The little things no one has mentioned

[£€@h 36]

We’ve all heard that you need to be up and moving after surgery, tastes will be different, and so many other tidbits. But I have a few that no one has touched on.
sleeping~ no tummy sleeping for awhile. I have been posted up in a recliner and when I sleep my mouth goes wide open and I get the nasty mouth funk.
Brushing teeth~ I went to town trying to get the funk out but it made me gag which was uncomfortable. Be warned.
Taking pills~ it’s not like before. One at a time with just enough Water to get it where it needs to go. I have taken too much water and not enough, there is a learning curve.
Do you have some tidbits to pass along no matter what stage you are in?

[BabySpoons 632]

I was worried I would have to sip liquids the rest of my life but finding out at 8 weeks I can guzzle Water with the best of them . xD

[SleeverSk 635]

Don't be to eager to "push the boundaries " stay away from no go foods and drinks as long as you can.

I couldn't wait to see when I could eat/drink my old favourites which lead me on a slippery slope. I didn't reach my goal and now the kilos are creeping back on.

[mcipanda 121]

I was able to sleep on my side. Doc said do what feels right for me. I had a pillow under my side belly but it was so nice to just lay vs sit.

Other tidbits: 1) your digestion is gonna change. Constipation or diarrhea, bad smelling gas, etc. be prepared and ready to address the biome that is your gut, 2) “hunger” feelings might actually be gas. You just have to feel it out. 3) some people know when they’ve eaten enough, others find out the hard way (vomiting, foamies). I get the hiccups. It’s so strange, 4) you may be SO wiped out with such a low calorie diet. I felt drained for the first 8 weeks, which is not unusual, and 5) the mental/emotional struggle is REAL. Get a therapist if you don’t have one! 😂

[£€@h 36]

3 hours ago, BabySpoons said:

I was worried I would have to sip liquids the rest of my life but finding out at 8 weeks I can guzzle Water with the best of them . xD

I look forward to the moment I can drink some Water and actually feel satisfied with my drink. This one swallow and done thing is obnoxious. Like I just want to hydrate

[£€@h 36]

23 minutes ago, mcipanda said:

I was able to sleep on my side. Doc said do what feels right for me. I had a pillow under my side belly but it was so nice to just lay vs sit.

Other tidbits: 1) your digestion is gonna change. Constipation or diarrhea, bad smelling gas, etc. be prepared and ready to address the biome that is your gut, 2) “hunger” feelings might actually be gas. You just have to feel it out. 3) some people know when they’ve eaten enough, others find out the hard way (vomiting, foamies). I get the hiccups. It’s so strange, 4) you may be SO wiped out with such a low calorie diet. I felt drained for the first 8 weeks, which is not unusual, and 5) the mental/emotional struggle is REAL. Get a therapist if you don’t have one! 😂

Good idea on giving my belly its own pillow! I also am an advocate of therapy. Therapy needs to be normalized. I have a personal therapist, a marriage therapist, and a friend and I also share each others therapists information!😂

[£€@h 36]

2 hours ago, SleeverSk said:

Don't be to eager to "push the boundaries " stay away from no go foods and drinks as long as you can.

I couldn't wait to see when I could eat/drink my old favourites which lead me on a slippery slope. I didn't reach my goal and now the kilos are creeping back on.

Good advice on not pushing the boundaries. I’m just a few days out and think, I could eat some cottage cheese. I’ll wait tho.

[catwoman7 11,284]

9 hours ago, £€@h said:

Brushing teeth~ I went to town trying to get the funk out but it made me gag which was uncomfortable. Be warned.

I used to gag while brushing my teeth even years before surgery - esp since I have all four of my wisdom teeth so I have to get the brush back there pretty far. My life changed when I got my first SoniCare with those small brushes. I don't think I've gagged since then.

[Lisa XO 117]

I was able to sleep on my side the second night (didn't start that way but woke up in that position with no discomfort). Then a couple of days later, I woke up on my belly, again with no discomfort. So, I was able to sleep pretty much normally after the first week. 🤷‍♀️

[Arabesque 7,612]

I also was another slept on my side from day 2 person. Couldn’t on the first night because I had the pulsing compression machine on my legs. It’s another one of those many, many individual thing. I didn’t really have any issue getting in & out of bed either. Just went a little slowly & carefully - no bounding out filled with joy for a brand new day 😉.

Dry mouth. It is an age thing too but waking up with a mouth drier than the Sahara because you don’t have a fatty neck any more to keep your mouth closed during the night.

100% take things slowly. Listen to your body too. There are no prizes for getting through things more quickly. There is no right or wrong around the timeline for healing, how you recover, your energy levels, what you can or can’t eat, …. (Or for losing your weight either.)

[Tomo 1,196]

Yeah, everybody is different. I was able to sleep in any position after both the vsg and rny revision. Although I have seen many posts talking about sleeping in a recliner.

Not sure about the dry mouth problem... I experienced that before surgery but I have asthma and sleep with my mouth open often. I remember whenever I went on any strict diet, especially if there was fasting involved. I would get funky breath due to not eating but because I had to drink Water all the time after WLS, and I eat every 2 hours, I didn't have the dry mouth problem either.

[Arabesque 7,612]

Oh I forgot to say the funky mouth/breath is likely a sign ketosis has begun. It can be awful. Ketosis can cause lots of unpleasant body odours.

And I found the shakes left me with a grainy coating on my teeth & tongue. Would brush seemingly fit ages trying to get rid of it.

Edited June 7, 2023 by Arabesque