Recovery After Op

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Hi There - My Op is on Friday and I am just wondering how much pain are you in straight after the op? How sore are you in the first week, second week? How soon can you start driving? How mobile are you in the first and second week? Is the air in your abdomen as bad/sore as they say it is and any tips for combating it? I would love to hear how you went and any tips and advise would be appreciated.

Trying to send again ....


Go girl!    :)

Whatever you decide, is fine.

I had many surgeries in the past, and I was not scared, only looked forward to the results.

WLS is the only one I was afraid of, especially few days prior.
I was overthinking it, worried about all sorts of things, and the worst part was thinking about it.

I was fine!

Being nervous is normal, as it is a big step to take.

Now, it is one day at a time for me, getting better and better.

Even with my recent hunger, I realised that I was still eating more pureed food, too watery, than soft.
Today, I had my portion of minced chicken with sauce, it was nice and dense, and I am no longer so hungry.

So, all the best to you, Toddsinoz.

I also was excited as well as scared.

I had to wait 8-9 months for my surgery due to my Thyroid issues.

Now, I am starting to be happy again.

Fingers crossed for you    :)

I wrote a longer post, hit send, and it is not here!

Anyway, feeling excited and scared at the same time is normal, I am sure.

I felt exactly the same.

Worst part for me was overthinking it, and worries what if something goes wrong.

I was fine!

Good luck to you! It will be over before you know it.

Yikes - I think I am not going to ask the surgeon and see what I wake up with - What I don't know won't kill OR SCARE ME - ha ha ha! Thanks for the well wishes! I am so excited but so nervous at the same time

There you go, Not everyone gets a drain tube.

As BoJ mentioned, ask your surgeon.

Yes, I didn't think of the drainage tube either .....

In my case it was rather big, however I was so out of it post op, that I was in la la land, and the time went really quickly. Pain meds IV, helped a lot.

I think it was taken out on my 3rd day, but now I don't remember .... blame it on the pain meds :)

It hurt a bit, when it was taken out. You get asked to cough, and this helps.
This only takes super short time, so don't stress.

Soonest my drain was taken out, I noticed a huge relief in pain, and I could finally lie on that side.

I had occasional Acid Reflux in the past. And now I have occasional Acid Reflux also.
I have a strong med prescribed for it, and since my surgery I have to take it every day for now.

The 2 times I had bad episodes of reflux were early in the morning, when the night before I had tomato juice with yoghurt (still too acidic), and when I caved in and had some chocolate and ice-cream late at night. And I paid for it!

Yes, I get full much quicker now.

Good luck for Friday! 
The new journey is starting ..... one step at a time

Not everyone gets a drain. I didn't and my surgeon doesn't do them routinely.  Ask yours what he does.  Mine doesn't put catheters in either, unless you are headed to ICU, i think.

OMG I didn't even think of a drain - eeek now I am nervie! When does that get taken out? Is it sore when it comes out? Did you have problems with reflux beforehand? I only had reflux when I was preggos with my daughters but not much since! I HATE reflux! 

Thanks for your reply it is nice going into this knowing what to expect (Like a drain that I didn't even think of and am now freaking out).  

You say you are hungry lots these days (now that you are upping the anti on food) but do you feel full quicker? 

I will let you know how I go... Only tomorrow and then I will be one of you :)

Toddsinoz,

I was in the hospital for 3 days/nights, released home on the 4th day.

My worst pain was at my large drainage tube, it eased off once the drainage tube was removed.

Surprisingly, I had no post surgery gas pain ..... I was dreading that ... (it really hurt when I had my gall-bladder removed 20 years ago, gas pain hurt more than gallbladder site)

I had some pain in my oesophagus when I started my sipping regime. This got better with time.

I was worried re: nausea post op, had little nausea. No vomitting. Anti-nausea drugs in IV, plus I was sent home with Zofran wafers.
Little nausea at times when home, this went away quickly for me.

I had IV pain killers (that drain site really hurt), then Endone orally.

Capsules are recommended for the first 30 days post op, as they are easier to swallow, and not likely to lodge themselves in the new sleeve.

I have to take my Thyroid med each morning, it is not a capsule, but it is very small and slippery, so I had no issues with it straight post op, and later.

Back to pain, as my fluids increased, and then with some changes to purees, then soft diet, I had little oesophageal pain, nothing too bad. Just was aware of food going down, and few little burps that followed.
All are much better now.

I am in my 6th week post op.

I drove after 7 days. One day I was dehydrated, and it made me feel faint, dizzy and unwell. I was ready to pull over. Lucky it was a 5 min drive, on small streets.
At my appointment, nurse gave me a Hydralite drink, and this helped.
Now, I am more conscious of my water content, and keep a Hydralite for emergencies.

My worst experiences were:
1. Dehydration
2. Acid Reflux (really bad one, couple of times )

Hunger:

I am hungry lots these days, as I am changing my allowed food phases every 2 weeks.
Was advised to increase my proteins.
I am assured that the hunger goes away once back on "regular" food.


Good luck with your surgery!
Be assured that you will be given anti-nausea meds, pain-killers and whatever you need.

Let us know how you went.

I was told to avoid it in the first 30 days, as it thins out the blood, and can promote bleeding.

Nurofen, Ipobrufen, Voltaren, they are non-steroidal anti-inflammatory pain killers.

They have to be taken with food, as they can irritate the stomach lining, and even erode the stomach lining with time (if keep taking them on empty stomach).

I can take it now, however I have not had any backaches or joint pains lately, so my high strength prescribed Brufen is just sitting here for just in case ....

Boj, please take them with food.
It can also give you nasty heartburn, if not careful.
Good luck.

Oh no, I hope you were in the comfort of your home, BoJ! Happened to me recently too (not related to painkillers though - more lack of fibre during liquid phase) and it was at work! I almost died of shame!

I haven't been game to try Nurofen, although it's always been my painkiller of choice.  Panadol (the little caplets you can buy - they come in two sizes) hasn't caused any reactions on my empty stomach, thankfully.

Toddsinoz, re: drinks, everyone's tolerance for different drinks is different.  Many can't tolerate plain water, but there are enough people who don't have any trouble with it too.  Personally, I tolerate savoury things much better than sweet now, which was surprising because I had such a big sweet tooth before the op.  I prefer tea to just about anything now because it's the most savoury drink that I can get.  You may find that you enjoy things you didn't particularly like before surgery, because your tastes may change significantly (and vice versa).  I wouldn't recommend stocking up on anything until afterwards for this reason.

Whereas my surgeon was fine with nurofen, even in the week post op!

I didn't take it then, but have lately - I suspect that when I took it on an empty stomach, it passed through to quick, irritated my guts, and gave me a bout of the runs that lasted an hour or so, a few hours after having it.   Happened twice - I am a slow learner.

Will try again one day on a full stomach.

Oh wow that is good to know about Nurofen as that is usually my preference over Panadol so thanks for that! I am actually going past the chemist on my way home to get everything I need so i am glad you mention that!

I can't wait to not feel hungry as I seem to always be hungry weather I am or if it is just bored!

I struggle with water now so not sure how I will go - what other liquids do you tolerate better than water? I am not a coffee or tea drinker (I don't mind peppermint tea or ginger tea with lemon but that is about it for tea).

I am approx 6 weeks post-op and can't say I've felt any hunger. Sometimes I think I feel hungry, and it's often after long stretches of not eating, so I wonder if hunger is one of those things that never feels the same after surgery?

I also wasn't really interested in drinking anything straight afterwards, and felt so full after my 30mls of fluid!  Still not tolerating water very well, but other fluids are fine (as long as they're not sweet, thanks to surgery).

Re: meds, I second that you should check with your surgeon, but mine has no problem with anything except nurofen- apparently it increases the risk of ulcers in sleeved patients?

Great - thank you (Looking forward to no hunger feelings :) ) 

I was more thinking of meds down the track. I am not on anything at the moment but just wondered - but like you say a full tummy is full regardless of size :)

I have only just started to feel any sort of hunger and I'm 8 weeks post op.

Can't help re the meds in hospital, sorry. (I'm assuming you're worried about taking the antibiotics immediately after being sleeved?) I think that one is a question for your surgeon. But in the long run taking medication is the same as it always was. Your stomach is still full - just on less food.

How did you guys go with hunger after the op and tolerating water (or whatever you are given?) When do you start feeling hungry? Is it weird to eat a little and then full so quickly! ALSO A RANDOM QUESTION? With a smaller stomach how do we take medicine when they say take on a full stomach? Like with antibiotics for example? I am have just had a flu like illness and given my surgery is so close I opted for Antibiotics as I didn;t want to have to cancel my op incase I wasn;t better and I noticed it said on the box - take on a full stomach - it made me wonder how that works for sleeved people? Random I know!

Everyone is different, but I have to say the nausea was nowhere near as bad as I'd imagined. Prior to surgery I was someone who vomited very easily and have ALWAYS vomited after every general I've had. I told my surgeon and anaesthetist about this and they both said they'd try to make sure this didn't happen. And it didn't!

Each time I felt even slightly nauseated I was given top up medication. I was perfectly fine.

Pain was a different story (but not for long!) The first 6-8 hours after the op were quite painful and they struggled to get my pain under control successfully. Fortunately I was in and out of sleep for most of this time, so it wasn't as bad as it sounds. Once the pain was under control I felt great. I was mobile immediately. I didn't suffer any gas pain at all.

Good luck for Friday. I'm sure you'll be fine!

Shame sorry to hear you felt so yuckie! And like you everyone seems to not look back! The hospital rang this morning to find out if I am on any meds and I stressed again that I spew terribly after General and she said they will make sure they give me something! I am so nervous and excited at the same time!

I was a big sook! I vomited for days and felt terrible. I didn't want visitors and could hardly even text, I was so disinterested in life. lol :)

I had 10 days off work and then went back to work. I drove after a week but I could have driven earlier, my husband just took care of me. 

1 year gone and the pain is a memory I now laugh about. To have my time again .... i would have done it sooner.  No pain ... no gain (loss).

Good luck to you.

Hi There - That does help thank you - nausea is my WORST fear - I can handle pain over nausea any day! I told my surgeon that I get really sick after General and he said he will make sure he gives me something in the drip to stop it.

Personally, I didn't experience any pain, including gas pain, unless I did something silly like twist from my back to my side straight after surgery (I'm a side sleeper), or sit up suddenly using my abdominal muscles.  I would occasionally feel an ache starting, but that was the signal for more meds!  Pain was very well managed.  The nausea was by far the worst thing about the surgery.

You get mobile pretty quickly - they don't put in a catheter unless it's indicated so you'll be getting up to go to the loo within a day or two, and it helps your recovery immensely if you can do laps around the ward.  By the time you go home you'll be tender, but moving around without much problem.

I was allowed to drive myself home from hospital - I didn't do it, but that's how soon if you really wanted to! I drove for the first time 7 days after surgery without any problems.

I hope that helps!

Hi There - My Op is on Friday and I am just wondering how much pain are you in straight after the op? How sore are you in the first week, second week? How soon can you start driving? How mobile are you in the first and second week? Is the air in your abdomen as bad/sore as they say it is and any tips for combating it? I would love to hear how you went and any tips and advise would be appreciated.