Texarkolina

Ok WOW--this post took an unexpected turn. Thanks to everyone for trying to help. I went back for my post-op appointment 9 days after surgery. My surgeon leaves the drain in for 9 days. When they took the drain out I had sharp, shooting pains from my toes to my neck, got dizzy and nauseated and passed out. When I came around shortly after, the pain was gone. I am still sore--as I would expect--but the sharp, shooting, unbearable pain is no more. Surgeon said that it is rare (if I had a dollar for every time I have heard that....) but occasionally the drain will irritate nerves so much that it causes severe/shooting pains. I felt better when I left the office and much better by bedtime.

I am only down 28 pounds, but I am convinced someone is messing with the scale to make me feel better about it. I can see a tiny difference in my ankles and that is it.

My surgeon said not to use a band-aid because they hold in moisture. He said to use soap, water, and a clean gauze pad until it stops leaking--then open to air is fine.

I was on July 30 also.....I want to gulp so bad. I know sip slowly, but I am thirsty all the time. I have learned that it takes about one hour to recover from a gulp of liquid, so I wouldn't advise it. People keep telling me to sip and walk and it will get better. My surgeon said that he has done hundreds of these and he has never seen someone not get better--the magic ingredient is time.

I am day 10 and still feel tired, dizzy, and thirsty all the time. It is getting better, however.

Hang in there. I cheated with grilled chicken breast strips nearly the whole time and my surgeon had no issues. Just make sure you stay away from carbs---one carb cheat will make you feel like you are starting over. I tossed in the grilled chicken breast and did enough time on the elliptical to burn any extra calories I had consumed--and still lost 14 pounds. Nutritionist said it probably made me lose more to do it that way. Help--aka your sleeve--is on the way!!!

You said you wanted all replies so here goes. First of all, I generally have a pretty high tolerance to pain but....When I came back to the floor I was in excruciating pain. I had complications so they didn't give me anything after surgery for a bit and I have never experienced pain that intense in my life. The pain pump and my ever diligent sister pushing the button every time it was available finally got on top of the pain about 3 hours later. I used that pain pump quite a bit because--well--it freaking hurt. My IV went bad and they had trouble starting another one--like 12 sticks worth of trouble. I had visitors at the time and they are still talking about how I didn't even react when they jabbed me over and over. I didn't react because the IV sticks were NOTHING compared to the pain I was in--like being tickled with a feather. I got up and walked a lot, but that did not touch the pain. I went home on day 3--back in the hospital on day 6 for pain and dehydration. The pain I had was sharp shooting pain in my shoulder and chest. They did some tests--everything normal--and home I went in agony. On day 9 I had my drain removed in the doctor's office and passed out cold. When I came to--pain was gone. I was a little bit sore--but no real pain. The surgeon said that the drain must have been irritating a nerve and that was the source of most of my pain. Today--day 10--I feel like a new woman. Hopefully you will have little pain and feel great, but prepare yourself just in case. Either way, it will be worth it. The surgeon and hospital staff were kind and understanding and did what they could to help me. I wonder how my recovery would have gone if I had a surgeon that removed the drain earlier...... Good luck to you.

I copied a post I made in another thread about pre-op diets here. Hope this helps you. ........may I just say for someone struggling with the liquid diet that I am pretty sure we would all agree that....... liquid diet SUCKS! Not just sucks a little bit but really really really sucks. So if you are all whiny and angry and down and thinking about driving up to a window for a heart attack in a sack....don't think there is anything wrong with you. If there is anyone out there who can say that the liquid diet was a breeze then they most likely wouldn't need surgery. The good news....it starts getting easier about day 3. Somewhere along day 3 you go into ketosis if you are on a high protein/low carb diet. This acts as a natural appetite suppressant. If I had to do 14 days of day 1 or 2 I would never make it. I am on day 4 and it was doable today. Not fun, not pleasant, but doable. To be honest, however, I have been an over-sensitive, emotional wreck for the past 3 days. If you are reading this on the first few days of your pre-op diet you are probably overly sensitive, tired, shaky, have a headache, and are absolutely starving. The entire world is probably ticking you off and you could come through the computer and slap someone that says "if you can't do the pre-op how are you going to do the post-op?" I caved and had a boiled chicken breast and asparagus on the first night, then a boiled chicken tender on day 2 and 3. Today I did ok. If you do cheat, make it a smart one. Don't cheat with carbs or you will kill the ketosis benefit. Good luck.......... In other news--I am now 10 days post-sleeve and the liquid diet is so very very very easy now compared to before. My first surgery date was cancelled (anesthesia issues--nothing to do with pre-op diet) and I had to continue on the pre-op diet for another week. I was so discouraged and upset and struggled so much that last week. I mean--there was a baconator combo involved--upsized. This is hard--very very very hard and you don't have the help of a sleeve yet. Do the best you can--have a "smart cheat" lined up so you won't fall off the wagon into a cheeseburger--and realize that help is on the way.

Liquid diet blows. The pre-op is horrible and nearly impossible until you get to day 3 or 4.....seems to get easier after that. I am 9 days post-op, and the liquid/pureed stage is way way way easier now. Like it is not even a problem at all. It isn't like you have to do it for months without a tool. A week of the post-op is easier than one day of pre-op. You can do it---and it will sucketh royally at times, but it is not nearly as hard as you think.

Yeah--process sucks. Try not to get sucked in too much. I got to where it was all I could think about--not healthy. Go to your appointment and then, if it were me, I would go and have that fantastic birthday dinner with my family and friends and enjoy every bite without guilt. Even after you are sleeved you will indulge from time to time (although it will be with much smaller quantities).

Is your drain and everything out and incisions looking good? Sounds like an infection to me. I was sleeved on the same day and tried egg, too. Didn't work out well for me, either. However, I don't think you would have fever and chills from eating the wrong thing. My doctor says to call him for a temp of over 100........

Be sure to update us as the surgery progresses.

NO......and I am sure you know that all to well by the way you asked......but don't feel bad because you want to. You are giving up one crutch (eating) and it is normal to want to grasp for another one. Is there a support group you can go to? I am not so much impressed with therapists who haven't been there, but a support group that has is a whole different story. I have survived on books and movies--they are a good distraction. Find yours--and reach out on this board often. Maybe answer some questions for others and that could help you? Dang I know this is hard.

I think it is great that you two are doing this together. Prayers for successful surgeries and recoveries for both of you.

Not to be negative, but I did have a lot of pain after surgery. I am on day 8 and still have quite a bit of pain. Had I know it was going to be this bad I am not 100% sure I would have had it done. My case is the exception rather than the rule, however, (I had lots of complications) so most people won't have the discomfort I have. Realize, however, that this is a MAJOR surgery and THERE WILL BE SOME PAIN. Hopefully it will be well managed with medication, but there will be some pain and it is better if you are prepared for it mentally.

Yeah--I cheated too, but I made mine "smart" cheats like grilled chicken breast strips without skin and asparagus. I still lost weight and it was fine. I felt like a wuss because I cheated on day 1, but I realize now that it really gets easier as you go. Day 3 or 4 it should be noticeably easier for you. It is tough to get through the pre-op. If it was something you could do well you probably wouldn't need surgery. Hang in there. It is way way way easier to do a liquid diet after surgery--like there is no comparison.

Welcome!

I was put under and had my abdomen inflated twice. The first time it caused a vagal response that resulted in my heart stopping and them having to do chest compressions to start it. Surgery was canceled and rescheduled for the next week. Perhaps being put under/inflated twice caused more irritation/damage than normal. I am so frustrated. I have walked and walked--tried to "work the pain out" with light exercise, etc. None of this even touches it. I am miserable.

I am going through the exact same thing. My pain is in my shoulder and abdomen. Only thing that helps is a heating pad on my shoulder--and the help is minimal.

I desperately needed someone there--my sister stayed and I don't think I would have survived without her. Granted, my surgery was done in the afternoon, so it was the early post-op period for me. Second night I was fine on my own.

I was sleeved on the 30th and I have severe stabbing left shoulder pain. I have had a leak test and CT--all are fine. There was a tremendous amount of drama with my surgery--scheduled on the 23 first time--heart stopped on table--chest compressions for a minute--surgery rescheduled after cardiologist oked me--difficulty keeping heart rate up during second surgery so they gave me extremely high doses of meds to speed up my heart rate---caused nausea--lots of post-op pain, etc. Anyone else have severe pain a week out and, if so, what did you do. I am worn out with this.

Second surgery date was successful in that I am sleeved. It was pretty rough because they had to give me so much medication to keep my heart rate up during the surgery and didn't give me pain meds for a while after. I have never experienced pain and nausea (from the meds) anything like the few hours after surgery. I came home on Wednesday, but was readmitted Sunday night for dehydration and shoulder pain. They were afraid that I could have a leak because I have so much pain in my left shoulder still. Tests were all negative. If I am still having pain on Wednesday he is going to send me to an orthopedic guy. They are wondering if they didn't damage my shoulder during chest compressions in the first surgery. This has been a horribly rough road, and I am a little glad I didn't know how bad it was going to be going in. Thus far today I have managed to get down a popsicle--that's it. The surgeon said it may take time but he has never seen it not get better. I am trying to have a positive attitude, but I am pretty miserable right now.

I was sleeved on the 30th and I am right there with you. I am still glad I had it done, but I am struggling to get in liquids. I am on pureed (per doctors orders) and made my plate with a tiny amount of pureed potatoes, ham, and asparagus. Sat down to eat with my friends, and got less than a tablespoon in before my body said NO MORE. Calculating how much protein I am getting in hasn't even crossed my mind because it is such a tiny amount. Liquids actually seem harder than "solids". I was emotionally spent this morning, but I feel better now. I know I will be happy with my decision later, but this is the hard part. I am confused about what I should/should not be eating and seem to live in a town that does not believe in sugar-free Popsicles. Wonder what happens if I eat a regular one? I am glad for one thing--I am still tired enough from the surgery that I need a nap or 2 a day--nice little escape.

I am 5 days out and it seems to get harder each day. I have been trying different flavorings and it helps a ton.

I have never experienced pain like I had when I woke up. There were some complications during surgery and they were holding off on the pain meds because my heart rate was low. I was in horrible pain when I was taken to my room--definitely a 10 or better--and didn't get on top of it for a couple of hours. I was an afternoon surgery, and they were able to get me up in a chair--even though I kept blacking out--for an hour before I slept for the night. I think they gave me every anti-nausea med made that first night because I felt so sick. Day 2 was nothing like surgery day, but still a little rough. I am on day 5 now and have little pain or nausea.