my first three-month check and blood draw. Everything was good except my vitamin A and protein - so gonna work on those two areas. 

Thank yog for responding.  I know there will be struggles, that is why i decided I better get hooked up somewhere like this sight to ask questions of people that have been through it. How far out post op are you if you dont mind me asking? Good luck with the protein shake thing......I know it is really important