Ladies...That time of the month!
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2BeHappy2
Posts: 811 Member
For the ladies who have already been down the road of weight loss surgery....heres something for you :blushing:
I typically get my monthly at either the tail end of the month or w/in the 1st couple days of the new month.
Once in awhile it might happen w/in the 1st wk of the month.
Im scheduled for my Sleeve Oct 16th, which is fine with me because it (hopefully) falls after my menstrual for the month.
I know we cant always plan things like this but I do want to be prepared, how did you all go about this situation since we're not allowed to go in surgery wearing under garments?
Also, I know even though I may get by having my menstrual during the surgery, it will come upon me in the following week or 2.
Having read numerous (helpful and informative) threads, and being well aware of future pain afterwards, how did you all cope with this?
Growing up, I never experienced cramps (although 1 older & 1 younger sibling did) so I counted my lucky stars.
It wasn't till late(r) adult hood that I got a taste of their pain.
Now I worry about having to endure post surgery pain(s) and menstrual cramping
How do you ladies deal with all this pain coming from all angles?
Thanks!!
I typically get my monthly at either the tail end of the month or w/in the 1st couple days of the new month.
Once in awhile it might happen w/in the 1st wk of the month.
Im scheduled for my Sleeve Oct 16th, which is fine with me because it (hopefully) falls after my menstrual for the month.
I know we cant always plan things like this but I do want to be prepared, how did you all go about this situation since we're not allowed to go in surgery wearing under garments?
Also, I know even though I may get by having my menstrual during the surgery, it will come upon me in the following week or 2.
Having read numerous (helpful and informative) threads, and being well aware of future pain afterwards, how did you all cope with this?
Growing up, I never experienced cramps (although 1 older & 1 younger sibling did) so I counted my lucky stars.
It wasn't till late(r) adult hood that I got a taste of their pain.
Now I worry about having to endure post surgery pain(s) and menstrual cramping
How do you ladies deal with all this pain coming from all angles?
Thanks!!
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Replies
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I had my surgery on a Wednesday, and I stayed in the hospital one night, and when I woke up the next morning, surprise! Yeah, in addition to feeling post surgery yucky, I had that too. Fortunately I wasn't in a lot of pain after the surgery and I really didn't have bad cramping or anything. The nurse said it was ok to wear underwear. I had made sure I brought loose, comfy clothing to go home in so I was really ok. When I went to see my surgeon for my two week follow up, I told the nurse I started right after surgery, and she said usually surgery will cause most women to start later. I must be the exception to the rule because when I had my gall bladder out, I started while I was still in the recovery room!
On a side note - for a while, the more weight I lost, the worse my symptoms got (cramps, etc). Your hormone levels change a lot when you lose a lot of weight and that can cause changes in your cycle, so don't be surprised!0 -
Yeah...I had a filter put in last Mon (weight loss dr wanted it put in before having the Sleeve done).
Afterwards, when I went to put my clothes on, the bedding under me had A Lot of blood "there"
My husband whispered "have you started?!?"
I was like WHAT! :blushing:
I have heard that doing drastic things such as surgery can jar your body and make it start early.
In my case (thank goodness!), it was just blood from the drainage of where theyd done the incision to place the filter (near the private).
My question is, what do you or they do if youre already having it on the day of since you cant go in wearing under garments?!?0 -
Not to get too graphic here and scare the men off, but I would think if you used tampons it wouldn't be a problem, but if you use pads, that would definitely make a difference. I would double check with your surgeon and/or his team, let them know you are due to start around the time of your surgery, and ask them what they would like you to do if you are already having it. I am sure you are not the first person to have this concern!!0
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I also started the day after surgery. I think it must shock the system or something, because I shouldn't have. I'm sure it is something that the surgeons would gladly advise you on.0
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LoL!
It was just a basic question...in case anyone had wondered and didn't want to ask
My sleeve is suppose to happen in the middle of the month...away from "that" time :bigsmile:
I was just curious since sometimes these things are not planned for and what you ladies have had to do in these unfortunate instances!0 -
If you do go in to have your surgery and you have it, just tell the nurse. They are all great, and very helpful. They've seen it all before LOL
Also, be prepared for your cycle to be all wonky after surgery. I got mine 10 days early, and it was bad. Lasted longer than normal too.
I'm 3 months out, and better now, but my doctor put me on birth control pills to help control my period.
I'm also seeing a gyn in November to start the process of endometrial ablation.0 -
I'm 6 days post op sleeve and I started on day 3. The only discomfort I experienced was a slight increase in bloating, but honestly, it was almost unnoticeable because everything was already so swollen anyways.0
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Not to get too graphic here and scare the men off, but I would think if you used tampons it wouldn't be a problem, but if you use pads, that would definitely make a difference. I would double check with your surgeon and/or his team, let them know you are due to start around the time of your surgery, and ask them what they would like you to do if you are already having it. I am sure you are not the first person to have this concern!!
Well....hmmmm...I'm not a tampon user!
Several months ago I was flipping through the channels and caught a segment on Dr Oz about a woman that "lost" her tampon up there and had her friend literally "hands on board" find it & pulled it out for her :noway: :sick: :huh:
In all seriousness, Ive never encountered anything like this to happen but I have always been curious as to how 1 would go about handing such a situation, especially for us non tampon users :ohwell:
In my situation, I believe I will be safe enough in the timing of my Sleeve (thank goodness)!
Of course Ive heard that stress can cause you to have a delay in your monthly which would just be my luck and Id somehow end up getting it late(r) :frown:
To the person who brought up heavy periods....
I was on birth control many yrs ago and it messed up my system and after trying out a few, my mindset changed to "Id rather risk pregnancy than go through all these awful things the pills are doing to me."
So I don't know if I could go down that road again to ease my menstrual but maybe there are better things out there now
I used to have heavy and long cycles but now its a rare thing...I don't miss those yrs!0 -
Had my period once in the hospital (in for broken bone, not wls) and they just gave me pads. Embarassing...yes...but nothing they hadn't seen before. Just talk to the staff if it happens or you're worried about it happening. I didn't get my period right away after surgery, but my cycles were out of whack for the better part of the first year before they normalized.
On another note...someone mentioned birth control and I just wanted to point out that the pill is not considered effective for RNY patients post-surgery (don't know about sleeve or band) because of the absorption issues, so you may need to switch methods of birth control.0 -
I would use a Tampon, and/or I wouldn't worry too much about it. Medical staff is used to seeing this. I remember when I went to see a new OB/GYN when I was in the middle of a miscarriage. I was mortified as she examined me and there was so much blood. The Dr. just came around, took my hand and said, "Honey, don't worry about it, I'm a surgeon. I'm used to seeing blood, and this isn't even close to the worst thing I see in a day. This is what I do and you have no reason to feel ashamed."
Ultimately keep in mind menstruation is a perfectly normal thing that 1/2 the population does once a month for a significant period of their life. That being said it's certainly not the 1st time the medical staff has run into it. Ask your Dr. how he/she would like to handle it if it comes up.
In my case, the only place I couldn't wear underwear was in the actual operating room. Once I was in my room after recovery I changed into underwear, sweat pants, a bra and a t-shirt. I had surgery on a Friday around 1pm. My surgeon required that I be up walking for the 1st time at midnight (I had laparoscopic RNY). Then for the next day the surgeon I used required that all of his patients be out of bed from 6am-Midnight and walking the halls at least every 6-90 min (REALLY helped me feel better and recover super quickly btw). I was more comfortable walking the halls in sweats than in a hospital gown. I went home at 9am on Sunday morning and never needed another pain killer. My husband's experience 2 months later with the same surgeon was nearly identical.0
