Back from Surgery - Rough couple of days

Well, it's over. The surgery went great. The doctors all said everything looked great. My gall bladder was fine so they left it in there. The incisions look great. I actually felt pretty good (albeit loopy from the drugs) on Wednesday after my surgery, however Thursday and yesterday were really rough days. I had a LOT of pain and a lot of gas to a point where I was in tears Thur night. I finally got rid of some gas this morning, which is probably why I'm feeling so much better. It got to a point last night where I got very close to going to the ER after talking with my doctor at home. He said it was up to me and I told him I'd just wait until morning, but since I'm feeling better this morning (I've never been so happy to pass gas in my life, lol!), I don't need to go in. I honestly wasn't expecting this much pain. Many people I talked to said they had hardly any pain after the surgery. It's a small price to pay, though! I'm so excited about the next couple of months. I'm leaving in a couple of weeks and won't see my family until probably Thanksgiving, it will be a big change for them. I don't even WANT any food at all. I drink my water (my body does crave that). I started my protein drink, but can only handle that in very, very small amounts. I can do about 1/2 oz at a time. I won't get all 60 grams of protein in for a while but I'm doing what I can. My tummy tells me very quickly when it's had enough. I kind of get a sharp pain and I know I have to slow down my water for a half an hour or so. I'm also very tired, which I expected. I've had one nap and feel like I could use another one, but I'm sleeping great! The hospital where I had my surgery at was totally awesome. Huntington Memorial in Pasadena is phenomenal. The nurses are great! They were so kind and sympathetic to my pain. I was so impressed. My doctor is awesome. The surgical resident checked on me like 3 times the day after the surgery and he was totally awesome (not to mention good-looking, lol). Questions: What are other things I should be expecting in the next couple of weeks? I am on clear liquids for 2 weeks with the protein drinks. How did everyone do with the protein at first? How did everyone do once they introduced the vitamins (My doc told me to wait until Monday for that)? When does some of the achiness in the abdomen go away? Any info, advice or suggestions is more than welcomed!! Thank you all for your prayers and support

Miss Crystal, im glad that you posted this, i havent had my wls yet, im in the stage of getting aproval and still doing all the test right now. i have had 2 c-sections and 2-laproscopies and i remember the gas pains, but do you think that it is worse on bypass surgery?? just curious. keep that losers bench warm for me and great job on your surgery. God bless you Paula

Hi Paula, Well, this is my first (and hopefully only) lap surgery. The only other abdominal surgery I've ever had was an appendectomy on Christmas Day a few years ago. That was MUCH worse. Compared to that, the WLS is cake. The great thing is, the incisions are so small, they don't hurt, it was just gas pain and slight muscle pain. I'm feeling MUCH better today. For me, it was the first 3 days and today I have slight pain but I'm hardly taking any pain meds anymore. If you do feel pain, just look down the road a few months at the loser's bench and imagine how wonderful it's going to be. That's what I did!! Also, I can't emphasize this enough, get up and walk as soon as you possibly can, even if it is just 10 feet. I didn't wal****il the day after the surgery and that may have been my problem. (They didn't let me cause my Blood pressure was so low). I may just be an isolated case because many tell me they experience no pain. Good luck to ya and we'll be waiting to see ya on the losing side!

Miss Crystal, Congratultions on your surgery and so glad to hear you are doing so well. You will get better physically day by day and that achiness should go away in a couple of weeks. The best things you can do are walk, walk and sip, sip. Fluid and movement is the most important along with your protein. I had no trouble with the chocolate and vanilla protein drinks but could not stand any others. I also was lactos intolerant for a while and Carnation instant breakfast was a big no no. I did really well with Proplete and Nectar potein powders but there are many others that are probably just as good. I mixed mine and put it in sippy cups and sipped all day. I had chewable vitamins so I had no trouble and still do use them even my calcium citrate is chewable. You will do great and wel will all be praying for a speedy recovery. Hugs, Sandyd

Thank you, I'm using whey protein and am doing okay on it. I think it was just too concentrated. I'm having to use more fluids to dilute the richness, at least for this week. So, I'm getting about 40 grams to 16 ozs or so. Still, better than nothing. The chocolate is okay, a little sweet. I'm trying banana today because I looove banana flavor stuff, so we'll see. Thank you for the advice.