Decided to do it, what can I do first?

[toby585 25]

Hello all!

I am a 37 year old male from Rochester, NY. I have looked into bariatric surgery, and feel that I could greatly benefit from this tool. I'm currently 6'3, 410 pounds, with sleep apnea and high blood pressure....

I attended a bariatric seminar (the first step in getting surgery through the hospital here), and am currently waiting on a phone call from them to schedule my first appointments. In the meantime, what sort of things can I do now to prep myself for this journey? I know the dieticians will have a plan for me to move forward, but I'm open to doing things in the meantime to prep myself, both physically and mentally.

Look forward to hearing some advice!

[ColleenErin1974 195]

Hello all!
I am a 37 year old male from Rochester, NY. I have looked into bariatric surgery, and feel that I could greatly benefit from this tool. I'm currently 6'3, 410 pounds, with sleep apnea and high blood pressure....
I attended a bariatric seminar (the first step in getting surgery through the hospital here), and am currently waiting on a phone call from them to schedule my first appointments. In the meantime, what sort of things can I do now to prep myself for this journey? I know the dieticians will have a plan for me to move forward, but I'm open to doing things in the meantime to prep myself, both physically and mentally.

Look forward to hearing some advice!

Congratulations on your first step in what will be a life changing journey for you!
I'm only a few weeks post op gastric bypass and see changes happening already.
A few things I did to prep myself after I went to my seminar were:
Stopped all carbonated beverages because they are not allowed after surgery.
Started drinking 64 ounces of Water a day.
Slowly started a walking routine that I got up to 2 miles a day.
Stopped all caffeinated beverages because they can hinder healing.
Totally cut out sweets.
Started seeing my primary doctor to start supervised weight loss with monthly visits. Most insurances require 3, 6, or 12 month supervised diets to see if you can comply and lose some weight.
And quit smoking.

Every program is different for WLS, so always check with your doctor if doing these things are ok for you.
Good luck to you and keep us posted!

[PhillyEagles 29]

Welcome man and good on you for taking the first step! Who's your insurance through? Just asking because different companies require different things before you are eligible for surgery like a 6 month supervised diet, nutritionist visits, psychologist visits etc. I'm only a week out from surgery and I can tell you that it's worth it man. My highest when I started was 355 and today I weighed in at 288. This process is long and tedious but every step is worth it man. Keep in touch!

[toby585 25]

Just now, PhillyEagles said:

Welcome man and good on you for taking the first step! Who's your insurance through? Just asking because different companies require different things before you are eligible for surgery like a 6 month supervised diet, nutritionist visits, psychologist visits etc. I'm only a week out from surgery and I can tell you that it's worth it man. My highest when I started was 355 and today I weighed in at 288. This process is long and tedious but every step is worth it man. Keep in touch!

I have BCBS and they do require the 6 month supervised diet. I actually have already done that, in 2014/15 I went through a medically supervised program using Optifast, lost quite a bit of weight but have gained nearly all of it back in the 2 years since, it t was a great program for losing weight but not for keeping it off....

[The 147]

Hi @Toby585

I can only speak as someone who is two weeks away from the operation rather than old hand, but I know what's helped me so far. I've spent a lot of time working out exactly what I want from the surgery and what I'm bringing to it. It strikes me that to make this a success you need to do a lot in your own head, these are big changes we're making and if the only changes we make are the ones forced on us by the limitations of our new digestive systems then we're probably not going to succeed in the long term.

I've been inspired by the people on here who haven't fought those changes but, instead, have embraced them as new opportunities to live a different life. Working that stuff out is helping me, I feel enormously positive. On that note I also started seeing a therapist. Curiously we've talked very little about the surgery but what we have talked about has given the surgery a context for me -and that's helping to motivate me and allows me to get my head around this strange new world.

Peace,
J

[James Marusek 5,244]

I would recommend three things.

1. Take a good before photograph of yourself, so that you have something to compare to after surgery. Many times we are blind to our obesity. We do not see ourselves. Therefore when the weight begins to drop off rather dramatically, we question if this is really happening. Photographs are a good visualization of our success. Many people carry a before and after photo with them, just to remind themselves of their success.
2. Walk 30 minutes each day, every day until surgery (or equivalent exercise). Walking helps the recovery process go smoothly and minimized the pain levels from surgery.
3. Wean yourself from caffeine and carbonated beverages now. After I gave up my 6 diet coke a day habit, I suffered from a week of severe withdrawal syndrome consisting of severe headaches and body aches. I was miserable. You don't want to combine the effects of caffeine withdrawal with the effects of surgery. I also lost 20 pounds pre-op on this change alone.

[RRood 4]

Did you quit the Diet Coke cold turkey or phase it out? I am in the same boat myself with my surgery coming up in 3.5 weeks. I was thinking of mixing in Caffeine Free Diet Coke into my intake until I was entirely off the caffeine?

[James Marusek 5,244]

RRoad, I quit cold turkey. Others on this site recommend a slower approach. But if your surgery is in 3.5 weeks, that isn't much time.

There are two goals here. Get off the caffeine. But also get off carbonated beverages.

[RRood 4]

I have actually not had any diet coke since July 29. The step down method helped with transitioning to better drinking options, but I still had to deal with some headaches off and on for about two weeks. Still miss it though, but it's not ruling my life like it was.