Creekimp13

BMI over 40 and a letter from both your referring doctor and your surgeon should be good enough:)

No worries:) Make note that each surgical group does things a little different. Some groups will have you on a two week liquid diet presurgically, some will do only a week...still others will do shorter or longer presurgical diets. Different groups will move you through the post surgical diet differently, too...and will approve foods differently for reintroduction. Different groups will require different things of you before surgery, too. Some will want a full Upper GI endoscopy, some will accept a normal barium x-ray study of the upper GI. Any abnormal results will likely require more tests so appropriate measures can be taken to keep you safe. Having just gone through these months June to December....the things on my list are just what's fresh in my mind. I'm sure I'm forgetting a bunch of stuff. Best wishes on your weight loss journey!

You're about to commit to a lifetime change to your anatomy, and a lifetime of lifestyle changes. This is a HUGE, DIFFICULT undertaking. Use your six months to get drop dead serious about your diet and fitness. LOSE WEIGHT. If you can't lose weight before surgery....surgery probably won't help you. Behavior changes are critical. Without them, the surgery won't work. Fat people can be fit, or at least more fit......you can start walking and exercising and get your resting heart rate down to improve your cardiovascular fitness....this will make surgery that much safer for you. Even if you have to start really slow, challenge yourself to a few more steps each day. Wear a pedometer/Fitbit/Other fitness step counter. Losing weight will improve your blood sugar....which will help you to heal after surgery. Use this six months to get the junk food out of your house, develop strategies for non-dieting household members to continue their preferred diet, start your Vitamins, get the work done...of adapting to changes you need to make after surgery. Put together a list of 200 calorie foods you can take with you or pick up on the run. Have a strategy for fast food places you might end up at with friends or family. (For McDonalds, I get an egg McMuffin and eat half. 150 calories, 9g Protein. I also get a large decaf coffee.) Use this six months to quit nicotine for good. Quit or severely reduce caffeine. Quit carbonated beverages. These are really HARD habits to break...and you don't need to be struggling with them on top of the other challenges you'll be facing when the time comes. Tackle these tasks ahead of time. Keep in mind that the average sleeve patient loses only 60% or so of their excess weight (bypass patients do a little better). The less you weigh on the day of surgery...the closer you are likely to get to your goal weight in the 18 months after surgery. Research. Research. Research. Research. Do the benefits outweigh the risks in your particular case? Do you understand what your diet will be like after surgery and for the rest of your life? Do you have strategies to deal with the temptations that will still be there after surgery? Have you read dozens of stories of people who have had surgery and succeeded AND dozens of stories of those who have failed? Do you have an idea of what kinds of exercise you want to do? Have you looked at food lists for each eating stage after surgery? Have you researched possible complications? Do you feel comfortable that you're extremely well informed about what you're getting yourself into? If not...now is the time:) Have you tried drinking one ounce of liquid in ten little sips over 15 minutes? Get out a medicine cup, or shot glass, and give it a try. You will have to do this four times an hour after surgery...every hour that you are awake. Try one day of drinking only protein drinks and clear liquids. See how you tolerate being off solid food and carbs. Counting the pre-surgical diet, many people are consuming only protein drinks and clear liquids.... for three weeks. Use the six months to build a data base of healthy recipes that you actually like and will use the rest of your life. Become a calorie and Protein counting savant. Learn to journal everything that goes into your mouth. Learn to recognize food potions. Test yourself with a scale and measuring cups. Can you spoon out 1/4 cup of mashed potatoes with accuracy? How about half a cup of cottage cheese? What does 3 ounces of chicken breast look like? There is a TON of work you need to do be well prepared for what you're getting yourself into:) If you do this....the six months will fly by. Attend required appointments, seminars, support groups, do medical tests, see therapist, communicate with health insurance. You're going to be busy! Use your six months wisely. And very best wishes on a safe and effective procedure:)

Try alternating between your clear liquids and your protein shakes every hour... At the start of each hour, pour four little one ounce cups, and try to make a goal of drinking one every 15 minutes in 10 or more tiny little sips. Rest between sips and keep them really teeny. Don't take naps...you'll lose precious drinking time. If you just actively make this the goal of your life....you'll get your fluids and protein in. You won't get much else done...but you'll start to feel better and drinking will become much easier the more you drink.

You're gonna do great:) Best wishes for a safe effective procedure and a quick recovery:) Remember to sip sip sip, and walk as soon as you can. You got this:)

Trust your saner self....the self that worked for months to make this surgery happen. The self who is kinda terrified today...is understandably under some stress:)

I did for about two weeks after surgery. But the plus side...is that all those extra hours awake made it easier to reach fluid goals. Glass half full, so to speak:) LOL

Feel better and keep up the positive outlook, it helps like nothing else:) This, too, shall pass. You're on your way! Wishing you rapid healing and success.

I personally have had zero heartburn. I know people who have. One thing I think is important in preventing the bad heartburn associated with sleeve....is finding a surgeon who is extremely experienced in evaluating where the esophagus passes through the diaphragm for hiatal hernia. One important component of getting rid of GERD is keeping the stomach out of the chest cavity. I had a hernia repair and have had no symtoms of acid since surgery what so ever.

I would say.... Are you considering weight loss surgery, too? I can hook you up with my surgeon:) It's possible that she, herself, has had bypass in the past and she had a different experience than you're having. I know other sleevers who are horrified I ate 1000 calories a day at 3 weeks...even though I'm following my doctor's orders precisely. Because my doctor's orders conflicts with theirs....i'm wrong and there's no winning. LOL:) I think you should investigate why she's so interested. I'd ask her if she's had bypass herself. When she says...Should you be eating that? Ask...her if she's a secret bariatric surgeon or bariatric nutritionist? Because surely her expertise must be coming from some hidden formal education. She'll undoubtedly counter.....Well, I'm just concerned that you're going to hurt yourself and blah blah blah... To which you should respond.....Thank you for your concern, but what, exactly, gives you the right to address my medical issues? I don't recall soliciting your input. She'll blather on about trying to help. Say....I don't experience your comments that way. I experience them as criticism and harassment. Kindly stop. And then change the subject and try to end on a positive note. Ending on a more positive note is important. You do have to work with her...and she might just be too dumb to realize she has no business commenting. For all you know, she lives with someone who nitpicks everything she eats. Try to give her that benefit of the doubt and let it go. Should do the trick.

I got a sleeve. Sleeve Pros... Shorter surgery, fewer complications, statistically. Fewer issues with dumping syndrome Fewer issues with vitamin deficiency, anemia and malnutrition. Does stretch a bit (to me, this is a pro, to others it might be seen as a con....I like the idea of my anatomy returning to something that could pass for its original design eventually.) You won't lose as much weight with sleeve as bypass, though.

Had my gallbladder removed outpatient laproscopically over 10 years ago. Went in at 7AM, had surgery, was back home on the couch eating a Subway sandwich at 1PM.

Bring lounge pants or PJ bottoms....it makes walking the halls in your hospital gown a lot less breezy:) Best wishes for a safe effective procedure!

10 days:) And my group gave me a surgery date before the approval letter came. It was an insurance company they've worked with, so they went ahead and scheduled. (BCBS Michigan)

Did you happen to have a hiatal hernia repaired with your sleeve? I had miserable shoulder pain, too...and found out that it is deferred pain from the hernia repair. Liquid tylenol helps, and I promise it eventually goes away.

Don't know how old you are, but could you be starting peri menopause?

What melliecat said. I ate salty ham the other day and my weight popped up a pound. Drank a bunch of water to clear it out and it's down again. No worries, you're doing fine!

In the Japanese culture when a woman gets an abortion, other women send her flowers and are kind to her. She is thought to have made a responsible kind choice that will spare the baby hardship. There are public memorials for aborted children and even ceremonies where the woman says something along the lines of "Dear little spirit, please go in peace and find a home that is ready for you, and if you can, wait for me and come back when I am ready for you" I have tremendous respect for the kindness and compassion shown women facing this difficult painful choice in the Japanese culture. it's fascinating to me how different cultures cope with different moral dilemmas.

They sell pregnancy tests at the dollar store. Best to find out and make your decision from there. Best wishes.

Best wishes on a safe effective procedure! Remember to Sip, sip, sip, and walk as much as you can. Good luck!

It might not be that you're growing more hair....it could be the illusion of that because you're shrinking and your skin surface area is reducing so what hair you have always had is closer together and looks more dense. 100 hairs in one square inch looks different than 100 hairs in two square inches.

We're talking about a lifetime change to our anatomy, and a lifetime of lifestyle changes. This is a HUGE, HARD undertaking. Six months isn't that long to prepare. Use your six months to get drop dead serious about weight loss and fitness. LOSE WEIGHT. If you can't lose weight before surgery....surgery probably won't help you. Behavior changes are critical. Fat people can be fit, or at least more fit......you can start walking and exercising and get your resting heart rate down to improve your cardiovascular fitness....this will make surgery that much safer for you. Losing weight will improve your blood sugar....which will help you to heal after surgery regardless of whether or not you're diabetic. Use this six months to get the junk food out of your house, develop strategies for non-dieting household members to continue their preferred diet, start your vitamins, get the work done...of adapting to changes you need to make after surgery. Use this six months to quit nicotine for good. Quit or severely reduce caffeine. Quit carbonated beverages. These are really HARD habits to break...and you don't need to be struggling with them on top of the other challenges you'll be facing when the time comes. Tackle these tasks ahead of time. Keep in mind that the average sleeve patient loses only 60% or so of their excess weight (bypass patients do a little better). The less you weight on the day of surgery...the closer you are likely to get to your goal weight in the 18 months after surgery. Research. Research. Research. Research. Do the benefits outweigh the risks in your particular case? Do you understand what your diet will be like after surgery and for the rest of your life? Do you have strategies to deal with the temptations that will still be there after surgery? Have you read dozens of stories of people who have had surgery and succeeded AND dozens of stories of those who have failed? Do you have an idea of what kinds of exercise you want to do? Have you researched possible complications? Do you feel comfortable that you're extremely well informed about what you're getting yourself into? If not...now is the time:) Use the six months to build a data base of healthy recipes that you actually like and will use the rest of your life. Become a calorie and protein counting savant. Learn to journal everything that goes into your mouth. Learn to recognize food potions. Test yourself with a scale and measuring cups. There is a TON of work you need to do be well prepared for what you're getting yourself into:) Use your six months wisely. And very best wishes on a safe and effective procedure:)

Yep, I noticed this at my support group, too.

We're required to keep detailed food journals...my nutritionist is insistent. We record everything that goes into our mouths and she goes over it very thoroughly at our appointments. We also log calories and protein. Journaling emotions, events, etc...is something I've done from time to time, too...but less consistently.

Changes in gut microbiota (all the little helpful bacteria that live in the gut) might have a LOT to do with changes in metabolism and weight loss after bypass and sleeve. Both increase the diversity of helpful bugs that are associated with people at healthy weights. https://www.wired.com/2017/05/obesity-surgery-may-work-remaking-gut-microbiome/ https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/03/140326142209.htm This is really interesting and could be a future pathway to medical weightloss....rather than surgically removing the stomach, we might give people living biologicals to swallow to change their gut microbiota to promote weight loss and metabolic changes. Some fascinating stuff coming:) Here's a nice layman article about metabolic theory: https://weightlosssurgery.thehealthpartner.com/learning-center-page/understanding-metabolic-health We have a ton of natural defenses that have evolved to fight starvation...hormones that fight us like crazy when we lose weight. Back when we were dealing with bad crop years and bad hunting...this helped keep us alive. Now that we have too many calories and too sedentary a lifestyle...we have few natural defenses to help protect our health in the opposite direction...so a big problem. Nailing down the exact mechanisms of metabolic change....whether it's the gut microbiota, or hormonal changes, bile acids effecting nuclear receptors, changes in behavior, environment....it's a huge puzzle that we're still figuring out. But we do know there are significant changes that occur after surgery for most people.