August Surgery buddies

[ShoppGirl 4,311]

Is anyone else a little snippy on this LSD? I didn’t remember being this way last time but I just lost my patience on a billing representative over the phone. I didn’t swear or say anything mean, I was just very short with her. She was pretty annoying but still that’s really not like me at all.

[Greekmom4 31]

@ShoppGirl I can say that I was really losing my patience yesterday. I don't know if the pre-op diet had anything to do with my mood though. Saturday, I was out for 8 hours and prepped my food pretty well but it still threw me off. Sunday, I was replacing flooring in one of our bedrooms and did a better job at keeping up on food, but still did not get all my food in for the day.

Today is day 6 of my pre-op diet.

I have one week until my surgery and I'm actually getting more nervous about what I will eat after surgery. I have a coworker that had the VGS and she has been encouraging me. I like to plan and it is hard to plan when I don't know what or how much I will be able to eat, or what I will even be able to tolerate.

For everyone that was talking about crocheting, I think that is great. I have zero talent with crochet, believe me I have tried to learn and it is useless. lol

When is everyone else's surgery dates and have you begun your pre-op diet yet?

Happy Monday!

[ShoppGirl 4,311]

@Greekmom4 looks like you are the day before me. I’m August 7th. My pre op is 16 days total so I am on day 8 of 16. Woohoo half way there. It’s not awful but I am getting board with it. Only 6 more days till I switch to liquids.

[Singingbarista 21]

@ShoppGirl I hear you with the snippiness. I'm not the most patient person on normal days, but when I'm low energy and wanting calories... well, small things seem a little more irritating. On day 4 here.

@Greekmom4 Some people are not yarn-types, and I respect that. Other suggestions I got from other places were adult coloring books, diamond painting, paint-by numbers, and weirdly enough, watching cooking shows. Bingeing Netflix or other streaming channels was of course a biggie, too.

[ShoppGirl 4,311]

54 minutes ago, Singingbarista said:

@ShoppGirl I hear you with the snippiness. I'm not the most patient person on normal days, but when I'm low energy and wanting calories... well, small things seem a little more irritating. On day 4 here.

@Greekmom4 Some people are not yarn-types, and I respect that. Other suggestions I got from other places were adult coloring books, diamond painting, paint-by numbers, and weirdly enough, watching cooking shows. Bingeing Netflix or other streaming channels was of course a biggie, too.

Great ideas. Just keep in mind if you wear readers you will for sure need them for that diamond painting. Even still my eyes were bugging out after a while. Them things are tiny. I had that for another surgery and I did it through the recovery but ended up giving the book to my neice after that. And Netflix is really great because there are not any food commercials. They do have food on the shows but at least it’s not like a sizzling burger that they are tryin to make your mouth Water in order to sell you one. Puzzles are another thing I’ve heard some people say they did during their recovery. And of course journaling. Lots of emotions to write about.

Edited July 30 by ShoppGirl

[ShoppGirl 4,311]

You guys may have seen it one here as well but on another thread someone said that they wrote a letter before their surgery to their future self to read at like 6 months out or whenever things started to get a little tough. Just a reminder of where they were and why they don’t want to end up back there. I thought that was a great idea. One worth sharing.t

[AndreaJD 64]

Hi everyone!

Just got my surgery date of August 12th. Suddenly it's all so real. So it looks like we'll all be surgery buddies!!

I am really excited, scared, hopeful, and anxious. But at this point, I just want it done.

I started my liver shrink diet yesterday. It's going great except that Protein Shakes really don't agree with me. I found one that is not so bad, but when you're drinking 3 a day (that was my doctor's minimum) it's a lot. My husband is super supportive although he doesn't like the idea of me having this surgery because he doesn't understand why I can't just lose weight and keep it off. (I bet you all do, though!) The good news is that he is a great guy and he's been with me every step, which is good because he's the cook at our house.

I had my pre-anesthesia call today and I have my last appointment before surgery with the Physician's Assistant on Friday. Two weeks to go from today.

I have done a lot of things to get ready. Since I work from home, I got a treadmill and an adjustable desk, so I can get up and walk on my treadmill during meetings. My goal is to walk 30 minutes 3 times a day (I'm up to 2 mph so that's 3 treadmill miles, although I know it's easier to walk on a treadmill than on the street). I don't always get 3 in, but it's SO much more exercise than I have gotten in years. I want to be in the best shape I can for surgery and recovery.

I also got a bullet blender, tiny silverware, an electronic food scale, new measuring cups and spoons, and tiny storage containers to put pre-measured portions in so I can grab n' go. (Amazon makes it TOO easy to spend money!) I have read The Big Book on Gastric Bypass and I got several bariatric cookbooks so I can plan meals that meet the post-op requirements.

I think the biggest part of all this for me is the idea of eating differently for the rest of my life. I have failed SO many diets (or they've failed me...) that it's really difficult to think I will really be able to lose my excess weight for good. I know that it is all up to me, and I am really hoping that having a tiny stomach and the new, shorter path for food digestion will be the key I've been looking for. I think it will be, because if I have a reason why I must eat small portions of nutritious foods and cannot eat sugar, that will make it much easier. Before, I could always say, "Oh, screw it, I'll just try again tomorrow" and give in to "mind hunger".

That is why, like many of you have said, I will definitely need your support, and the support of my surgeon's clinic, to be successful in the long run.

Thank you all for sharing your experiences and may we all be celebrating our successes together soon!

[AndreaJD 64]

5 hours ago, ShoppGirl said:

Is anyone else a little snippy on this LSD? I didn’t remember being this way last time but I just lost my patience on a billing representative over the phone. I didn’t swear or say anything mean, I was just very short with her. She was pretty annoying but still that’s really not like me at all.

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!! I just snapped at my husband for asking what I wanted him to cook for dinner! How awful, especially since he picked up the LSD groceries I ordered yesterday. Thanks for the question, ShoppGirl, I wondered if it was because of the diet. I'm scared of what I'll be like when I start to lose weight and all that fat-stored estrogen starts being released into my system. Release the Kraken!!!

[ShoppGirl 4,311]

Just got a call from the pre op nurse. Boy is this getting real!! I’m sure your instructions will be different but I just thought I would share mine for anyone having surgery for the first time to have some idea but it will also help me to organize all of this in my mind 😊

Two Days Before (Monday)

Switch to the liquid diet this morning. I also think I’m going to go ahead and pack that evening because there is enough to remember the night before. I have duplicates of all my toiletries and stuff I plan to pack so why not.(move my one rx so I don’t forget and take it in the morning)

The Day before surgery: (Tuesday)

Skip that one medication I moved starting this morning, switch from full to clear liquid that evening, remove rings, change sheets, take my shower with the special soap, take the nausea pill at bedtime and of course nothing at all after midnight.

Surgery Day: (Wednesday)

Wake up at 3:30am and take my allowed meds with 12oz of regular sugar Gatorade- finishing everything before 4:30, take my second shower with the special soap, toss towels in wash so they are clean post op, brush teeth and get dressed (which should be pretty fast considering I can’t put anything on my body or hair at all except clothes-no jewelry, makeup, lotions, deoderant, perfume-Nothing. (She said they don’t care if we stink. lol), Then head to the hospital at 5:15. *I have to remember not to pee after that Gatorade because they need a urine pregnancy test shortly after I arrive at 5:30. Turn off phone and/or give to hubby just before Surgery which is scheduled for 7:30am🤞

I asked about my meds. They say to leave everything valuable at home (except ID and insurance card) including wedding rings and medications but for the sleeve I was on some pretty new meds that they didn’t have in their pharmacy so my husband had to run home to get those. She said that very rarely happens but I could have them handy at home for him (in the original bottles) just in case. So, just a heads up if your driver can’t ever find anything like mine and you are on something less common it couldn’t hurt to leave them in plain view 🤣

I also plan to have a couple of things ready on the table that I will just ask my husband to bring me if it looks like I will end up staying a second night like my crochet bag, a book and some drink mixes (if they don’t have the ones I like). Things I can live without for one night but may want if I’m staying longer. I know at my bospital that they don’t give you a room until you are done with surgery so your bag has to go into a locker or something and they have to inventory all the stuff so they were very appreciative that I packed light last time.

Edited July 30 by ShoppGirl

[Greekmom4 31]

@AndreaJD and @ShoppGirl, I also had a pre-op call from the nurse today. My PCP had ordered a bunch of labs that I felt were not needed. I feel so much better because the nurse and surgeon agreed with me. I also leary that I might pass out if I needed to have so much blood taken while on a very low calorie diet.

Here is how my pre-op diet works. It lasts 13 days.

Days 1-12 I have to eat all of the following: 3 Protein Shakes w/skim milk (8oz), 1/2c oatmeal or cream of wheat, 1/2c SF pudding, 4-6oz CarbMaster yogurt, 1c low-fat Soup, 1/2c unsweetened applesauce, 1c of any combination (baby carrots, celery, cucumber, broccoli, Tomato, iceberg lettuce) with 2T FF dressing, and 60-84oz Clear Liquids.

Day 13: 64-80oz clear liquids only.

Today is day 7 and as I have progressed it has gotten more difficult to get all the food/water in each day. Several days I did not eat the pudding. I decided to prioritize my Protein. Also, starting today I am not taking any Vitamins just maintenance meds. I will restart vitamins one week after surgery.

I still do not know my surgery time, as they call the day before to tell me when to be there. So, this time next week my surgery will be done and my new journey begins.

How is everyone else doing? Getting anxious, scared, excited?

[ShoppGirl 4,311]

6 minutes ago, Greekmom4 said:

@AndreaJD and @ShoppGirl, I also had a pre-op call from the nurse today. My PCP had ordered a bunch of labs that I felt were not needed. I feel so much better because the nurse and surgeon agreed with me. I also leary that I might pass out if I needed to have so much blood taken while on a very low calorie diet.

Here is how my pre-op diet works. It lasts 13 days.

Days 1-12 I have to eat all of the following: 3 Protein Shakes w/skim milk (8oz), 1/2c oatmeal or cream of wheat, 1/2c SF pudding, 4-6oz CarbMaster yogurt, 1c low-fat Soup, 1/2c unsweetened applesauce, 1c of any combination (baby carrots, celery, cucumber, broccoli, Tomato, iceberg lettuce) with 2T FF dressing, and 60-84oz Clear Liquids.

Day 13: 64-80oz clear liquids only.

Today is day 7 and as I have progressed it has gotten more difficult to get all the food/water in each day. Several days I did not eat the pudding. I decided to prioritize my Protein. Also, starting today I am not taking any Vitamins just maintenance meds. I will restart Vitamins one week after surgery.

I still do not know my surgery time, as they call the day before to tell me when to be there. So, this time next week my surgery will be done and my new journey begins.

How is everyone else doing? Getting anxious, scared, excited?

It’s so weird how the various doctors do things so different. Your diet is shorter but sounds harder than mine, doable though. At least you get to chew some things. I would hate to do the ALL liquid for two weeks like some people have to. I would feel full but I would just be so board with it. I am so glad you did not have to give a bunch of blood during all this.

Thankfully I was allowed to schedule mine prior to the diet because I agree that wouldn’t be good. I was just cleaning today trying to get things done before next week and I guess I overdid it. I got real lightheaded so I definitely couldn’t give blood. I know it’s because it was almost 1:00 and all I had was a Protein Shake. I stopped and had my second shake right away then just took it easy for a while.

i would hate to not know my time until the day before, though. If you can’t tell by my schedule above, I’m a planner. It helps with my anxiety to plan things way in advance. They did tell me that I will need to be flexible that day though because I could get there and have to wait. They said they will always take kids and diabetics to the OR first, bumping me if necessary. I will be done this time near week too, though.

So excited for both of us.

[AndreaJD 64]

@Greekmom4, that sounds a lot like my liver shrink diet, but I can only eat 1 meal a day, the rest is Protein Shakes (at least 3). I am doing ok so far, still able to do my treadmill without being weak or dizzy, but i go from zero to homicide in a hot second. My sister is a naturopath and said I will finish detoxing in 2 weeks (assuming I'm not incarcerated by then). She told me some things to help.

I agree, @ShoppGirl, it's weird how different the protocols are. I would not want the all-liquid diet (I'll get enough of that after surgery).

I have my surgery the week after you and @ShoppGirl, on August 12. It's getting so close!

[ShoppGirl 4,311]

@AndreaJD that actually sounds more like my LSD. There is this whole chart with portion sizes for different meals and there are a few more options but I don’t care for a lot of it. I have been doing the two shakes and a lean meat with one cup veggies for dinner and then I have the other 1/2 cup veggies and the fruit for Snacks. I’m pretty board with it but at least I’m not starving.

Do you think it matters if I do the meal for lunch and a shake for dinner? I am meeting a friend Saturday and I was bummed we can’t do lunch but I thought what if we go to outback and I do my shake for dinner. I can get a steak and veggies there. I just have to tell them no oil or anything. I may be torturing myself a little when I see and smell what she is having but I guess I gotta get used to it sometime.

I think I have lost around 10 pounds. I didn’t think to weigh myself at home right before I started the diet but three days earlier I was 258 at the Dr. It seems like my home scale ran a little lower than his. I was 255 this morning on mine so I’m thinking that’s around 10 but I’m afraid to get too excited until that’s confirmed.

i think I am back in a habit of doing all my Vitamins now. I take the multi with my morning shake or proffee and then Calcium at lunch and dinner. It takes a little longer to get moving in the morning because I sit and drink the shake right next to the Multivitamin so I don’t forget but hopefully I won’t have to do that forever.

I just finished a Walmart order for some more berries. I am eating so little that the others went bad before I could finish them. That’s okay I needed to add items to get to $35 so it helped me remember to get a small can of dry Shampoo for the hospital bag and I need to pick up the nausea rx for the night before surgery anyways.

I am also going to haul off some donations that have been collecting by the front door and I hope to finish the deep cleaning of my floors today. Fingers crossed that I don’t get dizzy again. I really would like to come home to a somewhat clean house after surgery. I know that it will be even harder to sit still and recover when I’m looking at all the things that need to get done. My husband is planning to finish some work on the bathroom while I’m in the hospital so we shall see if it’s still clean as I leave it 🤦‍♀️

Well, I guess it’s back to my never ending to do list. I hope everyone else is doing well and you all have a great day.

[Pepper_No_Salt 39]

When I first met with my dietitian she told me I would need to start my LSD 2 weeks prior to surgery but that it might be changing. When I had my last appointment and got my updated instructions, i don't have to start my diet until 8/13, 4 days before surgery. I have 2 days of protien shakes, broth based Soup for dinner and two days of clears. I've started stockpiling things like Bone Broth and they had a sale on snack Packs (sugar free pudding) at Kroger so I bought a BUNCH of those. I don't want to overbuy so I'm trying to be smart about what I get.

[ShoppGirl 4,311]

2 hours ago, Pepper_No_Salt said:

When I first met with my dietitian she told me I would need to start my LSD 2 weeks prior to surgery but that it might be changing. When I had my last appointment and got my updated instructions, i don't have to start my diet until 8/13, 4 days before surgery. I have 2 days of protien shakes, broth based Soup for dinner and two days of clears. I've started stockpiling things like Bone Broth and they had a sale on snack Packs (sugar free pudding) at Kroger so I bought a BUNCH of those. I don't want to overbuy so I'm trying to be smart about what I get.

Oh that must’ve been a delightful surprise. 😯