deedee

Now, I'm only about 1.5 weeks out, so take this for what it's worth;-) I was also self pay and worried a bit about if this work for me? I've paid a lot of money in the past (although not this much) for Jenny Craig, diet pills, etc. I stopped worrying so much about whether this would work when I started my pre-op diet about a month before surgery--high protein, low carbs. It helped to see the pounds go off during this stage, I figured that after the sleeve it would just get easier because I'd have this tool in place. Good luck! I think you'll do fabulous seeing how much thought you are putting into this decision.

So glad everything worked out. This afternoon I noticed a soreness in my lower back that is still with me, but today I took the longest and fastest walk I have taken so far. I was going to wait and see how I do tomorrow, glad that I read this.

It turned out to be a little more of an operation than originally planned. The surgeon told me that he found a hiatal hernia and had to deal with that as well. I'm still a little confused about exactly that was/is, but we will discuss it more at my first post-op next week. Yesterday was my first day home and I sort of took a turn for the worse. In the hospital I was up walking and talking to everyone, very happy and feeling great. Late in the morning they took me down for an upper GI, and I ended up puking and getting the shakes from the stuff they had me swallow before the barium. I was never able to do the barium because I was shaking and chattering too bad. Once back in my room, I started to feel a little better, but not as good as the night and morning before. I got the news that based on the pictures they were able to take, everything looked fine for me to begin clear liquids. Around 3:30 PM all the IV fluid was through me, I'd spoken with my surgeon, the hospital dietitian, and many others, and the nurse was ready to go over my discharge paperwork. This morning I definitely felt better than last night. Last evening I barely finished a 15 minute walk on the boardwalk. Today, I easily did 30. I'm still not getting much in myself and really need to work on that. Other than that, I'm trying to take my pain meds on schedule. I have an OnQ pump for pain relief support that I'll have to remove on Sunday afternoon. I started my vitamins today and think that might have helped me feel better.

This time tomorrow I will be sleeved! I am excited, but starting to get really nervous. Today has been kind of tough, it's the second day of my clear liquid diet. My husband heated up something in the microwave for lunch and it smelled sooooo good. I asked him to go out for dinner and not bring it home:-) Right now I'm re-reading about all of the possible complications that may occur, but I keep telling myself that I just have one more day and all will be fine. I'm hoping and praying that everything goes well. On a positive note (sort of), I resigned from my job last week and don't have a new one lined up to begin until October. Financially this will be a little tough, but this should give me plenty of time to recover and try to work this sleeve to the best of my ability when it comes to food and exercise. Next time I post, I should be on my way to a healthier me.

Yay! I'm getting very close to my surgery date now. Tomorrow I will begin 2 days of a clear liquid diet and have surgery on Tuesday. Over the last couple of weeks I've been trying different protein powders from the list my nutritionist provided and suggestions I've read here and elsewhere. I found one last week that I could tolerate a little (Syntrax Matrix Orange Cream) and ordered a tub and got the vanilla tub as well. Like I said, I could tolerate it if I sipped it very slowly, but I kept looking. Well, I just got some samples of Chike protein and I LOVE the orange one mixed with milk. From what I've read it is supposed to be used as a meal replacement because it's higher in calories (especially after the milk I add), but I'm hoping that I like it just as much after surgery. I'm thinking I can use it for a meal and then use another one (lower calories) for supplement purposes. I should be receiving Nectar samples soon and still have some Unjury samples (didn't like much) that I can try after surgery. On the other hand, my husband tried the chocolate Chike (I don't like chocolate unless it's a Baby Ruth:-) and said it was okay, but he likes his current one better--I thought I was the picky one. He has been a gym rat since about 9th grade and has used protein supplementation for many, many years. He did say if he had to switch to that one, he wouldn't mind, but his is much cheaper and can be purchased at the local store, so I don't think so. Just goes to show how this is such a personal taste thing for everyone. Well, I've got to help my friend prepare for her 2 year old's birthday party and get ready to eat my last real meal pre-op. I still plan on following the low carb thing today--I've done pretty well with it and have lost 17 lbs (not quite the 10% they wanted, but my surgeon was still happy and applauded my effort).

Okay, I think I can do this! I freaked out a little about lowering my carbs and upping my protein for my pre-op diet. Although I've been on and off of diets for 20 years, I have never tried a high protein diet because of my addiction to potatoes. The first week of trying, I was visiting family in another state. I had a mini-meltdown when I discovered I really did not know much about carbs in the foods I ate. I decided that I did know that I could eat meat, cheese, lettuce, and eggs. So I decided I could really focus on protein for breakfast and lunch with no or very little carbs and then not stress about dinners. I thought it was at least a start. Upon my return home, I had another meltdown. I was exhausted from the 13 hour drive the day before and just wanted something to eat. I had a protein bar for breakfast and one for lunch, but realized I would need to go grocery shopping. To tide me over I decided to have a yogurt and as I was eating it, read the back and realized how many carbs it contained. That's when I lost it. I felt that I did not have any idea what I was doing and that maybe this surgery wasn't going to work for me. Thankfully my husband was home and decided we needed to take a field trip (I'm a teacher, so he talked to me in my terms :-). I protested feeling that I needed to read the two South Beach diet books I had picked up and make a plan before heading to the store. He basically said that this wasn't that difficult and I could do it; I'd been talking daily about surgery for the last three months and reading like crazy. (A little background: my husband exercises at the gym 7 days a week and eats pretty healthy all the time, but never really knew how many carbs certain foods contained...he just makes sure to eat a balanced diet and stays away from potatoes.) We got to the store and started going through the isles reading labels and putting together foods I liked that could be for breakfast and lunch and snacks. This went really well and I was surprised at how many things we found. This all happened Wednesday, and I can say that each day I grow more confident that I am making the changes I need to to live a healthier life. I've also discovered that I enjoy cooking. We did go out on Friday and I was very pleased that I didn't crave fries. I had a salad without dressing and a chicken burger without the bun. On Saturday, we went to a baseball game and stopped by Subway (one of my favorite fast food places) and got a spinach salad with chicken and a cup of dressing on the side and didn't even use 1/4 of it. Tomorrow I meet with the nutritionist, so we'll see what other changes I need to make, but I feel good right now and think I can do this.

The last couple of weeks have been super busy. I am a self-paying patient and spent about 1 week trying to get information regarding what the hospital price would/would not cover. Since I purchased a separate insurance policy for complications, I really wanted the hospital to be specific for what their fee covered...you'd think I was asking them to write a dissertation or something. It took a visit and many, many phone calls, but eventually it all worked out. Another surprising thing that happened was my diagnosis of mild sleep apnea. The sleep studies were horrible experiences and I was so sure after the first one (as was the tech) that although I had a few episodes when sleeping on my back, I would not need the mask (CPAP I think). To my surprise I was called a couple days later and informed that I did have mild sleep apnea and once the patterns had been analyzed there were enough instances of not breathing per hour and for so many seconds that it warranted the mask. My surgeon (or hospital) requires that I use the mask for at least 2 weeks prior to surgery and bring it to the hospital so they can put me on it during recovery from anesthesia. So, I'm trying to use the mask each night for at least a couple of hours. As for other pre-op stuff, I had my labs done, an ekg, chest xray, and an upper GI test. I had my pre-op with the surgeon a couple of days ago and everything looked great except I was low on vitamin D (18 is what he said, need to look up what that means). I also met with the nutritionist for my last visit before surgery and think I'm ready (in that I know what I can have) as far as the liquid phase goes right after surgery. Luckily I'll meet with her and the doctor each time I progress from one phase to the next on foods. Now, I'm getting nervous about possible complications and trying to find a new focus to help the next week or so fly by.

Yay for you! I can't wait to be where you are.

I do not meet with the nutritionist until July 6, but noticed in the binder I received from the office that I should begin a "high Protein, low carbohydrate" diet now. It calls for getting in 70 grams of protein and limiting carbohydrates to 30 grams. Over my numerous years of dieting--Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers, diet pills, etc.--I've never done a strictly high protein diet. I'm feeling a little overwhelmed. I'm not too concerned about lunches (I know I can do salads), but for Breakfast I like eggs when I eat with a muffin or toast (not really by themselves). I know that I will be changing my eating habits and am excited about doing this to feel better/healthier, but I'm just not sure where to start. Do you think I should wait until I meet with the nutritionist, or are there some good (simple) resources on the web that can help me plan out my days/grocery lists? Should I just focus on upping the protein and lowering the carbs at one meal each day for now? Thank you for any advice you might have and just letting me get this off my chest.

Thank you for the encouragement. I know it's going to come be here before I know it!

Hello, I just wanted to introduce myself. I have been researching wls options for a couple of months now; started out wanting the band and switched to the sleeve after reading more about it. Today my surgery date was scheduled for August 4! I have never been very good at communicating online, but I wanted to thank all of you for so openly sharing your journey and experiences. It has truly been appreciated and allowed me to know my options and questions to ask my surgeon. I look forward to learning more from this group. Dee Dee

Thank you for the information, I think you're right that I need to start before my meeting with the nutritionist. Right now I am traveling across country to visit family and I purchased some Atkins products for the car. I noticed that the bars I picked up had a lot of carbs (22 grams), so I snacked on one the entire day. I also did remove one of the buns on my sandwich when we stopped for lunch, but tomorrow I will try putting the meat between the lettuce (no bun at all). I picked up a South Beach diet book at a store also and will do a little reading tonight...hopefully it will give me some good information as well. Thanks again, I appreciate you taking the time to reply!

I feel the same way as you. I just got my date of August 4, and I find I'm very excited one moment and then nervous the next. This really is a life changing operation. Good luck!

Thank you for the welcomes! I will be sure to keep you posted and probably have a few questions along the way.

I had my consultation today (2nd surgeon) and have a surgery date scheduled for August 4. I'm supposed to immediately begin eating high protein, low carbohydrate foods/meals. I'm glad about this because the thing I am most nervous about is learning how to eat differently. I'll meet with the nutritionist on July 6, but I'm going to try to do my best up until that point. As I reviewed the paperwork from the doctor's office this afternoon, it really started to hit me that this new chapter of my life is really going to begin soon. I'm very excited and a bit nervous. I started therapy about a month ago to begin discussing some of my issues with food and I hope that the transition I'm about to make won't be as tough with the right supports in place.