Hello all.

I have had my first visit to a gastric sleeve surgeon and he told me something that may change my mind about going through with the surgery.

I am self employed (I work on business computers and networks, etc) and spend a lot of time in the field at different clients offices. Many of those days I am moving from office to office fixing technical issues and often moving a lot of equipment. I keep moving and try and fix my clients computer issues as quickly as possible so that I can hold down there costs and make myself a good value.

The surgeon I visited with told me that I would be weak for about a year. I don't think I can afford to be weak for a year (remember I'm self employed and I have a lot of competition).

Last year, I was diagnosed with early stage cancer in my left kidney and had to have it removed. No chemo, no radiation, the entire thing was encased inside the kidney - I am now cancer free (I get checked every 3 months but the chance of me getting it again is a mere 3%, after my next examination, I will be checked every 6 months, then yearly) and I feel great, no side effects whatsoever.

When I had the kidney surgery, I was in the hospital for 3 days then home on bedrest for another 4 days. Then I went back to work.

Within a month I pretty much felt fine and was servicing my clients once again, although I didn't do any heavy lifting for another month.

So my question is this - how long where you weak after surgery? Months? 3, 6, 9? A year? More?

After a year are you still weaker than before you had the surgery?

Did (does) walking or jogging help you recover faster? Do you have any tips about recovering quickly?

I know that's a lot of questions, but I need to know this before I can commit to having this surgery because I surely can't afford to be unemployed!

Thank you in advance,

Mike

Consult with another surgeon. I was pretty weak for maybe the first month, but then felt better every day. At two months post op, I was walking all over Paris and Barcelona having the time of my life! We all recover at different speeds.

I was back at work after 3 weeks but was a little tired. After about 2.5 months I was full of energy. Your situation may be different due to the kidney stuff. Maybe he is taking that into consideration. If he is not a year seems like a long time. I was at the gym and lifting weights and doing cardio work out and I was fine.

It really depends on each individual, i had my gallbladder removed in 2000, lapband in 2005 revision to sleeve in 2014....having my gallbladder was the worst as far as pain and feeling normal again...i had a fast recovery from revision I felt normal after day 3...i went back to work after 3 weeks because thats what my dr suggested...i REALLY could have went back after a week!

I am three weeks post-op and feel pretty much back to normal. I do get tired around 3pm and do not have a physically demanding job. I believe the days that I am really tired around 3 are the days I have been low on Protein because of a skipped Protein Drink.

I would think that fatigue can be mostly combatted by keeping you protein and hydration levels high. However there is some very real healing taking place the first month or so. I think the body will normally run out of steam a bit in the beginning. Healing is so very unique to each person.

Bear in mind that being overweight makes being active and flexible more challenging. The short term fatigue will probably be worth the long-term improvements you experience after loosing your excess weight.