When did you feel normal?

Hi everyone! I had the Gastric Bypass (RNY) on 2/22/2021. I'm still healing and have two complications from surgery (fluid in lungs/around the heart and thrush-both being treated). But I have to say it's more frustrating that I don't feel.... normal?

What I mean is I can't do things I enjoy for very long (art/craft and gaming). I get lightheaded and overly tired. I hear some people went back to work shortly after surgery yet I can't even focus for more than an hour. I'm super hopeful that once I move to puréed food I'll feel better but I'm having a huge struggle. I'm also still having issues in my gut so sleeping is still a struggle.

I'm also super nervous about learning what food I will/won't dump on. But I'm going take one concern at the time.

Thank you everyone.

I'm almost 6 months out and I still don't feel normal.

I took 6 weeks off work & could of def used 7. I don't work a m-f 9-5 office job though, I work in health care and am on my feet in 20lbs of lead for close to 7 hours a day.. I slept a lot in the 6 weeks post surgery. 10 hours a night + an afternoon nap.

everyone's different with this one I think. Sending you positive vibes.

Thank you for being honest. I have an office job thankfully but it's... stressful many times and it's def not 9-5 (I work in IT so my days are all over the place depending on the business side of things and the rush). I'm hoping once I can focus again to job hunt.

I hope to extend my time off but I feel guilty about it. Hopefully you are getting better! I hoped once I started eating real food again and getting more nutrition I'd feel better but I guess it will be a toss up.

Do not under any cir****tances feel guilty for taking more time off to take care of YOU. Seriously.

im lucky in the fact that my employer would rather me take the time off to properly heal then come back to work early, make myself sick and need to take even longer off. Even 6 months out my supervisor checks in weekly to see how I'm doing, and we consistently discuss my limitations (currently they include, don't ask me to pick up any extra call weekends)

take care of you and your needs first - you're no help to anyone if you're unwell. Sending you so much positivity!

You had MAJOR surgery 2 weeks ago. Just recovery from the anestesia can take weeks. You say you get lightheaded and overly tired. Of course you do. First you're not eating yet and you just had MAJOR surgery.

Every person reacts differently. I took a month off from work with my DS. Once I went back to work it was only part time for two weeks (I work a desk job). It's exhausting.

My advice to you is to sleep when you're tired, keep moving (take short walks if you can or just walk around your house), and focus on sipping and healing. The absolute most important thing after surgery is staying hydrated and giving your body time to heal (especially with your complications).

WLS is a marathon, not a sprint - patience is your friend.

Thank you for the help! I hope I'm okayed to take longer off from work as it's rough to focus or even sleep.

Protein is my biggest issue right now I'm trying to figure out. Most of it makes me sick (too chalking or bad flavor) or is super heavy. However I have been sleeping when I can, I have an old back injury so my first few days were a nightmare and sleeping on my back has been tricky (side sleeping feels odd on my belly still). But I noticed this morning it's gotten a bit better :-)

I think it's frustrating to see people who bounced right back after surgery (or claim to) yet I'm struggling. So it's nice to have insight :-)

Best to not set expectations or compare yourself to others.

We really are all so different.

The protein rules for the DS (at least when I had my surgery) was 30 grams of protein by 30 days post-op, 60 grams by 60 days post-op, 90 grams by 90 days. You get the picture.

Protein is a struggle. I hated them. 18 years ago the protein supplement choices were terrible - at least now there are more to choose from. Some places offer protein samples - that may help. Try to find something you can tolerate, choke down. I remember that as soon as I could start getting protein from food, I ditched the supplements.

Baby steps - each day will get better, promise!

Protein drinks tend to make most people feel a little queasy, especially early on and if you drink them too quickly. My dietitian told me not to worry about protein at first. Obviously follow your medical team's advice rather than some random wombat on the interwebs, but I think the only thing you should worry about this early on is getting in sufficient fluids. You aren't going to get malnourished over the next few weeks.

Once you can sleep in your preferred position, you'll probably feel a lot better.

Everyone recovers at a different pace. I think some of it has to do with your anatomy and how much they have to jostle your organs during surgery.

I can almost 100% promise once I can eat food my protein intake will be okay. I was told 40grams of protein and 60oz of fluid each day. I barely get 10g but my fluid has been about there or higher.

I have been exhausted since sleeping sucks for me so I feel like once I get comfy I'll sleep a lot lol.

thank you for the help and post!