karenb4729

Thanks for the tips Joybl. I think I'm going to have my husband go stock up on some Swansons. I have the Unjury which tastes fine to me but Swansons is lighter tasting and I think would be really great for the first couple of weeks and I can always add a little unflavored powder to it. Its going to be tough but I think I'm going to adapt the Marine motto "when the going gets tough, the tough get going".

I'm right there with you! Surgery is tomorrow at 7:30am PT. I had to drink magnesium citrate yesterday for a bowel prep and am on Clear liquids with no eating or drinking after midnight. Its funny because two weeks ago I was such a basket case and now, well is more resolved and at peace with my choice. I'm glad that I have taken 4 weeks off work because I feel like I can relax in the healing process because I have a month to get use to the newness of everything before adding in the work stress. We are going to do great and I can't wait to see what we all look like this time next year.

My Dr had me do a 30 day pre-op with carbs of 30g or less (total carb not net carbs). The NUT told me that at 50 or less you will shrink your liver. I think my Dr says 30 just to make sure people stick within the limits and do not try to eat up to the 50.

I know that I will have to open mine too, at least until I get to 3 months out. Same thing with the "anti gallstone" medicine.

I'm listening! No you aren't rambling -you are helping. I'm being sleeved on Monday and I'm impressed that you are already back to working. So sorry that you don't have anyone there to be with you but you can always share those milestones here!

So we are going to need to be here to support each other for the day 4 and 5 meltdowns the other's seem to experience. I think having a number of people sleeved on the same day will be a great support. I know that I feel very calm but scared about the pain/soreness/life change that will come after the surgery. Then I remind myself that I made it through a year of chemotherapy so this should be a piece of ..... (not cake) chicken! LOL Oh Mina - I'm also getting my drain out on the 13th too! I made that appointment and my pre-surgery appointment.

I'm on clear liquids for the time in the hospital and then come home to two weeks of full liquids followed by 6 weeks of pureed before hitting soft foods. At 8 days it sounds like you are progressing pretty quickly. Also, I have been told that they usually pump in about 10lbs of fluid during surgery and hospital stay so to lose 7 lbs at 8 days is awesome! That's what I'm hoping to lose per month!

I guess I should prepare for the meltdowns huh. I'm having surgery on Monday. Since I already went through menopause some years ago I wonder if it will be different for me as far as the hormones go. I'm sure when you are tired, don't have enough protein and get dehydrated it's easy to hit the low moods - heck, that happens to me now!

OK - so now I feel unprepared cause I haven't packed a bag yet. I know that I'm not bringing my makeup or hair stuff. Now I'm wishing I had bought some headbands to get my hair out of my face. Debating on the Kindle because I don't think I will find myself reading but I might download a bood on my IPod because at least I could listen. I have my Protein drinks, my unjury chicken broth, the cystosport whey isolate drinks cause I like them better than Isopure. Popsicles and Jello. So my pre-op diet was 30 days of low carbs, under 30g a day. The today I had to drink magnesium citrate to clear my bowels and am on liquids only until midnight tomorrow and then nothing. My surgery is at 7:30am and I will be at the hospital at 5am! Yay for all of us!! I seem to be much calmer than I have been in these past few weeks!

Well, I met with my Dr on March 27th and will be having my surgery this coming Monday. Yes, its scary and quicker than I thought and boy have I gone back and forth rethinking my decision. However, I have had a BMI of 40+ for over 5 years which means that nothing I have done in the past has worked. Its time for me to step up and make a life change so I can have a longer life.

Hi, there are medications you can take to reduce the uric acid. I was on chemotherapy back in 1989/1990 and a side effect of medicine was gout and kidney stone. I remember there was a pill I had to take daily to prevent the gout., allopurinol. You may want to ask your Dr about that if it becomes an ongoing issue.

I like the cytosport whey protein clear drink in the tropical flavor. Its an already mixed clear drink more like a juice. Its 0 carbs, 0 calories and 32g protein. It kind of reminds me of a margarita. I get it at the Vitamin Shoppe

I'm so glad they found what was causing your issues. It's bad enough to have problems but even worse if you don't know why you are having the problems. Best wishes for a speedy recovery!

Yay - thanks for helping those of us going in after you! My take is always to prepare for the worst and hope for the best.

Also, if things aren't sitting well in your stomach try using some papaya enzyme. That's something my DR recommends when you get the queasy "at too much" feeling. You can buy the chewable version.

Jane - where are you located? I'm in the Lynnwood/Bothell area. I use to have horses too and one of the things I hope to do when I lose weight is get back to riding... I sure miss it!

I have only told my husband, daughter and son that live in my local area (not the son out of the country) and two friends that also have long standing weight issues plus, my hairdresser..LOL They are all supportive although my husband is worried. As for the rest, my co-workers have made enough comments in the past about WLS that there is no point telling them an my other friends too They all think I'm having surgery to fix some "internal" issues. No one is invading my privacy but asking exactly what I'm doing. They have also seen I'm losing weight because I went on a very low carb diet so I could lose 5% of my weigh required by my DR - actually lost %10. So, they won't be surprised when I continute to lose weight. Anyway - this is my business and I do feel much more stigma being fat than having WLS.

Oh watch that Ensure!! I drank that when I was on Chemo for a year and gained 60+ lbs, and considering how ill I was most of the time that was a lot of weight - which is part of the problem I have today. Ensure has a lot of suger.

I'm scared Sh**less too! My surgery is on Monday. I think its normal.... geez, I hate pain and needing to ask for help!

The day I got my surgery date I cried because I felt llike a failure that I couldn't lose the weight the "normal" way. Since then I have actually lost over 25lbs on my Dr's low carb pre-op diet. The voice in my head started to tell me that maybe I could do it on my own. But, standing in the grocery store cracker aisle I know in my heart of hearts without the goal of surgery I would be gorging myself on a big box of Chicken in a Bisquit. At this point, failure for me would be to not go through with the surgery and stay as I am.

Is it harder the next day? I was wondering if the first day is easier because you are drugged up but the second day makes you realize how sore you are. I'm scheduled next Monday.

Good job getting through this. Are you using any ice packs on your stomach? I know my Dr recommends placing ice packs on your stomach to help with the swelling. He also keeps in the drain for at least a week to help with the fluid levels in your abdomen.

I'm not sleeved yet, June 4th is my date. I'm hoping for a loss of no more than 10lbs a month because maybe my skin will catch up to my body. In the long run losing a little more slowly is better. My whole point of getting the sleeve is because I would get long stalls with my weight loss, get frustrated and then over eat and break my diet. Now, when I hit those same plateaus I won't be able to "pig out".

I was diagnosed with sleep apnea during all the testing for the WLS. I'm now on a CPAP machine and have to bring it with me to the hospital for the recovery room. My understanding from the sleep study Dr is that it can have a huge impact on anesthesia.

I'm sorry, but I'm having a hard time with the idea of a 12 year old having surgery. As a parent I wouldn't want to make that choice to remove most of my child's stomach let alone the risks involved. It's hard enough to imagine the complications I can possibly have but to put a child through that... don't think I could.