Question:
Can anyone tell me when this over whelming yucky feeling will let up?
I'm now 21/2 weeks post-op. Eating and drinking what I can. It's not always easy. I start my b12 pills in a couple of days. Do you think I'll start feeling better then. I'm 46 have lost about 25 lbs since surgery. But I just can't get going. I went out for a short shopping trip the other day, then stayed in bed yesterday. I'm so lethargic. Yes I am having trouble getting in enough protein, but my doc said just try to get in 500 calories for now. Water is hard too but I sip all day long. Just someone tell me this fairly normal. I read about all you guys going back to work in 2-3 weeks and I know I just couldn't, and really wonder if I'll be ready at 5-6 weeks. Words of encouragement would be greatly appreciated, because if I feel this was for too long I'll be on this site telling everybody to forget it. — Wendy W. (posted on October 5, 2000)
October 5, 2000
Wendy.. You are absolutely normal! Recovery from an "open"
procedure is 6-8 weeks. I started feeling non-fatigue at around week 5.
Then week 6 was better & week 7 was even better. From then on, it only
gets better! Eat/Drink your protein. This will help you with fatigue
& will also help you heal! It sounds like your up & about...that's
good! Get that walking in, take your naps. Give yourself a chance to
recover...and take care.
— [Deactivated Member]
October 5, 2000
Those folks who go back to work after 2 or 3 weeks have mostly had lap
surgeries. It takes longer to heal after open surgery, and the time is
very individual. After two weeks, I still felt like I'd been run over.
After three weeks, I almost felt human. It was a good six weeks before I
started to feel like my old self again. As the days pass, you will be able
to get your food in easier, and will be sleeping better, and those things,
along with healing of your insides, will gradually get you back to normal.
Take it easy, and get as much rest as you can (in between walking of
course).
— Lynn K.
October 5, 2000
Hi Wendy, Don't be discouraged by the way you feel now. It will get
better. I tried to go back to work in 3 weeks and that was a big mistake.
I had no energy and just sat at home doing nothing. At about 5 or 6 weeks
I started feeling better and now at 12 weeks I feel great. Hang in there,
all the negative feelings will pass. I felt all the feelings you are going
through now, even wondered if I had made a big mistake at having WLS, but
don't regret it a bit now. Good luck :-} Day by day it will get better.
— Virginia S.
October 5, 2000
Wendy,
Relax! You'll feel better before you know it. I was off work for 4 full
weeks then went back part time and worked my way up to full days. I
remember feeling the same way at about 2.5 weeks - I was so frustrated
because my brain was back, but my body wasn't. Give yourself some time -
you'll be fine! Take care.
— Diane S.
October 5, 2000
Hang in there. I felt a big difference in the way I felt at 2 1/2 weeks
versus 3 1/2 weeks. You have just been through major surgery. Give it
time and you will feel wonderful.
— Rosanne O.
October 5, 2000
I AM JUST A LITTLE OLDER THAN YOU , 53 , AND I KNOW WHAT U ARE FEELING. I
HAD OPEN RNY PROX, ON 8/29/00. AND I WENT BACK TO WORK IN 4 WEEKS AND I AM
STARTING TO GET BETTER EACH DAY, GETTING BACK TO WORK HAS HELPED ME TO GET
MY MIND OFF AO EVERTHING AND BACK TO MY REGULAR LIFE. I DO WISH YOU LUCK
,BUT EVERTHING WILL GET BETTER.
— Catherine G.
October 5, 2000
Dear Wendy,
I know Dr.s differ, but mine advocated staying off for two whole months! I
took him up on it. I have been reminded over and over that this is a
really major procedure and to give it time. I am now over a year post-op,
so it is all kind of fuzzy right now, but I do recall wondering if I would
ever feel normal. And, of course, I do.
Good Luck!
— Peggy G.
October 5, 2000
Wendy, this feeling will go away, but you have to give it time and also be
patient with yourself. It will take time before you can get all the water,
protein and food in that you are supposed to. Your body needs time to
heal, and no one can get it all in in such a short period just after
surgery. Be sure you're taking your vitamins and get in as much protein as
you can - that will help with the tiredness. As for going back to work,
you need to do what's best for you. If you need 4 weeks or more, take it.
And when you do start back, you might want to do part time for the first
few days. It will help you get back into the swing of things. Hang in
there! It gets much beter - I promise!!!!!!
— Paula G.
October 5, 2000
Awwwww Wendy! I know exactly how you feel. I'm 52 and when I had surgery
was 325 pounds. I was in awful shape before the surgery, so of course I
felt horrible postop. I could hardly walk at all and was seriously short
of breath. You've just had MAJOR surgery and have to give your body and
spirit time to heal! I told my surgeon lots of times how lethargic I was
feeling ... and each time she reminded me that I had just had major
surgery. Sheesh ... that fact just did not want to sink in for some
reason. I guess I was expecting a miracle or something. Walking was the
key to my recovery, along with good nutrition and water (well, as much food
and water as I could handle). I walked as much as I could manage and each
day I felt better and better and could tell I was gaining strength and
endurance. In between walking, drinking and eating, I napped ... LOTS!
LOL I went back to work after a month and it was a little too soon, but I
was really fine. Bye two months out, I was almost back to normal and had
worked myself up to four miles of walking a day ... something I still do
and which I believe has helped me with a good weight loss. I just love the
fact I can move and love the way my body responds to me. I feel as though
I've been let out of prison. Please give yourself tons of credit for your
courage and bravery and try to foster a feeling of patience for yourself.
Give yourself a kiss in the mirror (I'm serious)! Open, transected RNY
2/23/00, 150 centimeters bypassed. Down 131 pounds!
— Martha O.
October 5, 2000
I stayed off work for 2 months and I should have stayed off longer. When I
went back it was at least another month until I could work a full week . I
went back because I knew I needed to move around more , and of course I
was too lazy to move on my own. I think you need to realize just how
extensive this surgery is and baby yourself for a while. I told myself I'd
never be superwoman again instead I'd be a super woman!!! Take care of
yourself. I'm 50 yrs old and I intend to live the rest of my life in the
best style I can afford. I will never deny myself anything again because I
feel I'm not worthy, don't feel intimidated because some people may just
heal differently than you do.
— Rose A.
October 5, 2000
I was absolutely a basket case 6 yrs ago, when I had my surgery. Could
hardly walk, nor breathe, nor function in most normal ways. NO energy
before surgery. Once I had my surgery, I was still in that condition for
awhile. However, we do clear liquids only for 4 weeks. BUT we start on
protein supplements on Day 7. We do no milk or sugar (which can induce
lethargy), so I actually went back to work part time within a week or so.
I just was a shuffling papers, nothing energetic. The "just had
surgery blues" lasts for awhile, but it gets better in tiny
increments. A little each day. In my case, I was actually much bettre
nourished after surgery than before, since I'd been on a perpetual diet. I
think that helped my energy level increase more than anything.
— vitalady
October 5, 2000
Hi Wendy, I think that 2 1/2 weeks is not enough time to let yourself
heal. You need to really take it easy. If you read some of the profiles of
the 2 week back to work crew, most of them had BMI's of around 40-45. At a
BMI of 71, you will need more time for your body to recover from the shock.
I have my surgery on Monday, my BMI is 54. I plan to be a complete hairball
for at least a month, and then see how I feel. Good Luck to you.
— Cara S.
October 6, 2000
Wendy ... welcome to the early days on the "other side"! I was
exactly the same way. Thought I was going to breeze through an open VBG,
come home, and be great ... after all, I'd had two c-sections where they
booted me out of the hospital after four days and expected me to be fully
able to look after a newborn, and I'd survived those. Of course, with the
first one I had an incision that ran for five months because I wasn't
getting enough rest, and with the second one ... oh, well, I was going to
be fine. I WASN'T FINE. NOBODY IS FINE AFTER TWO AND A HALF WEEKS. We
have greater, or lesser, complications, and we feel more, or less, tired,
and we are more, or less, able to eat whatever. Your body has had a
traumatic shock called surgery, and it needs time to recover its
equilibrium. As women, we just expect to be able to handle this stuff and
bounce right back from whatever life throws our way. It doesn't happen
that way, and you need to give yourself permission to feel like a sack of
fertilizer for a while. This will pass. Be patient, and kind with
yourself. If you'd had heart surgery or cancer surgery, you wouldn't be
expecting yourself to be dancing around the room after only two weeks.
This is no different. Take it slow, take it easy, enjoy your new life, and
take care.
— Cheryl Denomy
Click Here to Return