I was sleeved 12/18/13. Not sure if I made the best decision. I am in a lot of pain. Can barely drink water. I can't talk to my family because I don't want them saying I told you not to do it. I had a few sips of chicken broth today. Jello sf is too sweet. I need help

Look forward, not back. Looking back with regret does nothing useful.

You cannot get your stomach back.

This too shall pass.

Almost all feel (per the forum members posts) much better in a month. You will too.

The first week apparently can really suck. You can get through this.

Keep your chin up! You can do this!

The first couple of weeks are the hardest, physically. The pain gets better quickly, and in the meanwhile you have pain medication, right? You just concentrate on getting Water in. Yes, Protein is important, but right now water is your priority.

Do you have at least one person who can be with you, who did NOT tell you not to do it? Ask that person to visit you for at least a couple of hours a day, and let him/her help you with the things that need to be done - feed the pets, stand by while you shower so you won't be alone when you might get dizzy... And set up a pattern of checking in with him/her by phone 2-3 times a day so that someone keeps tabs on you while you're vulnerable. You can do this!

I was sleeved on 12/17, just a day before you. For the first two days I was in really bad shape. It gets better. It'll get better more and more every day. I already feel 10x better today than yesterday. Hang in there and keep going to the reasons you did this in the first place.

I think when a lot if us go into this we forget or just don't realize this is a MAJOR surgery, I know I did.

Don't let the little scars fool you...

Now it's going to take time to recover.

You are less than a week out. The only thing you should be doing is concentrating on healing, that means resting, hydrating, walking around a bit and resting some more..

Things will get better it will not always be this bad, your body just needs time to heal from the major trauma it just went through.

Really I was not 100% for a month!

Be kind to yourself and know in just a very short time this hard part will just be a memory

I was sleeved 12/18/13. Not sure if I made the best decision. I am in a lot of pain. Can barely drink water. I can't talk to my family because I don't want them saying I told you not to do it. I had a few sips of chicken broth today. Jello sf is too sweet. I need help

This can be a lonely time around some family, as they do not truly understand what we go through, but fear not, this forum has a huge number of people you can lean on when you are feeling unsure. I was sleeved on December 2nd and I am just starting to feel like my old self. I also had moments of doubt, times of frustration, a bad attitude, and sadness over things I gave up for this. Now that I'm a little farther out and the wounds, literally and figuratively are healing, I have a different outlook. You will get there too. Just be kind to yourself and allow yourself to take things slowly and take the time you need to heal. Your family may surprise you as well, don't be afraid to open up to your support group. Your mind and body are going through a huge change, these things take time, even though most of us wish we could just be back to our normal selves right away. In a few weeks you will be in a different mindset. Good luck to you, and don't be afraid to reach out if you need support!

Edited December 21, 201312 yr by Nurse_B

Hang in there - I had serious buyer's remorse the first couple of days, too and wondered if I made the right decision. Once I started feeling better, my mind started to follow.

Focus on getting in your Water - sip, sip, sip. Know that you're probably not going to get in your minimums for a while, just do the best you can. Walking helped make me feel better and helped get rid of the gas in my abdomen.

Best of luck to you - it will get better.

It will get better! I couldn't drink or eat for days. Sipping Water was really difficult. Couldn't even eat Soup without throwing up. Even a month out it was taking me about 3 hours to drink a Protein shake. I was devastated that I had done this to myself, and I thought i would never feel normal again. 2 months out, I can drink easily - even gulp back a glass of water with ease. I can eat more (unfortunately!!), but I still can't eat "chunky" food and need to puree most meals. But I'm not panicked now. I'm delighted that i made the decision. I feel more "normal" every day.

When you're still only days out, and struggling, every day can seem like a lifetime. But the days will go past quickly, and you will soon start to feel much better :-) And thinner!!!!

Boy does this sound familiar! This feeling will eventually pass. I started feeling better when I went on soft foods. 8 weeks out now and I am so glad I will never have to re-live that first month again- it was the hardest for me. If you like chocolate milk, you may want to try Ensure High Protein shakes- milk chocolate flavor. They come pre-mixed in a 4 pack with each bottle offering 25g protein, only 5g sugar, 2.5g fat and 50% of RDA of Vitamins. They go down very smoothly with no after taste. They also have vanilla, strawberry and dark chocolate flavors but I haven't tried any of them yet. I wish I would have known about them when I was in the liquid stage. Give yourself time like laura-ven said and don't compare yourself to others. Everyone is different. Even though I feel good most days, I still get really tired doing some routine things like going grocery shopping. I just figure my complete recovery will take as long as it takes, so I take it one day at a time. Relax and heal- good luck!

I was sleeved 12/18/13. Not sure if I made the best decision. I am in a lot of pain. Can barely drink Water. I can't talk to my family because I don't want them saying I told you not to do it. I had a few sips of chicken broth today. Jello sf is too sweet. I need help

I was sleeved on 12/17 n still in pain n swollen. My upper back is killing me too due to not getting in a comfortable position to sleep. Walking has helped me n doing ok on the broth n drinking my water with Crystal light n some jello. Still having rumblings n cramps on stomach, Has using a heating pad on stomach helped anyone?

Yes! Heating pad saved me the first week.

I was sleeved on 12/17 n still in pain n swollen. My upper back is killing me too due to not getting in a comfortable position to sleep. Walking has helped me n doing ok on the broth n drinking my Water with Crystal light n some Jello. Still having rumblings n cramps on stomach, Has using a heating pad on stomach helped anyone?

You are not alone. I was sleeved 12/16, on 12/17 I was taken back into surgery to fix a hiatal hernia and to remove scar tissue from around my esophagas. Apparently I've had an acid problem for a few years and didn't even know. I am feeling the same as you and honestly - I'm a little frightened by it all. I am not keeping down fluids at all. I take in two tiny sips within a 20 minute time frame and back up it comes. I am SO thirsty. If I could get a grip on the nausea and keep some Fluid down I wouldn't be so worried. My surgeon said my sleeve looks totally normal and I am recovering nicely but I don't feel like it.

Youre only a few days out. Recovery from any surgery is rough. I recovered pretty well but im 4 weeks out now and feel 1,000 times brtter than that first week. Theres a lot of emotions too. Give youreself time....I say even up to a year. This is a major surgery to recover from. Most of us have 20 + years of bad eating habits which is why I say a year to recovert because I dont only mean physically. I mean emotionally too. You will feel great before u know it!

You are not alone. I was sleeved 12/16, on 12/17 I was taken back into surgery to fix a hiatal hernia and to remove scar tissue from around my esophagas. Apparently I've had an acid problem for a few years and didn't even know. I am feeling the same as you and honestly - I'm a little frightened by it all. I am not keeping down fluids at all. I take in two tiny sips within a 20 minute time frame and back up it comes. I am SO thirsty. If I could get a grip on the nausea and keep some Fluid down I wouldn't be so worried. My surgeon said my sleeve looks totally normal and I am recovering nicely but I don't feel like it.

My surgeon was so casual and relaxed even though I thought I was dying! I thought he just didn't understand what I was feeling. Now I realise he had seen it all before, and he knew I would start to feel better in no time, and he was right.

One thing that did help me was drinking milk. For some reason, milk went down more easily than anything else, and it stayed down.

I was sleeved in April. You really will feel a little better each and every day and before you know it, all is "normal" again. Have faith in your own resilience and that thousands have trod this same road before you.

Good luck.

I was sleeved 12/18/13. Not sure if I made the best decision. I am in a lot of pain. Can barely drink water. I can't talk to my family because I don't want them saying I told you not to do it. I had a few sips of chicken broth today. Jello sf is too sweet. I need help

Don't doubt yourself or your decision, the first few days are rough, but it gets better, I promise. I'm 15 days out and my 1st week was horrible, I couldn't sleep laying down, I felt like I pulled a muscle under 1 incision, and then I had an allergic reaction to the adesive which made me feel worse.

sip what you can and take your meds.

What helped me was walking, my surgeon scared me so bad about geting a blood clot, I was up walking every hour. Now it was uncomfortable to walk, until I figured out I needed to carry my belly, by holding up my belly it wasn't pulling on my incisions and didn't hurt as bad, then I started wearing my spanx and that helped me be able to sleep laying down and it helped with the pain. By 8 days out I wasn't using anything for pain, even tylenol.

Now I'm 15 days out and I feel normal.

A support system is important, your family may be trying to say they told you so right now, maybe you just need to tell them to keep any negative thoughts to themselves right now while you heal and while you need them. Because as you feel better and your weight drops, it will be you who will be able to say I told you so.

Hang in there