I've been thinking about what life will be like for the first couple of months after the surgery.

1. How long until you can dine out with other people and appear to be eating "normally" (at least in a way that will not invite questions)?

2. Do you have any tricks for making it less obvious that you may only be eating a few bites for an entire meal?

3. What was the healing like for your abdominal incisions?

4. How long until the scars did not appear fresh and new?

Thanks all!

Good questions. I'm curious to see replies. I'm only three weeks out.

Hello, I am getting close to 3 years out, but I remember the early days well.

1 & 2) Immediately - I went out to dinner with my wife the evening after my surgery as we were in Vegas for the procedure. A girl's gotta eat. It was the steakhouse up above Binions. Ordered French Onion Soup, no crouton, no cheese. Just enjoyed the broth. The first week back we went out and again I ordered soup and asked them to puree it. I always told the waiter I just ate something and wasn't that hungry. Then, when eating with coworkers or friends, I would tell folks that I was having an early or a late meal with the wife for a special occasion and I didn't want to ruin my appetite. It never was a problem and was never really asked. I think we create more drama in our heads than actually exists. If you don't make it a big deal, then it won't be.

3 & 4) I had 5 entry points. They had the tape with glue on them. No bathing until the strips fall off and no red scabs on the scars. About 3 weeks. Showering was fine, just had to be careful not to get too wet and avoid rubbing them when drying. I used a cheap Walgreen's scar balm daily for a few months after. About a year later, you couldn't tell I even had them unless you knew where they were at.

Ok it's takes a few months. I would just stick with salad and chicken. Just tell people your watching your carbs. I would always just say I'm full or my stomach hurts and no one asks after that. Good luck to you . I know you will do great.

Totally agree with PdxMan on the "faking it" in a restaurant after being sleeved. Friends only caught me once, but I wanted to tell them the truth anyway. You won't get caught unless you want to get caught. Here's the thing about eating out: it's all about the company, and the food is truly secondary. I NEVER suspected this truth prior to surgery! Now I look forward to eating out just as much as I used to, but I definitely am more interested in the atmosphere, service and company than before. My husband and I often share large meals anyway, and we love to try appetizers as well, so I think it's almost impossible to tell that I've only had a few bites of my food. Plus, you always get to take home the excess food in a box, and I often enjoy meals 2 or 3 times after eating out.

My surgery was in November and the scars are fading very nicely. The only one that took a full month to heal was the main incision where they remove the remnant stomach. It's only an inch wide, but I was definitely aware of sensitivity and mild discomfort at that site for weeks afterwards. Coughing was very rough for the first week - I tried my best to avoid it, even tho I developed a mild sinus infection after being in the hospital. Very common for me, tho!

I'm 5 months out and people notice how little I eat - I usually say, "I ate a late lunch" or "My eyes were bigger than my stomach."

My incisions healed very quickly - I was lucky enough to get 3 micro incisions...they were about the size of a pencil eraser. I only had glue, no strips. I was able to bath 2 days after surgery. It took a long time for the glue to finally come off - about 4 weeks on the largest incision. Now you can't see 2 of my incisions. The largest one just looks like someone took a red Sharpie and drew a line on my stomach.

I am Over 2 years out and it sometimes comes up especially when i was dating. I often order an appetizer instead of a meal and I have gotten a few "remarks" about it. I generally say the truth which is "I eat low carb and small portions to maintain a fit weight". That always leads the other person to compliment me on how good I look and/or for him to mention that he wants to lose 10# kinda thing. Totally shifts the topic away from food onto fitness. I did date a foodie type person for a short while and he was really bothered that I didn't eat full meals. That was easy to solve. ..I stopped going out with him.