SkinnyDown

Thanks so much @@Babbs for the insight. I've lost 100 lbs on my own before a few times, and yes you're right, people do ask, and start treating me differently. Although that was still not enough weight to make me look or feel average sized. I believe this surgery is going to make that goal of reaching a "normal" weight, a real possibility. Wow. The changes that are coming. LIke I said, except for the first 5 years of my life, I have never known (average, normal, skinny, thin) nothing in those categories. I better brace myself. LOL

I understand what you mean. I think we will be different people in some ways. People will treat us differently. I'm looking forward to being treated like a regular human being. Honestly. Not like a sideshow circus freak, or like I have the plague. I'll look forward to NOT having mean people and young teenage boys yell horrible things about my fatness out of their windows, as they drive by. Or little kids remarking to their mom's about the fat lady. I've been made fun of my entire life. But even though I am looking forward to all that....I still have family members who don't want me to have this surgery. They are afraid of what it will do to me. How it will change me. I'm not really sure what that means to them, change how? But I do know that what people should be seeing is a happier person, a person in a lot less pain, which means a lot less cranky and moody. A person who will be more free and able to move around more. Do more. That's the person I see. One of the reasons I am in the predicament I am is because I know I was protecting myself from men. That's what I am terrified of most...what if, after all this...a man likes me? Yikes...I'm working on that in therapy. You see I have never been average or thin. Ever. Well, maybe the first couple years of my life, but I don't remember that time. I have had some relationships, but not many, and I am extremely shy around men. I guess I'll have to cross that bridge when and if I get to it. lol Who do you see when you think of yourself in the future? And I guess we have to ask ourselves at some point, what does it matter what anyone else thinks of us, but ourselves? I think we will still at our cores, be us. But maybe better versions of us.

Hi, I was just wondering if anyone could tell me how soon they allowed you to have ice chips or Water after surgery? I have had quite a few surgeries, and never fail to have the worst possible dry mouth afterwards, and can barely speak because my mouth and throat get so dry. Any input would be greatly appreciated. This is probably the biggest thing I am worried about. Surgery doesn't scare me, dry mouth does. LOL

Yeah I talked to the RN, and I told her, I said if you expect me to talk after surgery you're going to have to allow me something ...ice chips, biotine, something. or I won't even be able to speak. I've had enough surgeries to know better. I swear the dry mouth is more horrible than the surgery or pain or anything else I have to endure. But the RN told me my surgeon doesn't usually allow anything until the next day. We'll just see about that. LOL I don't want to go against orders, but I have to be able to communicate with the staff, or we're going to have serious issues.

I'm on the 5 shake a day diet. I don't see what the big deal is, personally. I have said this in other posts, if you can't do this...how do you expect to be able to handle things post op? The surgery is a tool, yes, but that tool doesn't stay as confining as it will be at first. Meaning, eventually your stomach will enlarge, and dumping will be a thing of the past. I'm not trying to be cruel. But I guess I wonder why just a few days out from surgery people are cheating or thinking of cheating. I quite enjoy my shakes, and I get sf Jello, popsicles, decaf tea or coffee, broth. Try the warm stuff, it makes you feel more full. Plus don't forget Water water water, and water with flavor drops. Remember, this is just my opinion...some people aren't going to like my viewpoint or be angry about it, but take it as you like....it can be helpful or you can ignore it. What I find most upsetting is people in my life who know I am going through this, of course I am hungry, but talk about food in front of me. That I think is just plain cruel. I live alone though so maybe this is much easier than someone who has to be around food. At any rate, I wish you luck, I wish you strength, and to remember what you are doing and why. You can do this....it's just a few more days. I promise you'll be so proud of yourself for doing it without cheating. Also think of the fact that it is helping your surgeon to work on you more easily. That alone is motivation enough for me. Question friends who know what you are doing, and yet are wanting to give you food. Really....I'd question that. You can do this, just 3 more days !!!!

More buddies! I love it. The support is overwhelming. I feel pretty special to have so many people rooting for me, and I for all of you! Yes a lot of people keep asking me how I am, and that's fine. It's the people who know I am on this 10 day liquid pre-op diet who are continuously talking about food that I wonder about. I was talking online, to a friend and her fiance tonight, on voice, and she mentioned making and was eating pizza on mic, no less than 7 times in our conversation she brought it up, despite me reminding her that I was on a liquid diet, and please could she refrain, and she did it again and again , and even her Fiance even told her to stop it a few times. I believe she was deliberately trying to get to me. I had a Protein shake and a V8 and went about my business with a full belly and a smile. But does anyone else have anyone already that's seemingly trying to sabotage them?

I'm on a 10 day liquid pre-op diet. 5 shakes a day (8 oz) with 4 grams of extra protein in each shake. Unlimited broth, sf popsicles, sf jello, V8 juice, decaf coffee and tea with artificial sweetener only, no creamer. Day 3 and I'm doing well. I feel a bit fuzzy headed, I think it's the extremely low calories, and my blood sugars keep dipping lower each day. The Dr. took me off one of my diabetic meds already. I'm on another oral med and 2 types of Insulin, so who knows, by the end of the 10 days I might be off even more meds! I believe, for myself this is a good test. If I can't do this, I have no business having surgery (that is just my own opinion and belief about myself) I don't want food to be a major focus anymore. It's something to nourish my body, and that's all I feel it should be. I know there are bigger reasons for this diet (to shrink my liver, so they have more room to work, inside me). But I welcome this time, before my surgery, to make sure my head is in the right place. That will be crucial in my opinion, to make this successful. I wish everyone success, and strength. This isn't easy...but it's going to be worth it!

YAY! If you want to be my buddy I'll be yours! We could be a trio of buddies! How about it? I want to help encourage both of you, and get the same in return. Bounce ideas and thoughts off each other, and maybe have a shoulder to cry on when times get tough. I'm going to friend both of you, and hopefully this can work out for all of us! Ohhh I forgot to say, I'm on my 10 day liquid diet. It's going fine, try to keep busy. It helps. Keep drinking that water! I already can tell that warm things...tea and broth help fill me up more.

I had an endoscopy, they even took some biopsies. I don't remember a thing. I didn't even have a sore throat. I was able to sing the next day at open mic. No problems at all, and all came out fine with the biopsies. I'm lucky. I was a 30 year smoker, so I was sweating bullets, waiting for those test results to come back. Whew! Also no hiatal hernia, no H. Pylori. Good to go. It actually took longer for the set up, (iv, checking in, etc.) than it did for the procedure.

I am pre-surgery, but I frequently crave pickle juice. I am also on 2 Water pills a day, so I always figured my body was lacking salt/electrolytes. I was on potassium for years, but then my potassium levels were fine, and my cravings for pickle juice went away. It also helped because I was having terrible leg cramps, again, lack of potassium/electrolytes. Might be worth looking into.

Wishing you well on your path to a new life, James. You sound like your head is in the exact right place it has to be, to have this surgery. Imagine what your life could be centered around instead of food. It's limitless. Who knows, maybe you'll focus on fitness or travel or painting....the world is yours. I'm a week away from surgery, and so excited for what lies ahead.

You are in my thoughts. Don't give up now, you actually made it through surgery, and now you just need to heal. If you are in the hospital and in pain, please let someone know. There should be more they can do for your pain. Ice/heat...are also options to help. Keep positive. I know it's not easy, but relative to so many other things, this is a piece of cake. I always look for the positives. This is the beginning of new life for you. Keep us updated, and stay strong.

Thank you, OregonTeacher! That helped a lot. I appreciate it.

Good rule, the straw test, for pureed food. As far as pumpkin in a can goes. That's unsweetened. You couldn't just dump it in a pie crust and call it pumpkin pie You have to add egg and sugar and spices....that's how I know it's not sweet. Sweet Potatoes or yams would be good pureed. I think. I hope. My NUT just told me today buy baby food. Look at labels, it has to be pureed, not chunky, no pieces of anything in it. Even yogurt must be no fruit, only the blended kind. It's a lot to think about, but It's so nice to bounce ideas off each other here. I start my pre-op liquid diet today, I think I might want to stay off the food topic for awhile. LOL I have 10 days liquid before and 2 weeks after surgery, then pureed stage for 1-2 weeks, then soft diet for 2 weeks, and then....if I am up to it, real food. So this is going to be quite a journey. Ohhhh and the person who mentioned corned beef hash. I could eat a whole can, and did, often. Nothing else, but I could eat the whole can. Life is about to change in huge ways for me. Thanks for the input here, if I come across any good pureed ideas, I'll post them here.

I love Water, but maybe it's because I use a Pur water filter on my kitchen tap. Any way you can get water in you is better than nothing. SF popsicles, SF Jello, broth, herbal tea, and don't forget the no calorie water drops, that flavor your water. There are some great flavors out there. My favorite is walmart brand Raspberry Black Tea. It all counts as fluids. Don't discount those liquids. Of course I'm only speaking pre-op, I don't know how hard it will be after surgery for me. But right now, I love water and I get in over 100 ounces daily, but my belly is as big as Texas right now. LOL That won't be the case after surgery. I'm guessing I'll have to nearly be continuously sipping on water. lol Good luck with getting that water and Protein in! You can do it!!! I bet you'll feel better too, when you're getting in the right nutrition. There is just plain Protein Powder you can mix in anything, to boost your protein intake. Just a thought. Again I hope it gets better for you, Aspring.

This I am a bit worried about. I take over 20 pills a day, and minimum 4 injections of insulin. I take morning and night pills, and I generally drink a 16 oz. bottle of Water with each pill taking time. What am I going to do? With a little stomach, and I can't swallow pills to save my life, honestly I chew/break up, many of my pills, just some weird psychological thing about swallowing pills, and choking on them. Have had that issue my entire life. The RN today told me i'll have to talk to my Surgeon about it, I sure hope there are some liquid alternatives. Or I'm screwed. LOL

Hi Lena, Welcome!

Where did the time go? I just had my surgical preop training, and my last preop dietary appt. today. My surgery is on the 20th, too. Next week Wednesday!!! I'm so excited. It's been a long journey already, just to get to this point. Keep in touch ... lots of May 20th people it seems.

I've noticed a lot of variance in what people have to do to get WLS. I've been in my program since September 2014, and my surgery is May 20. Some people have hardly any program time, and are scheduled for surgery in a couple months. I don't understand why it's so different. I wonder if there is any difference in end results. Or in ability to keep the weight off long term. I guess it made me a bit angry at first at how long I had to wait, and how much I had to do. But now I am grateful for the length of the program and process I have gone through. It gave me time to really consider what I was doing. But then again, my last dietary appointment my nutritionist told me she had a man in her office, a week after surgery, trying to eat shrimp. So maybe it makes no difference. I've had more time to really work on issues I have with food, with a therapist. (my own idea). It has also given me time to give up things I needed to, like smoking, caffeine, soda etc. It's been a long journey already, but I think it prepared me well. I have a 10 day liquid diet that I start on Monday. I believe that's going to help to ready me even more. The real reason for the long liquid diet is to shrink the liver, so the surgeon has more room to work. Perhaps not everyone needs that.

I want to clarify the reason I am not telling a lot of people. The few people I have already told have for the most part, been completely understanding of the use of bariatric surgery as a tool. They are totally onboard. There have been a few people though who have told me horror stories of people dying, things going wrong, people regaining etc. And those who have come out and said, "You will not be the same person, and I don't want you to change." That is what I want to avoid. There is something very unfortunate in humans that makes people not want to see others do well. Not everyone is like that, but there are some. This is why an addict can't hang out with their addict friends once they get clean. They will start hearing, "Come on, one time isn't going to hurt." or "Just one more time, for old times sake." People tend to want to keep you at their level. Psych 101 stuff. I'm not ashamed of having this surgery. This has been a long time coming. This has been a lifetime of losing 100 lbs and gaining it back ...over and over. This has been a lifetime of struggle against Hashimoto's and PCOD. It's my time, is how I think of it. It's my time to do something for myself that will be a long lasting permanent change. I am so excited for this. I don't want anyone to try to bring me down and burst my bubble of positivity. Because THAT is what is going to get me through this. There will be in my world, a proper time to tell people, after the surgery.

I have only told a few people closest to me, and my family. I always add that I am not telling many people, so please keep it private. The problem I just realized is my family telling others I do not want to know. One of my sister's said she may have told a neighbor of mine, and I am so upset about that. I don't need anyone's input or discouragement or opinions, that is why I chose to only tell a few people. Anyone else is getting told I am having "abdominal surgery" since I had a previous colon resection, I think most people just think it has to do with that. That is all they need to know. Now, if I can just keep my family quiet about it. Just because everyone else announces every bowel movement they make on FB, doesn't mean I'm interested in sharing this private information with the world. Not even everyone in my family is happy about what I am doing. Makes things much more difficult.

I changed a few things. On my own, I quit smoking after 30 years. I've been smoke free for over a year now, in anticipation for this surgery and future knee surgeries. I knew they wouldn't do either if I kept smoking. I have recorded everything I have eaten for the past 8 months. (people who do are more successful with wls, so I am told) I have given up all caffeine. I have given up soda. I stopped drinking before during and after meals (as instructed). I take in 64+ oz Water daily, (not sure how I am going to do that with a tiny stomach! lol) I stopped buying junk, and started opting for quality over quantity. I have seen a therapist twice monthly, (my idea) to work on issues I have with food. I started eating Breakfast. I do the same Protein shake daily, that I will have to do 5 times a day for my liquid diet. I love it. (hope I still love it after 10 days of it) None of it was easy. I still have an occasional diet coke, but I do know after surgery it's off limits for good. Most of the foods that I have said..."oh, I need to do this one last time" have been huge disappointments. I thought they would be so great, but I'm really at this point so tired of food. I think that means I'm in a good place in my head to have this surgery. Great question, thanks for asking it, NDAO.

Hi! My surgery date is the same as yours, SeattleDeb! Nice to know I won't be alone in this. I'll think about you on that day. Well wishes and a speedy recovery!

I was told for my pre-op liquid diet I have to use 2% milk, because I would need that extra fat to function correctly. I listen pretty closely to what I am being told by the professionals I see. I've been doing the Protein drinks since the beginning of this journey, because I had such a hard time eating Breakfast, so I am very used to having a Protein Drink to start out my day. Now I have to do that 5 times a day for 10 days.

They told me it would take 2 weeks for approval. I got a call exactly one month later. I even called after 2 weeks passed, but they said it was still under review by the insurance co. Hang in there, just when I was about to give up, I got a call from the surgical dept. to schedule my surgery.