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I started my pre-op dieet on the 1st. I had some tough days, but I'm feel pretty good now. I feel very busy right now. I've got all my usual stuff, plus a stack of pre-op appointments and this and that. That's good. Being busy means I spend less time worrying.

The scale says you're up from your start weight the day that you started nine days ago? Or you've been losing weight and just today your up? If the latter, that's normal. Our weight goes up and down all the time. Could be Water weight. If the former...that's odd. And how are you getting 1200 calories from just a single shake, a single salad, and popcicles and Jello? Are you using sugar free items? And low-fat dressing?

Oh take credit for EVERY. SINGLE. POUND. You lost it. It counts.

It gets better. I started mine on Sunday and I feel fine today. I had massive headaches and hunger in the beginning. Your body is probably going into ketosis (depending on your carbs); that can make you feel funky for a bit.

I just went to our patient education today and we were told during our Phase One (first week) not to drink more than eight ounces of Water in an hour because water is heavy and having a pouch full (even briefly) can put stress on the staple line. Of course, every doc is different, so YMMV.

How often did you get up and walk during the night? And you were up and walking right after getting to your room from recovery? I hope I can do that.

Just buy salad/dessert plates. They're half the size.

I saw an ad for this about a month ago and it looks like so much fun. Someday I hope to do it (although I'll be walking, not running, due to bad knees). I also found a Zombie 5K which looked like fun, too.

I think with BCBS it depends on your individual policy. I'm with BCBS and they do not pay for any type of weight loss surgery--at all--with our policy.

I'm not at this point (yet), but I had a question. If we are at the point where we can eat mushies, in general, are people allowed to have oat bran? Because one or two tablespoons of oat bran cooked in the microwave with a bit of milk has definitely taken care of this problem for me in the past. Tasty, too. I just don't know if bran would be considered too "rough" for our sleeves.

Yep, botox will take care of it. I'm like you. I don't have any wrinkles around my eyes, everything else is nice and smooth...and I have "the elevens" between my eyes. And yes, I'll be getting botox on them one of these days. Right now, I'm sporting bangs, so it doesn't bother me as much. Makeup won't do anything, and don't waste any money on miracle "cremes" that say they'll do it either; they really don't work.

Yeah, normal. In fact, when I had my lapband surgery, on our list of "things to bring" to the hospital were feminine products because surgery causes the blessed event to arrive early for some, or spotting for others. And sure enough...day three there she was... lol.

I'm getting a revsion and my surgeon said there was no way to know about scar tissue until he's "in there". So, while I'm hoping for an all-in-one procedure (removal of band and the sleeve), if there's too much scar tissue, he'll close me up and I'll have to do the sleeve in a couple of months. Yeah, from what he said, there's no way to know ahead of time.

(whoops, it printed twice, so I'm erasing this one)

Caffeine stimulates the appetite as well; something we're looking to avoid after being sleeved.

Thanks for this post. I never think of blood clots being in areas like that...and so far from surgery, too. I hope you recovery quickly.

Oh yesssss... You're body is now getting no caffeine, no sugar, and is switching to low carb. Plan to feel like crud for a few days. I'm day three in and still have my headache. The good news is this too shall pass. When I've done high-Protein liquid diets in the past at around day 5 or 6 it seems to resolve and I get tons of energy. I'm hoping that happens here.

I'm currently on a mostly-liquid pre-op diet (two shakes, one Protein bar, and a "sensible meal"). I'm using the nectar Protein powder, although I do have some Premier shakes I could switch to. Anyway, I'm having some issues that I hadn't expected. After drinking a shake I am extremely nauseous for about an hour. I'm a little concerned because if this is happening now, when my stomach is whole and not recovering, what will happen after I'm sleeved? Yikes. Has anyone else had this issue? If so, how did you solve it?

I don't think NSAIDs are as big of a deal as far as MedicAlert bracelets go. In an emergency, they're not going to be giving you NSAIDs. By the time you're taking anything by mouth, you should be conscious and able to say, "I can't have NSAIDs". It's the NG Tube thing that I'm worried about. If unconscious, I would want to let them know that they can't do a blind NG Tube.

I feel like I've gone crazy preparing. I have different types of Protein (shakes, powder, hot chocolate, Jello, pudding, broth -- I don't know what will taste good after surgery...lol), a heating pad, Gas X strips, Gatorade and Propel, baby spoons, small plates, crystal light, my Vitamins, and liquid Tylenol. I hope that's all I'll need.

There are stacks of acid relief meds out there. There are plenty of options. Just call your surgeon, explain the situation, and ask for a different med -- preferably one that is generic. Other PPIs (of which one is Nexium) include Omeprazole (Prilosec and a generic version), lansoprazole (Prevacid), rabeprazole (AcipHex) and pantoprazole (Protonix). Maybe get some prices first and then ask your doc if any of these might be appropriate.

Do you have a home? A home equity loan might work.