Iamreallydoingthis

Congratulations! Truly inspiring!

Jimmy - best of luck to you. You're only a few days away. Thanks for starting this thread!

Congrats Thyck747. That is an amazing number! You go girl!

Since we're talking about our senses and tastes changing, how about our sense of smell? I can garlic when someone has had it and that has never happened to me before. Sadly, when my boyfriend tries to give me a kiss I almost turn away. He doesn't need to have much of it but it smells like he ate a clove or two... I've read this can last a month but for some people longer. I hope it clears up soon.

I am one week post op. I have been very fortunate that I have had no problems with pain, acid, Fluid intake etc. What advice would you give someone preparing for this surgery? I have a few recommendations of my own, but thought it would be helpful to share your thoughts on what made your process/transition smoother. My thoughts are: 1. Be mentally ready for this change. You have to realize the sleeve is a tool that YOU have to use. The sleeve isn't a miracle drug that will magically make pounds fall off. You have to eat healthy nutritional foods. 2. Hydration is key post op. If you currently are not a big Water drinker, you should start trying now to increase your intake. 3. Be prepared for comments from others that don't understand why you've opted to do this. When I first started telling people and I would receive negative comments about it, I felt defeated and second guessed my decision. 4. Start getting physically active (if you can) before surgery. Sit and use handheld weights, walk as much as you can. You don't reaize how many other muscles other than your core (stomach) muscles you use to help get yourself in and out of bed post op. If those other muscles are not strong, they will be sore on top of a stomach that feels like it has done 1,000 crunches. 5. If you are going to be out of work for a period of time, be sure you know your employer's policy on time off and understand the timeline for necessary paperwork that needs to be completed and who needs to complete it. 6. Have a meal plan for what you may like to try to eat post op. Plan your meals a day in advance. This will allow you to stick with your Protein intake goals. 7. Start walking as soon as you can post op. It truly makes a difference. 8. Listen to your body post op and keep your follow up appointments. If you had a nutritionist or bariatric coordinator, use them as resources. What else would you recommend?

Hi Lil4heartz - I was just sleeved by Dr. Peters on the 16th and had a great experience. Feel free to inbox me if you want to ask me anything.

Congratulations on feeling so well. I had the same experience last week. I was prepared for the worse based on some of the experiences I've read on this site. I'm thankful it went as smoothly as it did. I spoke with the nutritionist about protien the first few days as I had a hard time with the clear liquid protein and she said to concentrate on fluids more. How long til you can be on pureed foods?

Thanks Willow. It is funny how every doctor is different. Someone in a previous post said something about their stomach removed from the right, my doc removed it on my left side. I'm sorry you're struggling to get down the protein. Hopefully each day will show some improvement. Let's stay in touch to keep one another motivated!

LTarleton - Isopure is not very good. I struggled to get it down, I mixed it with flavored Vitamin water anything and still did not sit well with me. I was only on liquids for two days so I was told to focus more on getting water in than protein... thankfully the pureed phase has been easy for me.

I was sleeved on the 16th. I had pain Monday and Tuesday. It felt like I had done 1,000 crunches. I walked a lot in the hospital and it helped tremendously. I had bad reflux on Tuesday night and was afraid this would be a nightly occurance. Thankfully it has not been back. I walked 1.5 miles Wednesday and Thursday and 3 miles today. I feel great. My scale says I'm down 10 lbs. I'm so excited. Today was the first day of pureed foods so for breakfast I had Muscle Milk Light with 2 tbsp of peanut butter, lunch was a small cottage cheese and refried beans, I had another Muscle Milk Light in the afternoon and for dinner I had a half pureed Purdue Perfect Portion chicken breast and some pureed mashed potatoes and green beans. I got in my water intake and my 80 grams of protein today. I'm so thankful that I've had no complications.

I'm getting sleeved on the 16th too. I'm excited and nervous at the same time. I wish you all the best!

I am scheduled for the 16th too and went through the same rollercoaster of emotions you're going through. JimmyGotSoul was right on with the questions to ask yourself. I arrived that the conclusion this is the best thing for me and I am now counting down the days. Good luck to you. Please stay in touch post op with me so we can cheer one another on through this journey.

Thanks everyone!

Steph and Kendra - thank you both! Twelve days til I'm sleeved. I just wanted to be prepared for what to expect expense wise. I've paid for the nutrition appointments and life skills classes as well as the OptiFast. The only thing remaining is my portion of the actual surgery!

Aetna has approved my surgery! I was just wondering what the average cost is for the surgery. I have met my deductible for the year so I'm responsible for 10%. What has your out of pocket cost been?