TerriLynne, I had an open procedure. It required a 7-inch vertical incision from navel to bottom of sternum. My surgeon did the RYGB, also known as roux-en-Y, and took out my gallbladder (which actually had four stones in it! who knew?). My recovery was slow because someone snipped a nerve bundle when making the incision. I had surgery in a teaching hospital, an arm of University of Washington, so there were students involved. The nerve pain was horrible but I have to tell you, most people have NO nerve involvement whatsoever. They heal up just like from any surgery.
Nevertheless, even with the little extra difficulty, I just took my time, laid in bed, took pain meds, got up several times a day to make broth or jell-o or drink a protein shake. I had the nausea that accompanies any opioid and passed bile for a few days because it was in my digestive tract from my gallbladder. I remember recovery as being very easy, but I was wiped out, & rolling over in bed with the nerve pain was horrible, but momentary. I had a social engagement I was expected to attend--dinner with friends--and I hadn't told anyone about my surgery, so I had to go. It was probably only a week after surgery. I drove there, picked at a little food on my plate & at some point, I remember needing to go into the bedroom alone to let some pain & nausea pass. But no one knew I was feeling at all bad.
Don't be nervous. The surgery is a snap & you just go to sleep & wake up a few hours later feeling a little discomfort, but nothing to write home about. In the hospital for a few days, I remember eating purple jello & drinking some kind of bouillon. I got up & walked a few times a day to keep my blood flowing & not developing clots. It was uncomfortable but I can't say I had any pain I couldn't handle, or dispatch with a punch of the Happy Bag O'Drugs they hung next to my bed! I really loved pushing that button.
No one outside my immediate family--my son, my ex-husband, who I lived with, and his fiancee, knew I had had the surgery. I recovered without anyone ever noticing anything was different or wrong. I've had teeth pulled that hurt more.
The only thing that bothered me after surgery was the scar on my belly. I didn't realize how often I had my midriff exposed, showing the scar. So, vanity was the most painful post-surgical experience I had! And when I weighed myself at the end of the first month, I had dropped 35 pounds! I dropped another 25 the second month & then my progress slowed up & eventually plateaued at about six months, but I had lost at least 75 pounds before that. I was working out at the YMCA, preparing for a week of hiking in the North Cascades (16 miles the first day, then up to the top of a 6600-foot mountain the next, & down again the third day, with lots of additional side trips. Blew out my knee on the sixth day & had to be transported by boat across the lake to the resort after flagging down a ranger). The exercise made my weight loss speed up & after 14 months, I had lost 115 pounds.
It's not a trip to Disneyland, but it's not that hard & not that painful. The results are totally worth any discomfort you might have. Just make sure you use the surgery as a TOOL, not a magic trick. You have to follow your post-op diet & your body will happily shed all the tonnage you want it to!
Did I miss anything?