6 days post op and not very happy!!

I have to say that with all the millions of posts I have read I never in my wildest dreams thought it could be this way!!!! When I came home I just had that really bad gas, and a little pain, since then I went to the hospital on Friday for a leak test that showed everything was great, although I felt like I had a rock in my sternum, doc said sometimes people have a hard time with water!!! GREAT. So anyways for the most part I have NOOOOOOO energy, feel like crap, miss food horribly, started dry heaving this morning, feeel like I got ran over by a MAC truck. I know, I know, I just had major surgery..... I just never imagined all this, and where I know in a couple of months I will be glad I did this, I have been crying up a storm, with regrets and the mourning of my best friend "FOOD"!!! I hate liquids and barely can get them down, and they just get tiresome. I have however lost 12 lbs but is not very easy to get excited about it when I feel awful!!!! Well i hope that things get better really soon, and would love to hear the honesty of the people that just really felt like poop after the surgery. Thanks for replying and sharing! Christi

oh hun. im so sorry for what you are going thru. i am only 4 weeks post op so i cant offer much advice except of you need support just email me...i havent had much problems so far...but i am sure you will get better everyday it gets easier julie k

Christi, I am so sorry that you feel this bad. I was lucky and "bounced" as the ladies in my support group says. I had some gas but found relief through Mallox/Gas-X chewables. I really did not have a lot of problems for the first week except getting my meds down. It was 3 and 4 weeks out that I started having problems with dumping and I honestly think it is because my doc progressed me through my diets too fast. But now I am almost 6 weeks out and doing fine again. Sometimes I forget I have had major surgery and drink water too fast.... it is so embarrassing to be throwing up WATER in front of people! LOL! I know it is not a laughing matter for most folks, but you have to find humor in the small stuff. Here I can eat a nice trout dinner but I water b/c I was a dummy and drank it instead of sipping! It will get better soon Hun... those of us who have had several major surgies kind of have the advantage and can bounce back better than newbies. I know this is not much help but you asked for honesty and you go it! Brightest Blessings for a Wonderful Day~ Jamie M. aka Lady Autumn Weight- 257/220/146 BMI- 44.1/37.8/25 Height- 5' 4" lbs lost: -37 Surgery Date: 1/19/05 My WLS Journey Site: home.bellsouth.net/p/PWP-LadyAutumnsWLSjourney No matter what size, we are all Goddesses inside!

Christi, I too had a difficult time after surgery, pain, swelling, could not even drink water after being released, re-admitted 2 days later, then caught the flu 3 days after coming home! How is that for a curve ball! It's been a very long healing process for me. As the clinical dietician @ the Dr's office said to me, because of the flu and coughing, my tummy ached like a new post op almost 4 weeks later! Now things are beginning to settle down a little. I had to experiment with protien drinks (atkins), eating home made broth beef and chicken, tomato soup, made pinto beans and drank the broth for a change of pace. Drink crystal light, place water in a pitcher and slice a couple of lemon twists. Have frozen popsicles -- the cheap ones really calm the nausea better than the higher priced ones (go figure that one) I chew Tums Sugar Free and every time I find myself missing food, I simply reward myself with a popsicle. So even though it's been since Jan 13, 2005, I'm just barely moving from the liquid stage to the soft food stage -- but mostly liquids. Even with all the setbacks, rather than feeling sorry for myself, I keep praying that the weight loss will help my heart, reduce the workload on it and maybe one day, I can be off the oxygen too. Best of luck to you and remember, we are here to encourage each other in any way we can. I really opened myself and my experience so you could see that its not always easy, but with faith, we can all get through this.

Lil, You get to eat tomato soup? Your so lucky! My doc won't let me eat anything with tomato in it for another 3-4 weeks, and then only in small quantities. He say's the acid in tomatoes could cause an ulcer.....I sure do miss them!! God Bless...Lanie

Christi, You should read some of my old posts (or talk to my husband). Both will confirm that I felt like crap my first few weeks. It seems a long time ago now, (HA! 6 weeks!) but I had it all! Gas pain, cramps, back ache, sternum pain for two weeks, sore incisions (inside and out), I could not drink anything! No crystal light, no water. I hated eating! I wanted my old friend back! I wanted to eat without thinking, eat fast, stuff my mouth. I had no energy. I just stayed home all day and played computer games and watched the kids play. Depression set in, but I couldn't eat my way out of this one! So, I started walking. At first, just to the end of the driveway. That was it the first day. Gradually, I got around the block. (BTW, I developed a strong sense of smell after surgery, I could smell smoke on someone across the room. I hated the smell of food,too. I think around the second week, after I got my staples out, I could finally lie on my side. Then I started feeling more human. But, the day I remember most as the start of my new life is the one where my hunny took me took Taco Bell (my first restaurant post-op) and I got beans and cheese. Heavenly!! Then, while getting out of the car at Wal-Mart, my pants fell down! Too big. No, I was TOO SMALL!! I can only wish you a similar experience shortly, with all of your physical symptoms disappearing soon. BTW, the doctors office neglected to tell me a few things and I had nurses from HELL in the hospital. Hope you did better in that dept. Today, was a good day. I have dropped one size, lots of inches, and two panty sizes! I have lost noticably in my face,tummy, butt, and underarms. Legs are still like piano's, but that could be because of muscles from walking. Oh, well.... Lou Ann Gramann

Christi, Came home from hospital and had uncontrolled diarrhea, the kind that makes you lose your dignity before you get to the bathroom. Three days later, flu, chills, headache, sore throat. Energy level so bad, I had to hang on to hubby walking through the house. End of first week, MUST start exercise, well, at least walk outside to "blow the stink" off as my dear mother used to say! Well, 1/2 block later, kerplatt, and down on my face, belly, and knees. I was so weak, husband struggled to get me up, all in front of interested neighbors. There went the rest of what dignity I had. Third week out. So tired. I must be doing something wrong??? Well my new surprise came that Sunday in the form of gout. Now I've given natural childbirth to 3 children, so I've experienced pain. Gosh, oh, gosh, the gout was awful. Trip to Surgeon. Oh, by the way, you have anemia he says and low blood pressure. Go to PCP and take care of that! So see, not everyone has a fairy tale beginning. But you and I are going to have a nice fairy tale ending, so hang in there. By the way, if I thought pureed "chile dogs with onions" would come close to the real thing, I'd have tried it. So I'm craving things too! I'm 5 weeks out and this week, "knock on wood"- energy getting better, food staying down, and I see a bright light at the end of this month long tunnel. So take it day by day, and email if you need a shoulder to cry on!

Christi I'm sorry you're feeling bad. After reading all the 'happy' posts, I was not prepared at all for what I felt after surgery. Not at all. I had a miserable time. I did not read ANYWHERE about people feeling crappy, so that made me feel even worse because I questioned what was wrong with me. But believe me, when I started posting that I was having difficulties, people started coming out of the woodwork with their poopy stories. There seems to be a lot of people on here that are afraid of posting their true experiences..for whatever reasons. At first I was afraid to post anything negative, but now feel it is important for people to know that they might not come out of surgery feeling ready to run a marathon. Some people come out great, for others there is definitely a recovery period necessary. If it helps at all, each day gets better. At about 3 weeks I noticed a huge difference. I just woke up one day and my body said 'ok, we're better'. I didn't feel like crying anymore and my body just felt like it had more energy. As you start to eat more protein, you will get more strength. You won't feel like you're starving so much. During week 3 I had a very difficult time watching tv because of all of the food commercials, but this week they don't seem to be bothering me as much. Hang in there. Just take one day at a time. Get through each day feeling the best you can and before you know it, those times will be long gone. If you want to vent or talk, please email. I felt very alone when I was feeling poopy since everyone else seemed to be doing so well. Lisa

oops, forgot one thing. For gas... If you are able to lay on your left side, the natural gravity of your organs will cause you to pass the gas without any medication. It only takes about 2-10 minutes for it to work. It might hurt a little at first, but pretty soon you'll be farting away!

Hi Christi, I'm glad you posted what you're going thru because you will see that you are in no way alone. We have all been thru some part of what you're going thru. I had a mental meltdown 1 week post op. So much gas, missing "real food", depressed, didn't see the scale move right away so I was convinced it "didn't work" for me. I walked circles thru my house to relieve the gas and took gas x all the time. Oh, and diarrea. It lasted about 2 weeks. My energy still hasn't completely returned, but I'm 5 weeks post op, down 39 lbs., and I survived the pureed, 1st month stage. And so will you. Just keep reminding yourself that you did this to improve your health and your health didn't get bad overnight so the fix won't come over night. And the bonus is that your gonna get skinny!!!! Good luck and hopefully tomorrow will be a better day! Pat 348/309