Howdy y'all, I discovered this forum when I would Google questions I was feeling and this seemed like a great supportive community to participate in while I go on my adventure. I'm currently 2 days post-surgery (had my bariatric sleeve done on the 11th) and was wondering if you guys had any advice for a newbie like me? Something you had wished you had known before.

My current set up is I have a timer for an hour to ensure I hydrate and at the second hour I go for a short walk in my apartment hallways to avoid blood clots, shake down any gas still in me, etc. Currently, think I'm out of the weeds with the gas pains (though my shoulders still feel a little crunchy when I massage it, if that makes sense lol) and now just suffering from the abdominal pain from the main incision but I have my pain reliever for that when needed. But I am struggling to walk as I'm just shuffling my feet and hurts to reach for stuff, anyone know a good timeline to expect this to be lessen?

I appreciate any helpful advice and guidance y'all might bestow upon me.

It'll take a few days but you will be able to move. You're doing everything you should be doing, but just be gentle with yourself. You just had major surgery and if something hurts or makes you feel unsafe or nervous you should listen to your body.

I was sleeved in Mexico in 2009, and two years later I lost my gall bladder because all I did was focus on protein and nothing else. I wish I had known that we CAN overdo protein. I wish I'd known that too much protein will kill your gall bladder, your kidneys, and your liver. I wish I'd exercised from the get-go instead of waiting 3 years to finally start getting on that elliptical. It would have given me more muscle tone and less hanging skin. I wish I'd stuck to my exercise instead of letting myself get overwhelmed with all the tragedies I experienced from 2014-2020. I wish I'd gotten therapy instead of looking to Xanax, Ambien, and alcohol to distract me. I'm 23 days out of a revision from a sleeve to a bypass due to weight gain. This journey is going to be much harder than my sleeve. Treasure your sleeve, work with it, respect it.

*Edit: You're goal right now should be to hydrate and keep walking. Even just the shuffling around the house is good. It helps prevent blood clots and helps flush out the anesthesia and water retention from the IV fluids. Shuffle around the house 3 or 4 times a day. Count 500 or 600 steps each time. It gets easier. Don't be bending over to grab stuff from the floor. Ask someone to help or get a $10 extended arm grabber thingy. That helped me a lot when I would drop my sock or my vitamin on the floor. ?

Edited July 13, 20233 yr by CarmenG

Hello and welcome in. As the above have voiced, be kind to yourself, do not rush into exercise. If you struggle with meds and vitamins, food and liquids - just do your best. You will get there. Around two weeks is when the pains subside. Hugging a pillow to your tummy when rising does help. Good healing

I’m 13 months out from sleeve. The first six weeks are the toughest part, learning to drink often, learning or relearning how to eat and what you can tolerate. You will lose then stop losing and think you’re doing it wrong. You’ll feel regret and frustration and pain and exhaustion. The diet progression sucks. It’s just tough. So, be kind to yourself, try to hit your water and protein goals and move as often as you comfortably can. Even if it’s a sad little shuffle around the room. Everyday it will get better and around six weeks the steady weight loss begins. Understand the changes in your hormones will make you feel emotional and anxious. But the good stuff is right around the corner. You made it this far, just keep moving forward and pay strict attention to measuring your food until you can feel your restriction. The signals from your new tummy won’t be noticeable right away and it’s very important you don’t eat too much or the wrong kind of stuff. Later, you’ll be able to enjoy all kinds of stuff but now is the time to pay attention to the guidelines. And as soon as you’re cleared, start an exercise routine even if it’s just walking at first. It makes a huge difference in how you feel and how quickly you lose. Good luck!