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How bad was it? Would you do it again?



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I'm a little over two weeks from my surgery date and I'm reading a lot of stories about people in pain. How bad was your pain? How bad was the post-surgery diet? Is your weight loss worth what you've gone through to get to it? Would you do it all over again if you had the chance?

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Please. Short pain for long term gain? No question, yes. The pain lasted periodically for a few weeks, mostly gas related, and got better when I got off my duff and walked.

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I am 11 days post op, my pain and discomfort peaked at day 5 (last Saturday, and majority had to do with a bad reaction to the lactose in my shakes) My pain has been minimal since day 7. A majority of my pain now is related to my big incision and the muscle wall behind the incision. Tylenol has taken care of 99% of my pain. I have over half of my pain pills left. I am in full liquids, and going to soft foods on Monday for 10 weeks. If I had to decide right this moment if I had to do this again I would say absolutely without a doubt. There has never been a moment that I "regretted" it, but a few food related break downs that have been relieved with a lovely bowl of pureed Soup he he.

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Post op day 3. Pain isn't so bad as long as you have the pain meds. Even when I didn't get pain meds on time once, the pain was tolerable, but not fun. Only one of my five incisions actually hurt. It's the one where the stomach was removed. I think everyone is different, and may depend on the surgeon as well as far as pain control. Not much gas, just somewhat uncomfortable, but much better now:) I wish you the best! :)

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My pain was bad, but manageable after a few days and I felt loopy-unsteady-for 2 weeks (back to work in 3) and I had the lapband removal/sleeve all-in-one and I might be a slow loser (I think) , but I'm finally losing again and I feel more comfortable in my skin than I have in years and when I look in the mirror I'm not saddened by my own image anymore and food doesn't control me anymore and so yes, if I had the chance to do it again, I would. Only sooner. Much sooner.

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yes 100 percent when i was in the hospital I was asking the nurse about alot of questions and she said u only read about the bad stuff but i have never met anyone that has had has regretted it . it hard work but would never go back and not have the surgery best thing i have ever did no matter how hard it gets some times...

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Sleeved June 27th and I have no regrets. 56 lbs down in 2 months and I have a ton of energy. I was on painkillers for 4 days post-op and the over the counter for one more day. I think the first 3 weeks were the biggest struggle and after week 7 I felt a new sense of "normal". Like any surgery, different people have different outcomes. Saying that, if you want to have a successful tool for your weightloss and you are prepared to listen to your surgical and healthcare team, this could be a true game changer.

Some positives for me - little ones - more room in the car seat, pulling the slack on the airplane seatbelt, bending over with no effort, walking in heels up stairs and not feeling winded, walking up the stairs and my knees dont sound like rice krispies being stepped on, not having any issues with something in my closet being too small... and finally, I have so much more energy!

I wish you the best on your journey. Never hesitate to message me directly with concerns.

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I am just over 5 1/2 weeks, down over 30 lbs since surgery and so far I don't regret it. :) I went back to work after a week. That first 3 days were hard- no lie. But each day it gets better. I think the nausea in the beginning was the worst part followed closely by the Constipation I'm going through now. The diet wasn't hard for me, just learning to drink Water so slowly was weird. I walk 2 miles a day since 1 week after surgery- never did that pre-surgery! I have moments of second guessing my decision but they usually pass when I focus on all the good the sleeve has added. :D

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I would do it again in a heartbeat. I didn't have too bad pain. There was several days of discomfort, but pain, no. As a matter of fact, the only times I took my pain pills were to help me sleep because I couldn't sleep well because I am a stomach sleeper and couldn't sleep on my tummy.

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First 2 days were very painful but after that I was fine. Yes, I would absolutely endure that pain again!

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I had one bout of pain (more like bad cramps) on day one in hospital otherwise I have felt pretty good. I'm nearly two weeks out. I was in the hospital for three days. First day home I walked a mile. I'm now up to two miles. I'm so grateful to have had an easy recovery. The post op liquid diet is a drag but manageable. It's fun and gratifying to see the scale go down a little every day. Wishing you good luck!!!

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4 months out and own 82 pounds. He'll yes I would do it again! Even if I didn't lose any more weight from now I would do it. I have ended 4 pills and maybe 3 more this next month.

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I was one of the fortunate ones - I really didn't have much pain, hardly any gas pain, was able to tolerate liquids and have had no problems with any food. I only took the pain killers at night after the first day or two to help me fall asleep. I walked the night of my surgery and kept walking as much as possible. Sometimes I think I can eat too much but I am losing fairly steadily. I am 3 months today and have lost approximately 56 since about 2 weeks before surgery. I do exercise at least 2-3 times a week with weights and walk at least 3-4 days a week. I was so nervous about the surgery that I almost cancelled the day of but am so glad that I didn't change my mind. Only thing I would do differently is to have the surgery sooner. My sleep apnea has disappeared and I feel so much healthier and more energetic. Best of luck to you...hope everything goes well for you :)

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So worth the 3 days of mild pain I had mostly from gas.

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I was one of the lucky ones too. I would do it again in a heartbeat. I had surgery June 11th, and am down 70 pounds so far. It's been amazing! I had very minimal pain. I am intolerant to almost every narcotic known to man, so all I was on in the hospital was a supped up version of IV motrin. I had pain when it wore off, but it was minimal. I had one bout of gas pain in my shoulder, but as soon as I got up and walked it was gone. I was walking around within a few hours after surgery. Once home I was on liquid Tylenol only, nothing stronger, and I had almost no pain. I was able to walk and get up and down from the couch and bed by myself. I had to move slowly, but I didn't need any help. I was back to normal by day 5. I was able to drink easily, and get in all my Water and Protein easily. Not a single issue ever! I did have some gas discomfort a few times, but took Gas-X and it was gone. The anticipation is the worst part. The others are right, you hear all the bad stories, but not the great ones!

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    • Doughgurl

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    • 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

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    • 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.

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