First Post

Hello to anyone *****ads this.  I had the VSG surgery last Thursday, May 29, and so far, I have no idea what is going on.  I get some pretty strong painful burning feelings in my stomach when I try to turn my stomach while lying in bed or while sitting up.  But, other than that, I feel like it has been pretty successful so far.  I am still learning how much I can water and protein I can drink without feeling like I am gonna throw it back up.  I haven't actually had anything come back up yet but I have dry heaved a few times.  When I first awoke from surgery, I am not gonna lie, I immediately thought what have I done to myself.  That first night the pain and uncomfortability was pretty unbearable.  Its only been a few days and most of that has subsided.  I don't seem to have a lot of pain when I walk so I am going to go to a local track later this afternoon and walk for at least a half an hour.  

Anyways, I am mainly posting this so I can keep track of how things are going for me but if you took the time to read my ramblings, I appreciate it.  I am very thankful that I was able to have this surgery and I am very excited to see the improvements in my daily life as they unfold.

Have a great day

I had my surgery the day before yours and boy can I relate to being woken in the operating room and thinking 'What did I just do to myself?'  ;)  The first time the nurse had me sit up I was very dizzy and when I tried to stand my knees started to go out from under me.  But I was determined.  I didn't put myself through that to not go at this 110% so I asked if I could sit in the chair for a frew minutes then realized I didn't have my glasses on and through that might have made me woozy too.  After a few minutes in the chair with the glasses on I took a short walk and from there on I've been trying to walk every couple of hours.

I felt the same pains when turning over in bed or rising from a seated position.  I had a 'tummy flattener' which if you've never heard of one, is essentially a girdle-like tube meant to smooth your middle out when wearing something form-fitting.  I'd never cared for it but I decided to put it on so my mind could grasp that the glued-shut wounds were not going to ooze when I moved.  Last night I thought about leaving it off after I showered but I was a little nervous and decided to wait until this morning.  We drove an hour to Ikea to get my kid a new bed frame/mattress.  Hubby and kid were afraid that I would overextend myself but I explained that the doctor said I should be up and active to get the weight off.

I'm having trouble getting my full 60oz. water in.  I just about made it last night but so far today I'm only at 10oz. water, 4oz. protein drink and 2oz. cool broth.  All the medical folks who called to check on me yesterday agreed that I will not become protein or vitamin deficient in a few days so just focus on getting in 60oz. liquid for now to keep from getting dehydrated.  I managed to get in four gummy multivitamins yesterday.  So far today I've had a Biotin lozenge and a chewable B12.

Those dry heaves must have been so uncomfortable!  I hope you don't experience any more of that.  Enjoy your walk at the track.  Glad to know another person at the same stage as me!

Welcome! Everyone heals differently and it sounds to me that you fall right in the normal camp! Some of us come out of surgery as if nothing really happened at all (me!) while others are absolutely miserable and most fall somewhere in the middle.

Just keep plugging away at getting all the liquid in. At this stage it is most important - even more so than protein.

Good luck and enjoy that walk. It'll do you good!

Thanks for the kind words from both of you.  I just got back from my walk, 1.25 miles in half an hour.  Not exactly tearing up the track but it was nice to get out there and get moving.  Sorry that my last post didn't make much sense.  I still had some hydrocodon running through me so I wasn't quite sure how to verbalize my thoughts. Well time to down some more water.  Once again, I truly do appreciate your responses.  

Thank you!!  for posting such an honest assessment of your situation.  I am Pre Op and I read and read about what I can do now to prepare me for After the Operation.  I have done a lot of changes in diet and snacking which for me is a huge step forward, but in the back of my mind I keep telling myself there there has to be a wall.  There has to be a moment in time when you go from almost normal to over the cliff and you have now done the deed and have this new life.........  Kinda scary........  Kinda looking forward to it.  I was wondering when it would happen and you have now answered that, right after the operation.  I haven't read anyone put it that way, and appreciate that.  I'll be following your post to see how your doing.  Good luck.

Kinda scary actually sums it up pretty well.  When I came too after the surgery, I had some pretty strong pains in my stomach as well as blood pressure of 192/122 and a heart rate under 60.  So, there was a lot of action in my room trying to get my body down to where it normally is.  My blood pressure is usually 125/75 so that was quite a change.  But, I knew there would be some momentary problems and that I was just going to have to power through them.  I have a 15 month old son that I want to spend as much time with for as long as I could and with my pre-op weight, that wasn't gonna be as long as it should have been.  I hope you don't get me wrong, I am only two days past the surgery and I already don't regret it in anyway.  When I start fitting into smaller clothes, when I can truly run and around and play with my son, and when I have the self-confidence I had when I was younger, I will thank the Lord I had the sleeve.  Just, right now, I am just sorting through how big of an adjustment this will be.  My Dr. did a great job of preparing me, but, when your out walking the track and you smell someone bbq a juicy hamburger, it really hits you that this change is permanent (just happened to me).  Have a great day Jobe

Hello Jobe. I too appreciated reading the candid and negative experiences that happen during recovery. Although I didn't read enough of them. It is much better to know what all I might experience and to be prepared. I had several really bad days early post-op at home. At that time, I couldn't even think about looking at my laptop yet get on and look up answers. If I would have seen more of the less than stellar recoveries, I would have felt that I was still okay.

Some people have it really easy. The lady I worked with said that she was back to work in two weeks and by the end of the first week felt great and had tons of energy. What I didn't factor in is that she was probably at least 10 years younger than me when she had her RNY. I am beginning my third week off of work and still don't feel really well or energetic. I think a lot of people don't want to scare someone because they have a bad experience so they don't share them.

I can tell you that I haven't had a bad day lately. I am more confident that it was the right choice for me to have this surgery and that I'll be successful. If you have any questions, please send me a message. Good luck to you and I wish you a speedy recovery! -Lori

Yes, the bending, twisting, and sitting up are painful for a while.  I chose to sleep in a chair for the first week, because I'm a baby about pain and getting up from lying in bed made me cry.  Holding a pillow to your stomach helps, although it might just be a placebo.  Some people wrap a band of some type around their stomach to support it and keep from twisting it too much as they move.

Glad you're able to get around already, just remember that you will tire quickly for a while so don't go to the track and wal****il you're exhausted, because you will still need to get back home :)

No idea what is going on - nope, I've only got eight days on you and I'm still a bit unsure what to expect next.

Strong painful / burning feelings on lying in bed - same here. It was like a small angry Mount Everest was trying to poke out of my stomach.

Dry heaves - not me but a lot of others. Maybe my hiccups and burps were baby dry heaves?

Walking - made/makes me feel infinitely better. Let us know how it works for you. Don't forget to allow for sweat loss in your water intake. 

Thanks, m8.

Welcome!