August Surgery buddies

[Onemealplan 90]

Hello August Buddies!

It’s the final countdown for me. My surgery date is August 2nd. Nervous and excited. I be the very first of us to have surgery done. I’m having a gastric sleeve.

I was very good with the post Bariatric diet. Didn’t really phase me too much but right now during the liquid phase. I am feeling hungry in the afternoon.

However, I’m keeping my eye on the prize and of course, the most important thing is to have a successful surgery and shrink this liver. That’s keeping me motivated.

Thank you all for posting it. It’s really nice to see a community that’s all going through similar experiences.

Edited July 31 by Onemealplan

[ShoppGirl 4,313]

28 minutes ago, Onemealplan said:

Hello August Buddies!

It’s the final countdown for me. My surgery date is August 2nd. Nervous and excited. I be the very first of us to have surgery done. I’m having a gastric sleeve.

I was very good with the post Bariatric diet. Didn’t really phase me too much but right now during the liquid phase. I am feeling hungry in the afternoon.

However, I’m keeping my eye on the prize and of course, the most important thing is to have a successful surgery and shrink this liver. That’s keeping me motivated.

Thank you all for posting it. It’s really nice to see a community that’s all going through similar experiences.

Wow. You are so close. Have you started making your list for packing or heard from the preop nurse yet? I also just thought of today making sure that I refilled as many of my normal meds as i could so hopefully I will be good until I feel up to dealing with the pharmacy. If not, hubby can do it but I am trying to make things as easy as I can for him. Also are you allowed sugar free popsicles on your liquid diet. I found some tropical ones that are actually really good. I love the pineapple. They are popsicle brand but to me they taste a lot better than their classic flavors. I got them at Walmart.

Edited July 31 by ShoppGirl

[AndreaJD 64]

1 hour ago, Onemealplan said:

Hello August Buddies!

It’s the final countdown for me. My surgery date is August 2nd. Nervous and excited. I be the very first of us to have surgery done. I’m having a gastric sleeve.

I was very good with the post Bariatric diet. Didn’t really phase me too much but right now during the liquid phase. I am feeling hungry in the afternoon.

However, I’m keeping my eye on the prize and of course, the most important thing is to have a successful surgery and shrink this liver. That’s keeping me motivated.

Thank you all for posting it. It’s really nice to see a community that’s all going through similar experiences.

@Onemealplan, I'm so excited for you! Sending all the good vibes.

You know, I hadn't really said "keep your eyes on the prize" about this surgery yet, thank you for reminding me of that. That will help me out quite a bit as I go through this alongside all of you.

[AndreaJD 64]

@onemealplan, I'm so excited for you! Sending all the good vibes.

I hadn't said "keep your eyes on the prize" about this surgery, and I think it will help a lot. Thanks for reminding me of that!

I think today I will ask my husband to take my "before" pictures. Ugh. But I need them for measuring progress.

[Greekmom4 31]

@Onemealplan Best of luck to you. You are so close.

@AndreaJD My doctor's office just started doing before and after photos. We did them when I went to my education class.

One thing I have not see anyone mention is how long they are taking off work. My surgery is on a Tuesday (8/6) and I am off the rest of that week. I plan to work from home the following week and hopefully be back in the office just after my 2 week follow-up appointment. I have a desk job so it is not physically demanding.

[AndreaJD 64]

@Onemealplan, that's a great question. I work from home, and my job is entirely sedentary, so I doubt that I will need three to four whole weeks off. But how do I know? I haven't done this before! My husband is having surgery on the 21st of August, so another big question is whether I'll be ready to be there for him after that.

My surgery is on a Monday, and my plan is to take the first two weeks off (which will include my husband's surgery nine days after mine). Then I'll try to go back to work, but I may start with half-days if I need to.

What are other people doing?

[ShoppGirl 4,313]

I’m terms of work it really does vary quite a bit person to person. I had my sleeve 3.5 years ago and physically I could’ve returned to a desk job the next day out of hospital in terms of pain but I was tired and took alot of naps. Some people that had same surgery around same time as me were in pain for a week.

I think one of the main differences is whether any air gets trapped in there because that causes a lot of pain and takes a while to get it all out. I have been on these boards for a while though and honestly there are plenty of people with very little pain from day one like me and then there are also others who are in a great deal of pain for a couple weeks. I have even seen some that take a full month off. I’d say MOST fall somewhere in between.

I would also keep in mind what your home demands are too. If you can’t come home and just rest then it will probably take you a little longer to be able to return to work because even when you do feel ready for work you most likely will not have your normal stamina for a little while. You most likely will need naps at night for a while after working full time.

if you do a search on here for recovery time or time off work, etc. You will see lots of posts about this if you want to get a better idea.

Edited August 1 by ShoppGirl

[Onemealplan 90]

On 7/31/2024 at 12:50 PM, ShoppGirl said:

Wow. You are so close. Have you started making your list for packing or heard from the preop nurse yet? I also just thought of today making sure that I refilled as many of my normal meds as i could so hopefully I will be good until I feel up to dealing with the pharmacy. If not, hubby can do it but I am trying to make things as easy as I can for him. Also are you allowed sugar free popsicles on your liquid diet. I found some tropical ones that are actually really good. I love the pineapple. They are popsicle brand but to me they taste a lot better than their classic flavors. I got them at Walmart.

Hi!
My packing list is super small.
comfortable socks; compression socks: wireless bra; heating pad. Same clothes for arrival and leaving.
Pillow for car seat belt pressure.

For the liquid diet; I am allowed sugar free items like pudding and Jello. I love pineapple too! I got Pedialyte popsicles and made some homemade yogurt popsicles too.

Homemade cream (yogurt) veggie Soups help a lot with hunger!

On my clear liquid it’s broth, I made 3 types for variety , Vitamin Water sugarfree, Gatorade, sugar-free Popsicles, and Jell-o, as much as I want.

The doctors are very big on staying hydrated so that’s my main focus.

Very wise to stock up on meds!

[ShoppGirl 4,313]

48 minutes ago, Onemealplan said:

Hi!
My packing list is super small.
comfortable socks; compression socks: wireless bra; heating pad. Same clothes for arrival and leaving.
Pillow for car seat belt pressure.

For the liquid diet; I am allowed sugar free items like pudding and Jello. I love pineapple too! I got Pedialyte popsicles and made some homemade yogurt popsicles too.

Homemade cream (yogurt) veggie Soups help a lot with hunger!

On my clear liquid it’s broth, I made 3 types for variety , Vitamin Water sugarfree, Gatorade, sugar-free Popsicles, and Jell-o, as much as I want.

The doctors are very big on staying hydrated so that’s my main focus.

Very wise to stock up on meds!

Good Luck Tomorrow!!

[AndreaJD 64]

On 8/1/2024 at 8:33 PM, ShoppGirl said:

Good Luck Tomorrow!!

I hope your surgery went perfectly, @Onemealplan and you're resting comfortably right now. Sending all the good vibes to you.

So who's next? I'm not until the 12th (which is SOOOOOOOOO close now).

[Greekmom4 31]

@AndreaJD

my date is the 6th, so just 4 away. Starting to feel real.

[BigDane 9]

My date is 5th, so Monday .. Just talked with the surgeon last night ( EU time ) .. And everything is ready to go

[AndreaJD 64]

Today was my last visit before surgery!!! I learned some stuff I didn't know: I only have to be on Clear Liquids for a few hours the day before surgery; I'll be on my LSD until then. Also, I'll have an abdominal binder after surgery. I haven't heard anything about that from any of my research. Did/will any of you have that?

I have to have a few more preop blood tests tomorrow. Also have a lot of meds (seems like a lot to me) that I'll be on for a little while right after surgery.

Here's the most interesting thing: they told me to stop taking my blood pressure meds the day of surgery and don't re-start them. The thinking is that they don't want me to get weak/dizzy from low BP when I'm not eating, and after that once I lose sufficient weight I probably won't need them anyway. So I'm going to take my blood pressure every day after surgery just to keep an eye on it. That's cool because I was wondering how that worked.

Also yesterday my husband took my "before" pictures for me. They're painful to look at, but they had an interesting effect on me. Seeing them reassured me that I do need this surgery and I am doing the right thing. I learned at Jenny Craig (one of my many diet attempts) that we don't see our bodies accurately in the mirror but photos don't allow our minds to do whatever they do to filter the images. That is certainly true for me; I barely recognize myself in pictures: I'm a lot bigger than I see myself in the mirror.

Looking forward to taking those "after" pictures!!!

[Greekmom4 31]

@AndreaJD my doctor uses binders after surgery also. I also have to use a spirometer to breathe into for 2 weeks to make sure I am getting full lung expansion.
I agree, the “before” pictures are hard to look at. But they are also motivation to make a change.

[ShoppGirl 4,313]

7 hours ago, AndreaJD said:

Today was my last visit before surgery!!! I learned some stuff I didn't know: I only have to be on Clear Liquids for a few hours the day before surgery; I'll be on my LSD until then. Also, I'll have an abdominal binder after surgery. I haven't heard anything about that from any of my research. Did/will any of you have that?

I have to have a few more preop blood tests tomorrow. Also have a lot of meds (seems like a lot to me) that I'll be on for a little while right after surgery.

Here's the most interesting thing: they told me to stop taking my blood pressure meds the day of surgery and don't re-start them. The thinking is that they don't want me to get weak/dizzy from low BP when I'm not eating, and after that once I lose sufficient weight I probably won't need them anyway. So I'm going to take my blood pressure every day after surgery just to keep an eye on it. That's cool because I was wondering how that worked.

Also yesterday my husband took my "before" pictures for me. They're painful to look at, but they had an interesting effect on me. Seeing them reassured me that I do need this surgery and I am doing the right thing. I learned at Jenny Craig (one of my many diet attempts) that we don't see our bodies accurately in the mirror but photos don't allow our minds to do whatever they do to filter the images. That is certainly true for me; I barely recognize myself in pictures: I'm a lot bigger than I see myself in the mirror.

Looking forward to taking those "after" pictures!!!

@AndreaJD Yea. I woke up with an abdominal binder after surgery and I had to go home with meds too after my sleeve. The binder is just a fabric thing that Velcro’s around you. Warning. Once you take it off. You will most likely need someone else to help you get it back on as snug as them had it if your still in pain. I didn’t really want mine back on though. They told me it was just a matter of personal preference whether I wore it. The meds I went home with were a PPI and pain meds of course and it seems like I got an antibiotic too.this time they told me I will also be on something that is supposed to prevent the hall stones that are common with quick weight loss.

Omg. The before pictures. I need to have my husband take them too. I am the same way with photos. I see an entirely different person 😩. If you can, take pictures like every month or so and look at them side by side. It can be just as hard to see the loss iN the mirror but side by side photos really help to see them. Measurements help too, anything to keep you motivated when the scale doesn’t move for a few days and you’re getting discouraged.

Ooh yea. The spirometer. I had one too @Greekmom4 after my sleeve. It’s just a little device you blow into that has a little ball or something to let you know you hard you are blowing that you try to get to a certain place and keep trying to get it higher for anyone who’s never had one.

Edited August 3 by ShoppGirl