SuzeMuze

I won't speak for everyone, but for me the liquid pre-op diet was the hardest part of the whole process. It was compounded by an apparent caffeine dependence that gave me terrible headaches for about a week or so till it was out of my system. But... I survived it and felt pretty proud at losing about 10 pounds just in 2 weeks You can do this- we're here for you! On a different note, if you find a shake you like, stock up just for your pre-op diet. You might find your taste changes after surgery and what was so awesome now might taste terrible post surgery- no sense wasting the money. My personal faves are the Premier Protein shakes that I pick up at costco.

My surgeon prescribes Protonix for 6 months after surgery, then re-evaluates on a case by case basis. Straws are a no-no for life.

Gastric Bypass is a physical tool to help you lose physical weight. Assuming you follow your surgeon's suggestions regarding diet and exercise, you'll physically lose weight. However, gastric bypass isn't a "cure all" for the emotional weight many folks carry- i.e. food addiction and/or transfer addictions, (a weight loss patient becoming an alcoholic after surgery, for example). This is one of the reasons why the psychiatric evaluation is so important to have and to answer honestly before the procedure. It could be very eye opening as to why the weight issues are there in the first place. Your surgeon can re-route your insides and force them to comply, but if people aren't willing to re-route their mindset, the old eating habits & dependencies won't change. I think it's also important to have a thorough understanding and vested interest in your overall health throughout this process. Try to learn as much about your body & the chemical balances (or imbalances) you might have. It would be terrible to have such a major surgery and find yourself set up for failure because of a metabolic (or other) disorder you didn't even know you had that will impeded weight loss.

I try not to take too much offense at folks who make these kinds of flippant remarks. What I think a lot of them don't realize are the very real physiological reasons why many of us aren't/weren't successful with traditional diet & exercise means as a way to lose weight. Unless we're very open about ourselves, (which I'm not) it's probably not public knowledge if you suffer from diabetes, sleep apnea, food addictions, or any number of other things that stand in the way of losing weight through diet and exercise alone. That's not anyone's fault. What is important is that we realized we needed help, we realized that bariatric surgery could be a tool that can help us reach our goal along with the diet & exercise. Easy way out? Please. This is the hardest thing I've ever done.

My surgeon gave me a prescription for anti-nausea pills w/o my even asking. Might be worth inquiring about. As well, he put me on 6 months of an acid reducer pill to help with not being nauseous as well as help with healing.

My pleasure! As I find myself saying often, though... that schedule is what my surgeon gave me. Your Vitamin needs/pills (s)he'll have you take might be different in composition or timing. Good luck

Congratulations & welcome to the boards! You did make an amazing decision- one that may have you confused at times, but that's part of the reason we're all here so we can be a support to each other. Good luck on your upcoming surgery & keep us posted on how your'e doing!

@@Marie8777 The thinning/losing of hair can be attributed to a couple of different things, if it happens to you at all. Human hair "lives" on a roughly 3 month cycle. The hair you were just popping out at the time of surgery will tend to fall out anyway at about your 3 month post-surgery mark. What adds to normal hair loss this is...because of the massive changes your diet goes through with bypass surgery, your body will go into "Shock" mode and try to preserve any and all Protein for muscle mass & organ function- not for things like pretty skin, lovely nails and full, lush hair. This is one of the reasons surgeons stress to be sure you eat protein first and get your full recommended grams. Every. Single. Day. If you give your body the protein it needs, you'll not only be helping to preserve muscle mass, but you may also limit/reduce the amount of "shock" you put your body through and therefore potentially lessen the additional hair loss. With that being said, there's a compound available at places like GNC called Biotin. It's created specifically to promote healthy skin, hair and nails. But remember... nothing is guaranteed. You could take Biotin, get all your protein, and still experience hair loss, or not take it and be perfectly fine. No two people are the same.

Nice to meet you too Derek, and welcome! We're all in your corner- you'll get through this! Welcome to the boards

@@dmaddox1 I went through the same as you- starving and with a headache. I attributed the headaches to stopping caffeine cold turkey and they went away after about a week. I was concerned about the hunger too, because it had gotten so strong that I was becoming lightheaded. Being a diabetic at the time, I called my NUT, who approved me to use a Protein drink with slightly higher sugar/carbs to counteract the dizziness & it worked well enough. The pre-op diet was the hardest part of this process for me too- big stomach + little food = grumpy Suze. It will get better though- keep your chin up!

@bellabloom- I think you're a rockstar for posting while still in the hospital! I was so looped up during my hospital stay I couldn't keep my eyeballs straight, much less navigate the internet! You go!

I too, would be wary of the crust for another reason. I'm one of the fortunate ones who've not yet dumped or said hello to anything I've eaten for a second time (I'm 5 weeks post), but I've found that anything bread like will give me that terrible chest pain feeling for a while. My own opinion is it's because it's too dry, but that's just me. I did try a 3x3 inch square of pizza the other day and was ok with it, but as a previous responder said, I ate it very slowly and chewed the daylights out of it.

Happy Anniversary!

When I made the decision to pursue my life with/after WLS, I was determined not to impose my outcomes on my family. So at least for the foreseeable future, I either cook something separately for myself, or really modify a serving of what my family eats so it's acceptable for me too. Granted, curiosity has caused them to at least try some new things, but this was my decision and my journey to take, not theirs. They've been super supportive from day one, so it's not like I'm on my own, but I feel my WLS and the dietary restrictive outcomes isn't something I should force on my family.

What I've found (by trial and error) that works for me is to literally put my fork down after a single bite and wait. I can tell by a bite if what I just ate will sit well with me. (I'm nearly 6 weeks out) If nothing happens, in goes bite two. If not, I get that sharp knife-like pain right at the base of my breastbone. Scared the daylights out of me the first time it happened, but fortunately, it goes away relatively quickly, as does the plate of food.

It's really "real" now, isn't it? That's what I thought on day one of my pre-op diet! Stay strong- you can do this!

Welcome to the boards, NewStart! This is a great place to Celebrate, commiserate, find opinions and get advice from people in all stages of WLS. I had my bypass almost exactly 1 month prior to yours & would be happy to talk with you about what you can possibly expect in the upcoming weeks. I also guest blog on Jonathan Blue's site- his link is at the bottom of my post, and/or you can reach me at: suzemuze4life@gmail.com

I'm almost afraid to say my answer, as I don't want to discourage anyone. I had the same thing happen to me, and I got my approval via my surgeon's office about 15 minutes after resubmission. Insurance companies vary widely, plus I had a fantastic advocate in my surgeon's office manager- I couldn't believe how fast she called me back! I wish there was a standard answer to this question as lots of folks ask it, but like many facets of this process, there's no concrete answer.

@@little_mrs We're all here to help, listen, commiserate and celebrate! It's really hard not to compare yourself with others here- I still do it at times, wondering how someone else who had their surgery at about the same time as me has lost so much more weight than I have before I shake my head and put things into perspective. Yep, I'm losing weight, which is fantastic. But what's even better is my blood sugars have dropped to normal proportions, my hip doesn't hurt anymore, and I actually saw the light (literally) between my thighs after I put on pantyhose the other day! (TMI for some, but hey, it was a major victory dance in the bathroom for me) Those kinds of things put a smile on my face- I try not to stare at scale numbers and attach my success to them.

Yup. Yup. And I say Yup again! As much as I loved the carefree post college life, I'm much happier now that I'm firmly settled into my mid-forties. Sure, I might have to color my hair now in denial of the lovely silver that keeps trying to creep through, and the laugh lines get a little deeper each year, but you know what? I'm totally ok with that! I feel happier, more comfortable and prettier than ever, even before WLS- confidence is crazy sexy!

Hi holdan29 & Welcome to the forums! You're right- this is a fantastic place to find opinions, get advice or commiserate/celebrate as you work toward your surgery and beyond. We're all here to help

@@bobbyswife IKR?? I was born in the wrong era... I need those good ol' 1920's bathing suits that went down to your knees ;P

A bathing suit without one of those little skirt-thingies for me!!

Hi flossyjo, and welcome to the forums! Everyone heals at a different rate, and part of that can be connected to what type of surgery you're having- is it a bypass, sleeve or band? No one can predict how you'll fare through your procedure or when you come home from the hospital, but maybe a family get-together could be just what you need to lift your spirits & Celebrate this new chapter in your life!

My answer might not be popular or what anyone would want to hear, but how much you can "expect" to lose isn't a number that exists, in my opinion. We can read as much as we want and see 5-15 pounds per week- and we get all excited, only to find out that we lost 3 pounds that week. Setting expectations at any point during WLS is a slippery slope (once again, in my opinion). I jumped on that bandwagon and quickly realized I was setting myself up for failure by comparing my experience to a bunch of ambiguous numbers. How much you lose depends on so many things- your beginning weight, your metabolism, your age, how much you exercise (you could be losing inches & gaining muscle which is a good thing!) your general state of health.. I could go on and on. If you follow your surgeon's advice and diet plan, the one thing you can expect is to lose weight. How much and how fast is up to your body. It'll lose what it can handle, at the rate it can handle it. Rushing it can just set you up for a whole other set of problems. Congrats on taking an exciting (though confusing at times) step towards a healthier life!