PatientEleventyBillion

Need approval. In my case my weight management process started in September 2015, after a long an arduous process of dietary changes and weight control, and numerous approvals from different professions, got my 12-week pre-op liquid diet date of Feb 1st 2017 so had a rough date of April 20-26 until got a call late January with an OR date of April 20. They hold the date with the hospital pending confirmation, then it's done. The process for me might be a little different though. While the process is more rigid in Canada (have to appease the gatekeepers of approval), there's no concern or worry about coverage, as long as you have approval it's covered 100% by universal healthcare.

Here's a relevant part of the discharge papers I was given for my EGD: - So going in I already had an IV in my wrist, nothing attached - Was already on a bed they just moved it into surgery room - My surgeon was the one doing the EGD - Was sprayed in the back of my mouth twice with the spray.. had to swallow, felt like I was gonna swallow my tongue - Was told to lay on my side, they had some instrument with a mid sized hole (for scope) I had to put my mouth on - Then was told sedative was coming and I'd feel like a bunch of beers would hit me, might be better to close my eyes - Closed my eyes, woke up in the same day surgery room I had been waiting in for my turn They gave me pictures of the EGD and it went perfectly fine. I also asked the surgeon for pictures/video of my surgery as I wanted to see what it looked like inside my gut. After this procedure I've had a sore throat since but it's going away.

...

you're likely sedated at minimum so having someone who can drive you would be advised

Highly underrated post.

Bumping this.. April 20th here, after a ridiculous 12 week pre-op diet! Let's keep this updated on how everything goes.

Little amounts. Very little. Consider the lifestyle change, and consider it in very simple terms: Live like a big person, be a big person. Live like a smaller person, be a smaller person. One may be pissed like oh that's such a tiny amount, but that limitation is part of being a smaller person. I will most definitely be having a lot of the stuff I had before, the difference therein lies in portion control and balance. I'll use ice cream as an example since I've never been a fan of cake. I'd easily go through 1L of ice cream in a sitting. Post-op, when I can even tolerate ice cream, I expect to have no more than a teaspoon. It may not sound as satisfying but one has to reorder their priorities before even having the surgery, lest it be unsuccessful. And if you can't see yourself having portion control, it would be better to flat out eliminate. In my case, the pre-op liquid diet has modified my mindset so much. I feel so much better with portion control, and I'd rather have portion control than 1) feel miserable like I did at my peak weight, and 2) have these shitty Glucerna Meal Replacement drinks. NEVER again.

Share meals, portions, etc., ask for a to-go container right at the start so you can portion your food immediately and save the rest.

Unless you're a celebrity or athlete just go with what weight your body tells you to be. Eat normal.

Yes. It's a very good idea to portion things out. Less thinking required, easier to control impulses.

Just had mine today, and absolutely no probs. They said it would hit me like a bunch of beers, so lying on my side I closed my eyes, woke up back in the day surgery waiting room where I was given muffins and cheese. Better than I had anticipated.

It would be a good idea to be honest if you have any sort of eating disorder, which includes comfort eating. One thing you don't want to do is carry one of these disorders to post-op, it will not help you whatsoever. If it's something you already have under control then don't tell them anything. It's really screwed up how this irrelevant profession can have an impact on a biological process. Example: During one of my second opinions (when I was deciding between VSG and RNY) a nurse accompanying the surgeon, who had never seen my file or anything, started asking me targeted questions about "do you think you can eat whatever post-surgery?", when I tried to ask the surgeon if there were more compelling studies between VSG and RNY when it comes to how it affects satiety. Now, I didn't have the sense to use the technical term "satiety", so I used "hunger drive", and the idiot started thinking I meant I wanted to do nothing but gorge myself on chocolate milkshakes. I was forced to have another pointless trip to the psychologist because of her reporting it on Netcare. Insane how someone that doesn't know shit can nearly damage the progress I had during this 1.5 year weight management process. You have to watch what you say around ANYONE during this process. Edit: Had to edit post multiple times. Effects of being scoped today still lingering. x.x

From: Modesto & Santa Clara, California Currently: Calgary, Alberta

a super old app I call a measuring cup

I hear you [emoji52]

I second MyFitnessPal.. but all my fricken nurses/doctors/dietitians have access to it so I use Fitbit's app instead.

I can't see how drinking Water outside 30 mins both ways of eating can be bad, even if done all day, if you drink small amounts.. just don't drink too much. 6 days out.. that's why they don't want you doing anything for a few weeks, because a lot of your time and energy expended is trying to get the proper food and drink into yourself.

Looks like a bottle of shampoo. *dodges tomatoes* But seriously, looks like the right kind of stuff. I use Beneprotein.. not sure if anyone has that.. I know Canuckistanians have different stuff up here.

OP are you on any sort of PPI? I would get on those now regardless. I've taken Prevacid and it's generic lanzoprazole for years. When I had a barium swallow done it showed moderate reflux, no doubt my endoscopy will show something to that extent too. For VSG they generally put at-risk people on PPI's of some sort, and I think those already on PPI's shouldn't be greatly affected. Given the little information in the OP and your reply it's kinda hard to even tailor advice. I will say regarding your response later the hardest part of this are the lifestyle changes required. You MUST learn how to eat different. Eating the same as prior to pre-op diet that got those of us into trouble will just wreck the surgery and will wind up in the same spot as beforehand. Consider this a tool for a second chance -- the real solution lies in the changes one makes.

It probably depends on the person, on possible health issues, what the surgeon feels comfortable with, and likely dietitian too. No doubt Water is likely included.

It's perfectly normal to question things, or have your doubts. Some days I'm like, "could I just achieve this without surgery?", but there's a good reason you're having this, so I would think about that. And you're having your OR date like.. next week? Damn I wish that was me.

I'm a different gender than you so I know my post will be a bit skewed. VSG is still slightly new in comparison to the RNY. I was told by my surgeon and others when I got second opinions that the RNY has more risks associated with it. If you've seen the VSG procedure on Youtube or even the pictures you'd think because of the large stomach cut that there's no way this is true, but there are more cuts made during RNY, more routing needed, and it's riskier, not only during the procedure, but in the future if you ever need some kind of invasive procedure done in the region. They do a sort of risk assessment. If you take cancer patients, they are a much higher risk of dying so that's why more risky procedures are done on them. For those who are at far less risk surgeons may be reluctant to go the RNY route. If you are older and a much higher risk (you say you have no major health issues), I've no doubts the RNY would be recommended. Keep in mind too if the procedure doesn't go the way you want, with the VSG, some surgeons leave open the option of a future RNY. This was an option for me a year down the road if I didn't like the results of VSG. As more studies continue to come in (it's clear long term studies still lacking) they tend to show a very positive outlook of VSG procedures.

It's weird, I use two scoops of Beneprotein as instructed by my dietitian, she was worried I'd be constipated, however it's been anything but this. Could just be my liver or malabsorption perhaps. *glares at liver*

Thank you so much for the scope info! The biggest concern I had about the endoscopy is my extremely strong gag reflex (which I passed along to my daughter, ugh). I told my wife, "I hope I don't puke all over the guy.. maybe they can just knock me out". I'm sad to hear about how slow they're going in Edmonton, but the fact that you're able to jump to Calgary is awesome! I don't particularly like the drive (1 month ago drove to Drayton Valley to get our ragdoll kittens) but for something this big I'm sure it's worth it. Heck, I've seen so many posts already on these forums from Canadians willing to go to Mexico to get it done. I guess I won't be whining so much about the drive from Calgary to High River, LOL. Thank god the OR is at South Health Campus, which is very close to us. And I just realized you barely joined, wow. Small world! I'll send you a DM, I really wanna keep in touch to see how things go and don't wanna derail this topic too much, haha. I see your profile pic too and what a lovely family you've got!

I'm thinking it's normal, as I've had it too the entire time I've been on this liquid diet. Then again, I don't exactly go around asking people about their poop so no way to find out without having the cops called on me.