Finally on the other side!

[ShoppGirl 5,072]

4 hours ago, NeonRaven8919 said:

Ohhh! Thanks for the tip! I'm trying to avoid pain meds, not because I want to be a martyr or a hero, it's just that the pain medications make for a very unpleasant experience. They sent me home woth liquid paracetamol, liquid ibuprofen and dihydrocodeine. But I'm not sure when I'm supposed out to take which. And liquid meds make me lose the will to live if they taste awful.

Just be sure you’re okay to use a binder. If your team didn’t give you one there may be a reason. Staples, for instance, may not be good to be compressed. I’m not a doctor by any means but it doesn’t seem like that would be a good idea. If they gave you one then yes, I agree with @Mspretty86 the binder was a great deal of help for me too but if they didn’t give it to you I would run it by them first. They should have an after hours number for those who just had surgery, I would call them about the pain meds. They will be able to tell you what to take and when and maybe even call in something else if you have an aversion to the liquid.

[NeonRaven8919 584]

I',m waiting for the laxatives to kick in now. At first I wondered what kind ifnsadistbwouldmtellmsoleone to take a laxative at Bedtime, but now I get that it's nit an immediate thing. Hopefully tomorrow will be the day. My surgeon did say if I haven't had a movement by then, call them.

[Mspretty86 467]

I do not want to scare you and I hope your experience is better my first movement after the sleeve almost sent me to the heavens 😂😂😂😂. I don't know what to tell you to take to make it more smoother. I hope the laxatives you take make it come out smoother!!

Edited October 10, 2024 by Mspretty86

[ShoppGirl 5,072]

I never had Constipation or any issues being regular pre surgery and the milk of magnesia worked like a charm for me. I even started with the lower dose. Just know that sometimes you go more than once and you get very little warning when you need to go so if your away from home and feel the urge, don’t think that you have much time to pittle around. Get to a bathroom soon.

Edited October 11, 2024 by ShoppGirl

[Spinoza 1,521]

So glad to hear you're out the other end of the surgery OP.

My advice is prioritise your fluid goals for the first week or two. Honestly Vitamins and Protein goal and almost everything else can be caught up on later if you can't make them right now.

[Arabesque 7,594]

You’ll likely find in another couple of days, your pain will have reduced considerably & you may not need any more (but we’re all different about things & we can tolerate different pain levels).

Yes to walking around. But marching in the spot, raising your arms up and down and doing slow deep breaths (breath in & hold for a count of 5-8 then exhale) are good to help with getting rid of the gas. (This is in your abdominal cavity not your digestive system. It rises up behind your lungs and puts pressure on nerves causing shoulder pain. It’s absorbed into the lungs and you breathe it out.)

I used y dilute my shakes (to dilute the horrid taste & graininess) and sip on that most for a couple of hours. Then I had a diluted Soup late afternoon, again sipping for a couple of hours. That was all I could get myself to even think about consuming. My surgeon also wasn’t too concerned about meeting Protein goals at first. As long as I was making an effort to get some in and was slowly increasing over the first month or so.

Oh, yes, don’t weigh yourself for a few days at least. You’re likely still holding on to some of the fluids the pump you full off. Honestly I looked four months pregnant after recent my hysterectomy and I remember weighing 2kgs (4.4lbs) more after my gall surgery.

[Bypass2Freedom 1,010]

Sorry I haven't reached out sooner - glad to hear you are out the other end and you are doing okay ❤️

Congratulations!

TMI!:

I had to have the pessary when I was in the hospital as I just couldn't poo 😂 It did work but I ended up having this strange explosive bowel movement that had lots of old blood in it - proper freaked me out but a nurse told me it was normal and was just residue blood from the surgery. I wish she had warned me about this prior to it happened so I wasn't so concerned about it, but IF anything like this happens, don't worry too much! But either way, apparently doesn't happen to everyone.

Definitely keep away from the scales for a bit as a lot of people find that their weight is a bit higher immediately post-op so just wait until you have healed! My surgeon didn't want me weighing myself until at least 8 weeks pot-surgery (I lasted about 4 weeks 😂)

Hope you are well ❤️

[NeonRaven8919 584]

My stomach is making a lot of noises so I know something is happening in there. I've been working on just drinking Water with the occasional herbal tea as well. (All cleared by my surgeon to drink herbal tea) and based on my urine, I'm not dehydrated anymore, but I keep working to make sure I stay that way. I love stickers so adding stickers to my water bottle also.males it more fun to drink.

[NeonRaven8919 584]

8 hours ago, Mspretty86 said:

I do not want to scare you and I hope your experience is better my first movement after the sleeve almost sent me to the heavens 😂😂😂😂. I don't know what to tell you to take to make it more smoother. I hope the laxatives you take make it come out smoother!!

I'm taking lactulose which is supposed to be a softener and laxative at the some time. It works better when hydrated so I'm trying to just drink Water today.

[ms.sss 15,816]

12 hours ago, NeonRaven8919 said:

My stomach is making a lot of noises so I know something is happening in there.

my stomach had full on conversations with me for the first two or so years post op. it was pretty loud too, omg.

i'm 6+ years out and on the rare occasions it may make a sound here or there...like maybe once every 2-3 weeks. i can't figure out the circumstances that makes it happen, these days, but i don't have any ill effects, so i'm not that concerned....

[NeonRaven8919 584]

2 hours ago, ms.sss said:

my stomach had full on conversations with me for the first two or so years post op. it was pretty loud too, omg.

i'm 6+ years out and on the rare occasions it may make a sound here or there...like maybe once every 2-3 weeks. i can't figure out the circumstances that makes it happen, these days, but i don't have any ill effects, so i'm not that concerned....

Last night, i was laying in bed playing "What's that creaking coming from: Stomach, Fan, or home invader"

[NeonRaven8919 584]

I know something bruising after surgery is normal, but is it normal that only one of my incisions has bruising and is really tender and feels more sunken in than the other incisions? I'm assuming that's the "main one" and that's where my stomach is, but it doesn't seem to be getting an better.

[Arabesque 7,594]

19 hours ago, NeonRaven8919 said:

My stomach is making a lot of noises so I know something is happening in there.

Five years out and the poltergeist in my tummy is alive and well. It was grunting this morning after Breakfast. And I mean grunting. I asked the doctor who does my follow ups about it a couple of years back because all the grumbling, rumbling and whining was so loud. She said it was my digestive system doing what it’s supposed to do: digest food.

34 minutes ago, NeonRaven8919 said:

I know something bruising after surgery is normal, but is it normal that only one of my incisions has bruising and is really tender and feels more sunken in than the other incisions? I'm assuming that's the "main one" and that's where my stomach is, but it doesn't seem to be getting an better.

It differs person to person & I believe surgeon to surgeon (some are just more rough), After my sleeve I had very little bruising. Though others have posted some pretty significant bruises here after theirs. Can’t recall after my gall but I’ve had more with my recent surgery. (My poor belly button is so tiny now with the 3 laparoscopic abdominal surgeries I’ve had that have used it.) Each time the wounds were different. This time I even have a little lump from a pleat in my skin from the internal sutures. And one I swear looks like the Enterprise from Star Trek. And one can be more tender one day and the next another one is. Took into the third week for the bruising to be fully gone this time.

The incision they removed your stomach through is usually a little longer than the others & is the one on the right of your belly button.

[Arabesque 7,594]

See, the Enterprise. 🤣🤣

The lines were actually bruising & scrapes. I guess from the instruments. Never had that before.

[NeonRaven8919 584]

2 hours ago, Arabesque said:

Five years out and the poltergeist in my tummy is alive and well. It was grunting this morning after Breakfast. And I mean grunting. I asked the doctor who does my follow ups about it a couple of years back because all the grumbling, rumbling and whining was so loud. She said it was my digestive system doing what it’s supposed to do: digest food.

It differs person to person & I believe surgeon to surgeon (some are just more rough), After my sleeve I had very little bruising. Though others have posted some pretty significant bruises here after theirs. Can’t recall after my gall but I’ve had more with my recent surgery. (My poor belly button is so tiny now with the 3 laparoscopic abdominal surgeries I’ve had that have used it.) Each time the wounds were different. This time I even have a little lump from a pleat in my skin from the internal sutures. And one I swear looks like the Enterprise from Star Trek. And one can be more tender one day and the next another one is. Took into the third week for the bruising to be fully gone this time.

The incision they removed your stomach through is usually a little longer than the others & is the one on the right of your belly button.

Oh that makes sense. That wound has the most bruising. I think it might just look worse because of the purple suture glue that is still on there.