Recovery

Recovery is drastically different for every WLS patient. And to be honest, mine was incredibly easy so I might not help a ton here, but here are a few of my suggestions anyways!

• Get off the pain meds ASAP! They will drag you down and make you sleep all the time. Yes, sleep is good for recovery, but there comes a point where you just don’t need to be sleeping constantly anymore and getting out and walking will actually be more beneficial to the recovery process, but you won’t be wanting to do that if the pain meds are knocking you out all the time.
• Get up and walk. Take it slow and listen to your body, but moving will help you feel better!
• Have a comfy place for you. Somewhere fluffy and comfortable to sink into where there is a drink conveniently placed at your side and a remote in your hand. Have some sort of video to keep you occupied for the first few days after surgery – for me this meant DVRing things for a couple weeks before. Right after reading was too much effort – having something I could sit there and watch and half pay attention to was nice. Falling asleep on a book all the time wasn’t quite as convenient and constantly having to reread things just wasn’t fun. Mind numbing TV for the first couple days was great! Once off the pain meds, reading was more plausible.
• Track your water intake. Know your surgeon’s “rules”. Mine was 4 oz of water bare minimum per hour. I never had dehydration issues because I tracked these things.
• Know that hunger within the first 2 months is not hunger. It might be head hunger. It might be acid. But you are not hungry. I thought my NUT was well… NUTs when she told me acid could cause a hunger sensation. My reaction? Well I don’t feel acid, so it can’t be that. But sure enough, when I felt hunger in the first few weeks after surgery (but not acid!) I took some tums, and the “hunger” went away! I know it sounds nuts, but try it! Some tums can’t hurt you!