Lack of energy

My surgery date was April 3, 2007. I am very glad I had the surgery but it seems all I can do is lay in bed or on the couch or sit at the dinning room table. I have no energy and I feel very weak. I take my vitimens 2x's a day. I take Active Cal 3x's a day. I take B-12 and C every day. I went out to GNC yesterday and tried walking around Price Chopper but I ended up sitting at the front of the store while my husband finished shopping. Am I expecting too much from me? I am weepy about everything sad yet when something funny happends I laugh until it hurts. I walk from the house to the corner and back and that wears me out. I'm not used to this.

Alceen: I think you may be expecting too much of yourself a little bit too soon. This surgery is major and takes time to recover from. Each day will get better than the one previous. The first month (for me and many others) was the hardest. I cried a lot. I wondered if I was "doing it right" a lot. I was tired a lot. Keep in mind you are saying goodbye to food and the way you used it and that is much larger than many of us realize until we are smack dab in the middle of doing it. Some (many) mourn the loss of that pal food. Your body is healing and needs time to bounce back. It will come... be patient and keep moving as much as you can wth the understanding that your body needs rest to heal too. You are not alone in feeling the way you do. That helped me feel a bit better. When you come to the summer picnic you will be feeling so much better. Plan on coming to enjoy your newly found energy. One note... try to get your protein in and hydration. That is prime in the beginning. And if you have doubts, call your surgeon's office. Good luck. Towanda

Towanda - Thanks to you and all of the folks *****plied to me. I am not used to not wearing the "Superwoman" shirt 24/7 and it is both emotionally and physically draining. I will take your advise and get my rest and walk when I can and not be so hard on myself. I've been at this "SW" thing for all my life! Thanks Alceen

Hi Alceen, I had my surgery a week before you, on 3/28. I have the same complaint. I am weak and tired all the time! I have days where I wake up tired, go back to bed around 9 a.m. and sleep until 2 p.m. I wake up feeling much better. I return to work on 4/23 and am afraid of this fatigue. I do admit, though, that every day I get stronger. I do not live in CT but I grew up in Groton, so I visit your forum. I do get homesidk. Please know I am praying for your complete healing and returned strength. Blessings, Diane

Thanks Diane for your prayers. Are you sure you want to go back to work in less than a month?!?! My job expects I will be out 6 weeks and I am not rushing it especially feeling the way I do now. I just had to call my surgeon because of problems with loose bowels. I got scared because I started passing blood. Luckly, it was just a passing thing. Please re-think going back too soon. My prayers are with you. Alceen

Hi, Congratulations on your surgery. It will be the best journey you will take. Now what you must remember is that you just had MAJOR SURGERY!!!!!!! Let your body heal and that means rest. It takes at least six weeks to get back to normal and another 4 weeks until your energy level is up. Relax. Enjoy the rest. Do your walking and rest. take a nap. You deserve it. You just had MAJOR SURGERY. Koukla 338/179

Towanda provided you some very valuable insight into some of the emotional and psychological reasons why you might be feeling fatigued. Heed her words. You also need to appreciate that your body is trying to become acclimated to a greatly reduced caloric intake-- this will take weeks to adjust. Most of us took about 3 months before we felt this sudden surge of energy that didn't let up for years. A few things that might help would be: increase your protein (particularly with some of the clear high-protein and low-carb drinks) and evaluate if your body is using lots of energy to digest the pretty aggressive vitamin regimen you are taking. A couple of weeks post-op, it seems hard to imagine choking back your chewable vitamins, calcium and the extra Vitamin C-- given the time it takes to process these items, and the fact that it is then time which can not be spent ingesting protein, you might want to look at your schedule (B-12 and calcium are important, as are multi-vitamins, but they are not all equally important at this early a post-op stage).

Dear Alceen Congratulations! I remember the weeks after i had my surgery falling asleep if I sat down for any longer than 5 minutes As the previous posts have referenced, your body and your psyche have just undergone a terrific change! They are in the process of adjusting to a new way of thinking, being, and feeling. In a few short months, you will be looking back on these days and laughing as you cherish your new found freedom from the bondage of those extra pounds. May you always have the best of everything, Carol D.

Hi Alceen, Congrats on your surgerey!! You are already ahead of the game. You must realize that major surgery takes alot out of anyone. The surgery we had takes more out of us because we are use to eating our fuel to give us energy. Now we have been basically shut off from that and it shocks our system. Hang in there. It will get better. Your system will get accustomed to what you are feeding it and adjust. Just keep up with your vitamins, protein shakes, calicium and B-12. And Rest!!!!! You will do fine!! Best Wishes, Sarah