Hi I'm Crystal. I'm new on here. I had my sleeve surgery done 11/15/19. But I feel so alone in my experience. The first night in the hospital was traumatizing, I experienced pain like no other. The pain I had was almost like my entire stomach contracted and it was horrific to feel!!! So I was kept there for the whole weekend. I've been home now and I've been okay. Turning at night and finding a "comfortable"position is nearly possible. Has anyone else had a hellish recovery process ?!?! Or is mine abnormal?! And the whole "days 3 to the 6th day are the worst", is no joke! Ahhh please tell me I'm not the only one in this painfulness

pain is kind of all across the board. Although most of us experience very little pain, some unfortunate souls experience a lot. It should get better every day, though...

Thanks! I hope so. I guess I was one of the lucky ones that's got the extreme pain portion of this lol

Hi and welcome!! I'm sorry it's been a painful experience. I had no issues at all. Recovering from my gall bladder surgery hurt worse. As Catwoman7 says it should get better each day.

5'4"
Starting weight 297
VSG on 7/31/19
Surgery wt: 266
CW 218
GW 135

1 hour ago, Rolltide87 said:

Hi I'm Crystal. I'm new on here. I had my sleeve surgery done 11/15/19. But I feel so alone in my experience. The first night in the hospital was traumatizing, I experienced pain like no other. The pain I had was almost like my entire stomach contracted and it was horrific to feel!!! So I was kept there for the whole weekend. I've been home now and I've been okay. Turning at night and finding a "comfortable"position is nearly possible. Has anyone else had a hellish recovery process ?!?! Or is mine abnormal?! And the whole "days 3 to the 6th day are the worst", is no joke! Ahhh please tell me I'm not the only one in this painfulness

WELCOME, CRYSTAL!!

I was one of the lucky ones with very little pain. I had my surgery on 7/22/2019. I spent 1 night in the hospital. I had some discomfort, but no real pain. I took a pain pill the 1st night home. After that, Tylenol for a couple of nights, then nothing.

You are not alone! There are lots of us here who can give you a ton of support, suggestions & answers to any questions. Don't be afraid to ask! One of my favorite teachers used to say, "The only stupid question is the unasked one!"

Thank you ! It's been a rough week. Still sore.The first 2 nights in the hospital were horrible, but the nurses and techs not once tried to help me in and out of bed and were actually very unkind, so that could've been a contributing factor of why I was in more pain than others. I'm hanging in there though. I have mixed emotions about it all, but heard that's normal .

2 minutes ago, NancyLF said:

WELCOME, CRYSTAL!!

I was one of the lucky ones with very little pain. I had my surgery on 7/22/2019. I spent 1 night in the hospital. I had some discomfort, but no real pain. I took a pain pill the 1st night home. After that, Tylenol for a couple of nights, then nothing.

You are not alone! There are lots of us here who can give you a ton of support, suggestions & answers to any questions. Don't be afraid to ask! One of my favorite teachers used to say, "The only stupid question is the unasked one!"

Congrats btw! I really appreciate the amount of support I'm getting already ! Ive definitely felt alone because even the drs would look at me and say "idk why you're experiencing that pain or what it is. But hey here's some more meds(which didn't even touch the pain?)" but I'm happy to see I have a ton of support from many different people who have had this done!

Hello Crystal!

i am almost 6 weeks post op from the sleeve. It does get much better and easier. I remember sitting the hospital thinking what the F$&k did I do to myself! No real pain for but extreme nausea from the anesthesia. Everyone is different but it does get easier for everyone. Focus on each day at a time. Try not to overwhelm yourself and make sure you keep moving. It will really help in your healing

My pain was bad... I'm still not sleeping well from the pain I get. I slept 6.5 hours last night and it was a blessing - first time sleeping on my stomach (with doctor permission) since the surgery. So nice, so comfortable. But it's all getting better! My surgery was only one day before yours. Right now, awake I have the most frustration with the water/protien shake diet. I want food....

Reading this forum, I realize how wonderful it is to have so many people with so much expierence in what we're going through. I believe things will get better, so try to stay optimistic. This will all be worth it next year (that's what I keep telling myself).

Hi I'm Crystal. I'm new on here. I had my sleeve surgery done 11/15/19. But I feel so alone in my experience. The first night in the hospital was traumatizing, I experienced pain like no other. The pain I had was almost like my entire stomach contracted and it was horrific to feel!!! So I was kept there for the whole weekend. I've been home now and I've been okay. Turning at night and finding a "comfortable"position is nearly possible. Has anyone else had a hellish recovery process ?!?! Or is mine abnormal?! And the whole "days 3 to the 6th day are the worst", is no joke! Ahhh please tell me I'm not the only one in this painfulness

Hi Crystal,

I'm so sorry you're still feeling pain. I know about those stomach cramps....like someone grabbing your stomach and squeezing.

I was sleeved on 11/20 and I still do have a bit of pain. I've learned to drink lukewarm to warm liquids....I noticed when I drank cold liquids I would nearly double over in pain.

Also, wearing a binder or girdle might help support the tummy area. I wore mine when I got home and it helped a lot, especially when I coughed. Maybe you could even try a warmish heating pad against the area.

I hope this helps a little.

23 hours ago, Rolltide87 said:

Hi I'm Crystal. I'm new on here. I had my sleeve surgery done 11/15/19. But I feel so alone in my experience. The first night in the hospital was traumatizing, I experienced pain like no other. The pain I had was almost like my entire stomach contracted and it was horrific to feel!!! So I was kept there for the whole weekend. I've been home now and I've been okay. Turning at night and finding a "comfortable"position is nearly possible. Has anyone else had a hellish recovery process ?!?! Or is mine abnormal?! And the whole "days 3 to the 6th day are the worst", is no joke! Ahhh please tell me I'm not the only one in this painfulness

hey Crystal sorry to hear you having it so bad. do you have any support around … I found that the best thing I did from these forums was to use my little pillow. OMG it helped me from the very beginning the very first night I took that pillow and put on the bed under the biggest incision over there on the side and layed right on it . I was able to sleep pain free I was so surprised how laying on it with the pillow was the best for a side sleeper. are you a side sleeper ? if so try it....

56 minutes ago, november11 said:

hey Crystal sorry to hear you having it so bad. do you have any support around … I found that the best thing I did from these forums was to use my little pillow. OMG it helped me from the very beginning the very first night I took that pillow and put on the bed under the biggest incision over there on the side and layed right on it . I was able to sleep pain free I was so surprised how laying on it with the pillow was the best for a side sleeper. are you a side sleeper ? if so try it....

Hey, I've had 2 pillows and it has helped a lot. My pain is easing up now with just feeling sore like bruised and the pillows are amazing! Thank you!

20 hours ago, GothGal said:

Hi Crystal,

I'm so sorry you're still feeling pain. I know about those stomach cramps....like someone grabbing your stomach and squeezing.

I was sleeved on 11/20 and I still do have a bit of pain. I've learned to drink lukewarm to warm liquids....I noticed when I drank cold liquids I would nearly double over in pain.

Also, wearing a binder or girdle might help support the tummy area. I wore mine when I got home and it helped a lot, especially when I coughed. Maybe you could even try a warmish heating pad against the area.

I hope this helps a little.

Yes ! Ahhh it was like having contractions ! I felt so alone, seriously. I watched so many vlogs on YouTube of those who've had it done and theirs were easy peezy and I was like ??. I'm still really tender ! And one spot I noticed now is numb? next to my main incision. Normal ? I'm so happy I have so many others to talk too about this procedure ?

Hi Crystal, I had my surgery on the 12th so we are going through this together. I’m still a little bit tender too, especially around the incision where the stomach came out.

On 11/25/2019 at 9:11 PM, Chris NH said:

Hi Crystal, I had my surgery on the 12th so we are going through this together. I’m still a little bit tender too, especially around the incision where the stomach came out.

Yea it's been pretty rough. Glad to know someone else had it close to mine! It's been a rough recovery to say the least. How's your recovery going ?? At this point i just feel bruised. How's your diet going ? Or what foods are you able to have now ?,

@Rolltide87I think I was pretty lucky with the recovery. I was up and walking right away and didn’t have too many issues with gas. The only pain I still have is soreness from bending too much. I’ve been active since I’ve been home (spent two nights in the hospital). What I’m struggling with is the transition to purées. I had no problem with liquids but I think I’m eating too fast and thus have dumped the three days that I’ve had purées. Not fun. I’m also not really loosing any weight.... I’m only down six pounds since the surgery. I know it will come but I thought I would have seen a few more pounds initially. Makes me wonder if I’ve hit the ‘three week stall’ that I’ve read about a wee bit early.

Edited November 28, 20196 yr by Chris NH