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I was tired as in needed a nap for the first 3 weeks. Also had back pain on and off. I also felt like I swallowed an ice cube and it was stuck but that went away around week 4-6 ( I don't remember) Just remember when you have energy and feel good don't over do it as you will pay for it the next day.

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I'm a teacher too. I had my surgery August 9 last year, and I went back to work around August 20. After I went back to work, I was very tired. I was coming home and going to bed around 8:30. I couldn't stay up later because I was falling asleep sitting on the couch watching the evening news. It got better, but at first, I was exhausted.

I was able to quit taking pain medication while I was still in the hospital. I stayed two nights, and I didn't take any pain meds the first night. I also had no nausea.

At home, right after surgery, getting in the required 64 ounces of Water felt like a full-time job. It was HARD!

I didn't cook right away. By a couple of weeks out, you can probably physically do it, but you might not be able to mentally. The smell of food didn't bother me, but I definitely didn't want to eat anything. It was weird just being able to enjoy the smell of good food and not want to actually eat it. :)

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My one word of advice would be to be aware that your stay may be longer than one night/day. That seems remarkably optimistic to me, particularly knowing how I was feeling the day following my surgery. The average length of stay at BIDMC is 3 days...and I was in a full week, due to increased inflammation (in my stomach) following surgery. Regarding energy, a week post-op, and I'm able to get up and walk a couple times throughout the day. I can't imagine having to care for small children, though....cooking, cleaning up after, and parenting would be exhausting. I hope you're able to keep your help around for as long as you need it, and that your recovery is a quick one!!

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lollyfidy has a good point. I stayed a third night when originally I was only planned for two nights. But you say your husband will be there for a week and a half so you should be good even if you had a little extra hospital stay.

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Yeah - everyone down here that I know that has had it only stayed one night - but it is a good idea to have a contingency plan!! He also does not use a drain tube or staples on the skin.....

SO hopefully it will go well -

Thanks!!

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The only pain I had was the incision pain, and it was about half the pain I felt after my c-section. I stayed 2 nights because I live far away from a hospital with bariatric care. I have a husband, but he had to leave each day for several hours and it left me alone with our lively 6 year old son. I stocked the kitchen with uncrustables (PBJ sandwiches for the freezer), lunchables, apple sauces, his favorite Soups, etc. I know it's junk but I had to make it through the week. When my close friends asked what they could do to help, I always replied "Spend time with Ben". :) They came over and talked to him and just hung out with him, tried to wear him out, etc. We made it through! Good luck to you!

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The only pain I had was the incision pain, and it was about half the pain I felt after my c-section. I stayed 2 nights because I live far away from a hospital with bariatric care. I have a husband, but he had to leave each day for several hours and it left me alone with our lively 6 year old son. I stocked the kitchen with uncrustables (PBJ sandwiches for the freezer), lunchables, apple sauces, his favorite Soups, etc. I know it's junk but I had to make it through the week. When my close friends asked what they could do to help, I always replied "Spend time with Ben". :) They came over and talked to him and just hung out with him, tried to wear him out, etc. We made it through! Good luck to you!

That was a great idea to ask your friends to help with your son. I am sure it made it a special time for him as well with some attention and his favorite lunches. It could have been a stressful time for him but you made it better. The next time I have a friend planning a surgery, I will offer to spend time with their kid(s), maybe just bring Snacks and a movie.

The uncrustables were a good idea. I had no idea how hard it would be to even just prepare food since I could not eat. Making a sandwich for my husband's work lunch was about all I could do. Not because I was tempted to eat, but because I was so uninspired to deal with food or to even touch it. All the cooking and freezing I did for myself ahead of time kind of went to waste. I am cooking again some now, but nothing like before.

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Honestly yes. Your gonna be exhausted. I just had my surgery last Thursday and I have a 13 month old. I am absolutely exhausted. I went to work today 6 days post op and I am freaking tired. I guess it all depends on the person but i think your plate is full.

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Honestly yes. Your gonna be exhausted. I just had my surgery last Thursday and I have a 13 month old. I am absolutely exhausted. I went to work today 6 days post op and I am freaking tired. I guess it all depends on the person but i think your plate is full.

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Tiff1977--- My surgery is July 17th & I have an 18 month old and a 5 year old. What were the guidelines you were given as far as lifting your child? I'm kind of nervous on how we work the logistics of that one.

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Tiff1977--- My surgery is July 17th & I have an 18 month old and a 5 year old. What were the guidelines you were given as far as lifting your child? I'm kind of nervous on how we work the logistics of that one.

Mine were no lifting anything as heavy as a gallon of milk until I met with him 3 weeks post op.

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I had my surgery on 4/4/2012. So let me start by saying EVERYONE IS UNIQUE. Right after surgery I was out of it on morphine and slept most of the time. The next day was bad. I was in pain and nausea set in because of the morphine. I had to do the swallow test and that was pretty bad too. All those feelings were the next day after surgery. That evening I felt much better watched TV in my hospital room and the nausea went away. The next day I felt even better now that I was off the morphine the nausea was gone and I had some apple juice. I ended up staying 2 nights before going home. No complications. Now about the pain, feels like I did some serious stomach exercise. First week energy wise... I took 2 hour naps EVERYDAY I had a friend stay with me that first week and on day 9 we went out to SAMs club and walked around for an hour and a half! I was so tired on the way back home I swore I was going right to bed for a nap but when I got home I felt so full of energy it surprised me. My friend went home that weekend and I started feeling better. By day 14 I was out and Around, cooking And going up and down stairs. If your hubby will be with you for the first week you will be fine. Don't do anything for a week except for drink your protien and Water and nap. In 2 weeks you will turn that corner and feel great. I am about 3 months out now. I feel normal like nothing happened. I am down a little over 50LBS this weekend I crosses over to regular misses sizes and I have so much energy! Good luck to you and I wish you a quick recovery.

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Even if you had your original date . You won't feel 100 per by aug I had my surgery 5/15 and still hurts to eat . And my dr only went through my navel no other insicions . It is the after math that is taking so much time

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    • LeighaTR

      I am new here today... and only two weeks out from my sleeve surgery on the 23rd. I am amazed I have kept my calories down to 467 today so far... that leaves me almost 750 left for dinner and maybe a snack. This is going to be tough for two weeks... but I have to believe I can do it!
      · 0 replies
      1. This update has no replies.
    • Doughgurl

      Hey everyone. I'm new here so I thought I should introduce myself. I am 53y/o and am scheduled for Gastric Bypass on June 25th, 2025. I'm located in San Antonio, Texas. I will be having my surgery in Tiajuana Mexico. I've wanted this for years, but I always had insurance where bariatric procedures were excluded. Finally I am able to afford to pay out of pocket.  I can't wait to get started, and I hope I'm prepared for the initial period of "hell". I know what I have signed up for, but I'm sure the good to come will out way the temporary period of discomfort and feelings of regret. I'd love to find people to talk to who have been through the same procedure or experience before. So I look forward to meeting you all. Hope you have a great week!
      · 2 replies
      1. Selina333

        I'm so happy for you! You are about to change your life. I was so glad to get the sleeve done in Dec. I didn't have feelings of regret overall. And I'm down almost 60 lbs. I do feel a little sad at restaurants. I can barely eat half a kid's meal. I get adults meals often because kid ones don't have the same offerings at times. Then I feel obligated to eat on that until it's gone and that can be days. So the restaurant thing isn't great for me. All the rest is fine by me! I love feeling full with very little. I do wish I could drink when eating. And will sip at the end. Just a strong habit to stop. But I'm working on it! You will do fine! Just keep focused on your desire to be different. Not better or worse. But different. I am happy both ways but my low back doesn't like me that heavy. So I listened (also my feet!). LOL! Update us on your journey! I'm not far from you. I'm in Houston. Good luck and I hope it all goes smoothly! Would love to see pics of the town you go to for this. I've never been there. Neat you will be traveling for this! Enjoy the journey. Take it one day at a time. Sometimes a few hours at a time. Follow all recommendations as best you can. 💗

      2. Doughgurl

        Thank you so much for your well wishes. I am hoping that everything goes easy for me as well. We don't eat out much as it is, so it wont be too bad in that department. Thankfully. Also, I hear you regarding your back and feet!! I'd like to add knees to the list. Killing me as we speak! I'm only 5' so the weight has to go. Too short to carry all this weight. Menopause really did a doosey on me. (😶lol) My daughter also lives in Houston. with her Husband and my 5 grand-littles. I grew up in Beaumont, so I know Houston well, I will be sure to keep in touch and update you on my journey. I may need some advice in the future, or just motivation. Thank You so much for reaching out, I was hoping to connect with someone in the community. I really appreciate it. 💜

    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. LeighaTR

        I hope your surgery on Wednesday goes well. You will be able to do all sorts of new things as you find your new normal after surgery. I don't know this from experience yet, but I am seeing a lot of positive things from people who have had it done. Best of luck!

    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. summerseeker

        Life as a big person had limited my life to what I knew I could manage to do each day. That was eat. I hadn't anything else to look forward to. So my eating choices were the best I could dream up. I planned the cooking in managable lots in my head and filled my day with and around it.

        Now I have a whole new big, bigger, biggest, best days ever. I am out there with those skinny people doing stuff i could never have dreamt of. Food is now an after thought. It doesn't consume my day. I still enjoy the good home cooked food but I eat smaller portions. I leave food on my plate when I am full. I can no longer hear my mother's voice saying eat it all up, ther are starving children in Africa who would want that!

        I still cook for family feasts, I love cooking. I still do holidays but I have changed from the All inclusive drinking and eating everything everyday kind to Self catering accommodation. This gives me the choice of cooking or eating out as I choose. I rarely drink anymore as I usually travel alone now and I feel I need to keep aware of my surroundings.

        I don't know at what point my life expanded, was it when I lost 100 pounds? Was it when I left my walking stick at home ? Was it when I said yes to an outing instead of finding an excuse to stay home ? i look back at my last five years and wonder how loosing weight has made such a difference. Be ready to amaze yourself.

        BTW, the liquid diet sucks, one more day and you are over the worst. You can do it.

    • CaseyP1011

      Officially here for a long time, not just a good time💪
      · 0 replies
      1. This update has no replies.
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