Chelsi

congrats! i appreciate the story. i'm getting sleeved in a week and it's nice to hear how other people's surgeries went to know what might happen. good luck!

I got a call from my surgeons office today saying they need to move my surgery up one day. so instead of the 19th, my surgery will be the 18th. that's a WEEK. it really hit me today. I'm nervous, but I'm also so excited. eeeeek!

one less day i'm starving on the pre-op diet. i'm really just looking forward to post-op so i can stop worrying.

my first NUT appointment was nearly two months before my date. so since i only needed a three week "pre op, liver reduction diet" (which i'm on now and ugh, the next two weeks cannot go any SLOWER lol), she told me to still aim for 60-80 grams of protein a day and stay very low carb. mostly low carb because carbs are a trigger for me. just by doing that, i lost 14lbs in three weeks.

so i went to support last night and was telling my fellow bariatric surgery people how i'm on the three week pre-op diet. i was talking about how sometimes i have to choke down a shake because i can't finish it. someone suggested drinking isopure instead of a protein shake because it's "like gatorade". would this replace a meal? i don't know much about isopure so i'm curious to try it. i am going to email my NUT about it too. just curious! thanks!

that's what i'm worried about, because right now i'm so sick of the protein shakes. so i don't know how i'm going to feel after the surgery. idk! but i didn't mind it. so that's good!

yeah the after taste was sort of gross but it was the typical protein aftertaste that I feel all the products have.

i just tried the apple melon one and i didn't think it was that bad. i'll try the blue raspberry tomorrow. they're definitely pricey, but i didn't mind the one i had. so, that's good. it's nice to not have that creamy/milky consistency of the protein shake. i was getting sick of it!

i just bought them. i already had breakfast, i'm waiting until i'm hungry again to try one. but i will let you know!

i bought two bottles. the apple melon and the blue raspberry, that's what everyone last night said were the best flavors. i heard the grape tastes like cough medicine. :\

they make the toasted coconut vanilla in light and fit? my local grocery store only carries like three flavors. i cried when i had to give up the cafe latte oikos one. soooo good.

i switched from bariatric to pure protein, they're less sweet. i felt like the sweetness of the BA was making me sick. it seemed to help. but the first few days you will feel sick because you're stomach enzymes are getting used to a much less fuller stomach (at least that's what my NUT told me when i told her i was starving). it WILL get better. i'm on day six of my three week pre-op diet. the hunger pains have gone down. make sure you get all your water in, too. it makes a difference.

most of the time if you haven't been with a company for a year you might not qualify for FMLA. i work for a group home where i do light cleaning/cooking/laundry and i was told i will probably be out for 3-4 weeks as i won't even be able to lift laundry baskets/pots/etc. but my job also doesn't let you go back unless you're cleared for no restrictions. i would talk to your boss, and if they don't have a definite answer, call your human resources person. from there, see if you qualify for short term disability or FMLA. if not, ask if they will let you come back with limited restrictions and give you a more sedentary job like register or floor sales or something where you're not really required to lift crazy heavy things. maybe even just answering phones or something? sometimes they can be flexible like that. but don't just call in blindly, they'll definitely be less willing to work with you. also, they cannot fire you for a medical reason/leave, but they can technically "remove" your position. if you have any questions, let me know, i've dealt with a few employers with surgeries. i'm pretty seasoned on it. haha. good luck!

i was told to only eat dannon light and fit. same for greek yogurt. chobani and the oikos have too much sugar/carbs.

i'm on my pre-op now with 2-3 shakes a day to replace meals. i'm allowed one meal a day. but i always add SF syrup to my shakes because i don't think they're sweet enough. she said that was okay, but no fruits or anything like that. hope that helps!

you're lucky. i wish i could eat something other than lean protein and non-starchy veggies. the lack of carbs was hard, but the lack of cheese in my diet is harder! you can do it, though! you're so close to your surgery date, too! good luck!

I personally hate the bariatric advantage. it tastes like they try too hard to make it taste "real" that it's worse than the cheap stuff. haha. I use pure protein powder. I like both the chocolate and vanilla. but I prefer the chocolate even though I'm usually a vanilla person!

so tomorrow i start my three week liver reduction diet. as per my surgeon it's 2 protein shakes (one for breakfast, one for dinner) and a lunch consisting of lean meat and non-starchy vegetables. I know myself, and I'm probably going to either get sick of the veggies and meat or won't have enough time to prepare it and want a protein shake. do you think it would be okay to either drink 3 protein shakes instead, or put the meal as dinner? i'm going to my nut on monday and i'll ask, but until then i wanted to know what you guys thought? or should i strictly follow what she said?

i've been substituting one meal a day for a protein shake, sometimes another with a Protein Bar. i find they fill me up really well, which i wasn't expecting. i hope it gets better for you! and i hope i don't get headaches!

that is wonderful to hear! especially because i need to lose 20-25lbs before surgery and i've only lost 14. i'm glad to hear it was worth it! and i definitely do not plan on cheating.

i'm really worried about the times because i have a weird sleep schedule because i work nights. i don't wake up until 11, so my breakfast is really at noon. my lunch is at work, when they're having dinner, and then i eat again at like 9-10pm. that's what i was worried about. thank you!

I have not heard of anything about sbu's program. I'm having mine done with dr ahmad and argwala in mather and they are amazing! ive also heard good things about dr matta (spelling?) in peconic bay in riverhead. whatever you do, I heard brookhavens program is terrible.

i start my liver reduction diet next week and tomorrow i am going out for cheese fries and a beer. that's all i really want. i know i can have them again, but i don't think i will choose to eat them after surgery. i will miss having a whole stomach so i can go to all you can eat sushi! but it'll all be worth it!

I had my endoscopy today, and everything turned out great. But I took out my nose piercing and it closed in the two hours the procedure took! Only bad thing to happen so far in this journey. Losing weight > losing my piercing, though!

i had my nose piercing for two years! that's why i was so surprised it closed on me. but i figure it's alright since i would have had to take it out again in a month for the actual surgery.