Post Surgery Recovery

[KNall 8]

Hi all. I'm having my surgery this Thursday Nov 8. I'm most nervous about the recovery after surgery. What can anyone tell me about the days after surgery and the gas that you get.? I've prepared for liquid broths and such after surgery. I'm worried about things coming back up too. Thanks all.

[PaBirdie 3]

For me, the recovery went pretty well. The site where the port is will remain very tender longer than all the other spots. Expect a few weeks of soreness there. I had more shoulder pain than anything else. It has been said that the gas will often settle there. I took my pain meds and used a heating pad for relief. Eat slowly and follow your plan and you shouldnt have any problems. Things dont come back up for no reason, so if you have problems, call your doctor.

[FLORIDAYS 3,040]

Do not be surprised if you don't feel like eating or drinking much the first few days." it's normal. I had surgery at noon... Left the hospital at 7p but not until I drank 8 oz or Water which was pretty darn hard. I went straight to bed and slept until morning. The next day I barely had more than a few spoonfuls of Soup and maybe 8 oz of water... My dr said concentrate on the water and to just drink as much as I could. By day 2 I was up to 30 oz of water...soup and some apple juice. It wasn't until day 4 that I was able to drink 8 glasses of water.

[goal130 12]

Hi There, I'm very excited for you. Today marks 1 month from my surgery so everything is still fresh in my head. Everyone heals differently but I will share my experience with you. The gas pain is the hardest part for a few days after surgery. I felt it immediatly after waking up from surgery. It feels worse in the chest and in the shoulders. I thought the pain was going to be permanent but thank goodness it subsided after about 1-1 1/2 weeks. I walked alot and it really helped. I was pretty gassy. Thank goodness for the liquid diet because I was odorless : ). I tried to burp but that really hurt my chest. The pain medication at the hospital was very helpful and helped me sleep through the pain. It was hard for me to sleep in any position. At times I felt I couldn't even sleep sitting up. That too passed about a week after. The pain medication that I was given at home wasn't as strong as at the hospital so I had to break up pieces of motrin to make it easier to swollow. I also took unisom sleep aid to help me get through the uncomfortable first nights at home. I went back to work after a week and regretted it. Luckily it was a friday and I had the extra 2 days to recover. By Monday I was fine. Total hunger hit me 4 days after surgery. I have to be honest that for the most part of my first months diet i did do more liquids but after about I week i began to incoporate softer solids. I was always starving and almost fainted so I did kind of rush through the 1st month post diet plan but made sure to eat wise choices. I'm happy i did because it was the Lap band hell that everyone refers to. I've lost 16 pounds am am so pleased. I know I would have lost more if I would have stuck to the designed week by week eating plan but I was too weak. The hardest thing now is dealing with fatigue. I know my body isn't getting enough nutrients and enough calories. I was even a week late for my menstrual cycle. Today was my first day back at the gym and this really helped my energy level. I can't wait for my first fill next sat. since i am starting to feel my appitite increase. Good luck! The first weeks will be bumpy

[melanyew 0]

Hi all. I'm having my surgery this Thursday Nov 8. I'm most nervous about the recovery after surgery. What can anyone tell me about the days after surgery and the gas that you get.? I've prepared for liquid broths and such after surgery. I'm worried about things coming back up too. Thanks all.

Got my band on Tuesday and had a few Complications... was in hospital for 4 days. Had severe nasseau on first night and band slipped. . Had to stay in for second surgery on Thursday. . LOT OF PAIN... BUT GETTING BETTER. .

[Erin O'Donnell 61]

I see a lot of people say they struggled with gas pain during their recovery. But I, luckily, didn't have any gas pain at all. I mostly had trouble with just being sore. Getting up and down from a chair was hard and laying down and getting back up was harder. It felt like I'd done sit ups for like 10 days straight lol! It took I'd say about a week to a week and a half for the soreness to be pretty much gone. As for eating/drinking, I didn't struggle with nausea or anything. I couldn't eat or drink much for the first 3 days but once day 4 rolled around I could definitely feel hunger. But drinking a Protein Shake helped so much. A lot of people I saw didn't feel hungry for a while after surgery, so that just goes to show how different we all recover. hope this helps a little. I was so nervous about recovery but it wasn't all that bad for me. Not nearly as bad as I expected! Good luck!

[sheky17g 18]

I'm on day 2 post surgery. No gas in my chest and shoulders, but excess phlegm is bothersome and coughing hurts. I am trying to walk the line between moving around but not doing too much. I don't want to tear stitches or anything. I walked slowly about 1/4 mile on the treadmill today.

Eating has been ok. liquids are staying down. Today I focused on volume. Drinking 1-2 oz every 15-20 minutes. Every so often I was able to have some sugar free Jello or a sugar free ice pop. So far so good. Wishing the rest of you late Nov/early Dec people a swift recovery.

[KNall 8]

One month later and I'm glad to say things are going well. We sure do all heal differently. Thanks for sharing your stories with me. I've had pain at my port site and it's been sharp shooting pains. I went in for my post op yesterday and they checked it out and said it was ok. But here's a question......, i was told that because I had a hernia band the recovery would be longer. What's the difference between the "hernia band" and "normal" lap band?