CelinaLambeth

I'm 15 days post op and my doctor has advised me to lose 40 lbs my first 3 months, then another 40 the following three months. Here's the catch....I still feel awful. I am recovering very slowly. Walking 20 minutes per day so I am not stagnant but the incision pain keeps me up at night (hard lump and pulling, doc said is normal) and I am not resting well because of it. I do not want to be on pain meds but the soreness makes me sluggish. Anyone else slow to heal? There are so many people whom have jumped straight into their weight loss routine and I am not ready to start mine. Tired of the recovery phase......

My doc told me to lose 40lbs my first three months, then another 40 the following 3 for a total of 80lbs. I was advised to start light weights but to increase my cardio from walking my neighborhood to light jogging and increase from there. Guess how much of that advice I have followed? zero. I barely have the energy to keep up my home. I'd rather not pass out while jogging by a neighbors yard trying to keep up with my doctors expectations. This is your journey and you can travel as slowly as you'd like.

I'm 15 days post op and my doctor has advised me to lose 40 lbs my first 3 months, then another 40 the following three months. Here's the catch....I still feel awful. I am recovering very slowly. Walking 20 minutes per day so I am not stagnant but the incision pain keeps me up at night (hard lump and pulling, doc said is normal) and I am not resting well because of it. I do not want to be on pain meds but the soreness makes me sluggish. Anyone else slow to heal? There are so many people whom have jumped straight into their weight loss routine and I am not ready to start mine. Tired of the recovery phase......

Thank you everyone for helping put me at ease. I saw my doctor yesterday whom said to never do labs right after surgery, they will come back with some alarming numbers. I did not know this when the nurse came by to run labs for a life insurance policy I applied for. He said my liver and kidney function are great and I am in fact in ketosis due to the inability to get a full and balanced meal in. My body is (more or less) in starvation mode and my faint feeling is a side effect of minimal nutrition. He said as soon as I am able to have a full balanced meal, I will then have the carbs and energy required to function better. He told me to hang on and slowly add more carbs in so that my body wont continue to behave like its in shock. I have added lots of fruit and make cranberry/water mixes. I am feeling so much better. I just wished my surgeon would have put this in the discharge paperwork somewhere. I had no idea these side effects were possible post surgery. I was sent home and told I'd feel great......

Thank you everyone for helping put me at ease. I saw my doctor yesterday whom said to never do labs right after surgery, they will come back with some alarming numbers. I did not know this when the nurse came by to run labs for a life insurance policy I applied for. He said my liver and kidney function are great and I am in fact in ketosis due to the inability to get a full and balanced meal in. My body is (more or less) in starvation mode and my faint feeling is a side effect of minimal nutrition. He said as soon as I am able to have a full balanced meal, I will then have the carbs and energy required to function better. He told me to hang on and slowly add more carbs in so that my body wont continue to behave like its in shock. I have added lots of fruit and make cranberry/water mixes. I am feeling so much better. I just wished my surgeon would have put this in the discharge paperwork somewhere. I had no idea these side effects were possible post surgery. I was sent home and told I'd feel great......

I am a stomach sleeper. I got a C-shaped pregnancy pillow and it was a game changer to help me sleep. That feeling when you turn over was gone. Once you can get some restful sleep, I’m sure your body will take care of the rest.

I was really sore too a couple of weeks post-op, and I didn't have a whole lot of energy. But each day I felt a little bit better, and now, 5 1/2 weeks post-op, I don't have any soreness at all and my energy level is back to normal. Give yourself more time, because it's still early. I bet in a couple of weeks you'll be feeling a whole lot better.

Stopping ketosis? Yes and no, depending upon how one defines it. As far dropping ketones that are detectable in a urine test, that is a normal result of burning off your fat stores - which is what we are trying to do - irrespective what diet is used. All it takes is a suitable caloric deficit, so that is pretty much unavoidable if you are losing the weight that you want to lose.
If one is aiming for high numbers or pretty colors on a Keto stick, and gushes about how the bad breath and body odors that they are getting is a sign of burning fat, then no, that is not at all necessary. I followed a very strict "no fad diet" regimen - no Atkins, Ornish, Paleo, South Beach, Zone, Keto, etc., and had to work to stop the loss when I approached goal weight.
I quite specifically avoided symptomatic ketosis (along with other classic low carb diet symptoms such as fatigue, lethargy, brain fade, hypoglycemia, etc.) by maintaining as balanced a diet as reasonably possible within our post bariatric Protein and low calorie requirements, though ketones were detectable in the normal urine tests - that is normal when metabolizing the fat. One does not need to go overboard on consuming excess fats to drive one into ketosis - that is just part of the keto fad and has nothing to do with burning your fat stores in losing weight.
The protein in your urine may just be a passing thing (no pun intended...) or may be indicative of something else. I have often passed detectable amounts of protein in my urine, even well before WLS, but that's just me. It can be a sign of possible kidney problems, or maybe not - it is something that we monitor. Our post bariatric diets are not so much high protein, as they are adequate protein bur low on everything else; in a year or two when you are much lighter and maintaining your weight, your protein levels should be about the same as they are now, but everything else will be higher to fill out the extra calories that you need to maintain, and to provide the nutrition that you need.
If you look at bariatrics historically, you find that dietary style (low fat, low carb, keto, paleo, etc.) makes very little difference to overall weight loss, as that is primarily determined by the caloric deficit created by eating so little for that first year or so. Indeed, if you look back 20-30 years ago, patients were often advised to "eat like you always have, just less...." and it worked. Of course, what didn't work was them maintaining the loss as they never learned to eat sustainably to maintain their weight. So, it is entirely reasonable to eat a basically healthy diet that, for a time, is protein biased (we can supplement most everything else) and not worry about whatever the fad diet of the day happens to be - eat with an eye towards how you should be eating five years from now. Those who follow the fad diets have the same problem that non-WLS dieters have - learning how to eat sustainably once they have lost the weight and no long have to "diet".

I was in ketosis for about the first two-three months post-op. There was no way to get in all the Protein I needed with eating a more balanced diet. It was not by choice. My diet is more balanced now that I can eat more, and I am out of ketosis.

I agree completely with @Arabesque. Your body goes pretty haywire the first few months after surgery. Your hormones get out of whack. One of my liver enzymes was high at my first lab check 2-3 months out, but my surgeon was not worried about it, so I didn’t worry either (I am also a nurse). I also get the lightheaded wobbles frequently. It usually happens when I make quick moves or go from sitting to standing. I “run” into walls and have to catch myself. I am pretty sure it is orthostatic blood pressure changes.
It is a good idea to discuss your concerns with your surgeon. They can let you know if what is going on with you is “normal” after weight loss surgery and help you fix anything “abnormal.” Good luck!

Heh. It is a change, isn't it? I still have a long way to go, but where I notice the difference the most is in movement:
The fact that I can get down on the floor and not be worried about whether I'll be able to get up again without crawling to a chair to pull myself up. I'll occasionally subconsciously push myself up out of a chair with the same effort that used to be required, and inadvertently almost launch myself across the room. I can actually turn around quickly now, and I have to be careful not to throw myself off balance when doing so, as the amount of effort needed isn't what it used to be. Back on topic to the thread: I discovered that I have a rib cage. Who knew?

The vision tunnelling could be from orthostatic low blood pressure. That means your pressure drops on rising to standing & then equalises a few seconds later. I take a couple of steps & then everything goes black & then comes back again. I used to randomly experience this now it happens frequently every day. When it occurs I stop moving & try to touch a wall, a table, someone just to ground myself for those few seconds.
If this is also coupled with tremors, weakness & feeling like fainting it could be a hyperglycaemic event. I have those too now occasionally. Eating a few blueberries or grapes help relieve the symptoms (or a ‘medicinal’ rum ball as I had to have last week after an attack).
Ketosis occurs because of being on a low calorie diet & having less glucose available in your body. Low glucose has links to diabetes & can cause hyperglycaemic events.
These may not be what’s happening to you but just something to also consider. Things do go a bit haywire after surgery as a lot of hormones are released into your blood stream from your fat as you lose weight. My liver suddenly wasn’t functioning normally & my cholesterol went up. It all stabilised again when I reached maintenance & was eating a little more.
I hope you find some answers soon. Good luck.

My surgery was 11/30 so I can't be of much help with that but I too have the hard painful lump that makes it hard to walk around. I sleep well because of the CBD I take though. From what I read from other patients, you won't really have a problem losing that amount of weight. You've already lost 25 lbs in less than a month so12 lbs a month shouldn't be a problem.

Sounds a little extreme to me...I had my 1 week F/U 4 days ago and my surgeon said light walking, nothing over 20lbs and NO CORE exercises until week 6 post op. He has not even broached the topic of EXPECTED weight loss..I am so sorry you are feeling so poorly.

100% agreed!!!!! Is there another doctor in your office that you can speak to?

No! You aren’t behind!! I’m about 4 weeks post-op and I’m handling walks only — you DEFINITELY aren’t behind! We all heal and move forward at our own pace! ☺️ I’m so sorry about the pain you’re experiencing. Hang in there! Can you maybe try an ice pack on the areas that hurt? I did that my first two nights at home, I was able to stop taking pain meds after I began using the ice pack, the numbness of the pain helped me finally get some rest. I found that the more I rested the more I was able to get up the next day and work thru the pain. 👍🏽 Hang in there!! It will get better!

Yikes. You know your body, let it heal. I'm 12 days post op and today is the first day I'm considering a leisurely walk on the trails by my house.

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Do you think a heating pad or a hot water bottle might help with the knot or the pulling pain? I’m sorry you are having a hard time. Some people sail right through the postop period and others have a harder time. This won’t last forever. Do your best with walking and add more time as you are able. You’ll get there, I promise!

It’s my one month anniversary of surgery! Oh man I was not feeling great this time last month. I’m glad I’m done with that. I’m feeling great now, no pain anywhere, no problems with getting liquids. In the last month I lost 16.4 lbs, for a total weight loss of 74.2 lbs. I’ve had a stall but I expected that. I know I need to start exercising more. I literally just started soft foods and so far so good, but I’ve not exactly tried a lot.

One thing I will say is I was a bit concerned because I had no restriction whatsoever with liquid after the first week, and that kind of alarmed me. Like everyone says though, it comes with actual food. I feel like it’s in my esophagus when I’ve eaten too much.

You are not behind!! I have other health problems and am 4 weeks post op haven’t exercised hardly at all and am still losing. I had a knot under my incision too and was in a lot of pain still at 2 weeks. sleeping in my recliner helped a lot instead of my bed. It gets better I promise!!

Oh, please don't beat yourself up. You're doing fine. I'm not even walking that much and I'm over a month out. I know I should, but... Life. I'll exercise when I can.
Breathe, and just work at your own pace. The stress won't help. Breathe ♥️
What helped me with sleeping was a wedge pillow I got on Amazon to have my upper body elevated a bit, and a firm pillow to press on the front of me when I would try to lay on my side (I'm normally a side sleeper). Now I don't need those things anymore. You'll get there!

Yeah, these sound like unreasonable expectations to me. I know the best advice is usually to listen to your doctor but what if the doctor won’t listen to you? That’s what it sounds like. You need to listen to your body and if all you can do is take a short walk, then do that. You did this surgery to be good to yourself, so continue being good to yourself. If you were my best friend I’d tell you to do healthy things that make you feel good for awhile and try not to let anyone pressure you. :)

Thank you all for your honesty. I'm in a bad way, I'm so done with recovery. 15 days post op and I have a huge painful knot under my large incision and side stitch pain on the right. Not sleeping well because of the pulling pain. Doc told me yesterday to exercise more and expects me to lose 40 lbs every 3 months until I am down to 140. I haven't weighed 140 since middle school. I hurt physically and emotionally I am spent. I am so sore, I'd rather not start a rigorous exercise routine right now. Walking 20 mins a day is all I've got. I feel like I am behind everyone else....

Jeez he expects you to do all that when you’re still in severe pain? I’m 15 days post op and having similar pain, but they said it was from internal bruising?!! You’re doing fine. Just keep moving....

It is deeply psychologically rooted in me to comfort eat. My family still does it individually. Death, illness, bad news, good news....all of it comes with tons of food from our grandmother straight to our doors. I have literally had a love affair with food for decades. This is like a divorce. Yes I can still have the foods I love but as a treat and in small amounts on occasion. Not daily contact like a close friend. I cant go back.

My sleeve was on the 25th. I am right there where you are with the liquids. I am so worried about dehydration. I know you dont want to hear this because you are exhausted but small walks after each serving of Water (drinking until full) will help it go down to make room for more. Keep trying. You are worth it.