AndreaJD

So tomorrow is my last day before surgery on Monday at 7:15 in the morning. I am not feeling particularly anxious, but I am. I'm picking at my cuticles and I have a burst blood vessel in one eye, which my sister (a doctor) says can be caused by stress. How about that, stress makes your eyeballs bleed! Also, when I went to the hairdresser the other day, I tried to lock the door of my car and it beeped because my keys were still in the ignition (thank God it does that or I'd have locked myself out several times). So I went to pull the key out and realized the engine was still running! That's a total stress move, and something I've never done. So did anyone else find that the liver shrink diet was horribly constipating? Good grief! Glad that's over (clear liquids now till surgery). My husband and I cleaned the hell out of our house today. He's having prostate surgery on the 21st, so neither of us are going to be up for cleaning for a while. I also organized my meds. I'm glad I did, because I realized that I didn't get the Protonix I am supposed to take. They apparently didn't call it in. Not a big deal, but because it's Saturday, I'm going to have to ask my surgeon to order it at the hospital and have my husband pick it up. Just now, I ordered a big supply of clear liquids for when I get home. I keep asking myself, "Are you SURE? This is permanent, you will never be able to blah blah blah again." But then I think it through and the math always comes up yes.

@Greekmom4, I'm so sorry to hear about your bridge being knocked out, and having to have a second surgery! Glad you're home now and I hope the rest of your experience is nothing but upside.

Oh, @ShoppGirl, you made my day. I LOL'ed. This is one of the few times when it's great to brag about and celebrate a fart. And to congratulate you on it!

Hi, @Hiddenroses, @Mandalynne, and @Singingbarista, I had the same question about whether to tell people or not. I decided to tell my boss (that was a no-brainer, because I want her to know what I'm up to so when I need to take it easy, and when I start to lose weight, she'll know why), and I told my work team. I figured when I start losing weight the rumor mill will start (Does Andrea have cancer??!!) and I wanted them to be able to tell people I'm fine. But that's all the people I told at work, because everybody's got an opinion, and coworkers don't need to be weighing in on my personal medical decisions. I also told my sisters and my Mom. My sisters are totally supportive, even the one who thinks I'm making a mistake. She told me her opinion and hasn't hassled me about it since, she's just been supportive. My mom has said not one word. That's what she does when she doesn't approve, LOL. But that's fine, as long as she doesn't give me grief about it. Oh, and I told my hairdresser, who said her cousin had bariatric surgery and is rocking it. Here's a suggestion. This is what I'm going to do. If people ask me about my weight loss, I'll say that I am going to the MultiCare Center for Weight Loss and Wellness. Or I'm doing medically supervised weight loss. Both are true, end of discussion. I'm not planning to deny having surgery or anything, I'm just planning to not get into it, especially with people who want to share negative opinions. Of course we care what others think, there's nothing wrong with that. It's just this is a personal decision about a condition that everyone can see, but is mega-uncomfortable to talk about. We'll support you whatever decision you make. If you have surgery, as you can see this group is quite supportive and willing to share our experiences.

Hi, @Mandalynne! Welcome to the August surgery buddies crew. I'm having the Gastric Bypass, too. One more day - my surgery is at 7:15 Monday morning. I'm jealous that you have a bowflex! I walked on a treadmill during boring meetings at work because I work from home. Once I'm recovered, I need to find a muscle workout like yoga, pilates, or something.

I hope you are both doing awesome, @Onemealplan, @Greekmom4 and @BigDane! @ShoppGirl, you are gonna rock this! I am amazed by your energy, getting all that done. I'm thinking about all of you and sending good vibes. @BigDane, I'm so jealous, you get to go to pureed a lot sooner than I do. I have to be on full liquids for 2 weeks post op. Less than a week to go for me now. Anxious but certain it's the right decision. Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeee, our group has started having our surgeries and pretty soon it will be time to start sharing successes. I appreciate having you all to go through this with, even if it is virtually.

Today was my last visit before surgery!!! I learned some stuff I didn't know: I only have to be on clear liquids for a few hours the day before surgery; I'll be on my LSD until then. Also, I'll have an abdominal binder after surgery. I haven't heard anything about that from any of my research. Did/will any of you have that? I have to have a few more preop blood tests tomorrow. Also have a lot of meds (seems like a lot to me) that I'll be on for a little while right after surgery. Here's the most interesting thing: they told me to stop taking my blood pressure meds the day of surgery and don't re-start them. The thinking is that they don't want me to get weak/dizzy from low BP when I'm not eating, and after that once I lose sufficient weight I probably won't need them anyway. So I'm going to take my blood pressure every day after surgery just to keep an eye on it. That's cool because I was wondering how that worked. Also yesterday my husband took my "before" pictures for me. They're painful to look at, but they had an interesting effect on me. Seeing them reassured me that I do need this surgery and I am doing the right thing. I learned at Jenny Craig (one of my many diet attempts) that we don't see our bodies accurately in the mirror but photos don't allow our minds to do whatever they do to filter the images. That is certainly true for me; I barely recognize myself in pictures: I'm a lot bigger than I see myself in the mirror. Looking forward to taking those "after" pictures!!!

I hope your surgery went perfectly, @Onemealplan and you're resting comfortably right now. Sending all the good vibes to you. So who's next? I'm not until the 12th (which is SOOOOOOOOO close now).

@Onemealplan, that's a great question. I work from home, and my job is entirely sedentary, so I doubt that I will need three to four whole weeks off. But how do I know? I haven't done this before! My husband is having surgery on the 21st of August, so another big question is whether I'll be ready to be there for him after that. My surgery is on a Monday, and my plan is to take the first two weeks off (which will include my husband's surgery nine days after mine). Then I'll try to go back to work, but I may start with half-days if I need to. What are other people doing?

@onemealplan, I'm so excited for you! Sending all the good vibes. I hadn't said "keep your eyes on the prize" about this surgery, and I think it will help a lot. Thanks for reminding me of that! I think today I will ask my husband to take my "before" pictures. Ugh. But I need them for measuring progress.

@Onemealplan, I'm so excited for you! Sending all the good vibes. You know, I hadn't really said "keep your eyes on the prize" about this surgery yet, thank you for reminding me of that. That will help me out quite a bit as I go through this alongside all of you.

@Greekmom4, that sounds a lot like my liver shrink diet, but I can only eat 1 meal a day, the rest is protein shakes (at least 3). I am doing ok so far, still able to do my treadmill without being weak or dizzy, but i go from zero to homicide in a hot second. My sister is a naturopath and said I will finish detoxing in 2 weeks (assuming I'm not incarcerated by then). She told me some things to help. I agree, @ShoppGirl, it's weird how different the protocols are. I would not want the all-liquid diet (I'll get enough of that after surgery). I have my surgery the week after you and @ShoppGirl, on August 12. It's getting so close!

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!! I just snapped at my husband for asking what I wanted him to cook for dinner! How awful, especially since he picked up the LSD groceries I ordered yesterday. Thanks for the question, ShoppGirl, I wondered if it was because of the diet. I'm scared of what I'll be like when I start to lose weight and all that fat-stored estrogen starts being released into my system. Release the Kraken!!!

Hi everyone! Just got my surgery date of August 12th. Suddenly it's all so real. So it looks like we'll all be surgery buddies!! I am really excited, scared, hopeful, and anxious. But at this point, I just want it done. I started my liver shrink diet yesterday. It's going great except that protein shakes really don't agree with me. I found one that is not so bad, but when you're drinking 3 a day (that was my doctor's minimum) it's a lot. My husband is super supportive although he doesn't like the idea of me having this surgery because he doesn't understand why I can't just lose weight and keep it off. (I bet you all do, though!) The good news is that he is a great guy and he's been with me every step, which is good because he's the cook at our house. I had my pre-anesthesia call today and I have my last appointment before surgery with the Physician's Assistant on Friday. Two weeks to go from today. I have done a lot of things to get ready. Since I work from home, I got a treadmill and an adjustable desk, so I can get up and walk on my treadmill during meetings. My goal is to walk 30 minutes 3 times a day (I'm up to 2 mph so that's 3 treadmill miles, although I know it's easier to walk on a treadmill than on the street). I don't always get 3 in, but it's SO much more exercise than I have gotten in years. I want to be in the best shape I can for surgery and recovery. I also got a bullet blender, tiny silverware, an electronic food scale, new measuring cups and spoons, and tiny storage containers to put pre-measured portions in so I can grab n' go. (Amazon makes it TOO easy to spend money!) I have read The Big Book on Gastric Bypass and I got several bariatric cookbooks so I can plan meals that meet the post-op requirements. I think the biggest part of all this for me is the idea of eating differently for the rest of my life. I have failed SO many diets (or they've failed me...) that it's really difficult to think I will really be able to lose my excess weight for good. I know that it is all up to me, and I am really hoping that having a tiny stomach and the new, shorter path for food digestion will be the key I've been looking for. I think it will be, because if I have a reason why I must eat small portions of nutritious foods and cannot eat sugar, that will make it much easier. Before, I could always say, "Oh, screw it, I'll just try again tomorrow" and give in to "mind hunger". That is why, like many of you have said, I will definitely need your support, and the support of my surgeon's clinic, to be successful in the long run. Thank you all for sharing your experiences and may we all be celebrating our successes together soon!

I'm scheduled for gastric bypass on August 12th and I'm hoping some of you will tell me what your first week post-op was like? I'd like to know what to expect. I know the first few months will be ROUGH, but I would like more specifics.

Hi everyone! Just got my date of August 12th. Suddenly it's all so real. I am really excited, scared, hopeful, and anxious. But at this point, I just want it done!

Hi, @AnyaC! I'm Andrea. I haven't been scheduled yet, but given the requirements of my insurance, I think I'll be having surgery in August or September. So if we're not exactly September surgery buddies, we're probably going to be close. Right now, I've had my surgeon consult, a zillion blood tests, and my first dietician visit. I have several other required pre-op appointments scheduled, including an endoscopy (tube down the throat to look at my esophagus and entrance of my stomach). Not looking forward to that, but it's my surgeon's standard and he's done about a million bariatric surgeries, so I guess he knows what he's doing. I've just gone from drinking tons of carbonated beverages to 2 cans a day. Thought it would be really hard since I get my caffeine from diet Coke (don't like coffee) but it's been easy so far. I'm reading everything I can get my hands on, trying to learn all I can. I'm about a month into my new exercise routine. I work from home so I got a treadmill and I walk during meetings. I'm doing 20 minutes, 3 times each workday, so it's a mile and a half currently. Monday I will go to 25 minutes. I want to be in the best shape I can for surgery! So what do you have to do pre-op? How are you feeling about it all?