Surgery recovery and early loss: what nobody tells you but EVERYBODY asks

Secret Agent Sparklekitty, who is on the forum, ObesityHelp.com, posted this the other day.  I thought it was great material and received permission to re-post it here on my blog.  I know I will be referring back to this post many times after surgery.

There's a TON of reading material out there on the pros and con's of each surgery, what to do to prepare, what to eat afterwards, etc. But there a lot of questions that pop up and apparently few surgeons discuss these! So consider this a mini-FAQ of sorts, based on LOTS of posts here over the past year or so, and it may be useful to those soon bound for surgery or those who're in the early days on the losers' bench.

1. You will feel like you've been hit by a tour bus. This is normal. Your body has been through major changes in surgery, and healing takes tons of energy. Plus your entire system has to get used to living on a different number of calories than it has in a long time! Even after the first week or two and you don't completely feel like death warmed over on a cafeteria tray, it's very common to have low energy and feel a little "out of it." Hang in there! It gets better, and most people are back to full speed in a few weeks. In the meantime, don't feel guilty for taking a nap if you need to.

2. Everyone's loss is different-- don't compare yourself. Many people see a big change on the scale in the first week after surgery. Others may gain a pound of two instead. We all come from different medical situations and it's impossible to compare ourselves to others, so there's no point in panicking that you haven't lost X lb in your first week like PosterXYZ and assuming that you're doomed for failure.

3. Your loss will not be consistent. Most people come home from the hospital, lose weight with each daily weigh-in, and then at some point between 3 and 5 weeks out, the scale stops moving for a few days. This is the dreaded "three week stall" and pretty much EVERYBODY goes through it. It is normal, it is healthy, it does not mean that you or your surgery are faulty-- it means that your body is finally saying, "hey, I guess I'd better learn to live on Y number of calories now" and adjusting to everything. Be patient and know you're not alone.

4. You will not feel much restriction, if any, until several weeks post-op. The nerves in your stomach have been cut and can't feel a darn thing, including how much food is in there. Once again, your surgery did not fail because you don't have restriction-- you just need to regrow some body parts! Trying to eat until you "feel full" is dangerous, because you likely won't reach that point and you could wreck havok on your newly-rearranged guts, so be careful!

5. There are many post-op eating plans; follow the one from YOUR doctor. Some people get "mushies" at 1 week out, others wait a month, and there are all sorts of variations on what's OK and not at each "stage" of recovery. Just because you see another poster mention eating 1/2c of yogurt at 2 weeks out means that you should do the same if YOUR surgeon wants you only drinking protein shakes at the 2-week mark. The person who read your medical history and cut into your guts AND went to med school knows better than any random stranger out here in Internet-Land.

6. You will probably be hormonal. It's the surgery and it's OK. Our bodies store estrogen in fat cells, and when we lose weight rapidly, we lose the hormones along with it-- leading to the infamous "hormone dump." You may feel cranky, grumpy, snappy, and have mood swings that rival your teenage years... think PMS x 10. Luckily it slows down with your initial weight loss, but this is not a good time to make sudden, big decisions (buying a Jaguar, finding and marrying a hot young pool boy, etc., breaking up with your BFF). And ladies, be prepared for your "monthlies" to go a little wonky, you may find your cycle thrown off or even have a light period that lasts a week or more. If in doubt, call your gyno