After post op gastric sleeve - my experiences

[Raevor85 27]

So i promised i would continue posting after surgery. My first post to the site was during my liquid diet. I had surgery on the morning of the 18th. Everything was going smoothly. When i woke up from surgery thats when all hell broke loose. My stomach felt like it was literally on fire im screaming and crying for help, pain medicine, etc. I blacked out after that or they gave me a sedative one or the other. I swear the pain of it felt worse than childbirth and i could never imagine anything more painful that until that day. I ended up staying 2 nights ( wouldve been 3 if i didnt choke down water) im home now and although the pain isnt as bad as the first day its still bad. This is day 2 going on 3 ill post again soon.

[catwoman7 11,284]

I didn't have any pain after my bariatric surgery, but I DID after my first plastic surgery (lower body lift). I also felt like my body was on fire when I woke up. They put fentanyl in my IV line, and it knocked me out. I'm guessing that's what they did to you - that, or morphine.

[Raevor85 27]

I woke up feeling ok today day 3. I walked around my house for a few minutes. Dont know what that helped but i did it. Finally started having gas last night and today. My brain slipped on the sipping Water once because im so thirsty. Also bad side effect for me i cant stop spitting! Its driving me batshiz. I hope that goes away soon. Anyone else have a spitting issue?

[BabySpoons 632]

Walking after surgery helps prevent blood clots and also to help dissipate gas pains. I made myself get up every hour and walk at least 5 minutes after I got home. I didn't have the bad gas pain many others experience but I was afraid of getting a blood clot.

I can't imagine the pain you describe after WLS. I have read a few others mention waking up screaming from pain. It almost sounds like you weren't given the right amount of pain meds. Sorry that happened to you and glad you are feeling better now.

I had some kind of nerve block shot administered by an anesthesiologist, directly into my stomach, right before they wheeled me into the operating room. He said it worked similar to an epidural. Also, while prepping me, they put a pain patch behind my ear and told me to leave it on for 3 days. That's not counting the meds thru my IV and the liquid codeine they sent me home with. Needless to say, that first week was a blur.

I know nothing about spitting, but I did have dry mouth from hell for a couple days after my surgery.

I wish you the best going forward!

[Raevor85 27]

i really hope this spitting stops soon im dying. im confused on the Water intake likes im ALWAYS thirsty but i know i cant chug water. i take 2 swallows (small ones) at a time which i hope im doing right. Id say i got through one 16 oz water bottle in one day. i cant tell if thats too much or not enough. i have a lot of questions to ask my doctor tomorrow thats for sure. Especially about the Vitamins should i start taking those again even though im in the full liquid diet post op or am i supposed to wait until pureed? So many questions my brain just stopped working when the pain came on the dietitian was explaining it to me before i left the hospital.

[Arabesque 7,604]

I had the excess saliva thing for a couple of days. Carried a suck bag to spit in. It’s from your throat being irritated from the intubation tube. Your body produces the extra saliva to soothe the throat. The swelling made it difficult to swallow meds for the first two days too. You’ll likely find it improves every day.

I started swallowing my Vitamins when I got home so day 4. (I had an extra day as my back went into spasm & was in pain for that.) The swelling had reduced by then so I could take the capsules okay (one at a time of course). But check with your team as some like you to wait longer or to use Patches, etc. not tablets.

Aim for 64ozs a day of liquid but that does include your shakes & any Soups, broths etc. you’re drinking. It’s not easy at first but as long as you’re close & working at getting closer you’re doing okay. Can be easy to get dehydrated if you don’t get the liquids up. Try drinking during the night too. I still do this. Drink every time I get up to pee which of course is often because, you know, drink a lot. LOL!

[Raevor85 27]

Thanks so much for sharing! Im glad im not the odd all out with this lol. You are definitely right about the peeing! I feel like im not drinking enough yet i pee like a fountain everytime i go and it is very often lol. I will definitely be asking about the Vitamins tomorrow i want to heal as fast as possible and not lose bone mass and hair in the meantime.

[catwoman7 11,284]

3 hours ago, Raevor85 said:

Thanks so much for sharing! Im glad im not the odd all out with this lol. You are definitely right about the peeing! I feel like im not drinking enough yet i pee like a fountain everytime i go and it is very often lol. I will definitely be asking about the Vitamins tomorrow i want to heal as fast as possible and not lose bone mass and hair in the meantime.

you'll lose bone mass. You lose everything when you lose that much weight - fat, muscle, and bone! But then again, you need a lot of infrastructure to hold up 300+ lbs. It just isn't needed once you lose a ton of weight. Exercise and Protein will keep you from losing too much protein. Exercise (especially weight-bearing exercise like walking, dancing, strength-training) will keep you from losing too much bone mass. But losing SOME of both isn't necessarily bad, since it's not needed.

hair - not everyone loses it, but most do - but it's temporary. I didn't lose enough for others to notice. In the grand scheme of things, it's a small price to pay, and at this point it's just a blip on the screen for me.

[Arabesque 7,604]

22 hours ago, Raevor85 said:

… You are definitely right about the peeing! I feel like im not drinking enough yet i pee like a fountain everytime i go and it is very often lol.…

They pump you with a lot of fluids after the surgery so you’re probably still peeing that out. When I had my gall out the pumped me with so much Fluid I gained a good 2 kgs. Thankfully I’d lost it two or three days later once I’d peed it all out.

[Raevor85 27]

That is true my god i did have bags upon bags of IVs. Today is day 5 post op when i stand from sitting i feel the most strain and pain in the largest incision still. Also i was advised to wait until friday which will be 1 week and 1 day to start my Vitamins again. So ill let you all know how that goes for me. Im wondering though if the gummies would be alright now for the Multivitamin sheesh another question to ask tomorrow. Thank you guys so much for your feedback so far i appreciate all and any! Really makes me feel like i am not alone in this journey.

[ChunkCat 737]

Ask your surgeon about the gummy vitamins. I was told no gummies, but we could take the calcium chews that are like a Starburst texture. Our Vitamins had to be chewable powder tablets. Blech. I was sooooo glad to be done with those. LOL

[Raevor85 27]

Today was a very very rough day for me. Im tolerating Water wayyyy better than the first few days. Swallowing Protein Shakes no matter how smLl the sip always gives me that feeling like someones squeezinc my stomach and im forcing out a belch soon after. That feeling is not pleasant makes me not want to drink them at all. On average i can get through almost 1 Protein Shake a day. Greek yogurt was okay still has the same effect as the Protein shake though. Also when i tried sugar free Jello same thing. I actually tried cream of chicken Soup watered down. I wanted to cry because the taste is amazing but i just cannot enjoy it like i want because of how easy i get gas. Like i dont understand how i can have to belch SO much after swallowing smooth things plain smooth its crazy. Its a little depressing that i have to stick with this full liquid diet another whole week. I feel like im going to go insane lol. I made my 1 year old scrambled eggs she loves them and omg my stomach wanted to eat itself. I havent had a hunger pain like that since before pre op. It really caught me off guard. I was so close to devouring her eggs. At the risk of pain is the only thing that stopped me. This is going to be a long road for me.

[Arabesque 7,604]

Try warming the shake or using warm Water to make it. Warm drinks are often more soothing & easier to drink & tolerate. Are you taking a PPI? They may help with the gas & belching as may GasX. Worth a try anyway.

[Raevor85 27]

Sorry im not familiar with the term ppi lol i think i may try the gas x though it is truly annoying having to belch every single time I swallow anything other than Water. Also i was not prepared for the feeling of starvation i experienced yesterday i know im not following the diet exactly im not getting enough Protein Shake in there. But i felt truly hungry like seriously and it wasnt head hunger either my stomach actually growled. I didnt even feel that during the pre op liquid diet so it really caught me off guard. I also may be repeating myself i am im sorry these days are starting to blend. Today was a low day though i was depressed half the day i honestly wanted to just lay down and do nothing all day but of course thats not possible for me i have 3 young ones. My boyfriend helps out as much as possible but id feel bad leaving everything to him if i did that. I really truly cannot wait until this liquid portion stage is done and i am healed enough to eat food i am going to devour some eggs and broccoli and spinach and i miss my fish oi im dying lol.

[Arabesque 7,604]

PPI are proton pump inhibitors which reduce the amount of stomach acid like Esomeprole (Nexium), Omeprazole (Prilosec), etc. I think you need a prescription in the States too for 20+mg doses. Over the counter ones of less than that usually aren’t strong enough.

In most cases your stomach growling or hunger pangs are actually just your digestive system doing what it’s supposed to digest food. The PPI will help with that because at the moment your body is still producing enough acid to digest the amount of food you used to eat. Your head can mess with you bad at this time. It makes you want the food you can’t have at the moment even more Plus so many of us used food as a comfort & you can’t have it at the moment so aren’t able to comfort or soothe yourself like you usually would in a time of stress & emotional turbulence.

Give yourself time to heal & recover from what is a pretty major surgery. It takes a good 8 weeks to fully heal & feel more like yourself. Be gentle on yourself.