Surgery 1 Week Ago and Depressed....

I had my surgery 1 week ago today and I am feeling down. I can honestly say that I have not had a minute of feeling good yet. It is not from being weak or tired or even from the incision pains (I had Lap). I am not taking the pain killers even. It is because I feel like I have an upset stomach all of the time. OK, maybe I wake up feeling slightly better but the minute I start consuming any liquid, I start feeling sick. The feeling gets worse and worse until I go to bed. I am starting to worry that I am going to be one of those people who feel like this for the rest of my life and look back and think that that weight loss wasn't worth never feeling good again. It is even more depressing when I read that other people who have had surgery a week ago sound like they feel so great now. I am not due back to wor****il after Thanksgiving so I have plenty of time. Am I going to start feeling better anytime soon. I need to hear from people that had this and it got better. Thanks. Diane

well sweetie, i think it would be safe to say (in my opinion) that anyone who says that they are feeling great and etc. are full of crap..i had my surgery 3 weeks ago and i still feel bad alot of the time. i had my first pretty good day 3 days ago (day 19) and i have a very hard time drinking water especially. you are gonna have to try drinking other things (different flavors of koolaid, snapple, tea****il you find your nitch. i had a slight nervous breakdown in the doctor's office and he told me that my hormones were really out of whack now and just remember i had a major, major surgery. you are gonna feel better eventually and you are not going through anything everyone else hasn't went through they just don't have the guts to admit it on this message board...hang in there and write to me....thinking of you..cheryl

Hate to disagree, but I had surgery a week ago and I feel good, so I wouldn't say we're all "full of crap". Everyone reacts different so it's not a fair assessment. Granted I'm not ready to do a jig, but other than some minor discomforts here and there I feel ok and I guess the fact that I have such a positive outlook on everything helps. Good luck to you, hope you still feeling better soon.

Dear Vi- I've been following your story, and CONGRATULATIONS on finally getting your surgery done! Glad that YOU feel good, girlfriend! This postop thing is not as easy as other people think. We are all working very hard to get adapted to the new life that we promised ourselves, aren't we. So glad you especially are feeling well. The positive attitude is a huge help. Cyndi.

Thanks, hon, your words mean a lot to me. I agree that we are all doing our best to adjust and I'm such a huge believer in the power of the mind to help us heal, so maybe that's why I work so hard to keep a positive attitude attitude all the time. I also think my little "scare" with the first surgery made me more determined than ever to get through this. BIG HUGS to you, friend. Vi

Hi Cheryl, I'm sorry to hear that you have not been feeling well. You need to remember that you have just gone through MAJOR surgery, and can't be expected to resume life as you knew it right away. Give your body a chance to recover from the pulling, tugging and snipping! On the other hand however, you're not feeling well is not necessarily the standard on which to judge others. I had surgery two days prior to you, and figure we must be somewhere along the same healing schedule, give or take. If you read my profile, you will see that I started off on a VERY rough road. Yes, I had the guts to tell it all. I figure everyone has the right to see both sides. I even mentioned in my profile how bad I was feeling just last weekend. However, just because I started off bad doesn't mean that everyone else did too, but forgot to mention it. So far I think I'm doing pretty good. I am now on pureed (by mouth) foods, and have not yet had any bad reactions. In my pureed stage I have tried: deli sliced ham, deli sliced turkey, deli sliced roast beef (more difficult to puree, so I'll give it another shot some other time) , baked salmon, squash, mashed potatoes, fake crab made up into a salad with no fat mayo and chives, raw apple, cream cheese on melba toast, 1 egg omelette with ham, chives and 1/4 slice cheese, chili, and fat reduced peanut butter on melba toast. My total intake is less than 1/2 cup right now, but I find that fills me up. I'm enjoying experimenting, but am certainly cautious. I've done enough throwing up to last a lifetime, and don't want to do any more. Oh, I almost forgot.....I do have aches and pains too. The one that bothers me the most is just to the left of my incision. It is kind of a twinge. Mostly when I bend or lean over. Maybe the best thing is for me not to do that as much. That will probably work. And my incision hasn't completely healed. The VON's come in every morning to change the dressing. They say it looks pretty good, but I just think it's "Yuk". That will change though I know, though not as fast as I'd like. So, enough about me. Maybe you need to change the foods that you are trying, or maybe the temperature of the foods. That might have a different effect. I've heard on other boards where people have mentioned that cold water gives them the aches, but warm water goes down well. Something to think about anyway. Maybe you are trying to do too much too soon. Is that possible? If you read between the lines, you may think that I'm pretty happy. Well, you'd be right. I can now put my socks on by myself, and they don't leave marks at my ankles anymore. My glasses also don't leave dents along the sides of my head. Love those little victories. I'm having a blast. As of this morning I've lost 24.9 pounds. I know that others around my surgery date have lost more, and others less, but that is how their body is reacting. I'm concentrating on mine. Wow! I'm on cloud nine, despite the little ups and downs. I choose to ignore them. Maybe that's why I'm having such a good time. Of course if I run into problems, the first thing I'll do is call my doctor. It worked for me last weekend, and I feel much better. Sorry if this comes off as being harsh, but you really got my back up with your comments of "Crap 'n Guts". I sincerely hope that you will feel better soon Cheryl, afterall....you do deserve it. Diana 331/306.1/anything less

i think you are doing great!! you are right we are kinda following the same lines. i have lost 33 lbs now but was really in a plateau for about 3 days. i have 1 incision that hasn't quite healed and that is where my drain was. it is so wierd some days i can eat more than others and some days i can't eat anything at all. i have started to throw up more than i did at first...keep in touch. it won't be long until you will be hangin' with the hotties (not that you aren't a hottie now cheryl

I also beg to differ with you...........I DO FEEL GREAT at 2 weeks out and am NOT "full of crap" either. If I felt bad I would have the "guts" to admit it, but truth be known I haven't (well except the day I came home I felt like I had alot of pulled muscles in my stomach) I came home and immediatly started walking down my street(YES, the day I came home) and I have felt GREAT ever since. I think this surgery affects different people differently, and some may feel great and some not, it just depends on their bodies. Melissa Dr. Ejey (Duncan's Office) Lap RNY- 10/17/05 July, SW - 241.5/ Oct., CW - 214/GW - 135 - 27 lbs gone forever

Hi hon, I'm sorry to hear that you are feeling so bad. Everyone reacts differently so don't compare yourself to anyone else. What you are feeling is perfectly normal. My first few days I didn't feel so good, but now I'm feeling ok, though I still have my moments where drinking makes my stomach feel sick and I have a hard time getting in the protein. I had a funky taste in my mouth for a while and that made it hard to drink even water, plus that fullness that I felt. I try to focus on the good and fast forward to a year from now when this will all be in the past and I guess that's why mentally I sort of "psyche" myself into feeling better when I start to get down. But everyone goes through what you are going through and not everyone can get past what they feel at the moment -- our bodies are all different. I swear you will not feel like this for the rest of your life, just go read some of the profiles of the people who were really ill in the beginning and are now doing fantastic and have lost over 100 lbs and say they would do it all again in a second. I keep telling myself to think of it like having a baby -- you go through some discomfort and at times are downright miserable, but in the end what you get is so worth it. Good luck hon, Hugs, Vi

Diane, I had my surgery on the 17th. I don't feel great, but haven't dumped or been sick per se, just don't feel great. Mostly it has been mourning all of the things we give up with this process. I am confident that eventually I'll feel better about the process as well as physically, but it has been very difficult. I have to say the last couple of days have been better - - I am able to bend down enough to put on my own socks without much discomfort now and being on "full liquids" has helped . . . I really can't wait to get further in so I can eat something. Diane - Hold on . . . . it will get better, it must! Mary