Walk. Sip. Rest. Repeat.
That’s pretty much your mantra for the first week of life after Gastric Bypass surgery.
You can barely fit a half cup of liquid into your new pouch, yet you’re supposed to cram 64 ounces of water and 60 grams of protein into it in the course of a day. You hurt like hell, yet you’re supposed to walk as much as possible. Good thing they sent you home with good drugs.
Then, there’s your sudden withdrawal from food. Your brain doesn’t quite know how to process this new lack of hunger. And your emotions are all haywire.
Personally, I felt like I’d had the surgery — why wasn’t I skinny already? And why in the name of everything that’s good must every protein supplement be sweet? Shouldn’t protein taste like chicken? Shouldn’t you at least have that option? That’s what I thought.
Here are some of the things (besides good drugs) that helped me through that first week of hell:
- Sip small. I quickly found that I could fit a lot more liquid into my pouch (without feeling painfully stuffed) if I took teeny tiny sips.
- Burping is everything. With such a small pouch, and constant sips, you get air. Air hurts. So forget the manners and burp as much as you can.
- Walk as much as you possibly can. I did laps around my dining room table. Slow laps, mind you, but laps. And walking while sipping helps the burping – see, it all works together!
- Be prepared for the after-effects of anesthesia: loud or sudden noises really bother me any time I have surgery, as do crowds. It goes away after several days.
- Mood swings. Big ones. Prepare yourself and the family. No, there really isn’t a reason why you’re crying, and for that matter there doesn’t have to be. Just go with it, you’ll be happy again in a little while.
- Remember that this, too, shall pass. And no, it wasn’t a mistake. You made this decision in your right mind for good reasons, and even if you can’t remember them right now, they were valid. Just hang on. It will get better.
- Head hunger. It sucks, but it’s there. You see a commercial and all you can think of are all the things you can’t have. But as soon as you sip your broth, you’re stuffed. It’s all a part of your big Divorce from food. Go ahead and mourn it. Just remind yourself that there’s a reason you did this.
In another week or so, you’ll be feeling much better. Weight will start dropping off (even though you may feel like it’s going slooooowwwly, when you add it up you’ll be surprised) and pretty soon you’ll get more energy.
There will still be day-to-day struggles. But the worst (barring complications) is over.
4 responses so far ↓
1 7 Reasons Gastric Bypass Surgery Is NOT The Easy Way Out | The Daily Files // Dec 12, 2008 at 5:04 pm
[...] Week. The days immediately following surgery are the most intense, miserable experience you can imagine. You have been through major surgery and [...]
2 smithaim4 // Apr 19, 2009 at 1:55 pm
Wow, that was exactly what I was going through and you said exactly what I needed to hear. I had the Roux-ny Bypass 6 days ago and it’s been the hardest thing, next to having 4 c-sections. I’m 34 and felt this was something that would help me in my life and my family. I weighed 245 and knew I had to lose the weight, but dieting and exercise alone wasn’t working. My mom had the surgery done 4 years ago at 63. We’re a lot a like when it comes to our feelings about food and I didn’t want to wait until 63 to feel physically good at last.
I must admit after this surgery I kept hoping it was a bad dream, that I really hadn’t gone through with it and if I had one wish, I would wish not to have had the surgery. I felt a lot of anxiety. My husband and Mom have been giving me a lot of support and if it wasn’t for them telling me “no, you did make the right decision to have the surgery”, I would still be crying, “I’m such an idiot”- well I’m still crying just not all the time. But I have to remember I researched this, I prayed about this and I had the best Surgen and Medical post op support you can get. I felt good about the decision. And yes, this to shall pass, I just have to remember that. One obsticle I’m experiencing is having a 1 year old and not being able to pick him up and hold him has been really hard. I have to wait 6 weeks before I can lift him.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts, they meant a lot to me. – lol Aimee
3 GillieD // Aug 8, 2009 at 5:11 pm
Hi there, I live in the UK and had my bypass on 3rd August, so I am 5 days in! I can’t tell you how much it helped me reading your stuff – I thought I was prepared but really was not. My surgeonwas excellent as was the hospital (I went private as I have had years of abuse from the NHS about my weight loss failure and was not prepared to jump through their hoops), however, more info about how these post op days would feel would not have gone amiss! I had referred pain in my right shoulder and incredibly painful gas (or wind as we call it here). I am also sick of lying on my back as I am a natural side/front sleeper, I have been coughing from the need to burp, which in turn has been hurting my diaphragm. But each day I am gradually feeling better! I found that accupressure point treatment worked well for these things and if anyone was going nuts with pain and discomfort then trying this or acupunture would be a good idea. I needed my partner to do the points as I could not bend to reach them! I am also lucky in that he will help with other nice treats like foot massage and back rubs – be kind to yourself and get support from others! Many thanks for your great site.
4 queenmeaves // Aug 19, 2009 at 11:20 am
My first week was rough but week 2 was a breeze for me. The first few days were painful and unpleasant. Those first few days I had NO hunger at all, but on day 2 they told me to start drinking and took out my IV so I made myself and it was a pain but I quickly adapted. I didn’t really have mood swings, but as a result of being bipolar I was and still take lithium carbonate, which levels everything out. Eating and drinking were kinda hard that first week as I had to adjust to having a new stomach but now I barely notice. It does get better, but Gastric bypass isn’t easy. I feel really fortunate as I have had almost NO big issues with it so far.
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