ssriley

Hi Nancidee, I'm 54 and had the surgery on the 11th with pretty much the same goals - make the best of my time left. With a BMI of 51 my career would be about over as the joints just can't carry the load any more. As far as how I felt when came out of surgery - it actually wasn't as bad as I thought it might be - but I definitely was uncomfortable. You want to sleep a lot but the nurses will be coming in regularly to check your BP, etc. Then I had someone coming in regularly to have me practice breathing with the spirometer. I hated that because I had some rib wall pain for the first week that prevented me from getting a full breath. Try to walk often, even though all you want to do is go back to sleep. Going to the bathroom was problematic, but my wife was a trooper and helped get to the bathroom and take care of business and measure the output in private without nurses assistance. I had no nausea after my overnite stay and was released early the next day. I did have some nausea over the next few days but never enough to hurl, thank goodness. Just plan on a tough 1st week overall and remember the goal - and that the price is very much worth the effort invested. Saying a prayer for Tuesday.

My Dr. says 15-20 min's which is a big difference. It seems like the recommendations are all over the board out there.

Hang in there missmachine. I went back to work pretty shaky at day 10 and it was rough, but each day has been a bit better. I'm at day 13 now and I can feel a little more strength and stamina each day. Remember, each day farther away from your surgery date is a day closer to the new life and health you are working so hard for. Let us know how it went.

I'm 10-days post-op, and the reduction in swelling of my calves and ankles post surgery was the most dramatic change I experienced post surgery. My work boots are literally flopping around my ankles now. My first 2 days home from the hospital I was urinating 5-6 times a day initially and even my ring size dropped till I'm concerned about losing my wedding ring already. There really are visible veins in my ankles now. Wow.

I was sleeved on Monday, June 11th and have had a sharp pain in my left chest area when taking more than half a breath since the day after surgery. I used the spirometer a lot but it didn't seem to make any difference. My surgeon wasn't very concerned about it at my 4-day follow-up and said continue the breathing exercises, but I was getting more concerned over the weekend when it did'nt improve at all. But Sunday morning it was very much improved and gone completely by lunch. I can only guess that I had gas trapped in my upper chest cavity that finally was absorbed. I wouldn't expect to still have trapped gasses at 4-weeks however. It definitely needs to be checked, and hopefully it is something simple like chest wall syndrome. Good luck.