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So I see so many have a liquid pre op diet for weeks before surgery but my surgeon said I only have to do a liquid diet for 24 hrs before surgery and I don't know why everyone else has to do a week or more but my surgeon doesn't require it. Anyone have any ideas why? Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Hi CJV, My preop wasn't much. They just went over my medical history, what meds I am on and gave me some instructions. No eating after midnight the day before surgery, no asprin or ibuprophen the week before surgery (or after). Not much more was said. I had my surgery at Oakwood Hospital in Dearborn, MI. I was in the hospital overnight. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. My biggest fear was having the breathing tube inserted before I was put to sleep. The anestheiologist did have to insert the tube before I was asleep, but I don't remember a thing! I was up within a 1/2 hour of being woke up, I really had to go to the bathroom bad, and was not going to use a bed pan. It was a little hard to walk, but not a big deal. I was not given anything to eat or drink or except for Water while in, but I didn't want anything else. I went home less than 24 hours after my surgery and did well. The biggest advise I can give is after the surgery, make sure you drink, drink, drink. It was really hard for me to drink, and I am still struggling with it. I used to guzzle water and can't do that anymore, so I have a hard time getting enough down. I felt the effects of it too - felt like I was getting a UTI. Not fun. I did not have to take any pain medication after I got home from the hospital. I had some pain, but it wasn't that bad. Keep a pillow around. Cover your abdomen when you have to cough, sneeze or laugh. I also slept in recliner instead of my bed for the first week. I like to sleep on my side and it hurt to do so, so the chair kept me from rolling over! Where are you having your surgery? I was so excited about mine, everyone kept asking me if I was nervous, I wasn't -- I was just ready, ready, ready!!! Good Luck, Jody

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and are you at your sweet spot?? I have noticed that the Realize band may take more of a fill then the Allergen band. I'm a bit worried since I have 6.5 cc's in my realize band and I know I could still use a bit more. Not sure if its 1cc or .5 etc but I know I could use something where I have seen people with other bands hitting goad with 3 or 5 cc's in there band... Just wondering..... I know we are all different, etc... I go for another fill on Monday. I'm only 9 weeks out and doing great but just wondering....

I grill 4 chicken breasts at the beginning of the week and depending on how big they are...I divide them into 2-3 ounces. I pack them into containers and then pack something else with them to go in my lunch box. The side will be something like sliced cucumbers or an apple or green Beans or a little salad. I find that if I have something cooked and ready to go, it is easy to add a side and I am good to go for a meal. I tend to work long hours so I always pack something extra, like cottage cheese just in case I need something. It really has made all the difference in staying on track with food. Good luck on finding the "thing" that works for you.

I was put on 'full liquids' this week so I'm starting to feel more 'normal' again. I just never thought it would be possible to get to 140 or 150 lbs. Mind you I'm still 203 right now, but I'm trucking on that direction and gonna get there! Not sure when, not sure how, surely bumps in the road, but gonna keep trucking on. Thanks for your tips everyone and your experiences. I'm unsure of the road ahead, but appreciate your stories/tips/etc to give me an idea of the journey.

Today marks exactly two weeks since I became sleeved. But, I seemed to already become 'stalled' in my weightloss. I have only loss about 25 pounds since I started my two week presurgery liquid diet to today. Not sure if this is normal - but it certainly is frustrating! Guess I was expecting more at this time since I am basically still on a liquid diet. I have however, been having a problem getting down enough protein. I have tried various types - but not found one that I could use regularly to get all that I need on a daily basis to increase weightloss. Does anyone have any tips, suggestions for getting in enough protein? What liquid supplements do you recommed that are palatable? Tried 'Whey New', not a fan. 'Premier Protein' is not bad. Please share your suggestions. Thank you!

Congrats! Welcome to the losers bench. I too had a fairly incident free recovery. I was only nauseous in the hospital but never threw up. Im 6 weeks out and havent thrown up once (knock on wood). The only time I needed my pain meds was in the morning and only for a couple of days. I eat about 2 ounces of food every couple of hours or so. I never eat to the point of being uncomfortable. I drink decaf tea pretty much all day long and can drink just like I did pre-surgery. I dont have to watch my sips any more which is good. I do take little bits though and ate with a baby spoon until I trained myself how big of bites to take. Good luck on your journey!

I am joining the 2 of you on Feb. 26th. Similar feelings.. Do you have to do full liquids for 2 weeks? I have to do 3 protein shakes and a proportioned dinner or make sure I'm 800-1,000 calories/day. I'm very nervous about complications but hoping I will be lucky. I usually get ill from general anesthesia and also have little tolerance for Dilaudid. I vomit violently from both. My surgeon knows this. Says he still may want t.o try dilaudid with zofran or Toridol (sp). I don't understand why Toridol would be considered as it is a powerful NSAID? I really don't want dilaudid due to my violent reaction 3 years ago and even when they gave me zofran the vomiting didn't stop for hours. Any advice plz? I wish you both the very best!

Listen to what your doc says. Around 6-8 weeks my doc said I can start training for the Olympics! Haha

My first fill was about 4 weeks out. I went back to the gym using the tread mill starting slowly (30 minutes) at day 4. My doctor said I could resume lap swimming (which I was doing 7 days a week) after 2 weeks.

Good luck...you must be so excited. I have a date of the 10th....less than two weeks now. It's a little scary but am very excited.

I am one month and 1 week post-op great advice I needed to hear that thanks[emoji5] Sent from my SM-J327T1 using BariatricPal mobile app

So, last night we were invited to go over to my sis-in-law's house to have BBQ and drinks and hang out. Well, since I am only one week out from surgery I did not think that the 8lbs that I have lost are that noticeable. So, I just put on some jogging pants and blouse that I would always wear. THE FIRST thing my sis-in-law said was that she could see I was losing weight! Mind you, they do not know about my operation. I was so happy on the outside and jumping for joy on the inside! It was my first family gathering since the surgery. It did not bother me that everyone was eating and drinking around me. I took my little can of Soup and drank it there with them at the dinner table. And drank two bottles of Water while I was there. BTW, they still don't know - I also have a cold so they figured I was not in the mood to eat nor drink and completely understood. It was great! ReadytoMaintain

Hi everyone! After months of waiting, the big day is exactly a week from today! If your surgery date is near the 4th or on the 4th of January, please shoot me an email! I need the support from all of you, and it would be nice to have a sleeve buddy! Day 1 of pre-op diet! Scary but exciting! Good luck to all of you!

Agree. You have no idea what you might like or be able to tolerate from week to week. No need to stock up on the unknown.

Pretty sure I have. I went off over the holidays and gained about 10 pounds. I had stopped logging, so went back to eating as I had and started logging and weighing again. I was eating the same things I had before in (I think) same amounts. Lost the weight gain. Then have only maintained since then. I didn't realize how long this had been going on because I had a bad thyroid (cancer) for a long time before my surgery and had experienced long, long stalls because of that. I guess I was used to it, so it didn't register this shouldn't still happen. Then, like I said, I screwed up over the Holidays. But, yes, basically since about July I have been at the same weight (other than the 10-pound gain and subsequent loss). It's possible my portions were larger before the holidays I guess, but I really don't think so. I get all my protein from real food and don't do shakes or bars because I'm cheap. I eat veggies and the occasional fruit (no more than 1 oz.) with Greek yogurt for breakfast. I don't eat bread or rice or potatoes or sugary stuff. Two mistakes I pinpointed was drinking Fairlife milk with my decaf in an effort to get in more protein (I forgot about the calories involved) and eating too much cheese when we didn't have other protein in the house. I have cut out cheese because that's so high in calories and I don't think it was helping me. Also stopped the milk. Right now I'm trying to decide between upping calories, staying this low or trying to reset my sleeve. So, it's possible I was consuming more calories than I thought even though I wasn't "eating" a lot. But in my tracking of food I have noted I just can't seem to lose if I go over the 800 mark.

I noticed a slight increase too, and I'll be seven weeks out next Monday. The funny thing is Today I thought "oh my gosh I pigged out!" - because I was so full - and then I looked at my friends plate and that put things into perspective for me. I'm actually only eating a few bites more than I was lol. It also depends on what I'm eating. I can eat a bit more of soft beans or soup Than say chicken, fish or beef.

As soon as your incisions are closed. My doctor released me and I started back in the water at two weeks which I think was too soon and I had a small infection. I would think at four to six weeks you should be good.

My doc just gave me clearance to swim and I'm at six weeks. Check with your doc and see what he/she says.

I have to agree the wait is the worst, I'm another self pay but have been waiting since August - only three more days to go

Tomorrow is my daughter's birthday. Can I have a small piece of cake? Sent from my XT1254 using the BariatricPal App

Well, just over two weeks out and had our first guests over for lunch. I cooked roast lamb and lots of vegetables, and I enjoyed some mashed potato, pumpkin and puréed lamb. Felt good to sit with friends at the table and not lose control. Yay!!

Hi all! Monday marked 3 weeks since my band removal and conversion from banded plication to sleeve. I am still working on getting all of my Protein in. Luckily, I purchased a lot of sample packs of Protein drinks before surgery so I haven't gotten bored with any particular brand or flavor. I also bought several different brands so that's helped me too. Since this is my 3rd WLS, I felt I was prepared for what life would be like immediately post-op and it was pretty much what I expected. I'm still sore from where the band and stomach were removed. I also had a large hernia repair in the same area, so my left side is still tender. My incisions look great and I'm almost completely healed externally. I try to not lift heavy items but still tote groceries and laundry baskets full of clothes around! I'm off from work for another 6 weeks due to summer break (I'm a teacher) so hopefully, I'll have my eating and drinking patterns established by then. What I've learned so far to help me: 1. Drink 4-8 ounces of Water upon waking (I learned this from VSGTanya on Youtube) 2. Drink a Protein shake soon after waking (Right now I'm only drinking about 4-5 ounces) 3. Eat protein every 2-3 hours 4. Try to get some form of exercise or activity everyday (I use exercise t.v. and videos at night) I also look for opportunities to exercise. For example, I took my kiddos to the park and I walked around the playground while they played. 5. Use MFP or another food tracking method for accountability 6. Go to therapy (This has been helpful to me and it's something I never did while banded) 7. If you can, find a support group that you like and go! 8. Enlist help from family and friends (Only my DH and 1 good friend know I had the sleeve. A few friends know I had my band removed. This has been a bit difficult for me but I feel that's the best decision for me, right now) 9. Measure food, especially in the beginning. I don't have a food scale yet but I put everything in cups or dishes that have measurements on them. 10. So far, I seem to lose better with a bit higher calories (around 500-600), a bit higher carbs (around 40-50) and more exercise. When I was "eating" lower calories (around 300-400) I would plateau, even if I exercised. This, so far, seems to be what my body likes - that may change later. 11. Recovery was easier than I thought but the mental part is WAY more difficult!! 12. Enjoy the journey. This is my journey and while I think it's important to learn from others and listen to my doctors, I don't intend to follow someone else's idea of what my journey should be. This is probably the first time in my life that I've felt like that!! Although I've only been sleeved for 3 weeks, I've had WLS for 12 years so hopefully, some of those years weren't all wasted and I learned from them! Thanks for reading. Sorry for rambling!

Yep...I got busy walking as soon as I felt ok, about a week? And have had almost no issues. In the last few months I did have two vasovagal attacks when I accidentally ate too fast and overdid it a bit. I fainted at the dining room table! Scared the heck out of my family but know now that I really have to be careful not to overeat even a mouthful. Otherwise, smooth for me too...losing consistently now but more slowly.