Myonlybattle

Thanks to all the replies. I clearly didn't do a good job asking my question. But a lot of you gave me good answers anyway, so thank you!

@@vogue Love this idea (my husband probably will too!) and I've already told some of my big drinker friends that I am getting healthy and don't like feeling the effects of alcohol (which they already know) and so am going to limit myself to one drink for at least the near future. So that goes hand in hand - if and when they try and push, my husband can save me! @@jenn1 thanks for all your thoughts - I know I'll feel a little strange at first (it will be a big change from the way I usually eat) and it's good to hear that it does feel strange but is still do-able. Shortly after solid foods is great - I'll probably put a 2 week buffer in and book something and hope for the best. thank you all!

Thanks to all -- @@AvaFern and @@VSGAnn2014 I will use the antibiotics idea for the pre-op concert! As for the future, you are right, my friends WILL notice and WILL ask - they will be very curious! It is a lively group and alcohol is always a part of everything and if I don't order my "usual" or try a "fun drink" that someone made at a get-together it will be very much the topic of conversation. I don't want to lose my social life and since it does revolve around food and drink (and all the other woman just run 10 miles every morning to take care of it!!) I need to tread carefully. I like the put my lips to a drink idea for some occasions, when I can get away with it - and will use that too! Mostly I plan to have ONE drink when I go out and tell people that's all I can do now that I'm being healthy and eating less. One question I have - just so I can commit to a couple of these social plans is WHEN can I go out to dinner with others? I have no idea if it's a month or 6 months from surgery . . . if anyone can respond to that part, I'd appreciate it!

@@jenn1 thanks for the response. Do you have a glass of wine when you go out with the people who don't know? Do you take tiny bites and then wait 5 minutes between? Do people notice? TIA!!

Good Luck to you!! Let us know how it goes, I can't wait to have mine!

Hi, my surgery will be September 3rd, I'm in Boston. Ive been waiting awhile for this - was approved in May but waited because I was traveling over the summer - but I am getting more and more afraid as the date is getting closer. I'm not afraid of the actual surgery (although that will probably come too) but of the hair loss, loose skin, and the fact that it is irreversible. I go back and forth between having these fears and also being so excited for a new start in life. Would love to be buddies as we go through all this together, and good luck to all of you!!

I am a mom of older kids (13 and 8) and I PROMISE you this will get way better when your daughter starts school, and you will have the bonus of feeling better about yourself than every before (at least, that's my plan after I have the sleeve) . . . it's very hard to be in a place with a young child and no family around - you can go to playgrounds and that sort of thing - you may luck out, I know I did at a couple - and you should look to see if there are any other mother's groups you are missing. I'm in Mass and there are a few groups in my town alone to choose from. But even if you don't find any, you WILL find friends if you reach out once your daughter starts school. You are a young mom so not every mom is going to be in her 20s, but there will be some! Stay positive, enjoy your daughter for now, and get ready to be social when she starts school. Good Luck to you!

@@dtiller1147, Thank you!

I am two months out but was approved late May so I have been waiting a long time - and it has been HARD. I would love to have a support group with others who are having the surgery in the general time frame (I'm September) - I'm sure it will be a great thing to have before and after surgery! Does this site allow support groups? I wouldn't know how to begin to form one, but would love to be a part of one!

My surgery is September also -- my surgeon requires a 2-night hospital stay. I actually think that sounds like a long time to have to stay, but when I questioned him he said there are no exceptions. Strange that the surgeons could vary so much on the length of stay.

Hi, I have been lurking too but have posted a couple of times with questions and have been overwhelmed by the support and how generous so many members are with their time -- My surgery is Sept. 3 which is still a bit away but if anyone else has a date around then I'd love to connect! I can tell that this journey will be very difficult but totally worth it and the more we support each other the easier it will be!

Thank you so much for posting your story - I am one of those people so nervous about it and it really helps to know it hasn't been that bad for you. Can I ask what Protein shakes you're drinking? Sounds like they are doing the job!

Hi Everyone, I have a question for those of you who are in the pre-op diet stage or beyond it. My surgery date is Sept. 3rd and I I have ordered the Syntrax and unjury sample packs (thanks to this forum's advice). So now these packages are sitting in my kitchen and they do NOT look very appealing What would you advise - should I start trying them now so I know what I like or are they going to be so bad that it will make me dread the pre-op phase even more?! When did you start drinking them - ahead of time or only when you HAD to? Thanks in advance for any advice!

I've tried a few different ones in the last several days. Really liked the Syntrax nectar lemon tea - it tasted like iced tea (ok, not exactly, but close enough!). Tried Isopure Grape Frost and the taste was ok at first but had a really bad aftertaste - still, I think it's doable if needed for the time when we all have to be on clear Protein drinks. It's overwhelming how many brands are out there and how different everyone's tastes are - so glad I am doing this now to try and figure out what works for me. Love the idea of the banana cream pie sickles - what shake did you use to make those?

KSTUZ, I'm right outside Boston . . . really love this site too - my date isn't until September so I'm thinking about the surgery all the time and reading posts from here but not yet doing much yet. Can't wait to get started!! Hope you get your date soon!!

McButterpants, the Thin Mint shake sounds wonderful, thank you!! I really appreciate all your tips on the shakes in general, and I'm printing the shake recipe now - can't wait to try it!

Okay, I just ordered a Nutribullet online from Kohls. Buying all the supplies is clearly the easiest part for me )) I will definitely report on what's good as I go along . . . . there was one "recipe" that had sugar-free caramel syrup, coffee extract and some other things thats sounds DELICIOUS, it was on a post somewhere in here . . . That is the first one I'll try when I get my Nutribullet!

Thanks Everyone! It was really good advice, because I just tried one (unjury chocolate Splendor in Decaf Coffee) and it's really not bad!! Not thrilled with the clumps of powder floating on top but I waited for the coffee to get down to 120 degrees so not sure how to prevent that - I guess you just keep stirring and stirring as you drink! Really appreciate the advice, and now I'm feeling that I CAN DO THIS!

I am in the same boat -- the reason I need the sleeve is because I can't follow the rules and I make terrible food choices and overeat. There's no way to know ahead of time if the Sleeve will be an effective tool for me -- will it be enough to give me the ability to make the right choices? I have no idea. All I know is that I can't do it now, pre-surgery. It's one thing to be aware of the rules and understand them -- most of us already have a very good handle on this from years of dieting. It's another thing to be able to follow the rules. I'm really hoping that the sleeve will allow me to succeed in following the rules. Good Luck to you, and to those of you who have already had the sleeve and making it work, thanks for the all the helpful posts and Congrats!

Hi, I know this is a personal decision but I want to reach out to everyone to get any thoughts or opinions you may have based on your own experiences. I just received approval for my sleeve today (YAY!) and I have been given the option to have the surgery next week on May 27th. They are offering me this option because I am going away the end of June and the end of July (flying both times) and the surgeon doesn't want me flying too close to the surgery date. He said he is comfortable with the May 27th date and it's ok that I'd be flying approx. 3-1/2 weeks later. He also said the pre-op diet could be for 1 week instead of 2 and all I really HAD to do was the 48 hour clear liquid diet just prior to surgery. I am so excited to start my post-sleeve life that I am trying to figure out if this option will work for me. The reasons it might not are: 1. my husband will not be around, I will literally be driving myself to the hospital. He is a surgeon and will be in the OR the day of my surgery (at a hospital 30 miles away) and will not be available in any way for me that day. 2. I am going on vacation the end of June to Washington DC where I will be staying in a hotel - and I have no idea what I can eat at restaurants 3 meals a day when I am 3-1/2 weeks out of surgery. 3. I am going to Mexico at the end of July to an all-inclusive (worst place to be if you can't eat). If I don't do the May 27 date, then the earliest I can do is August, and if that's the case I am going to wait until September when my kids are back in school - the surgery date would be September 3rd. This would be easier because all the vacations would be over and I wouldn't book another until I was able to handle it. It just feels like so long to wait and I feel like I am wasting an opportunity by waiting until then. If anyone has had a similar dilemma or just advice, I'd really appreciate it! I need to make this decision by tomorrow . . . Thanks so much!

I just want to say thank you to all of you who responded. I just spoke to my husband and told him about the approval and choice I was given, and he feels I need to wait until September - he wouldn't be able to get any time off next week or the week after and he said it's major surgery and I can't drive myself home from it and I need him to be available and he needs to know he's there instead of far away performing surgery while worrying about me! So that's that, and now I have to look at the glass half full and think about how this gives me time to prepare, to start exercising a bit and to become better educated about life after the sleeve. And this forum is probably the way I'll do that - as a newbie I am blown away by how much good information there is here! I would like to expand on my thank you -- I am overwhelmed with gratitude that my dilemma could receive so many thoughtful responses. I almost didn't post because it seemed like such a silly thing to ask advice about, but I was going crazy trying to figure it all out today. Just knowing that others are going through something similar to what I'm going through is a great feeling. I only hope that I can be as supportive to others on the site as you have been to me. Thank you all so much.

I'm in the pre-op process and don't have a date yet but I've been told this will happen in the next few months. I feel as though I NEED to do this because I've tried everything else and it hasn't worked. But I am afraid that I won't be able to give up food and follow the "rules" post-sleeve. My nutritionist asked me, as part of preparing for the sleeve, to eat at least 20 g of Protein for Breakfast, lunch and dinner and to eat no bread, Pasta, or cakes/cookies/candy. I HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO DO THIS EVEN FOR ONE DAY!! So now I'm doubting if I can even succeed at the sleeve. Has anyone else felt this way?

I can't wait for that time either - when I don't think about food constantly! On so many levels I feel done with all the fat and calories now, but then somehow each day I manage to "need" them again. The thing I really want most of all is to stop failing - it is such a horrible feeling to try and fail at something over and over again - and I can't wait to have the sleeve as a tool so that I can finally succeed!! Can't wait! So glad I found this forum, makes a world of difference to know I'm not alone . . .

Thank you all so much, you all said what I was hoping to hear. I really appreciate it.