ALSO- Belly bigger then it was

So I am just curious if my tummy is still swollen from the surgery 3 weeks out- I still have mild bruising- but my pants that fit before surgery- are snugger after surgery- weird- I am losing - says the scale- but my pants say no- but my shirts say yes- LOL- mainly my tummy seems to be the issue

I may not be typical since I also had my hernia repaired at the same time, but I was swollen for many months in the abdominal area.

That's normal too - I have pictures of my bruising and my stomach looks like I'm pregnant!  Now, I was big before surgery, but not that big!  It will go down in the next week or so. Linda

When I had my hysterectomy a number of years ago, I also experienced swelly belly.  I left the hospital looking like I was about 4 months pregnant.  Therefore, I had to wear loose clothes home instead of the jeans I wore to the hospital.  I plan on doing the same thing when I have WLS. 

For me, it took about 4 weeks before I could fit into any of my jeans and another 2 weeks before I could fit into my tighter jeans.  It depends on each individual.

Swelly belly is caused by trauma as a result of surgery, even lap surgery.  There is really no way to prevent the swelly belly from happening.  Even my cochlear implant surgery left me with a swelly head for several months, and it is micro surgery. So your situation is very common with WLS.  You should be OK within 6 to 8 weeks out.

Oh yeah, my belly took 6 weeks to go down after surgery! It's normal and yours will eventually go away.  Take care, Lisa

Well, thanks for asking that question.  That issue has been on my mind, too.  I have noticed that my belly seems bigger and I have these jeans that I wore when I was about 10 pounds heavier and still can't get them on.  I was wondering if my belly was swollen and if it would go down.  I am 6 weeks out from an open rny and have had alot of healing to do.  I am learning that alot of patience is sometimes required on this journey! 

Lisa, I'm almost 3 months out from an open RNY (and  I had a revision surgery from previous WLS in 1990), and my belly is still really swollen.  I'm losing weight, but that belly just sticks right out.  I'm still having significant swelling and pain.  I hope this is normal.  Could be my age (57), so don't know.  Everything works, so I guess I'm okay.  I think we all  just have to be patient and let the healing process do what it needs to.   Donna