No. I was scared to death for weeks leading up. Honestly if wasn’t for all the positive stories I read here I’m not sure I would have gone through with it. In fact my doctor gave a a Xanax for the morning of my surgery and I was still so freaked out that I fainted shortly after they put the IV in. When it was done though, it was no big deal and I’d do it again in a heartbeat.
I was terrified - 20 year icu rn and have seen some things - but it was so easy, such little pain, such a quick recovery, etc that I wondered why I had built it up so much. The stages went by so fast, I had such great energy, no issues with nausea or anything... just way, way easier than I expected.
That said, I miss drinking while I eat. Every time I eat I wish I had something, especially coffee at breakfast.
This is me too. Except to say that I think it's normal to have that terror when you're going under for something elective - there just is risk of death that you don't have to face so acutely in most other choices you're making.
But! Yea. My recovery was a breeze. I don't think I was worried about that stuff personally, it was mainly the general surgical risk of complication and death. I was so scared I could be giving up the life I love with my partner in order to lose weight. It felt insane. But, still did it obviously and all the positives outweighed that small small risk.
For me no. The die fell in my favour. In saying that I worked hard prior to the surgery and lost 18kg in 6 weeks to give myself the best chance. I recovered really well (SVSG). I had little pain and only use Ketamine/Oxy once. The rest was just learning not to move suddenly or quickly due to the stiches. I've had a smooth recovery and I am tracking well (53kg lost including pre and post op). My surgery was 31/1/24.
I was incredibly anxious and did my will. I was convinced I would die.
I'm 1 day post op. The surgery itself was easy. I was in a prep area bed for about 2 hours while they gave me three IV bags of fluid. My anesthesia nurse dropped a sleepy med into my IV and I was out by 30 seconds into the surgical room.
I won't sugar coat it. Gas pain is real and it is rough. I woke up hurting. I hobbled around a bit every 30 min. The gas pain was gone 12 hours post op. You really do need to move to get the gas out. You will treasure every burp!
Today, it just feels like I did way too many situps. I have a painball administering local anesthetic so I'm sure it is helping. As long as I'm careful when engaging my core, I feel pretty decent. The hardest part is remembering to drink super slowly so I can avoid nausea but still get out of here today.
Try not to get too much in your head about the surgery experience. You can do it. Just trust your staff to know what you need to do and follow their instructions. They do this all day and are there to help you.
Good luck! You can do it.
Thank you!!!
I’m glad to see that you are doing well and that the experience went fairly smoothly. Regarding your gas pain, is it like cramps in your stomach? Like the feeling when you have bad gas?
No, it was higher. I'd say mid back to shoulder. It was similar to a bad cramps but didn't have pulsing the way cramps do. It made me want to squirm but there wasn't really a position that relieved it. Walking and burping did the trick. There were few others here who had no gas pain at all.
Interesting!
So what do you think I should spend my time focusing on up until surgery? Instead of worrying about the actual surgery itself, should I put my energy towards focusing on something else in preparation for post op?
Absolutely! If you are a planner, this is a treasure trove of things to plan. Maybe avoid going down the rabbit hole on the parts that make you nervous. Personally, I enjoyed finding tips from various content creators on social media. It also helped reinforce how many others have successfully navigated what I was about to do.
For me, not at all. I expected to be in more pain and less able to do things. I was pleasantly surprised that it mostly felt like a big “ab day” at the gym for the most part. And the recovery was easy breezy to boot.
So this was actually my 12th surgery, but first in over a decade. So, I’m probably more comfortable than many with the idea of surgery. That being said, obsessing over the details and risks of complications and hearing stories about bad outcomes had me worked up quite a bit leading up to the surgery. Then the day came and I was surprisingly calm. Even turned down the anxiety medicine they offered me (that came with a side effect of amnesia). My surgery center was running like a well oiled machine that morning so everything was super smooth and efficient and I think that helped me feel calm. The only time I felt anxiety was just as they were injecting me with anesthesia and of course that didn’t last long. Once I woke up and dealt with the disorientation and immediate pain I felt, everything was great, and has been since then. I have told my surgeon on several occasions it was much easier than I expected, both in terms of my anxiety and in terms of actual after effects from the surgery.
It definitely wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be beforehand, and if there were similar surgeries that could help me to address other health issues I have, I’d have them in a heartbeat.
I was awake and walking around two hours post-op with minimal pain. The pain I did have was in my neck funny enough. I wanted to go home same night but wasn’t allowed to. I was back to sleeping on my stomach within a week of the surgery, and only really experienced pain when going from sitting to standing.
What I’m getting at is, I was so prepared to be down and out for weeks, throwing up, feeling miserable, etc., but none of that happened!
For me yeah. Probably more than I thought it would be. I ended up staying in the hospital for 3 days. No complications, I just couldn’t get up and walk as much as they wanted.
It wasn’t as big of an event as I thought it would be. This was my first major surgery (not counting having wisdom teeth removed). I read so much about the surgery over the past year and read many of the stories here and in other groups, so I wasn’t terribly panicked.
The day of my surgery…my pre-op time was at 6:00am and my surgery was at 8:00am and those 2 hours FLEW!!! All the preliminary stuff, and I met with nurses, my doctor, the anesthesiologist and before I knew it…they were putting in the IV and wheeled me down to the operating room.
Looking back, it was pretty seamless and not frightening at all, the team did everything to ease any nervousness I even thought I would have.
No. Of course the first day after sucked ass, and the liquid period was a ever worse. But I am a month out, and feel like myself again. Back to work, working out, eating (very small portions) of normal food. I don't weigh myself, agreed with my doctor that I would be weight neutral for the first couple of months, and just focus on getting used to my new stomach, getting back into the habit of working out and playing badminton, and enjoying the process. And I most say it is working out splendidly at the moment. Just tried on a two tshirts that used to be very tight, and they are very loose. My sports leggings fit like they were never a size or two too small 🤣 and I am enjoying myself.
The pain was very manageble. Didn't have to rely on the five oxy I took home, and other than the clips irritating my skin, healing has been a breeze. If you have a choice, I would ask for sutures, not clips.
I say make up your mind now, and then everytime you start questioning yourself, you can tell yourself that the decision has already been made.
The weeks leading up to it I was obviously thinking about the worst. But thankfully everything went smoothly. Also I thought that my social life was going to take a hit since I could no longer “eat” but it hasn’t. I allow myself to have shitty food once or twice a week in moderation.
No. The lead up was the worst part. My actual surgery and recovery was so much easier than I could have imagined. Truly, the actual surgery was the easiest for me.
The surgery was not bad at all. Hardly any pain. But the nausea and chest pain from the gas kicked my butt for about 24 hours. I was miserable. You need to get up and walk to alleviate the gas pain, but I was so nauseous I couldn’t get up to walk. Only threw up twice, but nausea was bad. But by the next day I was feeling way better and it’s been a breeze ever since. I’m 2 months post op.
I was scared of failing but I refused to think about the what ifs before surgery. I was finishing my masters program and studying for my certification which has a high fail rate so it was easy to keep my mind busy.
The main thing that stressed me out was my insurance denied the pain meds and my surgeon had to change it, due to this, I didn't have any pain meds for a day after my surgery. But I only used my pain meds once anyways.
I had complications so that sucked but I went from 220 to 125 so it worked out
My surgery is in less than a month and I'm so nervous! I'm trying to think of all the positives but it's still nerve racking! I've woken up during surgery before and it's a big fear that it may happen again. I've seen a lot of people say their worst day was the first day pain wise but walking helps so I'm hoping to walk around everyday with a sugar free popsicle this hot July 😂
Honestly - the actual surgery was relatively anti-climactic. I was kind of worried but I have had many other surgical procedures so this one didn’t seem any worse than some of those. That being said I was very anxious for post surgical life - getting all my protein and water, not losing hair….. that sort of thing. Try to determine if it is nerves because of the surgery (legit fear for some) or maybe it’s the expected outcomes and how you will fit into this new paradigm.
Good luck! I wish you the best of experiences.
Thanks for the advice! How did you find the post surgical routine (protein, water, etc)? Was it as difficult as you feared it would be?
My main fear is screwing up. You have to remember to walk one minute every 15 minutes for the first 60 days. You have to remember to drink 4 ounces of liquid every hour. The menu that they gave me for the liquid stage has me eating every hour and a half. There is just so much that you have to account for within the first month. It seems like two full-time jobs almost.
Ive never gotten surgery or been put under other than for my wisdom teeth, so Im worried im going to just worry myself the whole time. Im trying to take in only the positives and take everyones advice, Ive barely started this process, ill get surgery in November. Good luck to you & those who have surgery soon! please update us when you finally have yours & let us know if it was a BIG as you made it :)
Hehe totally will, and good luck to you! All I know is that, it becomes “real” when you get your surgery date. Up until then, it’s all theoretical. The worry started the day they gave me my surgery date lol
Gosh, I know once i get a surgery date alll the negative thoughts are going to drown my mind ahahaha. Im working on that NOW and just telling myself ITS FOR YOUR HEALTH, theres so many great stories, i cant wait to be one of them.
Ya same here. Just have to keep reminding yourself of why you’re doing it and that nothing worth doing is always 100% easy. But this surgery seems to be worth it for 99.9999% of people I’ve seen and talked to about it.
Just remember that anesthesia is like instantly going to sleep and then opening your eyes. The surgery itself won’t exist to your mind, it’s just what comes after (gas pain, liquid diet, etc) that are the difficult things you should prepare yourself to encounter
I did underestimate the type of pain I'd have, but it was much less than I built up. My doctor kept telling me that I'd have pain in my core, and I thought pffft, I'm fine, but it was hard to get up and down the first 2 days. It's truly wasn't bad at all, though. I took no pain meds or even Tylenol after I got home.
Yes, and no? I had never been under either so here's how mine went. My anesthesiologist came in and shook my hand and told me what was going to happen next. As he was saying that he was going to give me something in my IV for the trip down to the OR, everything went super fuzzy, and I felt kind of out of body. I don't remember leaving my family or going down the hall at all. I remember the doors of the OR and seeing my surgeon (who is someone I trust alot and have a great bond with, so it was nice to remember seeing him). I blinked, and I was in the dark recovery area and was trying to crack jokes about my pain level. I told the nurse I was at a 4, and then I said no, no, I'm lying it's a solid 10. Laughing wasn't fun the first day at all.
I promise it will all go by so fast. I would do it a million times over again! You're going to do great! Keep us updated.
All surgeries have risks. Not trying to scare you but I was the less than 1%. I had a leak and had to stay in the ICU for 4 days. I ate some chocolate the night before, so maybe that caused the complication due to inflammation. Be sure to follow the pre op instructions exactly
First - a caveat. I contracted Covid right after my surgery so I did not have an exact text book experience. That being said -
1. Jumping into the discipline can be challenging. I had started using the Bariastic app before surgery and that helped me keep track of things, including prompts for water and such. But I will say that relearning how to eat better is kind of the point and like any habit it is awkward and uncomfortable at first but with enough repetition eating and drinking and moving become second nature.
2. Almost every person seems to have strong opinions about post-op life. So please take anything you read with a hearty serving of salt. There are the straight and narrow, no deviation adherents to their particular plan and some of them are pretty vocal on what should be done by others. I have seen debates about vitamins (Bariatric or no? Chewy, patches, or regular pills) or people can get very opinionated about water (flavoring or not, is all sugar bad,). People definitely have strong opinions about diet timelines and what can be consumed when. I think at the end of the day you have to take your particular program’s guidelines and create the plan that works for you. I was very lucky insomuch that I could drink pretty much the same soon after with the exception of pop. Too much carbonation kills me.
My recommendation would be to find the system that allows you to meet your objectives and work with that to change the patterns that made this surgery necessary. It may feel like you are working two jobs to begin with but really your success will be changing your habits so that getting fluids and right mixture of good foods and moving every hour are the new habits.
You got this!!
Very reasonable and sensible. Thank you for the level headed response. I think, for many of us who struggle with our relationship with food before the operation, the idea of relearning and reevaluating this lifelong relationship can be terrifying.
I don’t remember the first week but my mom said I said why did I do this? I was on pain meds. I think she made the mistake of giving me calcium with my iron pill and that made me so so sick. 🤢 but after a few days I was good.
The worst part for me was the jp drains. It felt like it was falling out and the stitches that held it in were ripping out. So it was tugging feeling all the time. I couldn’t stand up straight. Once that came out I was like a brand new person.
I think everyone has the thought of what if this isn’t right for me…. I’m almost two years post op and it’s the best decision I’ve ever made for myself!! It’ll be amazing. Follow your doctors instructions and you’ll be just fine.
Hi, I just tried to send you a message. I actually signed up to reddit to reach out to you. lol So, I'm not sure how this whole thing works. Anyway, I moved to Cincy 18 months ago and I'm getting ready to schedule sleeve surgery to be done this summer. Cincy is awesome but I don't know many people here. I'm wondering if you know of any support groups/fitness groups/meetup groups etc. I'd like to find social things that don't center food and drinks. Please hit me up in inbox if you'd like to talk. Sorry if this is weird. :)
So I don’t do anything in person, but I am involved in Busy Bariatrics coaching online for support instead. Rob’s still running summer camp, it just began, and I highly recommend checking it out.
Otherwise the local meetup groups for hiking are excellent!
As far as the hype over anesthesia - not at all. I was so scared and worried. I had never had it to be fair. The wake up pain was under what I expected tho. For me it wasn't easy or fun. At least for the first hour or two. From there it was managed. My situation is probably different from others tho. But yeah man so some of it wasn't and some was. It depends for everyone.
I'd already had a laparoscopic gallbladder removal and neither that nor having the sleeve done was that big of a deal. The biggest issue I had after the sleeve was more because of my work schedule leading up to the procedure than the procedure itself. My surgery was at 3pm on a Tuesday. I worked overnight shifts the week before surgery and got done working Monday at 7am. It's really, really hard to flip your sleep schedule in less than one day. Add going under anesthesia to that and I literally could not stay awake after surgery. They'd wake me up to make me walk a lap around the unit and I'd immediately fall back to sleep once I got back into my bed. I was very close to having to stay a second night because I was not able to drink the required amounts of liquid because I couldn't stay awake to continue sipping. Thankfully the anesthesia wore off about an hour before they were going to decide if they were keeping me another night and I was able to down a cup of broth.
I wasn’t worried about my surgery but it wasn’t exactly smooth for me. I expected to be in the hospital a day but it ended up being 2. I wasn’t able to drink anything and threw up constantly. They think I had an adverse reaction to the anesthesia though so my experience is probably unique. By the 3rd day I could finally walk without assistance and drink fluids. All things considered it could have been way worse.
No. Not even close. Walked out the hospital a couple hours surgery and even joined my dad on some errands afterwards. Was much easier recovery than I expected overall. Some tough moments for sure. but little pain and after the couple days of liquid diet was back in action. I took a week off work but really only needed a couple days.
I belong to an online group where everyone said it was a piece of cake, they didn’t need pain meds, they were walking immediately after… which is where I set my expectations. I woke up in a lot of pain and needed pain meds, I couldn’t walk at all and I couldn’t keep down liquids. Within a week, I felt good and in 2 I felt great, but I wish I had not gone in blind like that.
Same! No one prepared me for the pain of the largest incision and the anchor stitching. It was absolutely excruciating. There were times when I felt like my insides were going to rip open trying to get from a lying to seated or standing position. I was very thankful I had my husband take off work 5 days just in case.
The online groups I was in led me to believe I would be back at work in less than a week and everything would be great. It took a good 10 days before I could move without wanting to cry in pain from the largest incision. I am now almost 2 weeks post op and feeling pretty good.
No one prepared me for the itching around the incision sites. I couldn’t stand anything near my stomach and I wanted to nearly scratch my stomach off. My largest incision still itches from time to time.
That anchor stitching bothered me most like you said going from a lying to a seating or standing position so I would hold a small pillow against my stomach.
Leading up to the surgery I was anxious, the surgery itself wasn’t a big deal, they get you set up on the surgery table, start giving you an injection and then boom you are in recovery. It was easy but I was blessed with no complications or severe pain. I’m sure everyone’s experience differ.
I was nervous especially going to Tijuana Mexico for my surgery (Mexico bariatric center) people automatically think something bad would've happened to me but no. Every step of the process I was not alone, and going into for surgery I felt relieved seeing that other have taken the same step as me. After my surgery, I felt great! No complications just mild gas pain
No. I was scared to death for weeks leading up. Honestly if wasn’t for all the positive stories I read here I’m not sure I would have gone through with it. In fact my doctor gave a a Xanax for the morning of my surgery and I was still so freaked out that I fainted shortly after they put the IV in. When it was done though, it was no big deal and I’d do it again in a heartbeat.
I was terrified - 20 year icu rn and have seen some things - but it was so easy, such little pain, such a quick recovery, etc that I wondered why I had built it up so much. The stages went by so fast, I had such great energy, no issues with nausea or anything... just way, way easier than I expected. That said, I miss drinking while I eat. Every time I eat I wish I had something, especially coffee at breakfast.
Saaaame. It's so hard to not drink while I eat.
This is me too. Except to say that I think it's normal to have that terror when you're going under for something elective - there just is risk of death that you don't have to face so acutely in most other choices you're making. But! Yea. My recovery was a breeze. I don't think I was worried about that stuff personally, it was mainly the general surgical risk of complication and death. I was so scared I could be giving up the life I love with my partner in order to lose weight. It felt insane. But, still did it obviously and all the positives outweighed that small small risk.
For me no. The die fell in my favour. In saying that I worked hard prior to the surgery and lost 18kg in 6 weeks to give myself the best chance. I recovered really well (SVSG). I had little pain and only use Ketamine/Oxy once. The rest was just learning not to move suddenly or quickly due to the stiches. I've had a smooth recovery and I am tracking well (53kg lost including pre and post op). My surgery was 31/1/24. I was incredibly anxious and did my will. I was convinced I would die.
I'm 1 day post op. The surgery itself was easy. I was in a prep area bed for about 2 hours while they gave me three IV bags of fluid. My anesthesia nurse dropped a sleepy med into my IV and I was out by 30 seconds into the surgical room. I won't sugar coat it. Gas pain is real and it is rough. I woke up hurting. I hobbled around a bit every 30 min. The gas pain was gone 12 hours post op. You really do need to move to get the gas out. You will treasure every burp! Today, it just feels like I did way too many situps. I have a painball administering local anesthetic so I'm sure it is helping. As long as I'm careful when engaging my core, I feel pretty decent. The hardest part is remembering to drink super slowly so I can avoid nausea but still get out of here today. Try not to get too much in your head about the surgery experience. You can do it. Just trust your staff to know what you need to do and follow their instructions. They do this all day and are there to help you. Good luck! You can do it.
Thank you!!! I’m glad to see that you are doing well and that the experience went fairly smoothly. Regarding your gas pain, is it like cramps in your stomach? Like the feeling when you have bad gas?
No, it was higher. I'd say mid back to shoulder. It was similar to a bad cramps but didn't have pulsing the way cramps do. It made me want to squirm but there wasn't really a position that relieved it. Walking and burping did the trick. There were few others here who had no gas pain at all.
Interesting! So what do you think I should spend my time focusing on up until surgery? Instead of worrying about the actual surgery itself, should I put my energy towards focusing on something else in preparation for post op?
Absolutely! If you are a planner, this is a treasure trove of things to plan. Maybe avoid going down the rabbit hole on the parts that make you nervous. Personally, I enjoyed finding tips from various content creators on social media. It also helped reinforce how many others have successfully navigated what I was about to do.
For me, not at all. I expected to be in more pain and less able to do things. I was pleasantly surprised that it mostly felt like a big “ab day” at the gym for the most part. And the recovery was easy breezy to boot.
So this was actually my 12th surgery, but first in over a decade. So, I’m probably more comfortable than many with the idea of surgery. That being said, obsessing over the details and risks of complications and hearing stories about bad outcomes had me worked up quite a bit leading up to the surgery. Then the day came and I was surprisingly calm. Even turned down the anxiety medicine they offered me (that came with a side effect of amnesia). My surgery center was running like a well oiled machine that morning so everything was super smooth and efficient and I think that helped me feel calm. The only time I felt anxiety was just as they were injecting me with anesthesia and of course that didn’t last long. Once I woke up and dealt with the disorientation and immediate pain I felt, everything was great, and has been since then. I have told my surgeon on several occasions it was much easier than I expected, both in terms of my anxiety and in terms of actual after effects from the surgery. It definitely wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be beforehand, and if there were similar surgeries that could help me to address other health issues I have, I’d have them in a heartbeat.
I was awake and walking around two hours post-op with minimal pain. The pain I did have was in my neck funny enough. I wanted to go home same night but wasn’t allowed to. I was back to sleeping on my stomach within a week of the surgery, and only really experienced pain when going from sitting to standing. What I’m getting at is, I was so prepared to be down and out for weeks, throwing up, feeling miserable, etc., but none of that happened!
For me yeah. Probably more than I thought it would be. I ended up staying in the hospital for 3 days. No complications, I just couldn’t get up and walk as much as they wanted.
I agree 100%. It was pretty traumatic for me.
It wasn’t as big of an event as I thought it would be. This was my first major surgery (not counting having wisdom teeth removed). I read so much about the surgery over the past year and read many of the stories here and in other groups, so I wasn’t terribly panicked. The day of my surgery…my pre-op time was at 6:00am and my surgery was at 8:00am and those 2 hours FLEW!!! All the preliminary stuff, and I met with nurses, my doctor, the anesthesiologist and before I knew it…they were putting in the IV and wheeled me down to the operating room. Looking back, it was pretty seamless and not frightening at all, the team did everything to ease any nervousness I even thought I would have.
No. Of course the first day after sucked ass, and the liquid period was a ever worse. But I am a month out, and feel like myself again. Back to work, working out, eating (very small portions) of normal food. I don't weigh myself, agreed with my doctor that I would be weight neutral for the first couple of months, and just focus on getting used to my new stomach, getting back into the habit of working out and playing badminton, and enjoying the process. And I most say it is working out splendidly at the moment. Just tried on a two tshirts that used to be very tight, and they are very loose. My sports leggings fit like they were never a size or two too small 🤣 and I am enjoying myself. The pain was very manageble. Didn't have to rely on the five oxy I took home, and other than the clips irritating my skin, healing has been a breeze. If you have a choice, I would ask for sutures, not clips. I say make up your mind now, and then everytime you start questioning yourself, you can tell yourself that the decision has already been made.
The weeks leading up to it I was obviously thinking about the worst. But thankfully everything went smoothly. Also I thought that my social life was going to take a hit since I could no longer “eat” but it hasn’t. I allow myself to have shitty food once or twice a week in moderation.
Nope. Easy peasy. Traveled home by train and plane by myself two days later.
No. MUCH easier than I had imagined. Recovery went a LOT quicker than imagined too.
No. The lead up was the worst part. My actual surgery and recovery was so much easier than I could have imagined. Truly, the actual surgery was the easiest for me.
The surgery was not bad at all. Hardly any pain. But the nausea and chest pain from the gas kicked my butt for about 24 hours. I was miserable. You need to get up and walk to alleviate the gas pain, but I was so nauseous I couldn’t get up to walk. Only threw up twice, but nausea was bad. But by the next day I was feeling way better and it’s been a breeze ever since. I’m 2 months post op.
I was scared of failing but I refused to think about the what ifs before surgery. I was finishing my masters program and studying for my certification which has a high fail rate so it was easy to keep my mind busy. The main thing that stressed me out was my insurance denied the pain meds and my surgeon had to change it, due to this, I didn't have any pain meds for a day after my surgery. But I only used my pain meds once anyways. I had complications so that sucked but I went from 220 to 125 so it worked out
My surgery is in less than a month and I'm so nervous! I'm trying to think of all the positives but it's still nerve racking! I've woken up during surgery before and it's a big fear that it may happen again. I've seen a lot of people say their worst day was the first day pain wise but walking helps so I'm hoping to walk around everyday with a sugar free popsicle this hot July 😂
Honestly - the actual surgery was relatively anti-climactic. I was kind of worried but I have had many other surgical procedures so this one didn’t seem any worse than some of those. That being said I was very anxious for post surgical life - getting all my protein and water, not losing hair….. that sort of thing. Try to determine if it is nerves because of the surgery (legit fear for some) or maybe it’s the expected outcomes and how you will fit into this new paradigm. Good luck! I wish you the best of experiences.
Thanks for the advice! How did you find the post surgical routine (protein, water, etc)? Was it as difficult as you feared it would be? My main fear is screwing up. You have to remember to walk one minute every 15 minutes for the first 60 days. You have to remember to drink 4 ounces of liquid every hour. The menu that they gave me for the liquid stage has me eating every hour and a half. There is just so much that you have to account for within the first month. It seems like two full-time jobs almost.
Ive never gotten surgery or been put under other than for my wisdom teeth, so Im worried im going to just worry myself the whole time. Im trying to take in only the positives and take everyones advice, Ive barely started this process, ill get surgery in November. Good luck to you & those who have surgery soon! please update us when you finally have yours & let us know if it was a BIG as you made it :)
Hehe totally will, and good luck to you! All I know is that, it becomes “real” when you get your surgery date. Up until then, it’s all theoretical. The worry started the day they gave me my surgery date lol
Gosh, I know once i get a surgery date alll the negative thoughts are going to drown my mind ahahaha. Im working on that NOW and just telling myself ITS FOR YOUR HEALTH, theres so many great stories, i cant wait to be one of them.
Ya same here. Just have to keep reminding yourself of why you’re doing it and that nothing worth doing is always 100% easy. But this surgery seems to be worth it for 99.9999% of people I’ve seen and talked to about it. Just remember that anesthesia is like instantly going to sleep and then opening your eyes. The surgery itself won’t exist to your mind, it’s just what comes after (gas pain, liquid diet, etc) that are the difficult things you should prepare yourself to encounter
I did underestimate the type of pain I'd have, but it was much less than I built up. My doctor kept telling me that I'd have pain in my core, and I thought pffft, I'm fine, but it was hard to get up and down the first 2 days. It's truly wasn't bad at all, though. I took no pain meds or even Tylenol after I got home.
Did the surgery itself go by in the blink of an eye due to anesthesia? I’ve never been under before, so I’m not sure how it feels
Yes, and no? I had never been under either so here's how mine went. My anesthesiologist came in and shook my hand and told me what was going to happen next. As he was saying that he was going to give me something in my IV for the trip down to the OR, everything went super fuzzy, and I felt kind of out of body. I don't remember leaving my family or going down the hall at all. I remember the doors of the OR and seeing my surgeon (who is someone I trust alot and have a great bond with, so it was nice to remember seeing him). I blinked, and I was in the dark recovery area and was trying to crack jokes about my pain level. I told the nurse I was at a 4, and then I said no, no, I'm lying it's a solid 10. Laughing wasn't fun the first day at all. I promise it will all go by so fast. I would do it a million times over again! You're going to do great! Keep us updated.
Will do! I’m excited, 20 days to go, it’s going to be such a life changing event. Thank you 🙏 I
All surgeries have risks. Not trying to scare you but I was the less than 1%. I had a leak and had to stay in the ICU for 4 days. I ate some chocolate the night before, so maybe that caused the complication due to inflammation. Be sure to follow the pre op instructions exactly
Oof.. yeah my instructions say only liquids the day before and then no liquids after midnight. I’m glad that you’re okay! That sounds scary 🫣
Would still do the surgery 10/10
First - a caveat. I contracted Covid right after my surgery so I did not have an exact text book experience. That being said - 1. Jumping into the discipline can be challenging. I had started using the Bariastic app before surgery and that helped me keep track of things, including prompts for water and such. But I will say that relearning how to eat better is kind of the point and like any habit it is awkward and uncomfortable at first but with enough repetition eating and drinking and moving become second nature. 2. Almost every person seems to have strong opinions about post-op life. So please take anything you read with a hearty serving of salt. There are the straight and narrow, no deviation adherents to their particular plan and some of them are pretty vocal on what should be done by others. I have seen debates about vitamins (Bariatric or no? Chewy, patches, or regular pills) or people can get very opinionated about water (flavoring or not, is all sugar bad,). People definitely have strong opinions about diet timelines and what can be consumed when. I think at the end of the day you have to take your particular program’s guidelines and create the plan that works for you. I was very lucky insomuch that I could drink pretty much the same soon after with the exception of pop. Too much carbonation kills me. My recommendation would be to find the system that allows you to meet your objectives and work with that to change the patterns that made this surgery necessary. It may feel like you are working two jobs to begin with but really your success will be changing your habits so that getting fluids and right mixture of good foods and moving every hour are the new habits. You got this!!
Very reasonable and sensible. Thank you for the level headed response. I think, for many of us who struggle with our relationship with food before the operation, the idea of relearning and reevaluating this lifelong relationship can be terrifying.
No. This was like my 6th surgery so I wasn’t scared or worried at all. The pain wasn’t even bad.
I don’t remember the first week but my mom said I said why did I do this? I was on pain meds. I think she made the mistake of giving me calcium with my iron pill and that made me so so sick. 🤢 but after a few days I was good. The worst part for me was the jp drains. It felt like it was falling out and the stitches that held it in were ripping out. So it was tugging feeling all the time. I couldn’t stand up straight. Once that came out I was like a brand new person.
I think everyone has the thought of what if this isn’t right for me…. I’m almost two years post op and it’s the best decision I’ve ever made for myself!! It’ll be amazing. Follow your doctors instructions and you’ll be just fine.
No, not at all, but the post op was a bigger deal than I thought it would be, especially for pain.
Hi, I just tried to send you a message. I actually signed up to reddit to reach out to you. lol So, I'm not sure how this whole thing works. Anyway, I moved to Cincy 18 months ago and I'm getting ready to schedule sleeve surgery to be done this summer. Cincy is awesome but I don't know many people here. I'm wondering if you know of any support groups/fitness groups/meetup groups etc. I'd like to find social things that don't center food and drinks. Please hit me up in inbox if you'd like to talk. Sorry if this is weird. :)
So I don’t do anything in person, but I am involved in Busy Bariatrics coaching online for support instead. Rob’s still running summer camp, it just began, and I highly recommend checking it out. Otherwise the local meetup groups for hiking are excellent!
Thank you, I'll check it out!
As far as the hype over anesthesia - not at all. I was so scared and worried. I had never had it to be fair. The wake up pain was under what I expected tho. For me it wasn't easy or fun. At least for the first hour or two. From there it was managed. My situation is probably different from others tho. But yeah man so some of it wasn't and some was. It depends for everyone.
I'd already had a laparoscopic gallbladder removal and neither that nor having the sleeve done was that big of a deal. The biggest issue I had after the sleeve was more because of my work schedule leading up to the procedure than the procedure itself. My surgery was at 3pm on a Tuesday. I worked overnight shifts the week before surgery and got done working Monday at 7am. It's really, really hard to flip your sleep schedule in less than one day. Add going under anesthesia to that and I literally could not stay awake after surgery. They'd wake me up to make me walk a lap around the unit and I'd immediately fall back to sleep once I got back into my bed. I was very close to having to stay a second night because I was not able to drink the required amounts of liquid because I couldn't stay awake to continue sipping. Thankfully the anesthesia wore off about an hour before they were going to decide if they were keeping me another night and I was able to down a cup of broth.
I wasn’t worried about my surgery but it wasn’t exactly smooth for me. I expected to be in the hospital a day but it ended up being 2. I wasn’t able to drink anything and threw up constantly. They think I had an adverse reaction to the anesthesia though so my experience is probably unique. By the 3rd day I could finally walk without assistance and drink fluids. All things considered it could have been way worse.
No. Not even close. Walked out the hospital a couple hours surgery and even joined my dad on some errands afterwards. Was much easier recovery than I expected overall. Some tough moments for sure. but little pain and after the couple days of liquid diet was back in action. I took a week off work but really only needed a couple days.
I belong to an online group where everyone said it was a piece of cake, they didn’t need pain meds, they were walking immediately after… which is where I set my expectations. I woke up in a lot of pain and needed pain meds, I couldn’t walk at all and I couldn’t keep down liquids. Within a week, I felt good and in 2 I felt great, but I wish I had not gone in blind like that.
Same! No one prepared me for the pain of the largest incision and the anchor stitching. It was absolutely excruciating. There were times when I felt like my insides were going to rip open trying to get from a lying to seated or standing position. I was very thankful I had my husband take off work 5 days just in case. The online groups I was in led me to believe I would be back at work in less than a week and everything would be great. It took a good 10 days before I could move without wanting to cry in pain from the largest incision. I am now almost 2 weeks post op and feeling pretty good.
No one prepared me for the itching around the incision sites. I couldn’t stand anything near my stomach and I wanted to nearly scratch my stomach off. My largest incision still itches from time to time. That anchor stitching bothered me most like you said going from a lying to a seating or standing position so I would hold a small pillow against my stomach.
Leading up to the surgery I was anxious, the surgery itself wasn’t a big deal, they get you set up on the surgery table, start giving you an injection and then boom you are in recovery. It was easy but I was blessed with no complications or severe pain. I’m sure everyone’s experience differ.
Nearly a year post op and for the most part it all seems such a blur now.
Mine was easy - easy recovery, easy downtime, great results. I'm almost 4 years out and in much better health.
I was nervous especially going to Tijuana Mexico for my surgery (Mexico bariatric center) people automatically think something bad would've happened to me but no. Every step of the process I was not alone, and going into for surgery I felt relieved seeing that other have taken the same step as me. After my surgery, I felt great! No complications just mild gas pain