makemyownluck

I'm pre-op as well and have had about the same amount of time between getting scheduled and my date. I got my date of May 2nd at the end of March, but my insurance didn't approve it til the first week in April. It seems like time has somehow slowed down AND sped up at the same time. This surgery is all I can think about anymore -- in some form or another. So, be prepared for some sleepless nights (get some Melatonin, it's saving my life right now!) and lots of time on this board! The more you learn, the better you'll do! Congrats on getting your date! LET THE FUN BEGIN!

I totally agree with the glorfied candy bar analogy! I look at labels of the different ones I see all the time, and none of them seem like a good nutritional value, aside from the fact they have protein. And considering you can get more out of a shake protein-wise, and they are less calories/carbs, I'll stick with shakes until my diet can include more protein-dense food choices. Of course, that's easy to say considering I'm still pre-op! I'm not even a week into my pre-op liquid diet and I'm already completely sick of these shakes!!

So I'm in my 2 wk preop diet, Day 5. Yesterday I started feeling lightheaded any time I stood up. Not unbearable, but noticeable. Today, that has continued and I also feel tired/sore all over. As if I exercised a lot (as in lifting weights), but I haven't had the energy to do much exercise except a few quick walks with the dogs. No weight lifting in over a week. Now, I'm worried because I'm having these issues when I'm consuming plenty of calories and protein. I've also been on a low carb/high protein diet for 6+ months, and "weened" myself into the liquid diet for 4 days prior to the actual start date of the liquid only diet, so this shouldn't really be some shock to my system. Is this how I can expect to feel after I've been sleeved? How long does it last? This is starting to make me question if this is the right thing for me to do. I'm worried.

Stop it! I just posted about my tummy doing whale songs yesterday!! Lol, we ARE sleeve sisters! Liquids still suck. I'm over them... gonna be a long 9 days. PLUS post op, ugh. All part of the journey, I guess!

I noticed that those interactions dried up the more weight I put on. I'm looking forward to getting those lost interactions back as I lose more weight. It wouldn't tick me off when it's strangers. But I'm already wondering about a few SNAKES around my office and how they'll be allll in my business when they start seeing me lose. It'll be interesting to see how people I know react to the smaller me!

Go, girl!

Every doctor tells their patients something different, so I think it's really up to you to limit what you do so you don't over do it. My doctor said no lifting over 10lbs until 6 weeks out. But I can walk around as much as I feel like I can handle. You don't want to rip open an incision or give yourself a hernia! But getting some exercise will do you good, but maybe not lifting quite yet...

I'm pre-op, started near where you are (my high is 459) and I've already lost over 50lbs. I'm having surgery May 2nd, so I'm excited to see how much I lose total. As "high BMI'ers" we tend to lose more quickly, but we'll hit stalls just like everyone else does. My surgeon says his results with sleeve vs. bypass are similar. Bypass patients maybe lose 5-10lbs more than the sleeve patients do, and I can live with that if it means fewer complications long term. Bypass patients can regain weight just like we can, but we don't have as high of a risk of long term anemia or Vitamin deficiencies like they do because of their intestines being altered. Everyone has to make their own choice on what they want to live with - either surgery is going to require work on your part! Good luck!

Welcome to the site! I'm having surgery May 2nd and hope to get out of it exactly what you're hoping to get out of it. Thanks to this tool, we'll both get there!

Hell week - so appropriate. Hell twoweeks is more like it. I appreciate the feedback. Can't wait to feel like Superwoman, Bean! I called my PCP and I'm going to see him tomorrow afternoon just to be sure it's not my blood pressure. I am on a med and I've lost a bit of weight in the past few months, so it's possible that it's getting too low. I was doing okay with the lightheadedness over the weekend, but today at work there was about a 10-20 second period where I really felt like I was going to pass out. It was kinda scary, I won't lie. I just really hope it's not something that will delay my surgery... but I don't know if I can deal with this for another week and a half, especially if it gets worse like it did today. Then again, if my doc tells me to stop my bp med and my bp is too high the day of surgery, that could be a problem. I JUST DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO. I just want to feel right.

Well... at least you know what you are. :)

I'm assuming you're one of the "lower BMI" patients... and I'm sorry you've gotten such discouragement from professionals along the way. They should all know better! As a high BMI'er who's gotten nothing but support from my MD, nurses and all the people I've met along the way with my pre-op requirements, I can say that their support hasn't made me feel better about myself or my decision. It kinda made me feel like, "Well, why would they say I don't need it? I'm freakin' huge." It's a shame that they think they are entitled to tell you what they think. I'm not sure what response is best (probably no response is best, but I'd have to bite my tongue from saying something like, "I don't remember asking for your opinion..." while making a face as if I were trying to recall if I did ask for their opinion...) Try not to let them get you down. They don't know your whole story!

yayyyy on having a date! I changed surgeons as well, however I'm doing mine in the US. You have to be comfortable with who you're choosing, I give you credit for having the guts to go with a surgeon you've not actually met! I wish you good luck with your journey!

AGREED! I wanted to (figuratively) murder every single one of my neighbors when I smelled the grills being fired up yesterday. I can't imagine baking a cake right now. Unless I planned to use it as a pillow. For my face.

You can call your insurance and ask if you have a pre-existing waiting period. They can tell you when it ends (can be up to 2 years)

Resubmit after May 1st. Since you're in your pre-x period, they probably didn't review your file at all. Keep doing what you were doing and tell the surgeon to resubmit May 1st

I won't! I didn't! I've been faithful to my diet and to myself!! Took the dogs on a walk last night and soooo may people were grilling. It was like my whole neighborhood was against me! But I was strong!!! Let's hope I can be just as strong today!

I didn't start weighing myself daily until I started the liquid diet. I have a goal to be less than 400lbs before surgery. I wasn't sure I'd make it when I started. Well, yesterday I was 409. This morning, I'm 405. Last Sunday, I was 423. 18 lbs in 1 week seems IMPOSSIBLE to be true. I'm weighing myself right after I wake up in the morning each time, so that time of day won't affect the results so much. Is it possible to lose 4lbs in a day? I'm not sure I believe my scale! But I weighed myself a few times and it kept coming back as 405! Yesterday, I was really feeling the tiredness of cutting your calories so dramatically. I "napped" from about 4pm until 11pm, got up, drank a glass of Water while wandering the internet a bit, then went back to sleep from about 1am til 5am. I feel a lot less tired than I did yesterday, but all that sleeping caused me to miss out on 1 or 2 "meals" of Protein shake. Could that really cause a 4lb weight loss?? Anyway, I'm gonna go do laundry while I still feel like I have the energy to do it. Feedback is appreciated...

IDK if you're a man or a woman, but we're Sleeve Sisters! I'm getting sleeved May 2nd as well. I'm doing a 2 week liquid diet, are you? If so, how's it goin?

I got back on my feet, you will too. But I haven't trusted a man since. I don't know how I'll really feel about male attention as I lose the weight... I always got it when I was late-teens/early 20s, even tho I was big then (but way smaller than I am now). I just feel like I'm in for a helluva ride, basically! Can't wait to see where it goes...

I'm in the final stretch. I'm ending Day 2 of the pre-op liquid diet. Tomorrow, I'll be 12 days away from surgery. I'm officially counting down! I'm really not hungry on the diet. Well, tonight I was feeling it a little - but only a tiny bit, so I just had a shake and I was fine. I'm not saying it will continue to be easy, but so far it's been fine. I started working my way into the liquid diet last weekend by having shakes but also one yogurt a day as well. Since Sunday, I've lost 13lbs. I was on my period last weekend, so I know that's part of it (cuz I had gained about 3 lbs the week before when the period was starting-hope I don't offend with TMI). Now I seem stuck in wondering how much weight I'll actually lose and how fast it will happen. I've never been thin, so I have no idea what any given weight would look like on me. I think to myself, "Will I still be plus size, but more like a size 18-20? Or will I actually be SKINNY and go for a size 10?" I also think to myself "You have a higher BMI, you'll lose faster!" and then I think "You don't wanna lose too fast because you'll look awful." Deep down, I seriously fear more than anything else that I'll look like a deflated elephant when this is all said and done. I strongly feel that I'll look terrible. I can feel myself self sabotaging with these thoughts, but I can't stop them. I want to believe that this surgery has nothing to do with vanity, but if I'm honest with myself, it's almost ALL about vanity. Vanity, and the idea that if I don't do something about my weight - AND QUICK - I'm gonna be alone for the rest of my life. And again, I have to stop thinking like this. Losing weight isn't gonna find me a decent man. At best, it's gonna give me the confidence to date, but even then it's not guaranteed that I'll meet a man I want to marry. Maybe the part of me that's causing the anxiety is the part that fears this surgery will change nothing. That even if I'm successful losing weight, nothing else will really change in my life. I like to think that suddenly I'll be so much more fun and outgoing and happy and friendly - because that's how I was when I was younger and thinner - but it's not realistic to think that my personality will revert to a time that long ago. I've had low self-esteem because of my weight for a long time. Will that change? Or will I still be miserable and self-loathing (i.e. calling myself a deflated elephant). I probably need a shrink. I've had therapists before, never really connected with any of them. And this is just, idk, embarrassing for me to talk about. :\ Well, on that note, I'm off to sleep. xo

You're married? There goes that board-crush. Lucky lady... she should keep a shirt. It'll remind you both where it came from and how much you've accomplished!

I can't be a Guru if I don't have my sleeve yet OR know how to update that title. THE TITLE IS LIES!!!

I don't know... that handsome devil can't be real. He's like a unicorn or a model or something. How do I change my title above my profile pic? IDK what I'd change it TO, but I wannaaa

It's daunting when you have so much to lose. I feel like any weight loss would be a success, but maybe I'm expecting too much because I have a LOT to lose. I'm 32, I try to remind myself that I AM still young... I just don't feel that way because I've been heavy for so long. But that will change. I think once I start to feel the difference, it will be easier to think positively. From my high weight, I had 289 lbs to lose. I'm having surgery in 11 days, and I've already lost 54lbs just by cleaning up my diet and exercising some. I don't work out nearly as much as I should. If I had been, my loss could have been a lot more by now. I originally set my goal so that I would be in the "normal" BMI range. But I don't know that I can get there without some plastic surgery, so I might actually be content just to get down to 200-215 or so. I'm 5'11, so that would put me in "overweight", but I think I'd be happy with that. Be glad you're doing it now. I wish I'd done it sooner!