Which recovery was worse?

[TexasMommy80 297]

I am having my gallbladder out on Friday and hoping for the sleeve in May. Depending on the recovery, I may consider pushing the sleeve out to June, for work purposes. For those of you that had gallbladder removal and the gastric sleeve, which recovery was worse? I say this because I am using the gallbladder surgery to gauge when I want to do that sleeve.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

[Creekimp13 5,838]

Gallbladder for me was cake. Went in at 7am and was home on the couch eating a Subway sandwich at 1pm. Dead serious. It was an extremely easy recovery for me. Took a couple days off work, and didn't lift much for a couple weeks....but other than that, it was very very easy.

Sleeve is trickier, because you're wiped out for lack of calories, but you still have a lot you need to do every hour to meet your goals. Sip, sip, sip, Blow in the tube to keep lungs clear. Walk, walk, walk. it's a lot to get done every hour. A lot of folks have problems swallowing, nausea, etc.

For me, sleeve was a very easy recovery....but it does take some effort to stay on top of Fluid and Protein goals and transitioning to each dietary stage. And I certainly felt the lack of calories. Very tiring. But it moves fast and eventually you're eating again and feel great.

Best wishes on both procedures. Easy peasey....you'll do great.

[TexasMommy80 297]

Gallbladder for me was cake. Went in at 7am and was home on the couch eating a Subway sandwich at 1pm. Dead serious. It was an extremely easy recovery for me. Took a couple days off work, and didn't lift much for a couple weeks....but other than that, it was very very easy.
Sleeve is trickier, because you're wiped out for lack of calories, but you still have a lot you need to do every hour to meet your goals. Sip, sip, sip, Blow in the tube to keep lungs clear. Walk, walk, walk. it's a lot to get done every hour. A lot of folks have problems swallowing, nausea, etc.
For me, sleeve was a very easy recovery....but it does take some effort to stay on top of Fluid and Protein goals and transitioning to each dietary stage. And I certainly felt the lack of calories. Very tiring. But it moves fast and eventually you're eating again and feel great.
Best wishes on both procedures. Easy peasey....you'll do great.

Thank you!! [emoji3]

[KarenOR 180]

Gallbladder was way easier.

[EagerPenguin 159]

I had a lot more lasting incisional pain with my gallbladder. With my sleeve, by midnight on my surgery date (12/7), I was off my narcotics, and didn't take anything but Tylenol a couple of times once I got home. The diet is where the sleeve will get you though. With a gallbladder removal at least you get normal food, even if you're in pain. With my gallbladder, I was in school, and went back to class right away. With my sleeve, I took 2.5 weeks off work and needed every day of it to gain back my strength. As it is, I'm back for two days, then off for a week, then back for three, kind of slowly introducing myself back to my physically demanding job (I'm an ICU RN). Your personal recovery is all going to depend on your tolerance for pain, if you have much at all, and how well your body functions on your prescribed post surgical diet. Good luck on your surgeries! Merry Christmas!

[BigAussieGirl 162]

I can only speak about the sleeve, , my recovery was very easy. The only medication I took was Pandadol for about 12 hours, I was ready to go back to work after 3 days. (I have a desk job).

Good luck with your surgeries.

[TexasMommy80 297]

Thank you! I actually work at home and can take breaks as needed, but there are three weeks in April and May that I would have to go into work to administer standardized tests to students. I worry that pacing in a room for a few hours at at a time would be hard on me, only a week after my sleeve. If it wasn’t for the testing, I would definitely have the sleeve done in April. (I am a virtual teacher).

[Creekimp13 5,838]

I could have easily handled administering a test at a week out....but you really don't know, because everyone's body is so different. I had no nausea, very little pain, pretty good energy, and no issues with getting my fluids/protein drinks in. Some people really struggle and you never know which way it's gonna go for you.

I had no problem walking 3-5 miles per day immediately after surgery. But again....everyone is individual.

When people ask how much time they should take off, I think 2 weeks is minimum for anything that requires important thinking....and 3 weeks is better. It's not that you're so physically miserable, it's just hard to adjust to eating that few calories and functioning. I think waiting until you're adding in yogurt, hot Cereal, pudding, etc....is a really good idea. You feel much more like yourself and can think more clearly.

[TexasMommy80 297]

I could have easily handled administering a test at a week out....but you really don't know, because everyone's body is so different. I had no nausea, very little pain, pretty good energy, and no issues with getting my fluids/protein drinks in. Some people really struggle and you never know which way it's gonna go for you.
I had no problem walking 3-5 miles per day immediately after surgery. But again....everyone is individual.
When people ask how much time they should take off, I think 2 weeks is minimum for anything that requires important thinking....and 3 weeks is better. It's not that you're so physically miserable, it's just hard to adjust to eating that few calories and functioning. I think waiting until you're adding in yogurt, hot Cereal, pudding, etc....is a really good idea. You feel much more like yourself and can think more clearly.

Thank you for this! I actually just looked at the calendar and if everything worked out and insurance didn’t deny me (I have Cigna and it seems they deny everyone at first, lol) then I have a three week window in between testing sessions. It might just work out!

I really don’t want to give my summer up to another surgery. Three years ago I had knee surgery over summer break, two years ago I had a total knee replacement over the break and last summer I worked summer school. I really want to take a summer to focus on myself and the kids. [emoji3]

[EagerPenguin 159]

One thing I've noticed with the sleeve, now that I've been back to work, is that my mind is not what it was before my surgery. I am so scatterbrained and get mentally drained very easily. I'm certain it's the reduced caloric intact, and will get better, but that might be something to take in consideration.

[TexasMommy80 297]

One thing I've noticed with the sleeve, now that I've been back to work, is that my mind is not what it was before my surgery. I am so scatterbrained and get mentally drained very easily. I'm certain it's the reduced caloric intact, and will get better, but that might be something to take in consideration.

How long have you been back to work?

[EagerPenguin 159]

2 hours ago, TexasMommy80 said:

How long have you been back to work?

I've had two 12-hour shifts so far.

[TexasMommy80 297]

I had my gallbladder removed yesterday and was not expecting the pain that I am feeling in the belly button. Saying that though, I’ve been up and around and would be fine to go back to work by Monday (I work from home though and can take breaks as needed). I feel like I delivered a baby from my belly button, LoL!

Next up is my appointment with the bariatric surgeon. I am ready to get this started!

Hope y’all are all doing well and Happy New Year!

[ItsJustMeToo 42]

The recovery was similar for me, though the gallbladder was actually a tiny bit worse. Both were out patient, I was up walking around pretty quickly after surgery. The sleeve was more consuming, since you're learning what you can eat/etc, but as far as physical recovery from the actual procedure, the sleeve was the easier of the two, but they were pretty close to a tie.