Hi all,
Just had surgery and I’m 48 hours in.
Had surgery Thursday and came home Friday 2pm
I keep thinking why have I done this to myself so I’m still in abit of shock and I honestly didn’t prepare myself for post recovery (stupid I know) I had all the food stuff down and thought everything will be ok but there is so much too it.
Am I having enough fluids, why does my stomach hurt after I drink is it gas pain? or is it because I didn’t have enough food and it’s empty? Or am I having too much? It’s a constant mental battle.
I just wanted to get some perspective on people who are in the same boat as me right now.
I also want to hear from people getting into foods and how that was.
My biggest fear was not being able to eat the things I love but was told that it’s not going to be like that and it won’t be healthy for me to deprive myself.

Hello and congratulations on your surgery

Nobody is totally prepared for this surgery. After all we learned to eat as a baby. We never gave a thought to the fact that we might need to re learn these skills. Add to this all the rules that we are told we have to adhere to and then we have remorse. It doesn't last long. Soon you will have it all figured out. Give yourself time to heal.

Drink as much as you can, my intake was way off for the first month but as soon as I reached my teams goals, I felt much better. I had pain in the middle of my chest, not my stomach. I was advised on here to drink slower, try hot, cold or frozen drinks and do not gulp in air. If your pain is in the stomach area, if you are allowed try to, vary the temp of your drinks. Cold drinks sometimes cramp up your stomach. I never had gas pain but have read on here that it is usually in the shoulders.

It might take you a while to eat all your fav foods but you will be able to soon, mostly. Over sweet, greasy and stodgy are all foods that are off my menu now. My pre surgery favs were salmon and mussels and I heave just thinking about them ! Why, I do not know. I am not bothered about the loss tbh. There are lots of foods to eat instead. I love that I can eat the tastiest morsels and leave the dross to others.

oh yes - those first few weeks are tough and I remember questioning whether or not I did the right thing. But those will fly by and soon everything will be much easier and you'll be glad you did it.

and yes - you will eventually be able to eat the foods you love (although in smaller quantities). As time went on, I could add more and more foods - and by the sixth-month mark, all food restrictions were dropped.

Yeah, the first two to three weeks will have you questioning everything about the process, but that's only due to the temporary discomfort and the idle time while resting and recovering. We all go through that phase, so you're right on track!

The good thing about the sleeve, like others mentioned, is that you will eventually be able to eat all of the same things again, but now you'll have that governor in place to stop you from going overboard. Early on, just stick to the diet plan, as its more important to prevent stretching the tissue where the staples are and to prevent infections. After the first month or two, then the goal is to keep the carbs and excess calories down, as statistically you'll have the beest luck losing weight those first 6 months before it slows, and levels off around the 12-18 month mark. Its just to get that jump start on the weight loss. Each day gets easier, but it is gradual and expect the occasional "hangry" day while you adapt.

You'll have days where your body will try to fight you since its used to the old foods and quantities we used to eat. It misses its snacks, but our mind and stomachs are like angry toddlers in this phase, they require some discipline. Teaching it early on makes it better on the long run, but be ready for the temper tantrums haha.

I'm approaching 2 months from my surgery and I have to say the first 2 weeks were fear/regret, then that subsided in weeks 3-4, and I was more upset about "well I feel like I can eat x, y, or z again, why can't I?", then even that started to subside on Week 5. I will say to avoid excess sugar, as that will still set my cravings off. I made multiple mistakes sampling cookies and cake over the holidays, and the following 2-3 days I would be craving it constantly and getting angry about it. Forcing myself past those 2-3 days, focussing on protein and more savory foods, and the obsessive craving went away.

For the gas pain, definitely find some Gas-X or similar medication from a pharmacy. That helped me a lot the first month. Also, while walking, do some arm exercises like lifting over your head, windmill stretches, etc., and that will help disperse some of the gas. That really helped to get rid of my shoulder pain from it.

Thanks everyone for your supportive words.
it’s good to know I’m on track and these feelings are what everyone goes through.

I will def try those arm movements because the top of my left shoulder/ neck is killing me

2 hours ago, SomeBigGuy said:

Yeah, the first two to three weeks will have you questioning everything about the process, but that's only due to the temporary discomfort and the idle time while resting and recovering. We all go through that phase, so you're right on track!

The good thing about the sleeve, like others mentioned, is that you will eventually be able to eat all of the same things again, but now you'll have that governor in place to stop you from going overboard. Early on, just stick to the diet plan, as its more important to prevent stretching the tissue where the staples are and to prevent infections. After the first month or two, then the goal is to keep the carbs and excess calories down, as statistically you'll have the beest luck losing weight those first 6 months before it slows, and levels off around the 12-18 month mark. Its just to get that jump start on the weight loss. Each day gets easier, but it is gradual and expect the occasional "hangry" day while you adapt.

You'll have days where your body will try to fight you since its used to the old foods and quantities we used to eat. It misses its Snacks, but our mind and stomachs are like angry toddlers in this phase, they require some discipline. Teaching it early on makes it better on the long run, but be ready for the temper tantrums haha.

I'm approaching 2 months from my surgery and I have to say the first 2 weeks were fear/regret, then that subsided in weeks 3-4, and I was more upset about "well I feel like I can eat x, y, or z again, why can't I?", then even that started to subside on Week 5. I will say to avoid excess sugar, as that will still set my cravings off. I made multiple mistakes sampling Cookies and cake over the holidays, and the following 2-3 days I would be craving it constantly and getting angry about it. Forcing myself past those 2-3 days, focussing on Protein and more savory foods, and the obsessive craving went away.

For the gas pain, definitely find some Gas-X or similar medication from a pharmacy. That helped me a lot the first month. Also, while walking, do some arm exercises like lifting over your head, windmill stretches, etc., and that will help disperse some of the gas. That really helped to get rid of my shoulder pain from it.

This has been immensely helpful! I have surgery on Tuesday and just realized today that I’d been spending so much time preparing for how to eat-not how to feel. Thank you for sharing your experience and uplifting words.

20 minutes ago, Helen of LaCroix said:

This has been immensely helpful! I have surgery on Tuesday and just realized today that I’d been spending so much time preparing for how to eat-not how to feel. Thank you for sharing your experience and uplifting words.

You're welcome! Happy to help. I would definitely recommend finding some sort of therapist or coach to go along with you on this journey. Like you said, they give you directions on what to eat, but not really on how to eat, or how to deal with any thing else you feel or think in the process. Even though we know we're having the surgery to change how we do things in life, I think we all underestimate how much it changes, albeit, for the better. It's not terrible by any means, but in the first month I had several moments of "why didn't anybody tell me this?" lol.

My advice for the next week for you, take Gas-X, walk a little every hour, even if its just a lap or two around a hallway, and move your arms around or over your head while walking to disperse the gas build up from the surgery. I didn't have any pain from the incisions, but the gas made it uncomfortable and hard to relax. Also try to get a shot glass of water in every 30-40 minutes if possible.

This is my daily routine day 3
I will sip 20ml at a time in that lil cup which has the measurements I aim to have 60ml in the hour protein water
I have my multivitamin at 9am as well as my anti reflux
You can’t have the calcium/vitamin D 2-3 hours past multi vitamin and it’s best to take that with food for best absorption .
So 12pm bone broth (chicken yesterday was yummy) that one ouch I will split into two containers and I will sip over the course of four hours. The other half I will have at 5ish for two hours again. Whatever I can’t finish I just chuck
4pm another multivitamin
And that’s it :) I stop liquids around 8-9 depending on how I feel and try and sleep

Edit:

<-- content deleted and moved -->

I started a reply but it went on a tangent and became small novel so I moved it somewhere more appropriate (which can be found at the link below!).

But the gist of it is what you are going through is temporary and most, if not all, of us have gone thru it in varying degrees. Today's concern will likely be a footnote for you in the future. And there are many more concerns to come your way that will likely have the same fate.

Hang in there ❤️

Edited January 14, 20242 yr by ms.sss

Be gentle on yourself. You’ve never done this before so of course you have doubts & worries & questions & …

Walk, walk, walk for gas pains. And yes arm movements will help too. The surgical gas is in your abdominal cavity (not in your tummy or intestines so gas-x doesn’t really help & neither does trying to burp or fart it out) & rises to sit behind your lungs putting pressure in nerves causing the shoulder pain. The gas is then absorbed into your lungs where you breathe it out hence why the activity is helpful. It’s usually all fine within a week.

While you are healing (takes about 8 weeks to fully heal) & while you are losing, it’s important to follow your plan. You’ll have the best success that way. And ask questions of your team (or here) if something doesn’t make sense to you or you’re confused.

Go slowly with your eating & drinking (sip, sip, sip) especially now & for the next months. Your tummy is healing. It’s very sensitive. Yes try different temps - I found warm drinks more soothing as cold drinks made my poor tummy cramp.

You may find for a few weeks your tummy is very fussy & doesn’t like certain foods, flavours or textures. Even the smell of somethings can turn you off. It’s temporary & passes after a couple of months.

In the long term you may choose to eat a lot of your old favourites. Smaller portions, less frequently, or variations of a favourite (ingredient swaps or changed cooking methods). That’s up to you & how you want to eat in the long term.

In a few months you’ll look back & realise what you’ve achieved & how worth it it’s been.

All the best.

On 1/13/2024 at 12:39 AM, bariangelas said:

Hi all,
Just had surgery and I’m 48 hours in.
Had surgery Thursday and came home Friday 2pm
I keep thinking why have I done this to myself so I’m still in abit of shock and I honestly didn’t prepare myself for post recovery (stupid I know) I had all the food stuff down and thought everything will be ok but there is so much too it.
Am I having enough fluids, why does my stomach hurt after I drink is it gas pain? or is it because I didn’t have enough food and it’s empty? Or am I having too much? It’s a constant mental battle.
I just wanted to get some perspective on people who are in the same boat as me right now.
I also want to hear from people getting into foods and how that was.
My biggest fear was not being able to eat the things I love but was told that it’s not going to be like that and it won’t be healthy for me to deprive myself.

First off, congrats on taking a step towards a healthier you. I myself am 5 days post op and I know EXACTLY you feel. The first few days I kept thinking why did I do this to myself?! Pain and swelling didn’t help either, but those have begun to subside. I do constantly feel like every time I take a sip of fluids, there is a big pocket of gas in my stomach that stops me in my tracks. After reading everyone’s advice, I believe it is the temperature of the liquids that’s causing it. I was only drinking cold fluids but yesterday I made myself some chicken noodle soup and strained everything out. I was able to sip on that warm liquid without any “gas” pains. Try something warm to see if it helps ease your stomach.