My Big Day 3/15/2011

I am doing fine with only benefiber added to my shakes. I do a tbsp at a time to my shakes and everything has been working well. I hope that it continues that way! Benefiber is the way to go!

I want to give hope to the others of you about to go in for surgery. I had a rough time with nausea the day after my surgery but then it started to subside on Thurs morning and today I have had none. I walked for 45 mins twice, once outside and once on the treadmill. I also walked the dogs with my hubby for another 25 mins. I went shopping at Target and to the park with my son. I also did light cleaning and took two showers. I am not dragging around and am on the full liquid stage and the liquids are going down pretty good...just sipping them all slowly. I met my protein and fluid goal for the day and am very pleased with my progress. The pain is very little, only some at the largest incision on my left side. I expect that tomorrow I will feel even better and plan to go to the gym and to a birthday party in the afternoon. I had a bowel movement this morning after my first protein shake and it was completely liquid and came in spurts...I know TMI but lots of you worry about when to expect this. I am not weighing until I see the surgeon two weeks from now b/c don't want to know if the IV fluids put weight on me. Overall I would say I am a success story already and I hope other people have experiences similar to mine. Feel free to ask me any questions you may have. Also...have to mention a wonder drug I was given for nausea called Emend...it is awesome. It is usually given to chemotherapy patients for severe nausea and my surgeon ordered it for me preop and postop...its the bomb!

I was sleeved the same day as you and my secrets are gasx. Strips, heating pad, warm showers with the water stream on your left side, walking, and tiny sips. It hasn't been all roses buy the waters/ gas have cleared. Hang in there chicky

Skinny people just don't understand what us fat people go through. Here I am struggling to get through this pre-op diet and my lovely husband says he wants a big fat greasy pan pizza from pizza hut for dinner. That is like my favorite food in the whole world and I have been deprived for more than a month now. I immediately left the kitchen and hibernated in the bedroom when he came in with it and gave him the finger as I was exiting the room to let him know my disgust at his feeding! I am not hungry at all b/c I ate a little over budget already for dinner before he even ate...but still that pizza killed me. Now I must say I gave him the finger jokingly but am hoping he fed all the leftovers to the dogs before I have access to it. I am 3 days from surgery and will spend the next three days following the clear liquid diet even though my surgeon on requires the day before be clear liquid. I am overly prepared for this surgey and feel like I am planning a major vacation even though I only live 3 mins from the hospital I am having surgery at. My bags packed, my outfit is chosen, I am going to have a pedi/mani and a haircut on Monday and even bought a new outfit to where to/from the hospital. This is a huge event in my life and I hope to have memories (good ones) for years to come. I have been explaining to my 3 yr old boy that mommy is going to the hospital to have surgery on my belly. I hope he never remembers mommy as fat. I am going to spend this last weekend before surgery cleaning up the house and giving my husband and little boy lots of my attention. I need to start now by changing Jacob into his pjs so goodnight.

I am doing okay...came home from the hospital today. Had lots of nausea yesterday which kept me feeling pretty lousy and I had to stay until I got that under control. I have been home since 1230 and nausea has subsided. I have considerable pain on my left side where the largest incision is where they remove the stomach. I am eating Clear liquids...jello goes down easy and room temperature Water. I have no hunger pain! I fell my stomach rumbling but without the hunger feeling. I am looking forward to a good nights rest in my own bed. The gas-x strips were a life saver...I never even asked the doctor if I could take them...just went ahead and started taking them and felt so much better. If you think of anything else you want to know then just get back to me.

Well here I am making my first postop post and it is around 2am. I have a morphine pcs pump so I am sleeping intermittently based on how many times I press the button. I have to say the pain is mainly on my left side at the port site where the Srimach was removed. The pain isn't too bad at all. I have been nauseous off and on but no vomiting thank the lord. I am using alcohol swabs under my nose for the nausea on between my doses of zofran which is every 6 hours. Ice chips only since surgery and they go down easily. I have the reds hose and scd boots going on and oxygen via nasal cannula. My roommate had the sleeve also and everything OS the same for her including pain level. Will post again to9morrow after upper gi series and switching to clear liquids. Goodnight to all

I only did a liquid diet for today...one day...so I know that I do need this to work...I guess I will up the water.

I am freaking out b/c I took the magnesium citrate at 4 pm and it hasn't done its job yet! Am I going to be up all night going to the bathroom or does it just not work for some people? I was already nervous but now I am afraid the mag citrate isn't going to work for me and my bowels will not be prepped properly for surgery. Has anyone else had a hard time with this? The bottle says it works in 1/2 hr to 6 hrs. I am approaching the 6 hr mark with nothing to show for it. I don't want to be that patient who has a code brown (bm) on the OR table!!!

Good luck everyone I will be in your shoes tomorrow...see you on the losers bench

Advice about the unjury...order the samples first, try them then order the larger containers if you like it. I had high hopes of loving the chicken soup like everyone else and I tried it once and am not sure if I can do it again. It made me nauseous smelling it. Everyone's taste buds are different. I should have tried a sample first before ordering two canisters of the chicken soup which I may end up wasting b/c I don't know if I can give it another chance and I am not allowed mashed potatoes until after 7 months out from surgery. Any lowcard suggestions for using it would be appreciated...but using it with just the water doen't cut it for me...hard to stomach. A lot of people love this one and I am not sure why I don't but I want to give it another shot.

Never heard of something like this either! How scary..what did they do for you at the ER?

I am taking my own soft fleece blanket that I like b/c hospital blankets are not the soft! I already have my bag somewhat packed b/c I am going for surgery on Tuesday and I picked up some of things suggested in a previous post which was gasx strips and sugar free cough drops. Also, I am big on washing my face to feel clean so i am taking face wash. I am not taking anything to read or watch...not thinking I will be watching anything other than the tv.

Love your progress photos! You are doing awesome and you look so happy in the new picture. Congrats!

Please post photos! We all love seeing the transformation!

Wow, what a fantastic transformation in only 50 lbs! I can't wait until I am where you are now. How many clothing sizes have you dropped? Are you exercising a lot? Keep up the great work and keep posting.

Hey sleeve buddy...I share your same date. I have been following an Atkins type pre-op diet and have been pretty good with it except for a few small deviations but no major pig outs thank God! Tonight I had a little over my budget but am not going to freak out about it. I was extremely hungry and have followed the program exactly all day long. I am also going to start clear liquids tomorrow so that will be 3 days of broth, jello, posicles, crystal lite. I did buy some protein drinks at GNC and tried one which was horrible but I forced myself to drink it. They are called Isopure...I have only tried one flavor so far but I bought them all to try. Also, I ordered the Unjury chicken flavor protein powder and will start that this weekend with the clears. Do you have a clear liquid stage? Have you already packed your bag for the hospital/what did you pack? Where are you having your surgery? Keep me posted on your progress. Good luck with the pre-op diet

yeah, I am not taking shampoo or the hair dryer either b/c I don't think I will be showering while at the hospital...if I do I will just have my husband run out and get it for me. I was thinking of getting the pillow also so thanks for the advice. If you think of anything else please let me know.

JenniferKY, I packed slip on slippers, a short robe to cover my backside when I go out in the hall to walk, an eye mask to be able to sleep at night, earplugs, gas-x strips, sugar free cough drops, travel size deodorant, toothpaste, and face wash, chapstick, my own fluffy soft blanket. That is what I have packed so far but I still will be packing a few other things that I just thought of while writing this like a hairbrush. What have you packed so far?

Does it get easier? I just accomplished my first day of my surgeon's pre-op diet which is 6 small meals, 3 of which are protein shakes. I am starting earlier than is asked...he requests two weeks strictly. I just want to give myself a better head start on the weight loss, but God is it hard. I am starving and very grumpy! How many days until it gets easier? What is the norm for the amount of weight you should get off before having surgery? I read somewhere that 5% is common. I am hoping to be able to do that much to give myself some sense of accomplishment. Everyone thinks you are taking the easy way out for having weight loss surgery, but that is so not that case! I wish more people would be educated about weight loss surgery! I work in surgery and most of the people I work with have no idea what the vertical sleeve gastrectomy is b/c we do not do weight loss surgery at my hospital. Still, I wish there was a better way to get the word out and educate people about this surgery!

My date is the 15th...is this yours also? I already packed my bag and picked my outfit out to where to/from the hospital. You would think I was going on a vacation...too funny

Mine is as follows... Breakfast 8 oz skim milk, 1/2 scoop Protein powder, 4 oz fruit mid-morning premade Protein shake lunch 4 oz fruit, 6-8 oz plain yogurt afternoon 4 oz vegetable, 1 oz peanuts or1/2 cup hummus or Beans, or 2 tbsp Peanut Butter dinner 4 oz protein, 4 oz vegetable, 1/2 cup whole grains or 1/2 potato with 1 tbsp olive oil early evening 8 oz skim milk, 1/2 scoop Protein Powder, 4 oz fruit The above diet for two full weeks and then on the last day you can eat the breakfast, mid-morning shake, and lunch then switch to Clear liquids after that and take mag citrate at 5:00, then lots of Water before midnight and npo after that. Wondering how fast mag citrate works? Hmmm.

Thanks for your story...it does make me feel a little less anxiety by reading other people's stories. I am having surgery next Tuesday, early in the morning like you. I even packed most of what I want at the hospital in a bag today and am making sure I have everything lined up before next Tuesday. It is very nerve-racking at times (thinking of surgery next week), but I am trying to deal with the stress/anxiety positively. Good luck on your journey and thanks again for your detailed story.