I had the lap band done back in 2007 and it obviously never worked for me so i had my band taken out back in September of 2014 and after its removal i gained 40lbs which was all my pre-gastric banding weight. now i am 1 week post op from the VGS. I am already down 15 1/2 lbs. Im excited on this new journey of refinding myself. I have been overweight all of my adult life every since my first pregnancy at the age of 17.

Congratulations! Once you get through your first couple of months of recovery, you will get some energy back and feel so much better. Just behave and follow doctor's orders. Hugs from Chicago.

Congrats and welcome to the family!

Can someone please tell me something about the first couple days/weeks post op that isn't a horror story? thanks. Surgery on Thursday...

Well, this is surgery, and they do alter body parts while they're in there, so it's no picnic. But, my recovery has pretty much been textbook for the sleeve. I was nauseous, but I had meds to help with that. I was thirsty, but able to start small sips of Water the evening of surgery. I was not hungery for weeks and had to remind myself when it was time to eat. The pain really was not so bad. I was sore the first couple of days, but after that did not need pain meds at all.

Some people get shoulder gas residual from the CO2 used to expand your abdominal cavity. I did not.

Some people lose a lot of hair about 2-3 months in. I did not.

A lot about recovery is sooooo individual that it is hard to tell you what to expect. But most of the time, barring complications, it's not as bad as we think it's going to be. However, I had the advantage of being retired. If I had to return to work or watch small kidlets, my recovery may have been different.