I am 3 days post op so far.

Day 1: slept most of the day after surgery.. gas pains under my ribs were excruciating and very painful. I had an IV in my left hand and they kept giving me phenergan for nausea which has made my entire arm hurt bad. I was never comfortable and felt like sitting up was the only way I could breath. I walked down the hallway a few times this day but it didn't seem to help anything

Day 2; gas pains still hurt really bad. Pain level was a 10. I was told to start trying to put water in my mouth and ice chips. Everything I swallowed anything, it came right back up. Every time I received morphine via IV, I instantly vomited. So, I ended up staying a second night in the hospital

Day 3: I was able to burp some today. Some of the gas pain went away. I woke up about 7am and told myself "I am going to drink 4oz per hour, or 1oz every 15 minutes". I did ok with water. But I vomited when I had chicken broth or Gatorade. Water is the only thing I can keep down. I was sent home on day 3. My biggest issue today is this feeling in my chest that hurts bad. It's a really tight feeling. Nausea mess and pain meds and gas-x meds don't help it.

So now I am at home. I'm coming up on day 4 post op. I am taking Vicodin for pain and I feel like I am not getting enough water- mainly because of this pain in my chest.

I don't know when to stop drinking water. When is too much water enough. Should I only "sip" half an ounce, or .25 of an ounce at a time?

My muscles in my legs are starting to cramp up- I'm really scared.

Work on 2 oz (a shot glass) of water every 15 minutes.The last thing you want is to go back into the hospital for dehydration.

And are you walking as horrible as it sounds you need to get up every waking hour and walk about at least 10 minutes.. The first week is hell, it is a time of regret for a lot of people. But I promise you it will get better

Edited January 2, 201412 yr by laura-ven

Yes I'm having no problem walking. Most of my gas pains have went away and I do walk just about every hour. I hope it gets better. Looking back at day 1 I know I have gotten better- it's just not how I imagined it. I have so many friends that say they had no issues post-op so I'm beginning to have this feeling like I'm the only one with these issues because everyone else I know has had a better outcome thus far.

I will try to drink a shot glass full of water every 15 minutes, but like I said that feeling in my chest makes me think that I don't need to take in anything more. It hurts bad. Is there any over the counter medication or anything that I could take to help this go away?

My chest hurt pretty bad to from being intubated during surgery. The first week or so I felt everything painfully going down.

Yes some have very easy recoveries but many (me included) had a very rough time of it!

You just had VERY major surgery. I always tell people don't let the 5 cute little scars fool you.

Be kind to yourself ask for help when you need it and know it will get better.

Thanks for your advice!!

Tam, we've been all where you are. Follow Laura's wisdom. Dat crazy lady knows her stuff!!!

AND, we are ALL with you!

Best wishes Tam! It will be worth it. I am sure you will get better each day, but always remember, call the Doctor when in doubt. Every one has a different experience with these surgeries. Hang in there. sleep, rest, walk, drink. Baby yourself!

It won't improve instantly...But you will see marked improvement in how you are feeling very soon....It is difficult in the first few days and weeks after surgery....Keep the Water going sip, sip, sip....

Really take this time to take it easy and look after yourself. Be kind to yourself and rest! And when I mean rest I mean don't be cleaning the house and doing laundry..K

You are not alone. My first few days post op were very similar. I had pretty bad problems with the anesthesia ( could NOT wake up after surgery) and when I finally did my first clear memory was of throwing up everywhere. I too had nausea, mostly after pain meds. So each time I got the pain med I had a Phenergan chaser! LOL I was in two nights myself, but that was their standard. I was only able ice chips (no water) for the first two days. The day I was released I was given a cup of apple juice, but only managed a couple sips of it. I was up walking and going potty pretty well on my own, and I really didn't have a lot of gas issues. When I got home I was wiped out for about a day. Then I started getting my strength back little by little. I was feeling better from the surgery when I returned to work 9 days after. But, I was exhausted for several more days. About two and a half to three weeks out I finally started to feel a lot like my old "normal" self. I think I did not give enough thought to this being MAJOR surgery and what it could do to my body. I too had read about how easy it was for others and fluffed it off. But everyone is vastly different. My very best friend had his sleeve done 12/17 and he had pretty much NO issues at all, released next day and none of the problems I did. It just is what it is. But I can honestly tell you it will get better!

Did you have an open procedure or laparoscopical one?

My procedure was laparoscopic with 7 incisions

Mine as well. A friend of mine had the laparoscopic wich turned into an open procedure because he started bleeding on the table

And after the surgery was done, a few years later, she gain weight again! Shes definitely not going back to surgery.

Did you maybe searched for some other plans/programs for the obesity problem?