livingstone

I've planned two weeks (my surgery is this Sunday) but work are very flexible and my boss has said I should take whatever time I need. My only worry is that I have a work trip to Brussels the week I get back - early morning train, full day of meetings, overnight stay, another full day of meetings and late train back the following day. I'm a bit worried about how I'll handle it - it will be about 2 1/2 weeks post surgery. If that does get cancelled, and it might, I may ask to work from home for the third week.

Hi all - so last night I made the final payment for my surgery. £4000 for my two night hospital stay, and £3500 for my surgeon and anaethesist's fees. This really made things feel quite final and definite. No turning back now. My surgeon didn't ask me to do any pre-op diet. So I think whereas other people realise its real when they start that, for me, actually making payment has made me realise that this is happening. And I can't describe this weird mix of fear and excitement. I'm making a list of things that I need to get and do before surgery - -need to buy some tracksuit bottoms to wear to and from hospital - I'd rather avoid jeans... -need to get Hibiscrub, which I've been advised to shower with for two days before surgery to reduce the chance of infection. -I need to figure out what I'm going to be 'eating' after surgery and so make sure I have enough bottled Water, sugar free cordial and ingredients for Soups -I want to download enough movies and music to keep me sane while I'm in hospital and recovering. I know I'll probably be asleep a lot, but when I'm not I want to use it a chance to enjoy some box sets in between sleeps, sips and walks. The bit that is really simple but I don't want to do is to give give my mum's number to my partner and vice versa. In theory it is so that when I'm out of surgery and all fine, my partner can send my mum a text and let her know it's all OK. But there is a little bit of me (however irrational) that is scared that he'll have to use it to tell her that something's gone wrong. But yes - in 72 hours I will, hopefully, be sleeved and recovering. Fingers crossed.

So I've started to think about what to set as my goal weight. I'm 5' 8" and 292 lbs, aged 29. Using a healthy BMI scale, the highest end of my 'healthy' weight would be 165lbs. I think I'm going to set 160lbs as my ultimate goal - which would leave me a bit of wriggle room if I was to gain again. That leaves me with a target weight loss of 132lbs. Terrifying.

I think you have to think about this from the perspective of why you are doing what you're doing. You're not losing weight to tick some box on a dietician's clipboard. You're not losing weight to satisfy a doctor. Those might be things you have to put up with to stay on track or comply with insurance requirements, but don't let them shape how you think about weight loss. Because the reason you are losing weight is for you, not for them. So what matters in terms of how you feel about your weight loss is how it makes you feel, not how others react to it. You've lost 86 lbs on your highest weight, 60 lbs on your surgery weight. That is a big achievement, and you should be focused on how that achievement makes you feel (and it should make you feel pretty good). As I say, sure you've got to put up with the checks and the box-ticking. But don't let it affect how you see yourself or your achievement.

Hi folks - I'm a bit unsure about how I'll manage with the puree stage of the post op diet. Basically, the thought of pureed meat or veg makes me feel ill - it's just the texture of pureed food that I really can't stand. What I'm wondering is whether the puree stage is a 'must-have' (i.e. I have to go through it to train my tummy back into having normal food) or a 'nice to have' (i.e. something that most people want because they're sick of liquids, but which it wouldn't hurt to skip). When it comes to the full liquid stage - I'm fine with yoghurt and Soups. If I kept having yoghurt and Soup during my puree stage, would that affect my ability to handle solids when the time comes to move onto them?

Thanks for that - unfortunately for me it's the entire texture I have an issue with, so scrambled eggs, soft cheese etc aren't to my tastes. But as long as I can stick with soup and yoghurt, I'll be fine. Bored. But fine.

I also had a sleep test - though I had this through the NHS while my surgery is being done privately. It was all very quick in my case - I saw the consultant on Thursday - she issued me with a sleep test kit to try at home. It was very simple - a little glove to fit over my finger and a tiny recorder the size of a beeper attached to my wrist. I took it back the next day and was diagnosed. I came back a week later to collect my CPAP machine. I found it difficult to get used to at first - especially training myself to keep my mouth closed while I'm falling asleep. For the first week, I felt like I couldn't get enough air through the machine - but after a week it automatically adjusts to the correct airflow based on your patterns. So now it's much, much easier to use. I still skip nights every so often - usually at weekends when I can afford to be a bit more sleepy the day after, and when I want to have a cuddle with my other half. But when I do use it, I really do notice the improvement in my energy levels. I'm hoping that after my surgery, the weight I lose will cure the Apnea on its own and I won't need the machine in the future.

Not a lady but a March sleever nonetheless. My surgeon seems unusual in not requiring a pre-op diet. I presume I'll need to fast the night before surgery for the anaesthetic, but no liquid diet for me. I think it may be because my surgeon is also a liver specialist, so he is more comfortable working his way around a liver without requiring the liquid diet. I'm not sure about shakes - I've never liked Protein Shakes or anything like slim fast. One of the things I want to discuss and research more is more 'natural' ways of getting protein in - like yoghurt, Soup with Protein powder if necessary etc - but I haven't entirely figured this out yet.

I've scheduled for surgery on 1 March. It was a bit tricky finding a surgery date that worked since there always seemed to be something - work, personal life, study etc that coincided with it, and finding a two week window to be able to recover was really difficult. So I plumped for 1st March as the least worst option. But I do have some events in the two weeks afterwards - So my surgery is on the Sunday, and on the Friday, I have tickets to the Opera and I really, really don't want to miss it. On the same night, my best friend is having a party at his house for his birthday. Do you think I should be able to attend both - I know I won't be eating of drinking much, and might feel a bit tender and have to take things slower - but otherwise, should I be OK to get out of the house? The other thing I have is an exam on 14th March - I am hoping that I can use two weeks of being housebound to do some study - so I'm just curious if I will be well enough in the two weeks after surgery to do some study at home?

Mine was confirmed for 1 March and I've become very nervous. I was passing by a bakery the other day, and started to feel sad that I'll never be able to stuff my face with delicious cake anymore. But when I step back, I realise that it is because I think like that that I need the surgery in the first place. What comes naturally to lots of people - eating nice things in moderation, not letting it dominate their life - is something I simply can't do. So when I get to panicking about all the things I'll miss out on - I just ask myself if being able to stuff my face with cake is worth feeling like I'm fifty even though I'm only 29 - and whether it is worth always wondering when I'm going to push myself over the cliff with a heart attack. But I am also nervous about the surgery itself. I've never had surgery and have issues with being out of control, so I think I have some fears about being under anaesthetic and completely under the control of doctors. I'm also terrified of needing a urinary catheter

Thanks - just to clarify, I'm not considering postponing - I'm considering whether I will need to cancel these and sell my tickets to the opera. Also, it's really not just opera and just a party - the opera was my Christmas present to my partner, and the party is my best friend's birthday, so it's not just a case of wanting to go but also not wanting to let this surgery interfere with being a good partner and good friend.