2goldengirl

You had major surgey a week ago. Your body has one primary task right now: healing. You MUST allow your body time to heal! How active you were before surgery definitely helps in your recovery, but nothing takes the place of healing time. Most people don't feel "normal" in terms of energy for four to six weeks afterwards.

Believe me when I tell you, a hospital stay is nothing like a vacation. Noisy!

Calm down. "erythematous" means "red". So you have some irritation in several parts of your stomach. The antrum is the part they remove with a sleeve. The prepylorus is down at the pyloris, the valve between the stomach and the small intestine. The incisura is down near the pylorus. No, this doesn't mean anything permanent, serious, or otherwise ominous. Your surgeon will want to calm down the irritation before surgery. Feel better now?

Is there a label that lists the ingredients?

I would really recommend working with your RD or NUT on this. Start with what you DO like that fits in with your plan - which Proteins, any veggie/fruits? Identify which textures you like best. Those are your building blocks. Then have her/him work with you on trying things you haven't thought about that fit your taste/texture profile. Don't try to change everything all at once. My RD told me for the transition to solid foods: "Treat your stomach like a baby's". That really made sense to me - add only one new food at a time. You might find some new favorites along the way. It's hard when your palate is set in the opposite direction that you know you need to go.

I want the sleeve because I don't want malabsorption issues. I don't have diabetes, for which (to date, anyway) GBP is the preferred procedure.

I would suggest you get in touch with whomever your contact is for the process.

Of COURSE you're scared! Who wouldn't be? But you are not "a failure". The good news is, your nephrologist told you that surgery was still an option. That's GREAT news. I don't know what your other medical issues are, but I'm betting that over the long term, having your surgery and losing the weight will help your overall health immensely. It's entirely possible for your surgeon and your nephrologist to speak with you at the same time - use your phone and conference one of them in if they're willing. Your RD or NUT can become your new best friend here. They know how to teach you how to balance your protein needs with protecting your kidneys - even if neither your surgeon or your nephrologist do. Don't give up on yourself. if you aren't already in therapy, get yourself a good therapist. Have a look at how you can swap out the negative self-talk for self-talk that encourages and empowers you. It's possible. I promise.

Some folks are absolutely freaked by the idea of vomiting. I get it (my SIL is this way). But the advice is good. As my RD put it: treat your sleeve like a baby. Add one new food at a time, in small amounts. Feel good after? Super! Feel not-so-good after? Put that food aside, and try it again in a few weeks. Listen to your body. If your list of allowed foods includes (for example) poached egg, and the very idea of a poached egg sounds awful, don't feel you need to try it right now. Wait awhile. This isn't a race to see how soon you can go back to "normal" foods.

Funny, my PCP changed my surgeon referral to Dr. Kwan for the same reason, ie, BASS office staff weren't user-friendly for the PCP's office to work with. My experience with Dr. Kwan's office so far has been terrific. My initial consult with her is 12/22.

I'm preop, but I have for years managed to lose weight (even if it's just a couple pounds) over the Holidays. I let myself become a very picky eater. There are soooooo many choices during the holidays. I let myself discard out of hand all but the best of those choices, and by "best" I don't mean necessarily the "right" choices. If I'm going to enjoy something only once a year, it had better be worth it, you know? I go to a party, anything that came out of a package or a box or a supermarket bakery is rejected out of hand, not worth my notice. I've pretty much lost my taste for sweets over the past year. I made two big dinners over two days this weekend. I didn't have pie for dessert either day - I saved mine for Breakfast the next day. Having pie for breakfast is something I look forward to all year. Will I do this next year when I'm 10-11 months out? Likely not. I'll find something delightful to look forward to - like the mushrooms, stuffed with sausage and cheese. They weren't huge, just two bites. They were fantastic. And they're so good that our co-host pretty much has to make them next year or face a revolt. Score!

I'm preop. There have been a couple delays in the process but I can deal. I've done the orientation session and started attenging a support group and have been hanging out with all you lovely folks here. So, back in October, I decided to start tracking what I'm eating in preparation for both my RD appointment and my postop life. My goal wasn't to even pay attentiion to whether I was gaining or losing, but simply to track as honestly as I could, every choice I made about food, good, bad, or indifferent. And my other goal was to pay attention to when I was comfortably full, and stop there, instead of continuing to eat simply because something tasted good. This morning was my RD appt. I stepped on the scale - and I've lost 8 lbs in 6 weeks. Three of those were over Thanksgiving weekend. Go figure! So I went to my RD appt. and handed her a printed copy of my journal notes. She was very happy to see what I've been writing, noticing, aware of, etc. Cool! And then I called my surgeon's office. I had to change surgeons before I actually saw the first one. The first one wouldn't see me until after both the RD and psych appts. (my health plan doesn't require this, but the Program does). The second surgeon is happy to see me first. I have my appt. 12/22. Cool!

I'd go with what your NUT is OK with - honestly, you're going to get opinions all over the map about Splenda. Personally, there isn't enough evidence out there about possible this or maybe that. I use it. It doesn't affect my blood sugar at all. Remember that a study that finds X is true for some of the people some of the time isn't necessarily true for you.

Welcome aboard! Lots of friendly folks here and tons of great info and support. I think there are fewer really active preop folks here, for a variety of reasons. Having both lean mass and a fit cardiovascular system never hurt anyone having surgery, and you won't be the first. It may make your recovery easier so long as you remember that you HAVE to follow instructions postop. Thinking "I'm fit, I don't need to worry about "X", it doesn't apply to me will get you in trouble every time. That means that if your surgeon says "no lifting until X weeks postop", that means NO lifting. By all means tell your surgeon, your RD, everyone involved in the process about your commitment to fitness. Second, be prepared to learn things during this process that may be at odds with what you've learned from your life in the gym. You will not be able to keep all your strength during your postop period, because you will of necessity have a layoff. But your fitness should return. Be prepared to learn new ways of thinking about food as fuel and about portion sizes. Keep an open mind. The easiest way to sabotage yourself is by thinking you know more than the person working with you - surgeon, RD, whomever. If you aren't already tracking your intake, I'd suggest you start doing so now. And I do mean track - measure with measring cups, use a scale, don't just eyeball. Nearly everyone suffers from portion distortion. The surgey works via two mechanisms: reducing hunger by reducing production of the hunger hormone, and by limiting your intake via physical restriction. It works - if you do. Good luck!

OK, that helps. First, nobody ever wrecked their surgery because they had a slip on their preop diet. Surgeons and their offices sometimes stretch the truth in order to impress upon patients that the prep is serious business, but to be honest, they can't tell whether you fell off the wagon, so to speak, on your preop requirements. That said, remember that just because someone else slips up doesn't mean you will. If you get hungry on the preop liquids, it will probably be in the first three days. After that, veterans say it's easier. If you're hungry, have some Protein. Even if you have an egg or some cottage cheese, you will still be using up your liver glycogen (which makes it easier to move your liver out of the way to get to your stomach) and you will not be adding bulk to your colon (the other reason for liquids is to help empty the bowel). That's not an open invitation to break pre-op protocol, just a little "in-case" scenario that may help you. And the next thing to be aware of is: if your surgeon hasn't told you what your preop requirements are, you may not even have to worry about this. Not every surgeon requires it. Mine doesn't. For any of these concerns, step #1 is always: Ask your surgeon. Remember who is working for who here. Your surgeon is getting paid to take care of you, not the other way around. That means you have the right to expect to have your questions answered and concerns addressed. I hope this helps!

Woohoo!!!! Celebrate (throws confetti)!!! From what I've read, it can be trial and error to find the sweet spot to maintain, rather than lose. I'd check in with your NUT if you haven't done so recently.

So - what is making you both nervous/worried, etc? It would help if we knew specific concerns. You'll both get through it - those who need to, do. It won't be the most fun you've ever had, but it's just part in the path that gets you to your surgery day. You can do it!

Congratulations! Santa is bringing you a sleeve for Christmas

OK, first - are you in CA? Because in CA, Blue Cross plans are Anthem Blue Cross. There is no BCBS in CA. Second - the precert is something your surgeon's office gets, not something you have to do. Your surgeon's insurance coordinator gets everything together. I hope this helps!

Please don't do this to yourself. You are still healing. You've lost 20 lbs. Follow your program, get in your fluids, and your protein. Stay off the scale! The sleeve works, you just need to be patient and follow your guidelines.

I'm preop, and I've been working on logging everything into Sparkpeople and paying attention to stopping before I get overfull. I haven't avoided anything, but the stopping before I'm overfull has been very helpful. I'm down 2 lbs since Weds. Go figure!

@@Angry Banana, with your sense of humor, you will do fine! Please tell me we can look forward to more of your posts. Humor is good, humor is healing, and as a coping mechanism, it's much more helpful postop than the food you can't eat

Your surgeon HAS to work with you on this - don't take "no" for an answer.

That sounds like some serious exercise. How fabulous will it be to be able to keep up? You'll feel fantastic out there - you may even forget about the cold/damp aspect. And nights back in camp will feel pretty awesome, I'm guessing. You're gonna have to get yourself some new hunting duds, though, the old ones will be falling off you.

I'm sorry you've been so uncomfortable. It does sound as though you've tried to jump back into a lot of activity very soon after surgery. Your body needs time to heal. I'd caution you against calling things like indigestion, constipation, or reflux "complications". They are uncomfortable, annoying, and, at times, scary. But complications as generally understood are things like postop bleeding, a leak in your staple line, pneumonia, blood clots, severe dehydration - the kinds of things that make you end up back in the hospital. You're sleepy because you need rest! You had major abdominal surgery. Just because you have a few bandaids instead of a like of staples down your abdomen doesn't make it any less hard on your body. Take small bites, sip your liquids, and rest when you're tired. Good luck!