LaLaLand

8 hours ago, RaisnHL said:

So I might be the minority here, but I want to keep it real because I wish I would have been more prepared….

Pain initially after surgery wasn’t bad, largest Incision hurt the worst. However, waking up from anesthesia did not go so well. I woke up incredibly nauseous, and vomited multiple times, As you can imagine it was incredibly uncomfortable. Due to the anesthesia, I slept most of the day following my surgery. Most say that they have intense gas pains post Surgery, however I never felt any gas pains.

The biggest struggle for me in the hospital was not being able to go to the bathroom by myself. The anesthesia caused me to not be able to go. I ended up having to stay at the hospital an additional night due to this. This wasn’t some thing that I was prepared for, or some thing I had seen mention from anyone else on these boards. Apparently I just had a difficult recovery from anesthesia.

Once I came home, the pain was very minimal. However, the nausea was still difficult to deal with, and made it hard to drink anything. I noticed after a day or two at home my legs were very weak I was having a hard time even going up my stairs. Once I stop taking pain meds, the weakness in my legs was gone. So just a heads up when you’re taking pain meds to watch out for other side effects. Those are just a few things I wish I would’ve known before surgery.

Thanks, Raisn. I hadn’t considered nausea after the anaesthetic even though I’ve experienced that before. Are you up & about more now?

9 hours ago, Tufflaw said:

I don't think Mylanta will really do anything - these aren't typical gas pains which are in your actual stomach, it's pain from the air that's pumped into your body to give the surgeon room to work so it's not actually in your stomach but your body cavity itself, which is why it doesn't hurt your stomach but your shoulders and back because it's rising.

Thanks, Tufflaw. How long was it before the gas pain dissipated for you?

7 hours ago, Tomo said:

They may give you GasX, the kind that dissolves on your tongue. That seemed to work ok too. It's just I prefer the taste of the mylanta mini tabs and I still use them regularly if needed. Maybe you can call and see what gas pain relief they give you. My surgeon said GasX but any is fine. Above all, walk as much as possible. Forgot to say that part.

Yes, a lot of posters are suggesting walking. Makes sense as the air would rise & come out somehow! How long was it before the gas wasn’t there anymore?

10 hours ago, LookingForward22 said:

Everyone is different, but this is my experience.

I was given meds before surgery to help with after. Immediately after surgery I had gas pain, as expected. It was notable, but manageable and it disappeared quickly.

In the hospital they gave me a muscle relaxer (made me sleepy), medicine for nerve pain (had that for three days post release), and Tylenol. I also woke up from surgery with a binder on.

I was walking and moving pretty easily that day, I was sore… but honestly once the gas pain dissipated, it was really manageable. I was there over night, and walking pretty normally by discharge.

I’d say I mostly had discomfort - certainly pain if I moved around to quickly (bend or reach) but it was not sustained.

I also used heat packs in the hospital and shortly after - and ice packs on my incision where my stomach came out and over areas of the nerve pain.

Today I’m 10 days out… I still experience some mild nerve pain (but not bad at all). Of my 5 incisions, only the one where the removal was is at all tender around the incisions area - but that’s more of an intense bruise feeling. I still wear my binder as it helps keep the skin pulling but I carry a lot of my weight in my abdomen. I take Tylenol occasionally - but really needed all the time.

Thanks, LookingForward. I’m going to write this down & ask for the medical staff to let me have these. How are you doing now?

5 hours ago, Tomo said:

Yes. And the fruit ones tastes so good and they are tiny tiny.

I’ve been told by my clinic that I can’t take anything in with me & that they’ll supply any meds needed. I might sneak a packet in anyway to have at the hotel afterwards! 😅

7 hours ago, suzecate said:

The nurses called my case "outside the bell curve." I had so much pain I couldn't get up for the first time until 13 hours after my surgery, and that's saying something since I don't have a low pain tolerance. I also had to spend a 2nd night in the hospital in the cardiac wing (not the bariatric wing because of my blood pressure going through the roof), but then suddenly I turned a corner in terms of pain and everything else, and now I'm 3.5 days post-surgery at home and doing quite well. I've had one dose of Tylenol since getting home yesterday afternoon. Hurts when you'd expect it to hurt... getting up, going up the 2 flights of stairs in my townhome, getting into a tall pillowtop bed, coughing hard, but it's quite low and manageable all the rest of the time. I'm getting up every half hour to move for 2 minutes.

Hi, Suze. This is my fear as I have a low pain threshold. Glad to read that you’re doing better now.

1 hour ago, ThinIce said:

I'm 7 weeks post op today, so happily losing weight with pain a distant memory. However, my recollection is that my worst pain was horrible back muscle spasms as I woke up from anesthesia. This lasted for a few hours. Nurses told me I was on the surgical "board" for quite a long while due to complications elsewhere and I believe it. I struggle to lay on any sort of flat surface due to my "curves." Just doing the dexa scan was torture and I was deep breathing the whole time just to get through it. The tech felt sorry for me it was so hard for me to get up afterwards. Told her hopefully the 6 month post op scan will be much better since my butt will be so much smaller!

Anyway, while inpatient they gave me tordol IV for the pain which has always been my favorite for incisional pain - but you can only have so many doses. They sent me home with hydrocodone which I took very little of.

Gosh, it sounds like you went through quite an ordeal. I’m sure you’re looking forward to a smaller frame so that it is less painful for you. How is the curve now? Better?

I sleep on my front so I’m going to struggle with getting used to being on my back. I guess it’s a small price to pay!

2 minutes ago, Tomo said:

When I had my vsg, I took Tylenol powder packs when I got home for a day, it went very smooth. I did have gas pains so when I went for my revision to RNY this past August, I remembered to chew on some mylanta mini tabs too. No gas pains, and was even smoother.

Thanks for the reply, Tomo. Are you allowed the Mylanta mini tabs straight after surgery to help with the gas pains? Seems like this is the main issue with a lot of sleevers post-op & I’ll get some if it helps, thanks!

11 minutes ago, ShoppGirl said:

I had very little pain post op. I woke up on pain medicine in the hospital and was feeling so good I asked them to wean me off of it. They put me on Tylenol instead. I was fine with that. I have heard stories of those who had a great deal of pain and others like me that had very little.

Seems like it’s one or the other & there’s no way of knowing until you go in. Eek!

4 hours ago, LauraSarah said:

Hello, I am Laura from London. It's been more than 5 months since my Gastric Sleeve operation in Turkey with Surgery TR. I chose Istanbul for my surgery, the hospital was nice, and everything was so smooth. All the nurse don't speak English however, there is a guy with me who speak English very well, and help me in all process. They gave me a diet list and supplements before I turn back to London. They are still checking on me weekly and following my weight. There is personalized care because they know me, they know my child and ask about him.

You can ask all questions to me,

Hi, Laura. Thanks for replying! Glad to read that all has gone smoothly for you, it puts my mind at ease. Did you find the return flight ok with the pain etc?

Thanks, guys. I’ve had a recommendation of peppermint tea from another forum user & thought I would share that with you all. Sounds like the pain is there but manageable with meds so I’m feeling less anxious about the surgery date approaching.

Thank you for the replies! It’s good to read from people who have actually had the surgery. I’ve been putting this surgery off for two years because of the nerves & was scared after reading Reddit posts. This forum has alleviated my fear. 😊

I have my operation at the end of next month & am reading horror stories about the post-operative pain from a gastric sleeve surgery. Can any post-ops share their experience of what the pain feels like, how bad it is & how they dealt with it, please?

On 8/12/2022 at 4:53 PM, Vicky Sue said:

Congrats to LaLaLand and nerdymama for having your dates. Our times will be here before you know it

Thanks, VickySue! My surgery date is 27th September so less than 5 weeks. Have you got your surgery date yet?

On 8/20/2022 at 5:15 PM, Former heavyweight said:

I'm currently 8 days post surgery, I had it in Istanbul (from UK originally). If you message me I can tell you more about it if you like, I'm sure you have loads of questions.

Headline, it's fine. I didn't really see that there was anything different to a UK hospital, my surgeon had 8600 previous surgeries, so I was comfortable with him.

The thing is the psychological side. You aren't as well prepared as you would be in the UK. It's not a small operation and it can be unnerving waking up on your own, miles from home and in pain. Saying that, it's only a few days, it's ok, if you're pretty tough then it will pass and you are home before you know it.

I went to the doctor's when I got back, just to let them know the deal and they could check me over. I am in actually awesome health, which is a bonus. So no ill effects.

All in all, it's pretty good. I'd imagine far less frills than the UK, but the surgery itself felt safe and well organised.

Thanks, Former Heavyweight! Glad to hear you’re back in U.K. & starting your new journey. I’ll DM you. 😊

2 hours ago, ShoppGirl said:

If you search Turkey there are a few posts. You could either post to those threads or send private messages to those people and they should get an email so even if they are no longer active they will see it and you may get more replies??

Thank, Shoppgirl!

On 8/16/2022 at 4:04 PM, Momsaysimaoops said:

Hi, I'm located in the Netherlands and am having my surgery on October 17th in Manisa, Turkey at Grandmedical hospital.

Congratulations! I fly out on 26th September & return on 2nd. I’m in U.K. I’ve never had surgery before.. let alone abroad.. so I’m nervous. I’m glad to meet you who will be going through the same thing! x

2 minutes ago, KellySleeve1 said:

It went well, I’m 7 week out and 30lb down now. Where are you going ? x

Congratulations! That’s awesome & very reassuring. I’m going with Apera Healthgroup. Which clinic did you go with?

On 4/5/2022 at 2:36 AM, Trixxx said:

Flying to turkey (Istanbul) with mita clinic for gastric sleeve and a hair transplant in September , really looking forward to both procedures

Sent from my LE2123 using BariatricPal mobile app

Hi, Trixxx. I’m flying out to Turkey at the end of September for a gastric sleeve. 😊

On 4/3/2022 at 11:28 AM, Jenny79 said:

I’m booked for sleeve surgery in Turkey in October, so I’ve a long wait. I’m moving house in August so need to get that done first. Anyone else been to Turkey? I’m not overly worried about going to Turkey just the travel home and how il be after anaesthetic. I tend to be weepy and depressed after it.

Hi, Jenny. How was the surgery? I’m going to Turkey for mine at the end of September & a little nervous about it.

On 6/20/2022 at 2:40 AM, KellySleeve1 said:

I’m flying to Turkey in a couple of hours and I’m so nervous! 😩

Hi, Kelly. I’m having a gastric sleeve in Turkey & am super nervous. How did your surgery go?

Hey, all. New to the forums.. my surgery date is set for the end of September & I am going to try Nutriseed Superfood Protein Powder. It provides 14g of Protein. Is that a good amount?

Thanks, Catwoman! I hope they see my post & reply as I’m nervous & would be good to read about their experiences.

Hi, all! I’m new to these forums & have enjoyed reading the threads.

I’m having my gastric sleeve surgery in Istanbul between 26th September & 1st October & was curious to know if anyone has had or is going to have surgery in Turkey?

Thanks in advance. 😊

Hi, all! I’m so happy these forums exist. I have just put down my deposit for my surgery for a gastric sleeve. I’m having my surgery done in Turkey & the dates are 26th September - 1st October. I’m very nervous but more excited!