Losers? Insight?

I am really wanting to know what I am going to be capable of doing after WLS. For those of you who are fresh out of the hospital, can you tell us what to expect? How long before you were up and walking in the hospital? And then, were you walking 10 feet in 10 minutes or what? How long was your hospital stay? When you got home, what could you do or not do? What surprized you about your energy or lack of energy? Could you do dishes? Go to the toliet by yourself? How about getting out of bed in the middle of the night by yourself to use the toliet? Dress by yourself? How about a bra? How much are you able to exercise? (Not you Rachel...you rest please!! LOL) Please give us all insight?!?!? Thanks in advance, Smile, Donna

Thank you! My surgery is 9/27/05 Duodenal Switch and I have a lot of questions but cannot think of everything! My mind has become one big clutter of questions that seem to run together with confusion and worry!

I had my OPEN RNY surgery on the 6th so I will try and answer as much as I can How long before you were up and walking in the hospital? Less than 24 hours And then, were you walking 10 feet in 10 minutes or what? It was really slow going at first, I could probably only walk 10 feet before I was exhausted... it gets better and easier every time though How long was your hospital stay? 4 days When you got home, what could you do or not do? It is still hard to climb stairs and getting up and down is difficult What surprized you about your energy or lack of energy?not really I expected to have no energy Could you do dishes?nope...doc said no housework for at least 2 weeks Go to the toliet by yourself?with the help of a cane How about getting out of bed in the middle of the night by yourself to use the toliet? I can't get out of bed yet sO I have been sleeping on a recliner Dress by yourself? How about a bra?I can do a shirt but not pants or underwear and I haven't bothered with a bra yet How much are you able to exercise? aside from walking NONE \ Hope I helped you guys Anna

Thanks so much Anna!! I am having Lap RNY, so I am thinking that what you are describing will be a worst case deal...and I could live with it!! I am sooo excited!! How are you feeling now? I hope better each day! Smile, Donna

Okay Donna, why am I supposed to rest? LOL I had a lap RNY In the hospital it was under 12 hours that I was walking, at first I did one lap around the nurses station, about 400 ft, by the end of the 3rd day I was going 3-4 laps. Nothing for speed, but a casual stroll... and don't be shocked if as you walk you discover you take a step and break wind... it's part of what the walking is for! LOL My stay was 2½ days from Thurs morning until Sat noon. I could do just about anything if I tried to, but realistically, I didn't try to do much at all. I didn't want to injure myself. Keep lifting under 5 lbs, do dishes only if you can tolerate bending over (if using a dishwasher like I do that is, and no that doesn't feel good to me yet) Light chores like folding a few items of wash (but not much at a time) are okay, but shopping today for shoes for the kids really wore me out (thank God for Grandma being there to check out the shoes!) I was shocked that on the 3rd day home I suddenly had no energy and a desire to sleep constantly. I was also dizzy, and fell over a LOT... called the surgeon and told her my symptoms and what I had as far as food, and we figured out that I was dehydrated and having a hypoglycemic episode... so sure enough as I started eating more than I thought humanly possible and drinking (which gets easier as time goes on) I stopped getting dizzy and passing out. Dishes - by hand, no, too much standing... by machine, only if you can tolerate bending... but don't push yourself in either situation. I was able to go to the toilet by myself starting in the hospital, however I needed to be unhooked from monitors and things in order to get there. Getting out of bed without help was difficult at first and I spent a few days in a recliner, now I don't have as much difficulty with it. Tip to practice pre-op... lie on your back, pull your arms up so you are leaning back on them, then push up... it lowers the amount of work your abdominals need to do to sit you up.... reverse the process for lying down. If you are a side sleeper, use pillows like you would for a pregnancy to support the belly, otherwise your weight will pull on the areas of surgery. I am totally able to dress myself including hooking a bra which I do NOT wear unless leaving the house. My upper incision is RIGHT at the bra line... I tend to put a bandage over it if I need to wear a bra simply to keep it from getting rubbed open. Exercise is mostly walking at this point in time. I am lucky to get 4-6 blocks at a time. I'm finding that is enough to make me want to rest! Hope that helps, but seriously, why did you tell me to rest? LOL HUGGLES Hope I helped you! Rachel

Rachel, You are awesome!!! I forget exactly why I wanted you to rest...didn't you have issues? I will find it!! I see your name all over this board reassuring and helping others...even post op!! Thanks so much!! Thanks for all the info...especially the heads up about the gas when walking...that would have come as quite a surprize!! LOL I am feeling more at ease now knowing that I am not going to be totally out of it for a couple weeks. I like knowing the worst case scenerio, but the realistic one is what I plan for. I have all of my children's activities covered for at least 1 1/2 weeks and now I know that I will be mentally capable of making more plans if I am not physically capable of covering them myself. My main concern is my children...I want them affected as little as possible. I wrote letters to their teachers to ask for understanding and patience...I know they will be great. Again...thanks for all the info Rachel. I hate being in the dark!! Keep resting when you need to and keep up the good work!! Smile, Donna

Hey Donna, My only guess is that I had my son attack me pretty badly, then ended up coaching all the small kids at bowling on Saturday even though I wasn't supposed to lift the balls and had my daughter throw hers into my belly (OUCH) and then I overdid it while shopping for shoes with the kids even though my mom was around and... okay so I have enough reasons to rest, just not enough situations where rest comes easily. LOL... Rest is good, but walking is better. Don't become a lump in front of the TV, but don't run LOL... it's a very hard balance! And the first week, protein is going to be difficult, getting on the schedule and eating every 3 hours is going to be the important thing to do, that and avoiding the scale. Surprise after 2 weeks of torment will be great! HUGS to you, I know I'm forgetting something but can't figure out what, if I remember I'll let you know, if you have questions, ASK!!!! Rachel