Pabst

So my surgery date was the 16th so I'm on day 4 post op. No nausea thus far and my bowels have finally moved after about 5 days of them not moving so that is probably my biggest relief (that was very painful). So far... broth and the Proteinshakes go down the easiest. Cold Water or calorie free drinks and Jello are a little harder. pills aren't so bad either if I do them one at a time. The chewable MultivitaminI practically have to eat in the bathroom because it puts me on the edge tossing my Cookiesevery time. Things I underestimated: Not feeling hungry or desiring foods I used to want. I haven't felt hunger or a desire to binge since like 5 days into my pre-op door which was like a week ago today. This is amazing. I really have to focus on drinking throughout the day so as not to get dehydrated. The pain so far has been super manageable. I get knots in my stomach from time to time but I don't even notice my incisions unless I bump them or my 2 year old does a diving head butt right into my gut. Weight loss... Not as fast as I would have expected. The weight melted off of me in the pre-op diet phase but even though they pulled 85% of my stomach out of me... I hadn't lost a pound by the day after. I decided not to weigh myself till Christmas Day as to not discourage myself... I mean... I'm consuming about 600 calories a day and burning more than that walking every 2-3 hours for 20 mins a clip. The weight is bound to start moving in the right direction. The only thing I can think of is that I'm so backed up right now from the anesthesia and the pain medication... I am losing weight, I just can't tell because I'm not adequately purging what I'm taking in. Once that returns to normal i think I'll be fine. All and all, I'm still really motivated and sticking to the plan 110%. Failure is not an option. Energy level is high, I'm sleeping good and all is well. That's my update.

So my surgery date was the 16th so I'm on day 4 post op. No nausea thus far and my bowels have finally moved after about 5 days of them not moving so that is probably my biggest relief (that was very painful). So far... broth and the Protein Shakes go down the easiest. Cold Water or calorie free drinks and Jello are a little harder. pills aren't so bad either if I do them one at a time. The chewable Multivitamin I practically have to eat in the bathroom because it puts me on the edge tossing my Cookies every time. Things I underestimated: Not feeling hungry or desiring foods I used to want. I haven't felt hunger or a desire to binge since like 5 days into my pre-op door which was like a week ago today. This is amazing. I really have to focus on drinking throughout the day so as not to get dehydrated. The pain so far has been super manageable. I get knots in my stomach from time to time but I don't even notice my incisions unless I bump them or my 2 year old does a diving head butt right into my gut. Weight loss... Not as fast as I would have expected. The weight melted off of me in the pre-op diet phase but even though they pulled 85% of my stomach out of me... I hadn't lost a pound by the day after. I decided not to weigh myself till Christmas Day as to not discourage myself... I mean... I'm consuming about 600 calories a day and burning more than that walking every 2-3 hours for 20 mins a clip. The weight is bound to start moving in the right direction. The only thing I can think of is that I'm so backed up right now from the anesthesia and the pain medication... I am losing weight, I just can't tell because I'm not adequately purging what I'm taking in. Once that returns to normal i think I'll be fine. All and all, I'm still really motivated and sticking to the plan 110%. Failure is not an option. Energy level is high, I'm sleeping good and all is well. That's my update.

My surgery yesterday was a success. I'm home already.

Surgery went well! I'm in my hospital bed. Not hungry but man I can't wait to have a drink! Haven't ingested any liquids in almost a day.

Surgery is tomorrow at 12:30pm. Wish me luck!

By day 3 or 4 I stopped being so hungry it gets easier.

I'm going the 16th of December.

Nutritionist for 90 days. Down 30 Surgery on Wednesday the 16th

Abington Memorial Hospital

Nicotine slows the healing process. It's rough... but just quit. I did it 10 years ago and I've saved myself $23,240 as well as probably a stroke and or a heart attack. E-Cigs are a great tool to get you off of smelling bad and killing yourself but they are still an expensive crutch. Ween yourself off before going down this road. First things first. Don't be a liability to yourself. You only get one body.

38 years old. Max weight: 425 Starting weight: 405 Beginning liquid diet: 387 Current: 374 I needed to be on my liquid diet for 10 days. I had already lost about 18lbs leading up to it... But no lie... I am 2 days from surgery and I've dropped almost 15 more from it. I think this diet is more than shrinking your liver... It's practice for post-op lifestyle changes. Hang in there! The first 2-3 days are BRUTAL... but honestly... It does get easier. Hang in there and always stick to the program.

Dec 16... Just two more days!

Just to tell you a quick story... I knew I was going down the Sleeve route at the beginning of this year abou had saved up all my work PTO. I figured 2-3 weeks of recovery should do. I had no idea if have some 10-15 doctor visits and procedures in the three months prior to surgery (which is in 2 days I might add). My insurance demanded 90 days of nutrition consultation (Aetna) and the surgeon required no less than 10 different tests and procedures. This bummed me out because o get like I was getting nickel and dimed to death... But being this close to someone having 5 instruments being poked into me and pulling things out of me.... ...damn right I'm happy they have 35 pictures of the inside of my stomach, know what I ate the day before and that I have a mole to the right of my belly button! I don't want any "gotchas" they didn't know about once they start opening me up. Hopefully your insurance can cover a lot of the battery of tests you will need and that you hit your max "out of pocket" or come close to it by the time you get to surgery day. My max out of pocket is $2,000 and I'm almost there. I think when it's all said and done, I'm only going to be owing the surgeon $250 due to capping. Best of luck to you! Get your check list done early! That way nothing delays you and you can better plan your time away from work.

Honestly... Given your statistics... I would strongly lean towards neither. The older you get the harder it is to lose weight and the less... Springy your skin is. I'm not sure what kind of lifestyle changes you have tried, but you have a lot of time to figure that out before you go down the surgery route. Surgery is a tool. Either way you go... The end result is you are going to be eating a lot less and exercising a lot more to achieve your weight loss goal and staying at it. Going the surgery route does give you a lot of long term limitations... But you will find that most of those limitations are the same ones you would have successfully doing it on your own. If you want this guys advice... Figure out a weight loss lifestyle change and stick to it. Put the word "diet" out of your vocabulary. If you bounce off that brick wall for 2 decades like me and you've run out of options... Then I'd go with the VGS Until then... Find it in you to give the traditional means a few college tries before considering surgery. The only way I would recommend surgery at your age would be if you had several major health concerns due to your situation... Like type 2 Diabetes, back pain, sleep apnea and or hypertension. Hope this is a help and good luck in whichever decision you make... We are always here for you.

You know... I find it funny how picky people can be about YOUR health choices. I don't think anyone would lose a friendship over getting LASIK surgery or breast augmentation... But Bariatric? That's like being mad at someone with substance abuse problems checking into a rehab clinic. Unless this person is married to you, they really have no right to be mad at you. You are making a completely rational decision that might change your life and help you live longer. If you have a history of struggling to lose weight, chances are you are absolutely making the right decision. I think a previous responder hit the nail on the head... I wouldn't be surprised your friend is someone who has their own weight struggles and would resent you taking a path that could actually get you the results you probably have been trying to obtain for years and they have never been able to achieve... and has this notion you are taking the "easy way out". There is nothing easy about this procedure... The weight loss isn't any easier than doing it on your own. In a lot of ways the lifestyle is harder... But what it is, is a tool. Just like a treadmill or a personal trainer. This surgery is mortgaging your future food freedom rights and that a huge sacrifice. Your friend might be shunning you... But I'm damn proud of you. Get yourself where you need to be... Show her it was the right decision. When you get there and she's still mad... Find a better friend.

Yeah, I too could kill a pie... A stuffed one at that. I'm on my liquid only 2 days before my surgery diet. I hope to never again be beyond the 1 slice threshold and I don't even want to think of pizza till this time next year. I share the sentiments of many of you. To think... There was a time I could down a pie while chugging half a gallon of of diet iced tea. This was long over due.

Oh, the small things in life! Lol! I feel ya.

Philly suburbs here. Dec 16th... Only a week away.

Dec 16 here

I'd be happy to join that if someone puts it together. I'm not all that Facebook savy. To rebound off of what someone else shared... My pre-op diet is 3 Protein shake Meal Replacements... Only Water or non caffeine non calorie drinks and non starchy veggies. I'm finishing up day 4 of this diet and I'm already down 10lbs and in full blown Ketosis.

16th for me. Philadelphia PA region.