Texarkolina

Scared/excited/nervous/hopeful.....all in the same hour. I am with you.

THANK YOU. Aaahhh....the voice of reason speaks.

July 23--I am on day 2 of the pre-op diet right now. Day one was rough--today it was better!

Amazing!

For the record, I did not find your original post offensive. You stated that "FOR ME if I need to cheat I am not ready" and advised me to tell my doctor what is going on. That seemed like you were tossing out your honest opinion about your experience and encouraging me to share my struggle with my doctor. You went on to say that it gets easier based on your experience. Saying "if you can't make it through one day of your pre-op diet are you sure you are ready" rings out to be a bit on the mean/negative/judgmental side if you are of the state of mind where you start a post with "I am ashamed/embarrassed." Implying that struggling with adjusting to a liquid diet makes me somewhat unworthy of surgery is how it read to me. Intent and emotions get easily lost in written communication..... I wish you well in you pre op diet and a successful surgery.

Best pre-surgery planning I have heard of!

My problem is that I am, like everyone else on this board, a person who struggles with food issues. I am facing a major life change/surgery and felt powerless to properly prepare for it. If it was easy for us to control we wouldn't be here. I was upset/frustrated/ashamed/embarrassed already and was reaching out for HELP and being honest and vulnerable. After reading your post I was more upset than before. I really really needed support and help, but I got my hand slapped. If you will think back to your pre-surgery days, were there not days that you were scared and just needed a "come on, you can do it?" Seems the best advice I got was from a friend who said, "start with the surgeon and make sure you are doing it right--if you are, tell him you are struggling on day one and ask if he has advice. Surely you are not the first person to blow it on day one." I am not trying to start a war, but I did want to point out that when someone is being vulnerable and asking for help simple encouragement goes a long way.

I find it funny that those who were negative were the first to post "Oh I wasn't being negative". Why so defensive? Seems you were fully aware that your posts were negative. Hey, when someone asks what did you do to make it easier, the appropriate thing to post isn't "Maybe you shouldn't have the surgery because you are not ready" but rather something along the lines of "I had a cup of decaf hot tea 3 times a day and that helped", or "try freezing the shake and eating it like ice cream."

OK,so I have been doing it wrong. It is 6 packets a day (what I picked up was for 1 week--not 2 and they forgot the instructions). I can have sugar free Jello (which makes a lot of difference), low sodium bullion, sugar free Popsicle, etc. I had an upper GI today and talked to the surgeon about struggling with the pre-op diet. He said that I was doing ok and I am actually down 5 pounds in 36 hours, so I guess I didn't blow it too badly. I made one of the shake mixes into a pudding and let it get really cold.....had some broth and then some jello and finished up with the pudding--I feel so much better. I think losing so much Water weight all at once made me too weak to think straight. The sodium in that broth really helped. I am refocused and determined to lose the pound a day the doctor wants me to lose. He said that the grilled chicken breast without skin and veggie was actually just fine if I needed to use that to get through the first couple of days while I adjust. Here is to a successful pre-op diet. Oh--and for those of you that flooded this topic with criticism, thanks for nothing. I was asking for help/suggestions not judgement. I was already upset with myself and your judgement didn't help. To those that posted encouragement--thank you thank you thank you. Just a positive "it is ok--get back on the horse" really goes a long way.

I am right there with you. My surgery date is July 23 and I am a bundle of nerves. My stomach has been upset for a week and I just started the pre-op diet so it is a bit worse today. I talked to a nurse today and she said that it was normal to be nervous and to call if I get so anxious I can't function in my daily life. Hang in there--these two weeks will fly by and we will begin to see the benefits soon.

I am pre-op at 300 pounds and a medium frame. I wear a size 10 shoe and have large hands, but I don't think my shoulders and all are all that wide underneath the fluff....guess time will tell. My goal weight is also 140. I have an hourglass figure--well, it is really about 2 hours and thirty minutes right now....but I am told that if you are shaped that way you can carry a bit more. However, I want to see 140.

Thank you. I really needed that bit of encouragement.

I have seen a lot of pre-op diets and this one seems very restrictive. I am ok eating only veggies or something along those lines, but I don't think I have that option. I wonder if I understand the diet correctly. I was told to come pick up my pre-op diet, and it was boxes of little packets--no instructions. I counted them and divided by 14 days. That was 3 packets a day of 130 calories each.....so I guess it isn't even 500 calories a day. I think it is a bit worse because of the timing (TMI--sorry) around my cycle. I am dropping a ton of pre-period Water weight and that always makes me feel weak. I wonder if I could take some potassium or something. I usually eat a high-potassium food around this time of the month and it really helps with the weakness and dizziness. Did anyone else have a diet that didn't allow anything except 3 packets of pudding or shake mix a day? The more I think about it the more I am beginning to wonder if I am doing this right. Oh--the chicken was boiled breast with no skin and the asparagus was with no butter. I knew I was screwing up and didn't want to go too far.

How are you doing now?

I am starting my pre-op diet on Monday. To prepare,I went out and bought a size 6 pair of jeans and some jet black knee high boots. (summer clearance so I got a good deal, too) It felt good buying them.

If it is plantar fasciitis, first of all OUCH. Had it--hurts bad. Look up the stretching exercises that you do before you get out of bed and that will help. For exercise, you may want to try the elliptical. It was the only exercise I could tolerate when I was dealing with plantar fasciitis.

Thank you for being honest. I am very nervous about my upcoming surgery and am looking for posts where people share their not so great stories. It helps to have a good range of what might happen rather than just the great stories. I am sorry you are having a hard time and hope you are feeling better soon.

I have 2 days until I start the pre-op diet. I am considering the 1st day of the diet as day 1 of the new me. I am going to measure, weigh, and take pictures in a couple of outfits and from different angles so that I have something to look back on "where I was" in case of a stall and/or other frustration. Any other suggestions?

I asked some similar questions and concluded that I have to have something permanent. I have had temporary losses before, and although permanent is scary, it is what I need. I am feeling more anxious the closer I get to my surgery, and I have been told that is normal.

Welcome! I am less than 3 weeks out and really understand the nervous side. Those are all great reasons....and if you are anything like me your list of why's will grow every day from now to surgery day.

Please promise me that if I ever start a discussion about this surgery with my mother again that you will find me and b...h-slap me.....cause I would totally deserve it. Why does my mother feel compelled to tell me about the two people that she knows who had gastric bypass years and years ago that drank chocolate shakes 3 times a day and never lost any weight? Not once..but OVER and OVER again. She is totally supportive....which is great...but I only told her because I knew she would be upset if I didn't. I really don't want a running commentary on my life choices or really any conversation at all about this. Is my a$$ really so big that we need to discuss it for hours at a time with all my family? Can we just please discuss anything else? I have researched this surgery for like a year...so I really don't need your "expert" advise about what some lady told you that her friend's neighbor's son's girlfriend did to lose weight.....pretty sure it was surgery but might have just been one of those liquid diet things...but she looks great! Groan.

You might try a walk-in clinic. First Care is easy to get into and they are very accommodating about running tests if you feel like you need them run. Sorry you are having a rough time. Seems one theme is strong here and that is that it gets better. I rarely see anyone in pain at 3 weeks out on this forum. Here is praying that the nightmares stop and your pain stops soon.

What if we didn't use a scale at all after surgery? What if we just took some measurements and weighed only at the doctor's office? So many people are so very upset at the up 4 down 2 up 2 down 5....and I am sure I will be no different. I should really get rid of the scale for a while.........

I am scheduled for surgery on the 23rd. For some reason thinking I have surgery "later this month" is freaking me out a little. And I just read a post about my surgeon being an a$$ to another patient when she complained of pain. To be honest, I didn't really really "hit it off" with my surgeon that much, but I didn't dislike him either. Any advice on how to deal with a big case of nerves in the weeks leading up to surgery?

Well, this may or may not be the case, but look at your feet. If you poke the top of your foot with a finger really hard and hold it for a second does the dent stay (even for a second) when you move your finger? If so you have edema--aka swelling on your feet/legs. I am trying to lose as much as I can before surgery and wound up gaining 13 pounds. I went to my family practitioner for another issue and mentioned that I am eating half as much but still gaining. She immediately poked my feet--then my legs--and said I had about 20 pounds of water weight on my legs. I mentioned that I was up 3 then down 5 and up 6 etc......she said that yo-yo thing is often a sign that you are retaining a lot of water......just a thought.