Hey new here

[AngelaLoves 1]

Just wanted to say hi, I am in the early stages of pre-ops and I am nervous about the journey any tips or guides on what to expect?

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[lizonaplane 1,613]

It's not easy. Be prepared for pain (really just the first few days) and lots of weird sensations in your body. Be ready to make lots of changes in your life. But so far, I'm still glad I've done it - except that I'm hungry all the time, which isn't usual or common. Your experience won't be the same as anyone else's here. You might tolerate this food but not that one. Your surgeon may permit this but not that. Every plan is different. Try to follow your surgeon's plan for best results.

You will lose weight if you follow the rules, but you have to keep following the rules to keep the weight off. That's the hard part.

Good luck!

[vikingbeast 987]

You've got some hoops to jump through, but don't be nervous. I'm a little less than a month past surgery and I already wish I'd done this 10-15 years ago.

You'll need to figure out what your insurance requires in order to cover your surgery. This could be a period of supervised diet, it could be a requirement to lose a certain number of pounds or a percentage of your excess weight, or it could be as easy as just a few consultations and clearances. They usually want to make sure you'll be able to stick to the strict way of eating in the post-op phase.

Then the hardest part is the pre-op diet. Most surgeons require some amount of liquid diet before the surgery in order to perform the surgery more safely. Some of us call it the "liver shrinking" diet. It's best if you step down over a few weeks. Replace one meal a day with a Protein Shake (use this time to audition shakes, though your tastes might change post-op so don't go crazy buying stuff). Then the next week replace two meals a day. Then the week or two that you have to do all liquid, go all in on liquid.

Get off alcohol, caffeine and sugar as soon as you can—like now. Just accept you're going to have headaches and plan for them. You won't be able to have these things post-op, at least not immediately (and depending on what surgery you have, sugar may be off-limits period)

Have an economy size box of Gas-X (chewable simethicone) for the few days after surgery, because you will want to burp out all the surgical air they inflate you with to be able to operate.

Don't overpack for the hospital. You'll be exhausted. But do bring an extra long charging cable for your phone/tablet.

Measure yourself—neck, upper arms, bust, gut, waist, hips, thighs, calves—and do it once a week for the first little while after surgery. I hit a stall about three weeks out (this is extremely common) and for the better part of a week I didn't lose any weight. But I lost a surprising amount of circumference, and that made me feel better.

You've got this!

[vikingbeast 987]

Oh, and if they tell you you won't feel hunger, know that some people do. lizonaplane and I had surgery a day apart. She feels hunger; I only feel it sometimes.

[AngelaLoves 1]

It's not easy. Be prepared for pain (really just the first few days) and lots of weird sensations in your body. Be ready to make lots of changes in your life. But so far, I'm still glad I've done it - except that I'm hungry all the time, which isn't usual or common. Your experience won't be the same as anyone else's here. You might tolerate this food but not that one. Your surgeon may permit this but not that. Every plan is different. Try to follow your surgeon's plan for best results.
You will lose weight if you follow the rules, but you have to keep following the rules to keep the weight off. That's the hard part.
Good luck!

Thank you so much, why are you hungry all the time?

Sent from my SM-N975F using BariatricPal mobile app

[AngelaLoves 1]

You've got some hoops to jump through, but don't be nervous. I'm a little less than a month past surgery and I already wish I'd done this 10-15 years ago.
You'll need to figure out what your insurance requires in order to cover your surgery. This could be a period of supervised diet, it could be a requirement to lose a certain number of pounds or a percentage of your excess weight, or it could be as easy as just a few consultations and clearances. They usually want to make sure you'll be able to stick to the strict way of eating in the post-op phase.
Then the hardest part is the pre-op diet. Most surgeons require some amount of liquid diet before the surgery in order to perform the surgery more safely. Some of us call it the "liver shrinking" diet. It's best if you step down over a few weeks. Replace one meal a day with a Protein Shake (use this time to audition shakes, though your tastes might change post-op so don't go crazy buying stuff). Then the next week replace two meals a day. Then the week or two that you have to do all liquid, go all in on liquid.
Get off alcohol, caffeine and sugar as soon as you can—like now. Just accept you're going to have headaches and plan for them. You won't be able to have these things post-op, at least not immediately (and depending on what surgery you have, sugar may be off-limits period)
Have an economy size box of Gas-X (chewable simethicone) for the few days after surgery, because you will want to burp out all the surgical air they inflate you with to be able to operate.
Don't overpack for the hospital. You'll be exhausted. But do bring an extra long charging cable for your phone/tablet.

Measure yourself—neck, upper arms, bust, gut, waist, hips, thighs, calves—and do it once a week for the first little while after surgery. I hit a stall about three weeks out (this is extremely common) and for the better part of a week I didn't lose any weight. But I lost a surprising amount of circumference, and that made me feel better.

You've got this!

Thank you so much for your advice, on my first visit my doctor to me I had to lose 30pounds before surgery, so basically I am already on a Protein shake Meal Replacement guess thats going to help later on. Im nervous and excited

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[lizonaplane 1,613]

5 minutes ago, AngelaLoves said:

Thank you so much, why are you hungry all the time?

Sent from my SM-N975F using BariatricPal mobile app

No one knows. Apparently, it happens sometimes. Most/many people lose their hunger after surgery, but some people are still hungry. And since I was told not to eat for more than 30 minutes and I can't eat fast or I'll be in pain, I can only eat a little bit, so I'm hungry all the time. The surgeon told me to meet with the nutritionist, but she had already told me to talk to a doctor about medication, which the surgeon didn't agree with.

[ShoppGirl 5,067]

Follow YOUR teams plan. Trust the process and try not to compare yourself or your journey to everyone. We are all in the same boat but All of our experiences are unique as we are.