I'm really wondering what it feels like to be sleeved... afterwards. Was it almost exactly what u expected pre-op, or totally different ?????? Is it like the pre-op diet sort of, but u cannot consume as much liquid? R u experiencing anything out of the ordinary , physically or otherwise, that u had no idea u would afterwards? Plz share ur story, cause ppl r afraid to talk about the negative, but I'd really like to know. Thanks.....I know im making everyone crazy with my posts

P.S.....IS THERE ANYTHING THAT THEY DO THE SAME DAY OF SURGERY WITH THE IV...SOME PPL R TELLING ME EVERYONE NEEDS AN IV PIK...CAUSE A REGULAR IV IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH....IS THIS TRUE??????

I had no idea what to expect after surgery, and that in itself made me a bit nervous before surgery - One thing, is I had NO idea that I would NEVER be hungry - and that I would think about food all the time, but in a different way, before it would be, man I want to eat, now its ok, I NEED to eat -

I never thought I would feel so good so fast, I thought it would take me awhile - I had high blood pressure before surgery and was taking a pill twice a day - before I even got out of the hospital, my BP was almost perfect 120/66

I never realized how much stamina I would have and how much more energy I would have to do things I could do for a long time before surgery

I never realized how out of wack my hormones would be and how giddy it would make me feel, how easily I would cry, and how it would make me bleed before it was time for over two weeks!!

With the rapid weight loss, comes itchy skin - that drives me crazy and I dont know what to do to stop it

As far as the IV goes, I had a normal IV the whole time, never had a PIC line.

Hope that helps answer some of your questions ~ quite honestly there really hasnt been too much "Bad" from this, most everything is good

I'm really wondering what it feels like to be sleeved... afterwards. Was it almost exactly what u expected pre-op, or totally different ?????? Is it like the pre-op diet sort of, but u cannot consume as much liquid? R u experiencing anything out of the ordinary , physically or otherwise, that u had no idea u would afterwards? Plz share ur story, cause ppl r afraid to talk about the negative, but I'd really like to know. Thanks.....I know im making everyone crazy with my posts

P.S.....IS THERE ANYTHING THAT THEY DO THE SAME DAY OF SURGERY WITH THE IV...SOME PPL R TELLING ME EVERYONE NEEDS AN IV PIK...CAUSE A REGULAR IV IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH....IS THIS TRUE??????

Don't rely just on this thread. Look through the posts on this board along with the pre and post surgery boards and the general surgery board.

Everything that happened to me after surgery was described by someone else on this board, so I wasn't really surprised.

I knew:

• Lots of people have hiatal hernias that are repaired when the VSG is done. When I woke up from surgery, I found out I did too.
• Some surgeons leave the catheter in the first day to make sure there are no leaks (they watch for blood in the urine). Mine did.
• The pain meds work for most people, so they are not in a lot of pain after they wake up from surgery. They worked for me too.
• Many people get diarrhea and it goes away on its own in a couple of weeks. I got diarrhea, but I checked with my Dr. anyway, just to be safe.
• Most people can't sleep in their normal sleep positions for a week or two. I got some extra pillows and propped myself up to sleep like I was in the hospital bed still. (Big pillows under my upper back and head and smaller one under my knees.)
• Many people more emotional and cry easily. So I wasn't surprised when I burst into tears over something silly twice in the first week after surgery. And I've tried to go easy on my loving husband, who is my favorite punching bag when I'm upset.
• Most people have a hard time getting the fluids in the first few days. I followed a tip from several fellow-posters and used a small one-ounce medicine cup with a timer to make sure I got in an ounce every 15 minutes.

Although there are unpleasant things after surgery, it's really helped knowing that I've had an average or better recovery. And one thing I've learned: even those with horrid complications get better. That helped me pre-surgery when I was afraid of what might go wrong. Looking through the boards, I found even those with leaks eventually get better.

I had a regular IV. From what I've read, most others have regular IVs too.

Best wishes on your journey!

Lynda

I've been very happy with being sleeved. I've lost 81 lbs since December 28th. I did have some problems with getting lightheaded...I think it was a consequence of my blood pressure going down. I hated the protein shakes, but I know that's just me. The only other bad thing that I've had going on is that I've had diarrhea since the surgery. I know that is probably TMI, but it's probably been the biggest problem I've had. I suspect this isn't normal at all and just a problem that I personally have. I've been referred to a GI doctor. That being said, I don't regret anything! Good luck!!!!

I love my sleeve even though I am a slow loser.

• I knew I would eat less but I never comprehended how little 1/2 cup of food total really is. I get full fast. If I eat too fast I get too full and it is very uncomfortable for a couple of hours. Eat slow!
• I have really bad reflux. They tell me it goes away after about 6 months. I sure hope so. The meds work though.
• Very, very little pain with surgery and I had my gall bladder taken out also.
• Someone on this board said to never trust a fart. I cannot tell you enough how true that is ...TMI
• I can drink as much as I want as fast as I want. I was afraid I would be forever sipping but that was just a week or two.

Hi girlfriend -

Two big things come to mind:

1) I still get very bad "hunger" headaches. Almost every night. I find that fascinating and completely unexpected. I guess I thought that my feeling the sensation of hunger was what triggered the headaches. But no, as it turns out the old body is smarter than that and even tho I am not feeling the hunger I am megga getting the headaches. Tylenol does little to help me so I'm sort of stuck. The problem is that the headaches blur my vision so I'm been staying very close to home after 5 p.m. as they tend to come at night. Can't be behind the wheel of my car when my vision goes south. This is one of those irritations when I think about how limiting this is actually making my life when it was supposed to free me.

2) Big time low blood sugar issues. I don't think my doctor took me seriously about the level of low blood sugar I experience and he disregarded it saying "push through" . Well after testing in his office and seeing it was 54, he decided he'd better take it a little more seriously. So now I'm being directed what to do and it's much better. Again, they seemed to think that if I was eating a healthy diet it would fix the low blood sugar issue and they were way off base on that.

3) How physically weak I would be. I'm normally a pretty tough person but this has kicked my rump. I was in the garage cleaning yesterday and got shaky and had to come in for a break before they found me on the floor. My sleeve is very low capacity (about 3 ounce) so I don't have a lot to run on. I sure hope this changes.

Hang in their ursie. Nothing has been awful but it is different. I wish I had known I was getting a 3 ounce sleeve. I would have changed doctors. Otherwise, it's what I have to deal with so I move on. I can do it. And you can to!! You can!