What Pre-Ops really want to know from Post-Ops

Here it is in a nut shell:   I don't feel too bad now for a 400 pound mid 40ish man.  Yes, I have occasional pains and joint aches and sickness, but for the most part I feel good.  MY BIG QUESTION:  After WLS - do you feel good or are you one step away from nausea all the time - 24/7/365. 

Bob,

At least for me, my answer would be as Tony the Tiger
would say, you don't feel good "you feel great". I look at
this surgery as a "do over". I feel better then I have ever in my life. I weigh less then I did in 7th grade (35 years ago.

I also thought I felt great at 45 years old and 339 pounds, but there is no comparison to how I feel now. I no longer take medication of any kind. I have more energy then at any time in my life. It only gets better every day.

Life is great, Rick

I guess it depends on you..and the surgery type.  Everyone has a different experience post op,  most are normal, but the reality is that some are constantly sick, and other constantly throw up post op....some for a long time after WLS.  I had the DS 15 months ago, and I never thrown up or any type of "sick" feeling before or after I eat.   Scott

Bob, First 3 months for me- Yike!!!! Next 3? Better…. Last 3 years? Ya-Frickin’-Hoo!!! No nausea. Haven’t "gaked" in about 3 years. Dumped about 6 to 8 times total. (mostly in year one, that learning curve is a Biotche!) Normal Bowel Movements since about 6 months post-op. For most everyone- first 2 to 3 weeks? Total Case of- "What The F’ did I do to myself!?!" For most everyone- 2 to 3 years out? "Why The F’ didn’t I do this Years Ago!?!" As with everything- "Your Mileage May Vary…" Best Wishes- Dx

Ever seen a dog turned loose in the yard after being cooped-up in the house? They just go out in the yard and run around in circles,..basically because they can? Thats me. I am so amazed at how much more able I am.  Feel good?  Not always but feel able to do things as opposed to not feeling like getting up or ashamed of how unable aI amd to successfully do things in a timely fashion,...not now buddy.  Rock and roll and whats next?  Ocassionally I run ot of steam, so I just sit for a few and suck down some water or OJ and maybe a protein bar or a banana and I'm back in the game. Dx colorfully hit the nail on the head. Its part of the journey back to normal, but its a normal that is wonderfully better than Ive expperinced in aklong time and itsa different normal than beofer surgery.  Food is fuel  and not a silent and always pleasing companion.  I eat more now because my body needs fuel than because I want something good. It is definitly a newer beter way to live and I am loving it. I hope you join me and the others on this side of the knife in the near future Bob.  Its kinda like guys that love Harley's.  If you've never ridden one,...you wouldn't understand.  Or better still, a spitiual experince,..unless you've had it,  its tough to tell someone else how it feels,..but you know and you know God knows and it doesn't really matter if anyone else gets it or not. Come on in Bob,...the water's great!!!

hey bob, i was super sick in the hospital and didn't take any morophine because it made me sick. i threw up so much they were worried that i might have busted the surgery. they went through a ton of meds to make me stop before they found reglen worked best. they sent it home with me too. since then i don't get sick at all except when i get just regular sick like anyone else. once i got off all those other meds i wasn't as dizzy either. so i think you'll do fine after the first few weeks from surgery.......carbonblob

Bottom line, you do what you are supposed to do and you feel incredible.  You decide to pu**** by eating all your so called "favorite foods" and you will feel lousy for about 4 hours.  For me, fried foods and a lot of sugar does that.  A little doesn't sugar does not for me, pizza does.   The problem with being pre-op is you cannot know how incredible you actually feel post op.  And when you are post-op you cannot put into words how great you feel.   Sometimes we only express problems we are having.  Sort of like the silent majority.  You only hear the bad news.  But I would do this again in a heartbeat.  No questions asked.  But until you are there, you won't know what I'm talking about.  All the guys post op at this point and experiencing new life know what I'm talking about.  You feel nauseous only when you decide to feel that way by doing something stupid and eating some fried chicken or eating way too fast.   You make it sound like morning sickness.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  Only when you decide to cheat do you run into problems.  Or at least that's what happens with me. I know you are a religious man, Bob.  Let me put it in these terms.  The closest thing to how I feel now is the joy of becoming Born Again.  WLS is certainly not to that level of joy, that deep seated satisfaction and peace, but where it is similar in feeling of hope and every day being new. So many FARTs we actually hold back sharing - energy, feelings of being normal, buying off the rack, not sweating, not smelling of BO all the time, fitting into car seats, airline seats, etc.  And pre-WLS, I'm not sure I had that hope in this life.  I had given up. One final note.  It was almost 90 degrees here in Nashville on Monday.  I outlasted my 6 year old in energy playing basketball on Monday afternoon.  That was after shampooing all the carpets in the house, fixing the plumbing, cleaning all my closets out, cleaning out the garage, running up and down the stairs AND being on pain medicine that makes me drowsy (root canal yesterday)) I couldn't even dream that big 7 months ago before surgery.   Hope this helps. Greg

Bob, I have not been nausious since my surgery.  That was 18 months ago.  I have thrown up because it was more comfortable that being full.  I can also tell you that after about 3 weeks my energy level want way up.  I accomplished more last summer than I did in my previous ten.  I still get some knee irritation walking down stairs but is does not compare to before.  Life is much better now. Scott

Everyone is having excellent answers to my concern.  Thanks for sharing.  I never thought about it in those terms!  Excellent.  Bob.

Bob, I am 6 months out and I can't remember when I have felt so full of energy! I have lost about 130#, down from 368 and though I am still "fat" by the charts, I only buy one pair of pants at a time and a couple of shirts as I can only wear them for a few months until they are hanging off of me! I started with a tight size 56 pant and I am now in 42s that are way too big, I will soon be buying 40s and am looking forward to being in the 30s! Only if I eat too fast or don't chew well enough is there a problem of not feeling well. If I eat much faster than the one bite in ten minutes my doctor insists upon, I feel like I just ate half a turkey on Thanksgiving day! I now fix myself one scrambled egg, with a little turkey sliced up in it and a half a slice of toast for a "big" breakfast on the weekends and I look at all that food and wonder how I could ever fini****! My current daily meals goes something like this, At wakeup, 1 10 oz Latte (1% milk and decaf coffee, no sweetener) about 15 minutes to drink (fairly fast really but I don't like cold coffee) Breakfast 1/4 cup whole grain hot cereal with about 3 oz of canned chicken chunks. eaten over at least 1 hour, longer if I feel full between bites. I will open a small can of chicken (12 oz) in the morning Mid morning 4 cups decaf coffee, over about 1 to 1 1/2 hours Lunch, about 4 to 5 oz of the chicken chunks I opened earlier for breakfast. (the rest will be used the next day for breakfast) or 2-3 oz chicken and a small apple. about 1 1/2 hours Afternoon drive home from work, 4-6 oz of beef jerky eaten over about 1 1/2 hours (yes I have a long drive home) Dinner 1/2 sandwitch or about 3oz meat (chicken, beef ect) and a few veggies. For the rest of the day 4 sug free popcicles and 1/2 to 1 liter of crystal light. I used to eat the whole above in ONE MEAL! Now I go through out the whole day with no hunger at all! I have more energy than I can remember having in the last 20 years, If I had known how much better I would feel after loosing the weight, I would have done it DECADES AGO!