Hi im new here but have been reading all the posts for some time now . I am going through the phases right now to get my vertical sleeve.and I was wondering what was or is the worst thing about the sleeve ....ie stomach pain , vomiting ,nausea anything I wanna know what to exspect so I know what im in for after its done .

For me the worst was right when I woke up from surgery. I just assumed I would get a morphine pump because it seemed like everyone did. I didn't discuss it with my doctor. Even though I totally respect him as a surgeon, he felt I could handle having the medication through my IV. Well when I woke up, I was in horrible pain. I did have a revision from the band and a hernia repair, so that could be the cause for more than usual pain. Of course my crying and trying to get up out of the bed caused the nurses to get my medicine quickly and I was good! The first few days can be rough, but everything else has been WONDERFUL! I would go through the pain of surgery again in a heartbeat to have this new life. I am so happy and it is great watching the pounds disappear. Good luck with your surgery!

Thank you for your reply I will make sure and ask for the morphine ahead of time ...lol...

I can't even say really what was the worst. I had a great recovery. I'm a part-time nurse with 3 & 4 yo boys at home. I had surgery on a Wed and returned to work light duty the following Fri (9 days later.) The first 3-4 days were the "worst" in regards to trying to drink fluids because i felt bloated/full but after that, I had no problem getting in my fluids and protein. I would reallllly suggest researching your surgeon to make sure he has done laproscopic surgeries often, as well as sleeves. And also, practice your healthy eating with small frequent meals, no straws, eliminate pop and caffeine, etc before surgery so it comes easier later. My surgeon puts everyone on a 1 week low carb (40gr), low cal (400-600kcal) liquid diet before surgery or two weeks of same liquid diet if diabetic to shrink the liver so surgery is quicker. This shrinks the liver so the surgeon can get in and out quicker and makes his work easier without a big bulky fatty liver in the way. Creating a active healthy lifestyle before hand only makes surgery and recovery easier. I had no drain. I had minimal pain. I had a lidocaine pump installed under the skin during surgery so it decreased abdominal pain, requiring less narcotics with less risk of constipation. I pulled the 6 inch tube out at home, as instructed. I stayed one night in the hospital and took 3 vicodins at home and probably didn't even need them. Oh yeah, the worst was slamming my thumb in the car door while I was on Luvenox, a blood thinner, a few days after surgery. It hurt like hell and took forever to stop bleeding.

Not being able to lift my dog for a month! He just does not understand.

I will be honest- the process of introducing food a little at a time, is difficult for me (I am in the midst of it now) as I just do not yet know the limits of my scale or how to approach my food choices and somehow incorporate vegetables and fruit.

Neither of these things outweigh my joy at having the sleeve and being 34 pounds lighter after two weeks of preop and three weeks with the sleeve.

Thanks both of you so much for your comments I am really excited at the thought of having a healthier and happier life and each time I read a positive post it just makes me more sure about the sleeve , I origanlly wanted the lap band but have seen very dismal results with that and as for the RnY I could never really wrap my mind around that kind of surgery as far as the mal absorbtion goes and when I found out about the sleeve amd did some reserch I was so exited and I new it was for me . Thank you guys for your info .

Just remember that everyone is different. Most people have terrible gas pains from the gas they pump in your stomach during surgery. It usually doesn't last long from what I am told. I was very fortunate and didn't have any gas pain or any pain at all after the surgery. I did ask for pain meds as soon as I felt something so I think that I stayed on top of the pain that I would have felt. I also didn't have any nausea at all...I'm 12 days post op and still haven't had any nausea. I do usually have some diarrhea after I eat. I was a little tender where my incisions were after the surgery but it wasn't painful for me at all. It felt to me like I had a really good ab workout.

Yes, what Sarsar said, everyone's different. My pain was VERY mild but I had a lot of nausea and general malaise. It took a few weeks to pass but I felt pretty good after that.

You might find this trivial but the worse thing about the surgery was the sore throat from the tube and not being able to drink anything to soothe it. They finally ht my throat with some kind of aerosol spray that took care of it.The post op pain was far less and much more manageable than I ever expected. The recovery was also un-eventful. Good luck!

Hello!

The worst for me was the gas pains! OMG, it was awful. I did not have nausea or vomiting or pain. I was pushing that pain pump button so much that I was higher than a kite and could not stand up, let alone walk when they wanted me to!! LOL

Learning to eat agian was a little rough for me. Sometimes, things would work for me, sometimes they wouldn't! Small bites and chew chew chew!

I will have to agree with Meggie about the dog. She doesn't understand that she doesn't get picked up or bites of food anymore. It is sad!

Don't worry. Nothing has not been able to be overcome! I will be a month out on Monday and feel great. I have lost 23 lbs and would do it all again tomorrow!! You will be fine!

Kelly

Thank u so much for all of your input.

For me the nausea was the worst part, and that was only for about the first 6 hrs after surgery. I didn't have much pain, and I knew about the possibility for pain from gas after the surgery so every time I woke up, I made myself get up and walk 3 times up and down the hall before I laid back down and I didn't have any gas pain at all. There is alot of talk about taking Gas-X, but they don't put the gas in your STOMACH, they put it in your ABDOMEN, so the Gas-X really isn't going to hurt you, but it isn't really going to do anything about the leftover gas in your abdomen either....just get up and move...that's how it will dissipate.

Learning to eat again had its' challenges, but it doesn't take too long to figure out what works and what doesn't.

Good luck with your sleeve, and don't be afraid to ask questions, everyone here wants to help

K

I was one of the lucky ones with a great, smooth recovery as well. No nausea, no gas pains... I guess if I had to pick something it would be having to get myself up to pee every 1-2 hours while on the IV (they pump a LOTTA liquids into you!) and the sharper pain I got while getting up and back down into bed again... but I'd rate that at about a 5/10 on the pain scale and it only lasted for a few seconds, and only for 3-4 days or so. And only when transitioning in and out of bed.

I did go home with a drain for a week and there was some minor pulling where it the stitch was in the skin. It was bulky under my clothes and I couldn't lay in bed with it, but I just had to laugh at it. It was kind of a pain in the ass, but really not--if that makes any sense?

I could whine about how unbelievably DRY my throat was for days afterward... sounded very froggy for 4-5 days. But, that's just a whine. Same with the two weeks of liquids... I felt wonderful, never hungry during that time, but by about day 12 I was dying for some substance. Again, just a whine....

So, I never really had anything that I could call "worst," just some inconveniences! I really just sailed through the whole thing.

For me it was the pre-op liquid diet. I know that sounds strange, but it was so hard. And I had even been doing low carb and cutting portions for a long time before, had already kicked my soda habit a long time before. But I just missed eating in general and was very hungry. Even the post-op liquid diet wasn't as bad and it was for a longer period of time.

I have had such an easy recovery, I hate to even say it cuz I know it kinda sounds impossible but I am very lucky and so happy about it. Immediately out of recovery I felt that gas everyone talks about and I started saying, I gotta walk, I gotta walk, but I couldn't then because I was just coming out from under the anesthesia. I had no pain, no nausea, no sore throat, no complications minor or major. I did feel like I had done a bunch of sit ups, but it wasn't really pain, just slight discomfort? But the day they removed the drain, I realized that feeling was actually the feeling from the drain. And even the drain removal that I had been afraid of and dreading was nothing! Except kind of a relief. Dr Kelly did it so fast, I didn't feel any pain from that either. I feel very very blessed to be post op and have chosen the Dr I did. Good luck in your research and getting your sleeve!!

Great Feed back on this one!!!! It got me thinking and yes, everything above that people above posted and described, the gas pain right out of surgery is tough, but it quickly pass',, not being able to pick things up - yep that totally stunk... the different food phases - yuck!... getting in out of a chair or the bed at night - wow pain, yes! ....

But whats the worse for me is dealing with people... some that are negative towards my choice, some that feel it is their personal goal to watch every morsel I put in my mouth, the jealous ones that have nothing better to do or say to me... the people that do not understand this was my choice and I will do it!!! Yep,,, dealing with people is the worse for me...

I too had a great recovery. I did have slight gas pain in my left shoulder the second day in the hospital but I just walked as much as I could stand. The part that was most unpleasant for me was the slight fever and overall ache of my whole body from the fever, that only lasted about 2 hours. When I started drinking they gave me some Isopure and that was truley the worst part of the post op for me, not because of the actual ingesting but the taste was gawd awful!!! I was where you are in terms of nerves and I too began this journey by researching the band but when I started my research I discovered the sleeve and I am so glad I did. I went through this whole process. surgery and all, by myself didn't tell a soul, other than my husband. My husband was unable to come with me to Dallas (we're 6 hours away) for the surgery and I bawled all the way there as well as all night in the hotel the night before, I was terrified something would happen to me and that would devastate my older parents and then something would happen to them. To this day no one else knows, my MIL thinks that I had gastric bypass and keeps trying to get my husband to tell her...none of her darn business. If you do decide to take this journey I bet you will be thrilled with the outcome. Good luck to you!