Surgery complications/difficulties/out of the ordinary experiences - What was yours?

Did anyone have an experience that wasn't so smooth or have something out of the ordinary happen in the hospital?

I had a rough recovery. A lot of pain, nonstop nausea and vomiting, and felt like I had been run over by a train. Fortunately I felt much better within a week or so, but I did not have the easy, pain-free experience so many others had.

It was all worth it though!

Thank you for sharing and being honest!

What did you do to subside the nausea and vomiting?

My surgeon gave me dissolving ondansetron strips for home, and IV ondansetron in the hospital around the clock. Worked some, but it eventually subsided. Nowadays, I get nauseated maybe once or twice a week instead of ALL the time!

I just had my vsg on the 27th. I did really well in the hospital with pain relief and I was able to walk the halls and start drinking. I was discharged about 24 hours after surgery. Today at home I have really struggled with fluids. I could only get about 1liter in and not much protein. Even when I take small sips I feel full after 2-3 swallows. I hope things get better tomorrow. I'm sorry about the nausea so many people have. I had a patch, oral, and IV medication and I really think it helped.

You will find that people either A) say they feel no restriction with liquids and are panicked that it "didn't work" or B) feel full with even tiny sips of water and wonder how they can "ever do this".

I was a type B) person and for the first couple of weeks fluids were difficult, but then the swelling went down in my stomach and it got easier. Remember that fluids are #1 priority and protein can be secondary at first. You have plenty of stored calories for your body to pull from right now, but you don't want to be dehydrated!

Erin, I am looking at your stats and I am absolutely amazed at how far you've come since January of this year! It gives me so much hope. I was able to get up to the required 64 oz. yesterday (within 3 days) and half of the liquid was from the clear protein drinks with a total of 40 grams protein. I gained 8 pounds after surgery, but I'm down 3 this morning, so I assume those liters of IV fluid I was getting are still hanging around. My Dr. told me to ignore the scale for a week or two, but I was curious.

What you have described sounds pretty normal to me. I had the same issue with liquids and it lasted for at least 6 weeks before I could do more than a sip a minute. I would advise against using straws (you get too much air coming thru) and having a cup glass to get thru each hour if you can. Just persevere and sip, sip, sip it does get better. Good luck!

Actually straws can work really well for some people - for some people, they increase the amount of air swallowed, but for others they reduce it. So it's best to figure out what works for you and go with that.

Fair point. I should have noted it was just my experience.