Question:
Will I gain energy after surgery?

I am planning on having the VBG done this summer. My Dr. emphasizes exercising and walking as soon as possible after. Now I have no energy and my joints and back really hurt a lot if I walk much at all. Will I be able to overcome this pain after surgury and exercise as I should??    — Carole F. (posted on May 4, 1999)

May 3, 1999
Most docs don't expect you to start jogging the day after surgery. Once your sleep apena has been brought under control, or is gone, you won't be so lacking in energy. And as the weight melts away, you'll be able to walk a bit further each week. Don't push yourself so hard that you end up with damage, like a hernia! Slow 'n easy. This far, only, the first week. Then next week, add a BIT more, and so on. Lots of water is what you carry on your trips! I have to ask, are you POSITIVE you want a VBG?
   — vitalady

May 3, 1999
You should make yourself walk as soon as possible, even if it is just to the hospital hallway and back. You will feel more energy each day. I am 9 weeks post-op, and have tons of energy. I didn't get this way quickly, though. It took about 5-6 weeks. My surgeon told me to exercise each day. However, I took a break when I started feeling lightheaded during exercise. A relative of mine who had the same surgery fainted once, soon after her surgery, and I didn't want to repeat that. After about a week off from exercise, I started up again, and feel fantastic. Before surgery, it hurt my back, hips, and knees just to walk to the kitchen in the morning. I don't have that pain anymore, and haven't thought about it in weeks. Besides walking to increase your energy, you must walk to prevent blood clots forming in your leg that could eventually kill you.
   — Elizabeth W.

May 4, 1999
Before my VBG I couldn't even do the family grocery shopping anymore, let alone exercise. I found that I could walk in the hospital(you HAVE to or you'll get blood clots or pneumonia)...then I didn't walk too much for about a month. There will be a period where you wake up one morning and find out you feel WONDERFUL(it is usually right after complaining that you still don't have energy..what did you do to yourself! :-)...then slowly start...even walking to the end of your driveway is a starting place. You will find energy you've never had before! It is great! I'm even able to HELP others move out of their apartments...clean the carpets etc! I find so much JOY that I can be of service now..rather than get depressed that I can't help others. Carole in OK
   — Ben R.

May 4, 1999
I had RNY gastroplasty. The first three weeks following surgery, I lost 34 lbs. I felt so much better so quickly. It was amazing to me. After I lost the first hundred lbs, I was able to actually run to my daughters house from mine. That was the first time I had actually run in years and years. It felt great. I am now 150 lbs lighter than I was before surgery and have maintained my current weight for over a year now. I was right at 300 and now am 150. Went from dress size 26/28 to size 7/8. You will feel so much better. My knees used to hurt and now I have no knee pain at all. I always had pain in my low back and it is gone now as well.
   — Peggy W.

May 5, 1999
You'll get there. Walking in the hospital was the worst. But each day after coming home I tried to go a little further. I had no fitness level whatsoever before surgery. I am now six months post-op and can do the entire Advance Taebo Workout (which I love, by the way). It will come. The pain in my knees has become almost none existant.
   — dboat

May 7, 1999
Carol, we could be twins. I HATED exercise (it was too much effort and everything hurt). That was at 400 pounds in Decmeber. I've lost 95 pounds and feel wonderful. I walk just cause it feels good now (never felt like that in 55 years). My back rarely bothers me and I have only one problem knee that I'm getting some therapy for (which I can now get therapy for since I'm losing weight). It's important to walk just abour right after surgery. Obese people are at risk in the respiration department and the blood clot department. Walking helps clear the anesthesia from our systems. The first sit up was a surprise but after that (and after they started mild pain medications) I walked several times a day and sat up most of the day. Not long walks (to the bathroom and down the hall to visit another patient and use the scale). Now I'm taking tai chi classes.. .kinda cool. I have more energy than I had at 30. You'll have pain meds after surgery and then you'll find yourself stronger and stronger. This time next year, I'll race ya LOL. Good luck, hon Susan [email protected]
   — Susan C.