Question:
Physically and Mentally

How do you feel coming home and post-op after the Gastric By-pass? I have a long drive after surgery and am trying to think ahead.    — Charlene R. (posted on January 22, 2011)

January 21, 2011
Hi there... i had surgery on a friday morning and went home on monday... was totally fine, don't dwell on it. the next day i was riding around in a car with family. the emotional aspect for me was the worst, medically i was fine, no pain, no troubles. think positive.
   — MarthaJ0110

January 22, 2011
A lot will depend on if you are having your surgery laparoscopically or open. Either way, you will be in some pain. You will be given pain meds to help you through the first few days...be sure and take them. Bring a pillow to hold against your incision in the car for the bumps in the road. Mentally, you should feel like you have successfully completed the first step in changing your life for the better forever. Congratulations, and good luck!
   — Bonnie H.

January 22, 2011
Coming home will be a mere drop in a bucket compared to your first year. If anyone tells you it is a piece of cake, do not believe it, but it is so worth it. Take one day at a time and try your hardest. Good luck
   — FSUMom

January 22, 2011
I felt great, had surgery on Thursday, came home on Sat but could not leave the area since my surgeon is more than 250 miles from where I live. I went and saw him on Monday, then came home. Not supposed to lift 20 pounds but I had horses to feed so did that right away. I did have pain for about two weeks where they put a big stitch to anchor the left over stomach but like they said, it went away and I have had no other problems. I am now 9 months post op and have lost 130 pounds, and within 15 pounds of my goal weight already.
   — tfqh99

January 23, 2011
I'm not sure how long your ride home is, but it is suggested that you stop every half hour and take a short walk (like 5 mins), to help prevent blood clots which can occur after any surgery. The pillow to hold over your tummy will also help you be more comfortable. Luckily this surgery is not a very painful one, you will mostly be really sore and feel like you've been doing crunches for days, lol! Good luck, and welcome to the losers bench!!
   — Clumsybarbie

January 23, 2011
Hi Charlene. From my home to my surgeon's hospital was a 4 1/2 hour drive. I discussed the ride home with my surgeon before my surgery. He told me to get out of the car frequently to walk and stretch. I instructed my boyfriend (my driver) to stop every hour on the way home. I slept most of the way home but he did wake me several times to walk. It wasn't every hour since there's a stretch of highway with no exit. There was one stretch of 1 1/2 hours. Anyway we did fine. Just have a blanket to snuggle with and place a small pillow between you and the seatbelt and you'll do fine.
   — Caribou ME

February 5, 2011
I'm sorry FSUMom.... but I have to disagree. Mine WAS a piece of cake. Apparently, I don't suffer pain like "normal" people, so the discomfort I felt was more akin to having done 50 situps when I hadn't exercised for 10 years. When I work up from surgery, I was smiling so big I thought my face would crack. I was raring to up up and walking within a couple of hours, and the nurses had to keep telling me to SLOW DOWN because my heart rate was getting too high. It was kind of comical. I had a self-monitored morphine pump, but I think I MAYBE used it three or 4 times in the two days it was hooked up. And, my mental/emotional outlook was positively giddy. I was happy and full of energy. I felt like I'd been given a second chance at life, and I was euphoric, to say the least. I should mention that I was 55 when I had the surgery, and weighed 312 pounds. I won't say that I didn't run into problems, but they were really nothing that caused me significant distress. I developed an infection around the JP drain that that leave in for 10 days, and although it wasn't really painful, it was messy and gross, and the frequent bandage changing caused my skin to get a little raw. I also developed a stricture - when your stoma develops some scar-tissue, making the opening too small for food to pass through... and so you end up throwing up most of what you eat, and your body goes into "starvation mode" and stops losing weight - so I got depressed about that for a couple of weeks.... but once I spoke to the PA and found out what it was and had the EGD to stretch the stoma out again, everything was fine and I began losing weight again. I was at goal within about 11 - 12 months. Right now, I've regained about 10 pounds because I've been incapacitated for about a year and haven't been able to work out at the gym at all... but recent back and shoulder surgery have fixed that, and now that I'm almost done with physical therapy, I've been approved to go back to doing my regular routine at the gym and at home, and I've already lost 5 of the re-gained pounds. So, for me, it pretty much HAS been a piece of cake. I'm one of the lucky ones. I think a LOT has to do with your mindset and your ability to deal with surgical procedures.... lucky for me, I've never had any adverse reactions to either anesthesia or pain meds, and like I said, I don't seem to experience pain like other people do. I must have an extraordinarily high tolerance for it. But, bottom line. I had the surgery (laparoscopic Gastric Bypass), was pretty much pain free, and even went shopping for extra dressings and bandages on the way home from the hospital! You'll do fine - if you WANT to!
   — Erica Alikchihoo