Things you wish you knew before surgery?

[Febi135 23]

I am trying to get as educated about this procedure and process as much as possible. I think the more I know the more prepared I'll be to battle :ph34r: to the issues and succeed. Are there any things that you wish you had known before the surgery that was not readily available in the blogs and literature?

[sleepysleever 0]

There are things that were not shared with me that I am unhappy about now...but when you're on this side of the fence, there is no going back. I was just reading another sleever's post and realize that I now have Diverticulitis. I had the symptoms she was experiencing. Constipation, abdominal pain and diarreah...I have called and scheduled an appointment with my doctor today, but...it can be caused by a low Fiber diet. There is no correcting the pockets in the intestine after they are formed...so says all the information on the internet. Post surgery, I know my diet is totally low in fiber...so, lucky me!

Also, I know everyone is different, but I have had a tremendous amount of Hair loss, and despite what my doctor said, it isn't growing back. It is embarassing. I have a wig now and two clip ons for my hair...or I will pull what little hair there is back in a rubberband and clip a flower in my hair to hide the lack thereof. I am faithful to my vitamins...I take my Calcium and my mutli-vitamin. I also take Vitamin D, and Vitamin B and an Iron pill because I am enimic now. Is it worth it?? I got the sleeve because I was pre-diabetic. My doctor told me I was 3 points away from him telling me I was diabetic and I was starting to limp because of the extra weight. So...my knees are much better. My sugar still runs a little high, but I haven't checked it in a long time....the doctor said I could quit monitoring it because it was within normal range for a long time. BUT...it is like I traded knee pain for diverticulitis and diabetes for hair loss...so, to use Vegas terminology, it's a push.

[laners777 145]

For the hospital, I wish I knew about the nausea after getting out of the procedure, it was horrible and for me lasted 2 days. A small pillow is a must so you can hold your stomach to cough and blow into the spirometer thing. Everything else is just the lifestyle changes that come with surgery and are second nature to me now. I don't think about them too often, except when I go out with friends. I vowed not to drink alcohol until next March because I don't want to introduce that sugar and extra calories until I am at goal or close to it. When going out, it is difficult because I enjoy a glass of wine with friends. With that said, nothing is more important to me right now than getting to goal. I have discovered that I have something in me that I never knew was there.....self monitoring and self control. With the advantages the sleeve gives you as a tool and the right mindset, we can do this. I'm not saying it is easy because it most certainly is NOT. Most things worth working for are not easy. It is achievable though and I hope to keep my mindset moving forward and take all that comes with the surgery in stride to a successful finish line. Good luck to you on your research journey.

[Febi135 23]

There are things that were not shared with me that I am unhappy about now...but when you're on this side of the fence, there is no going back. I was just reading another sleever's post and realize that I now have Diverticulitis. I had the symptoms she was experiencing. Constipation, abdominal pain and diarreah...I have called and scheduled an appointment with my doctor today, but...it can be caused by a low fiber diet. There is no correcting the pockets in the intestine after they are formed...so says all the information on the internet. Post surgery, I know my diet is totally low in fiber...so, lucky me!

Also, I know everyone is different, but I have had a tremendous amount of hair loss, and despite what my doctor said, it isn't growing back. It is embarassing. I have a wig now and two clip ons for my hair...or I will pull what little hair there is back in a rubberband and clip a flower in my hair to hide the lack thereof. I am faithful to my Vitamins...I take my Calcium and my mutli-Vitamin. I also take Vitamin D, and Vitamin B and an Iron pill because I am enimic now. Is it worth it?? I got the sleeve because I was pre-diabetic. My doctor told me I was 3 points away from him telling me I was diabetic and I was starting to limp because of the extra weight. So...my knees are much better. My sugar still runs a little high, but I haven't checked it in a long time....the doctor said I could quit monitoring it because it was within normal range for a long time. BUT...it is like I traded knee pain for diverticulitis and diabetes for hair loss...so, to use Vegas terminology, it's a push.

I am sorry to her that you had these issues. Do you regret doing it? Does it feel like a wash?

[Febi135 23]

I have discovered that I have something in me that I never knew was there.....self monitoring and self control.

I must say that has been my biggest issue, why I gained the weight in the first place. I am glad to hear you are doing well. This has been motivating to me.

[belladona 153]

There are things that were not shared with me that I am unhappy about now...but when you're on this side of the fence, there is no going back. I was just reading another sleever's post and realize that I now have Diverticulitis. I had the symptoms she was experiencing. Constipation, abdominal pain and diarreah...I have called and scheduled an appointment with my doctor today, but...it can be caused by a low Fiber diet. There is no correcting the pockets in the intestine after they are formed...so says all the information on the internet. Post surgery, I know my diet is totally low in fiber...so, lucky me!

Also, I know everyone is different, but I have had a tremendous amount of Hair loss, and despite what my doctor said, it isn't growing back. It is embarassing. I have a wig now and two clip ons for my hair...or I will pull what little hair there is back in a rubberband and clip a flower in my hair to hide the lack thereof. I am faithful to my vitamins...I take my Calcium and my mutli-vitamin. I also take Vitamin D, and Vitamin B and an Iron pill because I am enimic now. Is it worth it?? I got the sleeve because I was pre-diabetic. My doctor told me I was 3 points away from him telling me I was diabetic and I was starting to limp because of the extra weight. So...my knees are much better. My sugar still runs a little high, but I haven't checked it in a long time....the doctor said I could quit monitoring it because it was within normal range for a long time. BUT...it is like I traded knee pain for diverticulitis and diabetes for hair loss...so, to use Vegas terminology, it's a push.

I am sorry these things have happened to you. have you had a cat scan to diagnose your diverticulitis? Thats usually the only way of knowing for sure, its brought on by eating nuts and seeds as well as low fiber have you been eating that if so calm it down. do you know it can be taken care of usually with one round of Cipro which is an antibiotic. Millions of people have it sleeved or not. also maybe try Quest bars loaded with Protein 4 usable carbs and 17 grams of fiber. As for hairloss yes mine is flying out too, but you had to know this goin in, they do say it does grow back If mine gets out of control, I plan to see a dermatologist for inections to stop it. I researched and knew exactly what i was in for before surery, there are no surprises here except weightloss and yes im still heavy but im a different person now. im tall ive always hid my weight well and still do. Im a better mother better lover better person with just 68 lbs gone. I cant wait to see what the future holds.

[natmo2431 9]

Honestly, I am still surprised at how smoothly everything went for me. Here are a couple things that I have had to go online to look up because I was worried or didn't know why it was happening, etc:

1. Going to the bathroom. Yes this is my number one thing I worried about for a week or two! My grandmother actually died from her intestines rupturing so I was worried that there was a blockage, or that something like that could happen to me... not because I was on a liquid diet for two weeks prior and didn't have anything to produce any amount of waste to dispose of... but I still went online to make sure it was normal.

2. Hitting a stall 3 to 6 weeks out. I was dropping weight, feeling great, even noticing my clothes falling off me, then the scale wouldn't move for two weeks. I was extremely discouraged. But finally I stepped up my exercising, went from walking to jogging, and then even going to the gym. Eventually I came over that little stall.

3. Hunger will completely go away. Its kind of a weird feeling. Some times I feel like I am very hungry and start craving the strangest things. But before it would be to indulge that craving, now when I think about it, my stomach isn't growling, I can easily think of something else, and I can even replace that feeling with a healthy variation. If I wanted something salty, I eat a little Peanut Butter. If I want something hardy, I make sure to eat some chicken salad with maybe a little curry on top. Don't get me wrong, I've had that feeling twice in almost two months, and it probably was stress related. But the idea that the surgery takes away all hunger isn't completely true I feel. You just have to teach yourself the difference between do you really need food, or are you just thirsty? or are you just wanting it because you can't have it?

4. You'll forget to eat. But don't forget to eat! That's pretty self explanatory, we're already not eating much, so our body needs every bit of fuel we can get. I struggle daily to get my Breakfast in, so my schedule starts kind of late. Something I will talk to my doctor with on Thursday.

5. Drink your Water and your Protein shakes! Water aids with weight loss, and makes you feel so much better. I battled with dehydration and when I over came it I felt more apt to want to go and do thing. Protein shakes I am still testing out. Some of them fill me after two sips, so I have been switching around to find the best option for myself. My sister had the surgery and had no problem with shakes. So it's different for everyone. The moment I started drinking the right about of water and Protein Shakes, I over came my stall though, so it is very important.

Those are just five things that I have dealt with in my month and a half since my surgery (August 8). I have to say, one of my biggest things that I tell anyone that asks me how I feel is I feel absolutely amazing considering I had the majority of a major organ removed from my body. Usually they kind of look at me like I'm delusional but its the truth. The day after I got home from the hospital I walked two miles! I needed a nap afterwards, but I was just amazed that I felt well enough to accomplish that (took me an hour but who cares!). So it really is a case by case situation. You could have complications, or you could have it as easy as I did. Most days I wake up and have to remind myself that I had it done. Even just last Friday at the gym, after running on the elliptical for a half hour (never did that before) I went to the water fountain to drink some water and had to stop myself because I took two big gulps. I feel like its easy to forget when you start feeling so well that you still need to keep up with everything.

Good luck with everything! It isn't easy by any means, because it is life changing, but with the right mindset you can achieve anything you want to!