Hello everyone,

I hope you guys can help me a bit.. I feel so scared. I am having my surgery in a few days. I have a fear of needles and medical things.. I know i really need this surgery, it is my last chance of getting healthy. I am still really scared. I am having very bad Dreams, i feel tired all the time..

I am having gastric sleeve surgery. I am afraid of the surgery (the idea of surgery), needles and i am also afraid that i will be in lots of pain..

Could anyone please tell me how the procedure went, the pain etc.? It is about the sleeve surgery.

Hi Sleever 123 , you don't know much about the surgery .You are given the anaesthetic to knock you out and when you come round , it's all over .They keep you comfortable with pain killers and I don't think I had that much pain .I just kept it nice and simple in my head - I was getting a smaller stomach so I would eat less .I was happy to say goodbye to my old stomach ! you will be able to walk better , feel healthier , your life will change for the better .I don't like hospitals either but you aren't in there long .I think it's natural to be scared .Good luck and come back on and tell us how it went X

I had the full bypass last month. The pain when I woke up wasn't that bad, for me it was a max of 6 on a scale of 10 and as soon as you tell your nurse you're in pain they're very quick to make you more comfortable.

I won't lie, I got an IV. Thats of course to be expected, however it was entirely painless. I literally didn't feel it at all, when it comes time just look the other way and talk to someone or watch tv or look at your phone. Distract yourself and it'll be over in seconds. Even when they put me under, they gave me gas first and I just gently fell asleep. It was all in all not a bad experience, but I understand your anxiety. Its totally normal!

pain is all across the board but most of us seem to have little or none of it. I had hardly any pain and never even opened the bottle of pain killers they sent me home with. If you're one of the ones who has pain - never fear - they'll send you home with pain killers. Just take them on schedule and you should be able to keep on top of it. But again, most of us don't have much pain with these surgeries.

get used to needles - I had follow-ups with blood draws about every three months the first year, I think (I had my surgery almost eight years ago, so my memory is a little fuzzy). After the first year, I only had to come in once a year unless I was having issues (I haven't had any issues), and I have to go for a blood draw before that appt, too. They like to see what your various levels are so they can adjust your vitamins or whatever. I never found the needles very painful - I just look the other way.

35 minutes ago, catwoman7 said:

pain is all across the board but most of us seem to have little or none of it. I had hardly any pain and never even opened the bottle of pain killers they sent me home with. If you're one of the ones who has pain - never fear - they'll send you home with pain killers. Just take them on schedule and you should be able to keep on top of it. But again, most of us don't have much pain with these surgeries.

get used to needles - I had follow-ups with blood draws about every three months the first year, I think (I had my surgery almost eight years ago, so my memory is a little fuzzy). After the first year, I only had to come in once a year unless I was having issues (I haven't had any issues), and I have to go for a blood draw before that appt, too. They like to see what your various levels are so they can adjust your Vitamins or whatever. I never found the needles very painful - I just look the other way.

I am so glad that you told me this.. Thank you so much! Have u lost weight and did u keep it off, was it worth it?

2 hours ago, fed-up said:

Hi Sleever 123 , you don't know much about the surgery .You are given the anaesthetic to knock you out and when you come round , it's all over .They keep you comfortable with pain killers and I don't think I had that much pain .I just kept it nice and simple in my head - I was getting a smaller stomach so I would eat less .I was happy to say goodbye to my old stomach ! you will be able to walk better , feel healthier , your life will change for the better .I don't like hospitals either but you aren't in there long .I think it's natural to be scared .Good luck and come back on and tell us how it went X

Thank you so much!

1 hour ago, RaiderRhode said:

I had the full bypass last month. The pain when I woke up wasn't that bad, for me it was a max of 6 on a scale of 10 and as soon as you tell your nurse you're in pain they're very quick to make you more comfortable.

I won't lie, I got an IV. Thats of course to be expected, however it was entirely painless. I literally didn't feel it at all, when it comes time just look the other way and talk to someone or watch tv or look at your phone. Distract yourself and it'll be over in seconds. Even when they put me under, they gave me gas first and I just gently fell asleep. It was all in all not a bad experience, but I understand your anxiety. Its totally normal!

Thank you so much!

4 hours ago, Sleever123! said:

I am so glad that you told me this.. Thank you so much! Have u lost weight and did u keep it off, was it worth it?

I originally lost 235 lbs and gained back about 20 of it. So 215 lbs (it's very common for us to have a 10-20 lb "rebound" gain after hitting our lowest weight, so I was prepared for that and went a little under my goal to account for that). Was it worth it? OMG yes! Best decision I ever made - I should have done it YEARS ago!!

P.S. I had my surgery almost eight years ago.

Edited March 20, 20233 yr by catwoman7

The IV going in can hurt, not gonna lie, but it's over with quickly. Just breathe deeply and slowly and keep chatting to the nurses and anesthetist, they deliberately chat away to you to help your nerves. Once the IV is in, they'll give you sedation and you'll fly off into a delightful high and you won't care from that point on. Then they'll start the anesthetic, and there will be a total time skip. You won't dream or even have any sense of time passing like you do when you sleep. Instead you will suddenly wake up again as though a mere second has passed. You may have pain while waking up, and if you do, they'll quickly give you strong pain relief like morphine. If they ask you if need more during your stay, always say "yes"!

I know it's scary when you've not had surgery before, but this is a safe procedure now, and you have an entire TEAM of excellent professionals whose job is looking after you and keeping you safe. Let them know you're nervous when you go in! They have drugs that can help.

You'll be fine!

I think it is normal to feel scared and worried. Try to relax and occupy yourself with things that you like and hopefully that will take your mind off the surgery.

I had my surgery (mini gastric bypass) a year ago and thankfully everything went smoothly with no major complications. This was my first surgery so I went in without any prior experience. I watched some videos on YouTube to be prepared tho. They put a cannula in my arm and it was used for the anesthesia and the IVs afterwards. I was on pain killers for the first few days while in the hospital and the pain was generally tolerable. The only discomfort I felt was because of the drains and I felt much better after they were removed on the third day.

Good luck and I hope all goes well with you. Think about your health and how you will look like after the WLS. That always helps

Edited March 20, 20233 yr by omrhsn

When you’ve never experienced something before, it’s natural to be concerned & have some worries. Bariatric surgery is a very safe surgery especially when compared to many other commonly performed operations. And yes your team are experienced professionals. Don’t be afraid to tell them you are nervous or have pain, nausea, or whatever. They are there to help you.

Your pain is easily managed with medication & many find by day 4 +/- they have little or none. Gas pain can persist longer though - up to a week but it’s more discomfort than pain - walk, walk, walk. Yes, the initial placement of the IV can briefly temporarily hurt but it’s more of a sting than pain. My anaesthetist was joking with me & asking what alcohol I’d like him to add to the drip which was a distraction.

I had blood tests every month - alternating one for my GP & one for my surgeon. From my second year I was every three months & at three years I began every 6 months. Again just a little sting at first & looking away does help. I’m so used to them now, I dint even think about it.

Big picture, the surgery is nothing really. Certainly when compared to the potential health issues & treatments & intervention you may need if you continue being obese. For example, the pain from this surgery is nothing compared to knee replacement or heart surgery.

I had sleeve like you’re having & it was the best thing I ever did too.

I think a lot of people that have never been under feel that way before hand. I had had two c-sections prior, this was nothing compared to that...lol

But seriously, it's not as bad as you are probably expecting. I think the worst part was the gas pain right after, but that is usually gone by the next day. after that, you are more sore than in pain. Getting out of bed can feel crappy, but you get past that by weeks end.

Just keep thinking about the result and how worth it its going to be! a week or so of discomfort for a new life. Not so bad.