PaperFlowers

Hi all. I am very pre-op, but I am planning to have hiatal hernia repair done at the same time as the bariatric surgery. It will be months before I have a chance to meet with a surgeon and I'm not finding great information beyond the surgery taking a little bit longer and potentially some additional discomfort post-op. Has anyone had this combo and how do you think recovery and post-op life differed compared to those who just had the weight loss surgery?

I am early pre-op and although I'm getting the bypass, I'm also close to your weight and have a lot of physical problems. My fitness level at this point is practically non-existent so one of my questions in my first consult appointment was whether I should be concerned about undergoing surgery at such a low level of mobility and health in general. This was a physician's assistant and I'm sure each doctor would respond based on your individual circumstances, but she said that the surgery these days is really not that hard on a body and recovery is manageable regardless of whether or not you can exercise. Her words: 'people who have the surgery don't need to run to lose weight, they need to lose weight to run.' Granted, she also sent me home with a print-out for some simple resistance exercises to try. 😄

Thank you everyone. This helps put my mind at ease, at least that it will likely only be a little bit more discomfort and might make it a little harder to swallow. I keep hearing about the trapped air and it does sound miserable. I'm hoping to learn and practice a bit of deep breathing and maybe meditation to help make it through any tough times after the surgery as I can get very high anxiety but just in specific circumstances (like in a CT machine, deadlocked in traffic, etc.). I am actually looking forward to getting rid of the reflux and indigestion, possibly more than the weight loss!