PRE OPS: Never had surgery? Here's what to expect!

Thank you, Elizabeth. This type of education is much needed. I was well prepared but I am appalled at how many are not. I knew not to expect to lose a pound for a while and to expect fluid gain. I came home looking like I was 10 months pregnant where I only looked 7 1/2 months before. I had to borrow some loose baggy drawstring waist shorts from my neighbor because I had nothing big enough.

I didn't lose an ounce for over 3 weeks. Some lose a lot, some don't lose at all. Stick to the plan you've been given and sooner or later you will lose. Stay off the stupid scale! What? Do you just love to have your mind messed with? Your goal needs to be to heal and that takes time. More time than you imagine. You will not even be completely healed at 6 weeks. I was up and feeling good quickly, yet couldn't put two thoughts together in a straight line and make them stick. I was dumb! Not just because of pain meds, though I loved them, not just because of the anesthesia, but because my body needed everything it could get and there wasn't a lot left over for my brain. Did I mention stay off the scales?

We didn't wake up one morning fat. We didn't suddenly have a bunch of weight drop on us. We gradually began eating in more harmful ways. It won't go away overnight. Nor in a few months, or even ever. I am at goal and I am only starting. Weight loss surgery doesn't do a thing for your head. You have to do that work. I wanted a magic solution that wouldn't require me to do much or suffer. I was frankly pissed when I heard there was nothing of the sort. I was horrified when I found that people actually could regain weight. It just wasn't fair! Well, I had to grow up and get over it. WLS is a tool only. It won't do for you what you won't do for yourself. You can figure out ways to eat around your tool and that is fact. Now you have to decide if you want to get well or not. If not then for God's sake don't put yourself through surgery. It is expensive, risky, and it hurts. If you do have surgery then get over yourself and work. Just don't expect immediate results.

Last thought? It is normal to worry, to fret, to wonder. That is fine, but don't obsess. If you wonder about something read back a day or so on posts if you don't see anything similar go ahead and ask. I just hate it when someone posts about something they are concerned about but the same thing was addressed just two posts previous. It happens and I won't ever berate anyone who does it, but read what others have said/asked/done. It will help.

Elizabeth, I so wish I could have read all this BEFORE surgery!  I managed all right, but this is about the most thorough explanation of what happens with general anesthesia I can imagine, and funny as hell too.  Fantastic!

I didn't feel awful brain fog after the first few post-anesthesia, but I did have a problem when it got very cold a couple weeks after surgery.  I would go outside, breathe the really icy air (MN in late Nov/early Dec) and my lungs would just kind of seize up and really hurt for a long time in a way they never had before!  I wasn't short of breath but it was very uncomfortable.  I got checked out right away (PRE-OPS, never ignore lung pain after surgery - it could be a pulmonary embolism!) and it was nothing serious.  The doctor deemed it a side effect of anesthesia, which is hard on the lungs.  I was extra glad I hadn't smoked a cigarette in years before surgery, because that would have made it so much worse.

The lung pain issue passed after a couple weeks, just for the record.

You will NEVER receive as much focused, professional, carefully, absolute attention in your life as you do when you are under anesthesia. It's just about the safest place on the planet to be. You are at greater risk of being hit by a car than you are of dying under anesthesia. Probably the risk is higher of your house collapsing on you than of dying from anesthesia, but I haven't actually SEEN those stats lol. 


True.  Anesthesiologists are sticklers for detail.  The most recent data that I've seen says there is one anesthesia-related death out of every quarter million cases. 

The only surprize I had was when the Anesthesiologist told me that he would be inserting the breathing tube while I was awake...that freaked me out .  But he said that he would give me something to relax me first, plus a mask to numb my throat - I breathed deeply on that in the O.R. even though it "tasted" bad.  He said that we would work together and I would be very cooperative and probably wouldn't remember anytthing.  He was right.

When I woke up in the recovery room I was very thirsty and in some pain.  I was only awake enough to lift my hand about an inch and give it a slight wave.  Someone was watching and spoke to me immediately.  I said "pain" and "thirsty".  I was given something for pain, and my lips were moistened with something that I sucked a bit of liquid out of....  I know I repeated it a few times and was always assisted immediately.  Next thing I knew  I was back in my room.

Twenty four hours after surgery I was asked to Shower and remove my bandages.  I mistakenly removed the steri strips plus the bandages, so make sure you ask the nurse EXACTLY what they want removed,  Fortunately I had no problems with my incisions.

Nancy