Just getting started and need some information

[MariaW 14]

Hello, I am just starting my journey with the gastric sleeve surgery..(I think) might be bypass who knows. I have been to the nutritionist and councilor and see the dr next week. My fears are now coming real. I am wondering how painful this surgery is. How bad is it right after surgery, when they make you get up right after surgery? What complications can I expect if any? How do you SIP Water? I feel like I gulp and what does gulping do? How do you tell your boss about needing time off for surgery without having to tell them the details. and how to keep it personal. I think it would be hard because I can't lose weight and if this works and I suddenly start losing weight they will all know. I don't want them to judge me and belittle me for this choice I am making...

If someone can share with me their journey from the beginning...(I'm sure if I look around I can find something on here but I just joined and need answers). I am having nightmares about the surgery and fear major pain and I wonder if I can survive the pain. I am 51 years old, am I too old?

How does life change after surgery....

Sorry for so many questions, but I am nervous and excited at the same time :-)

Sincerely

Maria

[snowbirdbaja 9]

I am 62 and am happy with having had surgery so to the "too old" question I say NO WAY. You are still young and deserve a healthier life. You will learn to sip sip and sip some more. You will not be abel to gulp without consequences so you will learn LOL. I did not experience a lot of pain at all, soreness and yes I walked immediately as I was taken to my room after a few hours in recovery. I know being older I had a higher chance of complication so I decided beforehand to do everything and anything the dr ordered and i did. I worked for me. I am one month and change out of surgery and feel better than I had in a long time. Physically and emotionally, I feel I took one of the most important steps in my life and have not regretted it a single minute.

Do not concern yourself with what others think! Say what feels comfortable to you right now. I am having a hernia repaired, I need to have a "woman's surgery" if he is a male boss that will keep him from asking more, I am having a minor stomach procedure, etc anything really. Keep this about you and your health and focus on yourself. Everything else is secondary.

[Cupcake 801]

I agree with the above statement first it is no one business, you can begin making changes now as far as what others think the hell to what they think this is about you and being healthy because none of them are going to take care of you or your needs. I did not tell anyone at my job because it was none of their business but I did began making changes with my food choices and drinking more Water and exercising. I feel great my only regret is now doing it sooner. I wear dresses now and swim suits and I am almost 4 months post opt, I am off all of my medications and I am a gym freak now. My atitude has changed for the better because i feel better about myself as well as look better and I get tons of compliments. Congrats on your choice on being healthy and as far as walking after surgery you are going to want to walk, pain was manageabe and after 4 days I could have went back to work. Congrats on your choice in being healthy.

[amazon 579]

Hi

First of all, you're not too old! I'm 51 and am 4 weeks post op. Folks in their 50's and 60's are on this board and are successful

I don't know if you've had prior surgeries, but I have had more than my share. This is pretty easy. You'll have a few days in the beginning that are the most uncomfortable. But after that every day really gets better quickly. Nothing to be afraid of. The initial pain from right after surgery really seems to vary by person. But you're in the hospital and don't be afraid to ask for a painkiller if you need it.

As far as work goes, you don't need to tell anyone, even your boss, what the reason is. It's just "medical" leave. It's a personal choice as to whether you tell people at work. The only time anything is noted about the surgery is on the FMLA form. That goes to HR and they would be violating HIPAA if they told anyone. My HR person doesn't even look, just puts it in the file.

What helped me the most in this journey was the preparation before hand. Not every surgeon has the same program, so if you haven't chosen one, I would suggest finding one with the support you'll need. Not one that wants to do the surgery in two weeks and that's it. I had 4 months of learning to eat properly prior to my surgery, involving support groups, Nut appts, and so on. This made the post op transition much easier. In addition to nutrition, it enforced eating slowly and drinking/sipping Water all day.

As far as complications go, there is a forum for that. It's good to read what some unfortuante folks have been through. But also keep in mind that the odds are very low of having a problem. But you have to understand what can happen and make an educated choice to proceed.

Spend some time checking out the different areas of the site. Do lots of reading. Ask questions (great support here). Find a very good surgeon/Bariatric center if you move forward.

Undertand that they operate on your stomach, not your head. So be prepared to deal with your relationship with food - it IS going to have to change to be successful.

In the end, do what's right for YOU.

[McButterpants 2,846]

I had some pain, but not as much as I did with my c-section. I didn't need pain medication except for immediately after surgery, I took 2 pain pills because I wanted to sleep, not necessarily for the pain. I was up and walking the day of surgery - as soon as I was out of recovery, I started wandering the halls, it was more comfortable than sitting or laying down. I had my surgery on an out-patient basis - I was in at 6:00 am and out by noon.

Complications - I had none. You can do some research on the web about complications and the incidence of such. I was worried about leaks, going under anesthesia, etc. You and your family have to weigh the risks. Do some research on your doctor as well - you may find he has lower than normal complications or you may find the opposite. It's important to spend time researching and information gathering.

I did not tell my boss - it was pretty easy, I telecommute full time. I asked for time off and worked the week after surgery 1/2 days. No one knew and no one knows now that I had surgery. I had read that some will say they are going for gall bladder surgery or something like that. I can't shed much light on this for you.

Sipping Water - here's a way to practice. Take a cough medicine dosage cup - the small ones that are on the top of the bottle. Fill it up about 3/4 of the way - that was a sip for me. At 10 month out, I cannot gulp, but I can take bigger sips than that. I have read some people can gulp after surgery, I cannot. I can take 3 drinks of Water at one time, but need to stop there or it hurts. You will find, thru practice, what you can tolerate after surgery.

Spend a lot of time here or reading blogs of people that share (a link to mine is below if you care to read it) - there's a lot of friendly people here that share a lot. People will ask questions that you never imagined, so you'll read those. Information is power - get as much as you can.

Best of luck to you!

[Miss Mac 6,261]

I agree with the others. I am 62 and got my sleeve 8 1/2 months ago, with a textbook recovery. I did not even get the residual "shoulder gas" that you willeventually read about here. The surgeon inflates your abdominal cavity with CO2, to make it easier to see and to manipulate his instruments. Sometimes some of that gas will rise up into the shoulder area with some hang time for a few days. Walking about seems to be the most effective relief.

One of the questions I asked my surgeon pre-op was how he manages post-op pain. He said that he extracts as much of the CO2 as possible, and for other pain I had a morphine pump the first day, then hydrocodone for a couple of days, and then I have not needed anything else after that.

The overall experience of pain was minimal compared to other surgeries I have had - probably the easiest surgery I have had. One of the things that helped was that I have a lift recliner because of some spine surgeries, and was able to sleep in that for a coupe of nights after I got home. If you do not have one of those, you may want to sleep reclined with extra pillows for a couple of nights, just to keep from pulling up with a tender abdomen.

You have certainly come to the right place to hear about other people's experiences with bariatric surgery. Opinions and tact will vary, so just take away what speaks to you. Don't ever be bashful about asking questions. We toss around way too much personal information with complete strangers all the time! Welcome, and I hope to see more posts from you as you progress through the weight loss surgery experience. I wish you good luck and good health.

[Yasman 195]

Hi! Congratulations for making this choice for yourself and good luck to you.

I had very very little pain.... none in the hospital (but they may have been giving me pain meds) and the 2nd or 3rd day home I noticed some pain in my left side... nothing serious but I had been given prescripts (which I filled) for pain meds so it was no sweat.

I know it can sound like it will be hard but walking in the hospital after your surgery will be really easy. Granted, you've just come out of surgery so you're not going to b ewalking the miracle mile, but the inspiration/motivation to walk and the ability to walk will be there for you. Some people report having a nursing team that make walking nearly impossible, but that seems rare. For me, getting some assistance to get out of the booties they have on your legs was the only barrier, and the nursing team was well versed in bariatric patient needs so I had no trouble finding nursing staff willing to walk with me. Other hospitals maybe don't require a nurse to be with you but mine did. Anyway walking was not at all painful, but it was tiring.

I have found that sipping is not for me. I'm a gulpy kinda gal I guess. It doesn't hurt me and I know how many gulps I can get before my tummy is at maximum so it's not been a problem.The thing to remember is that your body is your guide and if you can't gulp, you'll just develop a sipping habit and that's that. Some people can eat the things that others can no longer handle, like beef or soda or what have you. The big thing is portion sizes and trying (I suck at this) to behave with regards to when you drink vs when you eat. They don't want you to drink within 30 minutes, before or after, eating. I just am having to work very hard at behaving with regards tot his. Building the habit... building the habit, building the habit. ugh.!

Best of luck to you!

p.s. Go ahead and look through the various forum names... there's an entire forum dedicated to people posting their personal bariatric surgery journey... that will be a great place to read and get some of the answers that you are looking for.

Edited September 12, 2014 by Yasman

[MariaW 14]

Hi

First of all, you're not too old! I'm 51 and am 4 weeks post op. Folks in their 50's and 60's are on this board and are successful

I don't know if you've had prior surgeries, but I have had more than my share. This is pretty easy. You'll have a few days in the beginning that are the most uncomfortable. But after that every day really gets better quickly. Nothing to be afraid of. The initial pain from right after surgery really seems to vary by person. But you're in the hospital and don't be afraid to ask for a painkiller if you need it.

As far as work goes, you don't need to tell anyone, even your boss, what the reason is. It's just "medical" leave. It's a personal choice as to whether you tell people at work. The only time anything is noted about the surgery is on the FMLA form. That goes to HR and they would be violating HIPAA if they told anyone. My HR person doesn't even look, just puts it in the file.

What helped me the most in this journey was the preparation before hand. Not every surgeon has the same program, so if you haven't chosen one, I would suggest finding one with the support you'll need. Not one that wants to do the surgery in two weeks and that's it. I had 4 months of learning to eat properly prior to my surgery, involving support groups, Nut appts, and so on. This made the post op transition much easier. In addition to nutrition, it enforced eating slowly and drinking/sipping Water all day.

As far as complications go, there is a forum for that. It's good to read what some unfortuante folks have been through. But also keep in mind that the odds are very low of having a problem. But you have to understand what can happen and make an educated choice to proceed.

Spend some time checking out the different areas of the site. Do lots of reading. Ask questions (great support here). Find a very good surgeon/Bariatric center if you move forward.

Undertand that they operate on your stomach, not your head. So be prepared to deal with your relationship with food - it IS going to have to change to be successful.

In the end, do what's right for YOU.

[MariaW 14]

I am 62 and am happy with having had surgery so to the "too old" question I say NO WAY. You are still young and deserve a healthier life. You will learn to sip sip and sip some more. You will not be abel to gulp without consequences so you will learn LOL. I did not experience a lot of pain at all, soreness and yes I walked immediately as I was taken to my room after a few hours in recovery. I know being older I had a higher chance of complication so I decided beforehand to do everything and anything the dr ordered and i did. I worked for me. I am one month and change out of surgery and feel better than I had in a long time. Physically and emotionally, I feel I took one of the most important steps in my life and have not regretted it a single minute.

Do not concern yourself with what others think! Say what feels comfortable to you right now. I am having a hernia repaired, I need to have a "woman's surgery" if he is a male boss that will keep him from asking more, I am having a minor stomach procedure, etc anything really. Keep this about you and your health and focus on yourself. Everything else is secondary.

Hi! Congratulations for making this choice for yourself and good luck to you.

I had very very little pain.... none in the hospital (but they may have been giving me pain meds) and the 2nd or 3rd day home I noticed some pain in my left side... nothing serious but I had been given prescripts (which I filled) for pain meds so it was no sweat.

I know it can sound like it will be hard but walking in the hospital after your surgery will be really easy. Granted, you've just come out of surgery so you're not going to b ewalking the miracle mile, but the inspiration/motivation to walk and the ability to walk will be there for you. Some people report having a nursing team that make walking nearly impossible, but that seems rare. For me, getting some assistance to get out of the booties they have on your legs was the only barrier, and the nursing team was well versed in bariatric patient needs so I had no trouble finding nursing staff willing to walk with me. Other hospitals maybe don't require a nurse to be with you but mine did. Anyway walking was not at all painful, but it was tiring.

I have found that sipping is not for me. I'm a gulpy kinda gal I guess. It doesn't hurt me and I know how many gulps I can get before my tummy is at maximum so it's not been a problem.The thing to remember is that your body is your guide and if you can't gulp, you'll just develop a sipping habit and that's that. Some people can eat the things that others can no longer handle, like beef or soda or what have you. The big thing is portion sizes and trying (I suck at this) to behave with regards to when you drink vs when you eat. They don't want you to drink within 30 minutes, before or after, eating. I just am having to work very hard at behaving with regards tot his. Building the habit... building the habit, building the habit. ugh.!

Best of luck to you!

p.s. Go ahead and look through the various forum names... there's an entire forum dedicated to people posting their personal bariatric surgery journey... that will be a great place to read and get some of the answers that you are looking for.

[bellabill 253]

I am turning 50 in Nov. and I am going through the same thing as you are. I wished I had done this sooner cause I want a healthier lifestyle and to feel better about my self. As you navigate through the site you will find lots answers you are looking for. Welcome aboard !!

[MariaW 14]

I'm so new at this I can not even figure out how to reply to everyone. I wanted to say THANK YOU so much for all your kinds words and you have made me feel so welcome and comfortable. I am so nervous about this surgery but excited at the same time. I need a support group. Someone going threw it or who went threw it, it helps so much to hear other peoples stories. I was leaning toward telling them I am going to have gallbladder surgery but what if I need gallbladder surgery down the road...lol Plus we are all so close at work, I just want to make sure the people in my office keep their mouths closed and don't tell everyone. This is a very personal choice and It was made over a long period of time. I am only one real week into this. I am currently taking a diet pill called Belviq. It curbs your appetite. I am 12.4 pounds down since my Dr gave it to me. I need to lose a total of 12 pounds before they do the surgery. Since that weigh in I have lost 5.4 pounds. My thoughts at times are if I can lose this weight this way, maybe I won't need surgery. but then I think, who am I kidding ,i will go back to eating my 2-3 slices of pizza on friday nights in no time. I guess there is a bit of back and forth with having this surgery or not. I feel in the end the surgery would be the best thing for me, but again I am in fear...

So anyway a little more about me.... I work for a hospital so we have to use our Dr's here. They seem good and I am not in fear about that. The surgery will be fully covered which is awesome. I worry about the excess skin.... how is everyone dealing with that? I can honestly say I feel obsessed about the surgery now, it is all that is on my mind. Excitement and fear overwhelm me.... I guess you can tell in my rambling. :-) thank you all for being here and helping me with my journey. Now if I can only figure out how to get around on this site I will be ok! Wonder if there is an app for this site??????? have a great day everyone...stay positive.

[MariaW 14]

I am turning 50 in Nov. and I am going through the same thing as you are. I wished I had done this sooner cause I want a healthier lifestyle and to feel better about my self. As you navigate through the site you will find lots answers you are looking for. Welcome aboard !!

thank you! where are you at with the surgery? how far out? I think they are talking Mid December for me... So excited to be thinner and healthier. I am working out now and feel so great! so looking forward to being able to wear normal size clothes...

Keep me posted as to your success's Like I said below if I can figure my way around the site I will research, read and participate as much as possible. Support is very important with this surgery. I have not told anyone except for my boyfriend, so its kind of hard to have only him to talk to. my work would judge me and I feel my family will too. I will tell them down the road after the surgery.

[MariaW 14]

Hi

First of all, you're not too old! I'm 51 and am 4 weeks post op. Folks in their 50's and 60's are on this board and are successful

I don't know if you've had prior surgeries, but I have had more than my share. This is pretty easy. You'll have a few days in the beginning that are the most uncomfortable. But after that every day really gets better quickly. Nothing to be afraid of. The initial pain from right after surgery really seems to vary by person. But you're in the hospital and don't be afraid to ask for a painkiller if you need it.

As far as work goes, you don't need to tell anyone, even your boss, what the reason is. It's just "medical" leave. It's a personal choice as to whether you tell people at work. The only time anything is noted about the surgery is on the FMLA form. That goes to HR and they would be violating HIPAA if they told anyone. My HR person doesn't even look, just puts it in the file.

What helped me the most in this journey was the preparation before hand. Not every surgeon has the same program, so if you haven't chosen one, I would suggest finding one with the support you'll need. Not one that wants to do the surgery in two weeks and that's it. I had 4 months of learning to eat properly prior to my surgery, involving support groups, Nut appts, and so on. This made the post op transition much easier. In addition to nutrition, it enforced eating slowly and drinking/sipping Water all day.

As far as complications go, there is a forum for that. It's good to read what some unfortuante folks have been through. But also keep in mind that the odds are very low of having a problem. But you have to understand what can happen and make an educated choice to proceed.

Spend some time checking out the different areas of the site. Do lots of reading. Ask questions (great support here). Find a very good surgeon/Bariatric center if you move forward.

Undertand that they operate on your stomach, not your head. So be prepared to deal with your relationship with food - it IS going to have to change to be successful.

In the end, do what's right for YOU.

where do you make these weight loss charts at :-)

[amazon 579]

where do you make these weight loss charts at :-)

Hi, are you referring to the ticker(s) at the bottom of my post? If so, they are found under your account settings: To the right of your name is a little "gear" symbol. Click on that and more options will appear. Select "my tickers". Once there, select "create new ticker". From there it walks you through the steps

[MariaW 14]

Thank you I think I figured it out