T_Ray

Hello everyone. I have read a lot of posts from pre-op folks nervous so I figured I️ would share my story and hopefully put some of the pre-ops at ease. I went to my first WLS seminar in December 2016. After years of yo-yo dieting I wanted a tool that will help me not just lose the weight but also keep it off. After nearly a year of Dr’s appointments, follow ups, tests and hoops to jump through. I got my surgery date at the end of August. At this point in time I was up to 294lbs, and at 5’10” the weight was really starting to wear on me. My feet and ankles were constantly swollen and my joints were really starting to hurt. For me the worst part was putting on clothing that barely fit, shoes that pinched my feet and not even wanting to be seen in public or at social events. As my surgery date approached I became super anxious and nervous. Even though I have both a roux-n-y and a sleeve patient in my family, I still didn’t know what to expect. The night before surgery was the worst. I struggled to sleep and Had nervous dreams. The day of surgery was just as nerve wracking and during the journey into the OR there were a few moments where I thought, “what am I doing?” “OMG I can’t do this!” But I just kept reminding myself that I fought for a year to be here, this will all be worth it. As I lay on the operating table with the anesthesia mask on my face all I could think was relax, breath and don’t fight it. Coming out of anesthesia, the first thing I️ noticed was an incredible pain in my chest. The pain meds they gave me helped me relax but the pain didn’t subside. Once I got I to my room and all settled I asked about the pain and what to do about it. My nurse said the only thing to do was get up and walk. So that is what I did. Repeatedly. I sipped water, did breathing exercises, and walked. Even if you don’t feel like walking get up and do it. I cannot stress how important walking is. Once home I found that I️ was quite tired and struggled to get much in the way of fluids. Persistence is the key, keep sipping, keep breathing and keep walking. Now almost three weeks later I am on puréed / soft foods. The transition was quite welcome as I was getting quite tired of my all liquid diet. The process is not easy but very much worth it. Just remember to pay attention, eat slowly and chew chew chew. There are incredible resources on Pinterest for us sleeved folk and a lot of confusions. Take everything with a grain of salt, follow your doctors instructions and listen to your body. It will let you know what’s up. Mostly importantly, keep walking. Now I am down 22lbs from the day of my surgery and 32 lbs from the highest weight. I am feeling great, the swelling in my feet is gone, my joints no longer hurt and today I had to buy a new pair of pants as my old ones are now too big. This is just the beginning of my weight loss adventure and I am excited to see where it goes. So if you are days or even weeks away from surgery let me be another voice saying, it’s totally worth it, it is worth the struggle, it is worth the fear, just take that step of faith and do it.

Oh man. I remember what that felt like! You are gonna do great! If you haven’t already go buy your protein shakes now and have them ready. Get as many flavors as you can cause they WILL get old. I bought the premier protein shakes in all the flavors and when I got bored with them I mixed them. Chocolate strawberry or chocolate caramel really helped me get through the liquid diet.

I was so scared the night before my surgery. My anxiety was through the roof. But now almost three weeks later I know it was the best thing I have done for myself. Get whatever sleep you can and be excited for your new life. My best advice post surgery is get up and walk as soon as you can and as often as you can. The more you can walk the easier it gets. Best of luck!!