Day 5 since my Gastric Bypass
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MrsDreamer1974
Posts: 91 Member
Day of surgery:Excited, scared & ready for the 1st day of the rest of my life. Towards evening I was hurting extremely bad and I had constant nausea. BUT I was so excited that I finally got my WLS that nothing got to me. I walked the second I could stand and not fall over lol. Got to eat ice chips finally because when they tell you that you will have dry mouth..they are NOT kidding guys. It sucked super bad.
Day 2: I hurt worse then I ever expected, and they could not keep the pain under control at all. I felt sick all of the time. I did finally get to sip water, then my protein shake. ( I could only get 1 oz every 20 min down) I had to force myself to get up and walk, walk, walk. The gas is painful if you do not walk. I was super depressed and questioned why I even went this rout when I lost 102 lbs on my own before surgery. Spent most of the day crying and super angry at myself. ( I'm not going to sugar coat my experience at all ) Let me also say that I had my very sick gallbladder removed with my WLS so I had 7 incisions and had extra pain.
Day 3: This is the day I got to go home. I was scared to freaking death to go home because I still hurt so bad I could hardly breath. But then I figured maybe being home would help the depression so off I went. I had to travel 3 hrs to get home and that SUCKED I hurt so bad I thought I was going to die. Got home and made my medicine schedule and set all my alarms for meds and water. Didn't sleep at all that night because of the pain.
Day 4: Depression was still set in and I spent most of the day asking myself what I had just done to myself. Pain started getting under control more so that was a plus. Could still only drink 1 oz every 20 min. and protein shakes made me sick so just didn't do them. Pain pills made my tummy actually hurt so every time my alarm went off I cried. ( And yes they sent me home with pills instead of liquid meds..not what I was taught in class but whatever )
Day 5: Ok so today I am NOT depressed I am super excited for what is to come. I have got my pain under control..and I went from Tylenol pills to children s liquid..pills hurt folks, and that helped allot. I still cannot do my protein shakes so I am trying unsweetened soy milk for at least a little protein ( I'm vegan so I do not drink milk ) and I have added 1 oz of veggie broth a day just for a different taste then water. In all I am only getting in about 30 oz of water and that's pushing it. I still have not had a BM...so that's like 7 days without one so I added miralax powder to my water. But things are starting to look up. Yaaay. Anyway I just wanted to share the first 5 days of post surgery. Also here is a list of MUSTS
1. YOU MUST HAVE A SUPPORT PERSON WITH YOU IN THE HOSPITAL AT ALL TIMES. ( I could not have done it without my husband. ) AND YOU WILL NEED ONE AT HOME BECAUSE YOU CANT EVEN BEND OVER
2. FOLLOW THE WALKING RULES
3. LISTEN TO YOUR TUMMY AND DONT OVER DRINK..IT HURTS BAD
4. DONT OVER DUE IT AT HOME, ASK FOR HELP
5. FOLLOW YOUR MED SCEDULE...DONT MISS A MED AT ANY TIME.
6. DONT TRY TO LAY ON YOUR SIDE
7. IF YOU HAVE TO FART..DO IT LOL. I DONT CARE WHO IS AROUND
8. AND DO NOT ASK THEM HOW MUCH YOU WEIGH AFTER SURGERY...MOST PEOPLE GAIN 20 LBS BECAUSE OF SWELLING AND WATER. I DID ASK AND NOW WISH I DIDNT...SO JUST PLAY IT SAFE AND DONT ASK.
Day 2: I hurt worse then I ever expected, and they could not keep the pain under control at all. I felt sick all of the time. I did finally get to sip water, then my protein shake. ( I could only get 1 oz every 20 min down) I had to force myself to get up and walk, walk, walk. The gas is painful if you do not walk. I was super depressed and questioned why I even went this rout when I lost 102 lbs on my own before surgery. Spent most of the day crying and super angry at myself. ( I'm not going to sugar coat my experience at all ) Let me also say that I had my very sick gallbladder removed with my WLS so I had 7 incisions and had extra pain.
Day 3: This is the day I got to go home. I was scared to freaking death to go home because I still hurt so bad I could hardly breath. But then I figured maybe being home would help the depression so off I went. I had to travel 3 hrs to get home and that SUCKED I hurt so bad I thought I was going to die. Got home and made my medicine schedule and set all my alarms for meds and water. Didn't sleep at all that night because of the pain.
Day 4: Depression was still set in and I spent most of the day asking myself what I had just done to myself. Pain started getting under control more so that was a plus. Could still only drink 1 oz every 20 min. and protein shakes made me sick so just didn't do them. Pain pills made my tummy actually hurt so every time my alarm went off I cried. ( And yes they sent me home with pills instead of liquid meds..not what I was taught in class but whatever )
Day 5: Ok so today I am NOT depressed I am super excited for what is to come. I have got my pain under control..and I went from Tylenol pills to children s liquid..pills hurt folks, and that helped allot. I still cannot do my protein shakes so I am trying unsweetened soy milk for at least a little protein ( I'm vegan so I do not drink milk ) and I have added 1 oz of veggie broth a day just for a different taste then water. In all I am only getting in about 30 oz of water and that's pushing it. I still have not had a BM...so that's like 7 days without one so I added miralax powder to my water. But things are starting to look up. Yaaay. Anyway I just wanted to share the first 5 days of post surgery. Also here is a list of MUSTS
1. YOU MUST HAVE A SUPPORT PERSON WITH YOU IN THE HOSPITAL AT ALL TIMES. ( I could not have done it without my husband. ) AND YOU WILL NEED ONE AT HOME BECAUSE YOU CANT EVEN BEND OVER
2. FOLLOW THE WALKING RULES
3. LISTEN TO YOUR TUMMY AND DONT OVER DRINK..IT HURTS BAD
4. DONT OVER DUE IT AT HOME, ASK FOR HELP
5. FOLLOW YOUR MED SCEDULE...DONT MISS A MED AT ANY TIME.
6. DONT TRY TO LAY ON YOUR SIDE
7. IF YOU HAVE TO FART..DO IT LOL. I DONT CARE WHO IS AROUND
8. AND DO NOT ASK THEM HOW MUCH YOU WEIGH AFTER SURGERY...MOST PEOPLE GAIN 20 LBS BECAUSE OF SWELLING AND WATER. I DID ASK AND NOW WISH I DIDNT...SO JUST PLAY IT SAFE AND DONT ASK.
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Replies
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Yep. Sleeping in a recliner helps, too.0
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I'm appalled that they gave you pills and didn't give you a pill crusher. They gave me two pill crushers to crush my medicine down and mix with the liquid I was drinking. Taking solid pills like that is a definite no-no - although the length of time probably varies, I wasn't cleared to do that until my 6-week follow up visit.
Hang in there. You're through the worst of it. It only gets better from here on out.
Also, you will probably not lose any significant weight until about your fourth week out because of all the fluids you just received. Additionally, if you were recommended to take a stool softener or laxative of some sort, DO IT. Otherwise, that first large bowel movement will have you in a world of hurt.0 -
I promise you, you will feel much better week two. I'm on week three and feel almost normal. Good luck!0
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UPDATE: Yesterday I had the worst experience OF MY LIFE. They were having me take Miralax for a stool softener before and after surgery, well they failed to tell me that for some people it does not work and can actually make things worse. I never want to go through what I did yesterday EVER again in my life. I thought I was going to die. And what makes me upset is, I told them I had not had a BM before I left the hospital and they did not care. So my advice is, do NOT leave until you have a good BM folks or you will pay later. On a good note, I have lost all but 2 pounds of what I gained during surgery yaaay.0
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They sent me home with a pain pill prescription, too. My husband threw a *kitten* fit at the pharmacy, and they turned my prescriptions into liquid. Minor detail that really matters.
Also, it took me 2 weeks to lose the water weight from IVs. They don't tell you about that either.
Lastly, those first 4-5 days I had a loop in my head that repeated over and over, "WHAT HAVE I DONE?!"0 -
Oh my gosh all day yesterday I cried and kept asking my husband " What did I just do to myself? " I think I finally stopped crying at 1 am. My hubby is amazing, he just kept telling me that it wall all pass and I will feel better soon. My poor kids ( 22,23,24 ) just kept calling to check on me. All I could say is that I wished I had listened to everyone that told me NOT to do it. I'm praying today is going to be a better day. I'm sure down the road I will look back at this time and be glad that I made it through it :-)....I hope0
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Surgery and the weeks following were a nightmare for me. Every day I wished to god I could go back and change things. It was a horrible time. I've been hospitalized twice since surgery because of complications/dehydration/malnutrition. I'm 3 months out of surgery and aside from the need to force fluids to prevent dehydration, I am much healthier and happier. I don't know that I'd want to go through those first four weeks again if I could do it over again, but I do know I made the right choice and I'm glad I didn't know how awful those first four weeks were going to be when I made the decision to have the surgery. I made the right choice, and so did you!0
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I was talking things over with my husband, and I told him that I thought it was unfair that the doctors don't tell you all the horrible things you go through after you have the WLS. They just tell you to follow your doctors instructions to the " T " and you will do great ( That I have done, and its not so great ). They did not tell me how sick I would be or how depressed I would be, and it made me so mad. But your very correct by saying if I HAD known, I would NOT have done it. I know that the down side of this is going to pass and I will feel so good about what I have done. Thank you for the eye opener :-)0
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Everyone has a different experience. A good surgical center will help you plan for the worst and expect the best. Obviously their end-goal is getting paid to do surgery, so there is a fair amount of "frosting" added to what they tell you. If you are having depression, please seek professional help with it. The physical pain and side affects will go away (in most cases) but the mental stuff takes more work than the physical.
Take care of your whole self.0 -
Im sorry you are having such a difficult time. We have been told that we can schedule an appointment with the psychiatrist anytime we feel we need to. We also have a monthly support group. I hope you have the same options. Take advantage of any support you can.0
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Everyone has a different experience. A good surgical center will help you plan for the worst and expect the best. Obviously their end-goal is getting paid to do surgery, so there is a fair amount of "frosting" added to what they tell you. If you are having depression, please seek professional help with it. The physical pain and side affects will go away (in most cases) but the mental stuff takes more work than the physical.
Take care of your whole self.
This. It's just so hard for a surgeon to tell you what will happen post-surgery because everyone really does have a different experience. I don't think they try to be unfair intentionally, but I don't think they want to unnecessarily alarm you either. Going to support groups helped me a lot post surgery, as well as therapy. Having surgery is a big deal. You will go through a lot of changes and any support you can get will help. I am sure as time goes on you will feel better and you will be able to focus on your progress and all the good things that will come along with it! Hang in there, you will get through this!!0 -
Feeling so much better about everything :-) thank you all for the comments. And yes I would for sure do the surgery if I had it to do over again :-) I think I'm just one of those people who like to get better fast and move on with life, My husband has helped me realize I need to just slow down and let things heal inside and out. My depression is gone and I'm feeling very good. Pain is so much better, and I'm not drinking the 64 oz yet but its getting better. :-)0
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Oh this is great to hear!! I've been thinking about you a lot. Don't hesitate to reach out if you ever need any support!0
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So glad you are feeling better about things!0
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Glad you are doing better. What surgery did you have Kenda? Was your surgical team a Bariatric Center of Excellence? The reason I'm asking is because I couldn't have ask for a better group. They followed me every step of the way and still do three weeks out. I was so incredibly informed! They were all amazing!0
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I had the Roux-En-Y gastric bypass. My weight loss center was amazing getting me to surgery and even got me in sooner because I had to have my gallbladder out asap. I had to do 3 different classes and was well informed...I thought. They did say that If I had any questions to call them, however the one BIG problem I did have..it took a while before they even called back and it was an emergency situation. I'm glad I found this online group because the support group I can attend is an hr away and its hard for me to get there since I cant drive yet :-) I think the first few days I just went into panic mode. I really am doing so much better today. I actually got in 2 oz of veggie broth today and 2 oz of soy milk ( I'm Vegan ). Tasted like heaven after only drinking 30 oz of water every day for the last week lol. I kind of thought they would be calling to check on me once in awhile but I have not gotten one phone call, so that was kind of disappointing. But really things are feeling better, I have lost all of my surgery weight and another 3 pounds so that was uplifting0
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I'm so glad your better. This group as been a life saver for me as well. My group class is also an hour away and when I go back to work, I'm an hour in the over direction.
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Great to hear you are feeling better. Sounds like you have great support in your husband. I go in Monday for my surgery and I'm thankful for my husband also. I tried to prepare him for whats to come.0
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It's kind of funny, I was a little worried that my Mom left me and my husband stayed lol. But he was sooo amazing it made me cry. He didn't sleep the whole time in the hospital and walked with me every time it was needed. And when we got home things got bad and he still stuck with me :-) Everyone has different healing once you get home, but just know that if its bad like mine was..it will pass and you will feel great :-) Good luck on your surgery Monday, it will change your life in a great way.0
