Gastric Sleeve Recovery Time: The Truth on What Happens

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While bariatric surgery is considered major surgery, in my experience, the recovery from it wasn’t awful. Your gastric sleeve recovery time will last for three to five weeks, with most people returning to work within one to two weeks. Your pain isn’t too terrible, but the pain is subjective. You may have more or less pain than I had. You’ll be down and out for a few days, so arrange for someone to take care of the house, kids and any other responsibilities you may have. The most surprising thing after surgery is how little hunger you feel. The gastric sleeve recovery time depends on the person, but generally, you’ll be back to normal activity in three to five weeks.

Recovery in the Hospital

Your gastric sleeve recovery time begins the moment you awaken from surgery. With the effects of the anesthesia still weighing on you, you may feel mixed emotions. You’ll feel relief that you made it through surgery without any complications (hopefully) and have awakened from your drug-induced slumber. You’ll probably feel a little scared too – you’ve just been given a shiny new tool and you don’t want to ruin it. Excitement could also be a feeling you’re having – excited to begin a brand new life and excited to finally, after countless years, diets, and tears, lose the weight.

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What you probably won’t feel a lot of at that point is pain. The nurses and doctors will be managing your pain through IV medications, so you may feel even euphoric. You won’t feel hungry (you will probably be thirsty), but your stomach may feel tender or sore. It may be hard to move, especially when you first have to get out of bed. As you become more and more awake though, the drugs may wear off. Let the nurses or doctor know if the pain begins to be unbearable.

Gastric Sleeve Recovery Time

If your surgery is performed laparoscopically, and most surgeries are these days, you’ll have a shorter recovery time versus an open procedure. An open procedure is where the doctor has to make a big incision on your abdomen to perform the bariatric surgery. WebMD details what you can expect after weight loss surgery. In it, the web site states that you’ll spend two to three days in the hospital, and return to normal activities in three to five weeks.

WebMD’s web site states there is a possibility for complications and side effects, but less than five percent of weight loss surgery procedures have serious complications. Some side effects of bariatric surgery include:

• Gallstones
• Constipation
• Wound infections
• Dumping syndrome
• Bleeding in stool
• Blood clots
• Leaks

Recovery at Home

Once you can walk around the hospital, can pass urine and bowel movements, and can hold down some liquids, you may be released to go home. At home, you’ll have to take things easy for a while. You’ll have a strict schedule to follow. You need to be making sure that you are drinking six to eight cups of water per day, and this includes any clear liquids you are allowed to consume at this point. It can be hard to consume so much fluid right after surgery. You won’t be able to chug water anymore. I set a timer for every five minutes and would drink one to two ounces of water.

You may also have to use an incentive spirometer to help keep your lungs clear and functioning properly. You may also be prescribed a whole host of medication – pain killers, stool softeners, and antibiotics. Take everything as prescribed and do everything the doctor tells you. I also had to get up and walk frequently, so I set a lot of timers to remind myself to move.

Walking

As I mentioned, during your gastric sleeve recovery time, you’ll have to walk at regular times. You don’t need to aim for your 10,000 steps per day, but you should be getting up and out of bed every few hours to walk around for a few minutes. This movement helps keep your blood flowing and prevents blood clots. It also helps get you some energy back, even though it may not feel like it at the time. Each walk will build on the last and you can start going further and longer each time.

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Activities of Daily Living

Returning to your activities of daily living during your gastric sleeve recovery time is different for everyone. You may feel like you can shower as soon as you get home, but make sure someone is close by in case you need them. You’ll be surprised at how quickly you’ll get tired for the first few months after surgery. Have someone assist you with picking things up off the floor. Always follow your doctor’s instructions as to when it’s safe for you to return to normal grooming and bathing activities. You can return to having sex as soon as you feel up to it. However, avoid driving for at least the first week or as long as you are taking pain killers.

Incisions

You’ll have four to six incisions on your abdomen if you had your surgery done laparoscopically. They may be covered with a special bandage called a Steri-Strip. You should leave those strips in place until they fall off naturally. One incision may hurt worse than the others – this will be the largest of the incisions and the one where they pulled your excess stomach out. If the incisions start getting red, swollen or warm to the touch, call your doctor immediately as they may be a sign of infections. You may also bruise quite a bit. My stomach turned all shades of colors. It looked like someone ran me over with a truck.

Complications

I mentioned some complications from surgery listed on the WebMD Web site, but many of those are complications that can happen later down the road. If you want to know immediate complication risks, continue reading. Some warning signs of possible complications include:

• Temperature greater than 101 degrees Fahrenheit
• Increased abdominal pain or swelling
• Increased incision pain
• Incision becomes bright red or hot to touch
• Pus-like drainage from your incision
• Persistent nausea or vomiting (you may have some after surgery – but if it’s continuous and doesn’t get better – it could be the sign of a complication
• Persistent cough and shortness of breath
• Difficulty swallowing that doesn’t get better after two weeks
• Bleeding

Remember to follow all instructions as directed by your doctor.

Returning to Work

Your gastric sleeve recovery time will include time away from work. Some patients return to work as early as one week after surgery, depending on the type of work you do. If you work in an office, you may just need one to two weeks off work. If you do more strenuous physical work, you may need a few weeks longer. Speak with your doctor to see how long you need off for your specific job.

Energy Levels

It took a long time for me to get my energy levels back. Not only are you recovering from major surgery, but you are eating significantly less food. Consuming fewer calories means your body has less fuel to energize it. Your body will tap into stored fat for energy at this point, but it’s still really easy to get tired. I don’t think my energy levels came back for a good two months after surgery. I wasn’t allowed to exercise for four weeks after surgery, although walking was allowed and encouraged. However, I barely had the energy to make it through the day at that point.

My Gastric Sleeve Recovery Story

For my gastric sleeve procedure, I spent one night in the hospital. I came home the next day. I remember on the drive home from the hospital, I was given ice-cold water. It made me so nauseous, I had to have my parents pull over the truck because I thought I was going to vomit. Luckily, I didn’t. However, I drank room-temperature water almost all the time after that. Now, the ice-cold water doesn’t bother me, but it did then.

I didn’t have much pain. Three days post-op is the last time I took a narcotic pain killer. My stomach felt like I just did 1,000 sit-ups, and it was very sore. Drinking was really difficult, but as I wrote, I set a timer for every five minutes to remind myself to drink. The most surprising effect of the surgery was that I never felt hungry. I didn’t feel hungry until I got to be about six or eight months post-op.

I returned to driving about a week after surgery and returned to work two weeks after surgery. I worked at an office job in a warehouse at the time, and I frequently went on the production floor and carried boxes. It was hard for me the first few days back at work. It took a lot out of me. I slept a lot those first few weeks, and my body needed it.

Gastric Sleeve Recovery Time

Now you know what to expect during your gastric sleeve recovery time. While everyone will have a different experience, you can expect to have manageable pain. You’ll regain energy in a few weeks to a few months. You can typically return to work in one to two weeks, and full activity in three to five weeks. You’ll soon forget all of the pain and hassle associated with the procedure as the weight drops and your confidence soars. Your new life starts, and it’s an exciting chapter!

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In Summary

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