Tiff187

I'm just over 2 weeks out and I've gotta say, I'm miserable. I don't know if I've hit the depression stage or what but I keep asking why I did this to myself. I was working out every day and had lost 25lbs on my own before surgery and kept telling myself the sleeve was a preventative measure to keep myself from getting that fluffy again. Now I can't stop thinking that I ruined my life (as I knew it). Of course, prior to May I wasn't working out and wasn't watching my intake, which is why I got up to 240lbs. But in the last 3 months I took control and really thought the sleeve would be my new best friend like everyone on here seems to say. So did you ever have any regrets? I've heard the "my only regret is not getting it sooner" but please save that response. I want to know about real regrets. If you had/have them, how and when did you get past it? When will I start to be okay with my sleeve and not feel like I'll never be "normal" again?

My husband and I waited a whole...day? We dtd the day after I was sleeved, the day I was released from the hospital. I wouldn't recommend it so soon but I was fine with it in the right position. Sorry for tmi, but it is absolutely true that you can go for it whenever you're ready. We're still in the newlywed stage so abstaining the night in the hospital was difficult in itself, even considering how much pain I was in.

Wow, I apparently can't do math today. I'm down 18lbs, not 13. That's still good, right?

Where did y'all start out at?

I was sleeved on 8/14 and I'm down 13lbs post-surgery. I was down 26lbs pre-surgery. I eat pretty much anything (within reason). I've had one week-long stall but seem to be coming out of it.

Let me be clear: I am not saying this surgery is a magic bullet, what I am saying is there is a vast amount of people that do go into this, in spite of a surgeon telling them otherwise, thinking this is their golden ticket. I'm not saying the OP or anyone else here feels that way, but I will say that when I was reading up on VSG all I ever saw were glowing reviews and not a lot of reality. Now maybe that is some people's reality, but I would have appreciated someone mentioning all the things that happen post-surgery that no one talks about. I'm happy for everyone that has a good experience and I don't mean to discourage anyone, I just wanted to be honest with the OP.

I've had 3 c-sections and it's hard to really compare them with VSG. For me it was a completely different kind of pain. If you've ever had a laparoscopic surgery you may have experienced the gas pain before. To me, that was the worst pain I've ever felt. But everyone is different and some people don't experience that. Some people aren't hungry after surgery, some are. Some people have a lot of "brain hunger", some don't. It's hard to say how you'll react until you do it. I would never and will never recommend this surgery, but I respect everyone's decisions about whether or not to do it. What I can tell you is to expect the unexpected. No matter how much you read and how prepared you think you are, on day 3 or 4 you'll ask what the hell did you do to yourself and feel like you went in blind. It's up to you to decide if it's worth it.

I know exactly how you feel. I was scared to death before my surgery. I won't lie to you--I regret it every day. I never had any complications and I healed well but in the month since my surgery I've come to find out just how different (and difficult) life is now. I don't mean to scare you, I just wish someone, anyone, had told me the truth before I had this done. I would have stuck with the gym and calorie counting and never done this to myself. The surgery isn't the magic bullet it is made to sound like. You'll still have to watch your calories and go to the gym to maintain a healthy lifestyle, so my suggestion is to start now and see how you do. Give yourself one month of working out and watching calories and watch your progress. Believe me, hours at the gym is still so much better than the mental and physical effects of this surgery. However, if you decide to go for it, then I'm happy for you either way. Don't let anyone change your mind for you. You're doing the best thing you can by reading up and making an informed decision.

See? Exactly.

You really should buy a lottery ticket. I understand how powerful love is but were you seriously thinking having kids right now is a good idea?? He does drugs and you live with your parents because of financial issues--in what way is that a good time to start a family?? Please, please, PLEASE go to counseling and work through some things. You may not see it now, but it's a blessing in disguise that you didn't have children with him.

It only lasts for a week or two. People will get on here and be a miracle of science and say they had no pain and tell you all about their stories (like you care, you have a question!) but what you're feeling is totally normal. Go easy on yourself, don't worry about those toys, and let your body heal. And please don't listen to the folks on here who brag about not needing pain medicine. Take your pain meds as you need them and try to stay ahead of the pain if you can.

VSG was way worse than my 3 c-sections combined. The actual surgery didn't hurt, I was just sore--but the gas pain was unbearable. I would take a c-section any day.

You look amazing! And that dress is gorgeous!

Congratulations! I got mine a week ago today so I know how you feel. Get as much sleep as you can and walk whenever you wake up. Trust me--this will help with the gas pains. Good luck!

Pre-considering surgery: 240.9 Day of surgery: 218.3 6 days post op: 211.0 29.9lbs gone! First goal: 199 Second goal: 175 Third goal: 155 FINAL goal: 135

I'm 5 days post-op and I find that if I eat anything remotely cold, my stomach hurts with every bite. Almost like a gas pain, but worse. Is that normal? I take a bite, pain, pain subsides, take a bite, pain, pain subsides, repeat. With warmer food it doesn't seem to hurt as bad. I'm terrified of life ahead being like this. Right now I'm totally regretting getting a sleeve. I'd rather be overweight for the rest of my life than be in constant pain. When did your pain go away?

@Lissa-Thanks for the support! Broth is what I'm doing most of the time aside from water. I haven't had any trouble from it yet. @Guatavo-I can understand why it might be frustrating, but I think the others have a good point. Each surgeon has different "rules", and some are harder to tolerate than others. I'm sure 99.9% of us stay on our prescribed diet but still have issues that arise. @DEZ1975-Thank you for your post. It's nice to know I'm not alone! @Tracey-OMG thank you so much for responding. I'm having a difficult time taking everything in too. I really have no appetite so I force myself. Odd, because I thought I would be really hungry! Is there a way to "friend" people on here? I would really love your guidance as I progress through this. @NDNRN-Thank you for your perspective. I'm a logical thinker and that makes sense to me. @annab-Thank you for responding. I have noticed that some people have quick tempers on here. I wish I'd had your doctor!

Thank you so much, BethL. I guess in my first post I wasn't clear enough and gave domommy the impression that I was eating actual food? I really appreciate the support. I guess I'm starting to doubt my decision because I didn't expect to feel this way. But if you guys have been through it, I can get thought it too, right? I'm looking forward to being 2 months out!

@Guatavo--just licking the popsicles. Or taking small bites of jello. @Enigmachik--Thank you for being so supportive. You're right, I did tons of research before my surgery and thought I was going into it pretty well educated, but now I think I went in blind. I had no idea about cold stuff bothering me. Now I worry about switching to the heavy liquid diet on Tuesday--I don't know how I'm going to drink my protein shake warm. Yuck.

I'm on the clear liquid diet, only eating broth, popsicles, that sort of thing.

Thank you! I feel a lot better today. Dr Kim is nice but doesn't talk much. He normally gives a liquid pain medicine but I am allergic so I'm taking crushed Tramadol. It seems to help, and for the first few days it kept me sleepy (which I was happy about). I'm 4 days out now and I'm starting to feel normal aside from pain when I eat and figuring out how to go to the bathroom again. Still not sure it was worth it, but at least I don my feel like eminent death is approaching.

Thank you so much for caring! I did a lot of walking in the hospital and today I braved the grocery store. I was exhausted afterward but I needed the walk and I felt a little better after. I haven't tried a heating pad but I have been sipping a lot. I'm surprised that I don't have much of an appetite--I have to remind myself to have some broth. Is this normal?

I had my surgery 2 days ago (Aug 14th) and I woke up very quickly--still in the OR. Immediately was telling everyone about all the pain I was in. It got worse and worse and yesterday I was literally balling from the intense pain, which made it hurt even worse. I'm not hurting at my incision sites--it was/is all gas pain. I told my husband I thought I was dying. I truly believed I was. The gas pain hit me just under my rib cage and over time traveled to my shoulders. I can still feel some trapped in my back but it's much better today. I've had 3 c-sections and the pain from them was NOTHING like this. I'm not trying to scare you, but if I had it to do over again I would definitely not.