PRE-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A

Hi, I wanted to ask about those who have had their wls done at a surgery center, rather than a hospital? My RNY is scheduled for Monday and I’ll be released that same day so I was just curious if you felt comfortable enough going home the same day, or if you had any other concerns with it? Thanks for your help! I’ve been learning so much from this forum.

20:45 till surgery. Starting to freak.

Hello everyone, I will have my surgery on the 25th of May. I am well prepared I think, the only thing that worries me at the moment is that 2 weeks after my operation I want to attend an important 3 day meeting. I will probably still be in the liquid phase. How do you gallantly get around questions from colleagues? Because you don't take anything at the buffet and you don't drink in the evening either. That's going to be really interesting, because I usually love eating and drinking with my colleagues and I'll probably have to think up some really good excuses. Thanks ? Greetings from Europe! Danijela

Well, I unfortunately tested positive for Covid on May 8, so my initial appointments got pushed back. I now see the bariatric nutrionist for the first time on May 29, and the surgeon in June 2. I’m eager for the appointments but know I need to get through this rough patch first!

My bypass surgery date is May 16th. 2022. I’m in shrinking liver diet now (low carbs) and the liquid diet is a day before. Just one day!! But now I have sinus/cold, REALLY???? any tips or recommendations?

Im having a really hard time with this... I have had my mind set on going with the gastric sleeve for months. Now the past month right before surgery Im thinking more going bypass as Im seeing bigger weight loss.... I need to loose 200-230 lbs. I know they are both tools and will give me what I put into it but I dont want to get a life changing surgery if I am only going to loose some of what I need to. On top of that im really scared of the bypass for some reason....

What questions should I ask my surgeon at my first consult tomorrow?

Hi all, I've been doing low-sodium, strained chicken noodle soup for my broth. Does that work? I tried the carton of pure chicken broth, but it was GROSS!!! Not sure if that's normal or if it's just my picky taste buds.

I'm having my gastric bypass surgery on June 4th. I currently watch my daughter's children ages 11 9 and 3. I told my daughter when I started this journey, that after my surgery, I wouldn't be able to babysit for quite some time. My thought process behind that was that I would need time to get acclimated to my new normal. So I wouldn't have to worry about cooking meals, or having foods in the house that I shouldn't have. It's bad enough, that I'm going to have them during my two week liquid pre-op diet. I thought this was all ironed out, but today she said to me that the baby was going to be in daycare and possibly the 9-year-old, but the 11-year-old would be staying with…

Hello, I'm new here. I'm scheduled to be sleeved on May 17th and I'm excited, nervous, anxious, well everything under the sun. Any tips to help me finish these few days of this liquid diet. Any surgery twins out there?

I'm super excited! Also super nervous. I've worked hard to get here and I'm really looking forward to the next leg of my journey. My pre-op appointments are on May 20th, I have a group pre-op counseling session on the 23rd, and a covid test on the June 4th right before my surgery. I'm more than ready to take my life back.

So excited just trying to make sure I follow all directions and get this rolling .

Hey all. I started my three day pre-op diet of clear liquids today. Is it sad I'm already over it? I'm hungry. Please, no mean comments. I want this and that's what's keeping me going

Pre op liquid diet

So I have done a lot of research into making sure which surgery is right for me and my surgery consult is finally June 3rd. I have already turned in the mound of paperwork they wanted from me and the medical release forms, met with the Bariatric Nutritionist for an evaluation, my Bariatric Psychiatric Evaluation is scheduled May 26th, and I already did the seminar required. Plus since I have tried for many, many years to lose weight I have everything cataloged for my weightloss journey in my carb manager app that I used to keep track of meals, weight, carbs, calories, protein, and fat. My question is how long after the consult do they schedule your surgery or do they set …

Did anyone pre-med prior to surgery (like the day of)? I have anxiety, which was exacerbated pre-surgery. I asked if I could take something prior to going to the hospital, but the doctor said I needed to be able to sign an informed consent. I didn't say I was going to take a horse tranquilizer! I was talking about taking a prescribed med from my doctor that doesn't interfere with my cognitive ability.

This is really for the ladies… Anyone have their pre-op liquid diet bump right up against the days leading up to their menses? After losing all week, i seem to have gone up a pound and just by how my body feels, i can tell it’s that pre-start water retention. My surgery isn’t until the 16th but I’m just trying not to freak out about stalling after losing eight pounds in 5 days. I’m going to try upping my walking, diluting the broth with water to reduce sodium, and not have anxiety over all of this.

After waiting for what seemed like forever, more weight gain, and health scared due to my weight, I finally officially have my initial consults with my Bariatric surgeon team on Monday!!!!

What a journey it has been lately. I’ve gained nearly ten pounds in two weeks...slowly creeping up to a number I fear. At 5’1” I’m now 272 pounds, BMI 52.4. I originally was diagnosed with multiple right upper lobe PEs on 4/16. I was not originally admitted, just sent home on Xarelto. Fast forward to last week, I was admitted for a few days on the cardiology floor for a work up due to a return of symptoms. No new clots, but was diagnosed with Right Ventricle enlargement and Pulmonary Hypertension via a right heart cath. Got discharged, saw pulmonology yesterday, did a walk test, scheduled to come back for PFTs. Last night was feeling worse, high Hr and BP, severe …

What a journey it has been lately. I’ve gained nearly ten pounds in two weeks...slowly creeping up to a number I fear. At 5’1” I’m now 272 pounds, BMI 52.4. I originally was diagnosed with multiple right upper lobe PEs on 4/16. I was not originally admitted, just sent home on Xarelto. Fast forward to last week, I was admitted for a few days on the cardiology floor for a work up due to a return of symptoms. No new clots, but was diagnosed with Right Ventricle enlargement and Pulmonary Hypertension via a right heart cath. Got discharged, saw pulmonology yesterday, did a walk test, scheduled to come back for PFTs. Last night was feeling worse, high Hr and BP, severe …

Good morning, I finally decided to take the step and do a surgery consult. I’ve been considering surgery for 10 years. I tried to talk to my sister about it and she told me I’m mentally I’ll and need to do counseling, that I have PTSD and if I just do counseling I’ll lose weight. Trust me I’ve lost weight before with diets and behavior modification! Then tells me I just need to do keto (also did that I need more veggies and fruits in my life). Anyone have not supportive family? I guess I’m sort of over working so hard (no I’m not constantly eating candy, chips and fast food like everyone says to me) and getting nowhere. About me: 41, she/her, work as a research RN, …

Hello All! Has anyone had any issues with Dr Verboonen at Obestity Goodbye in Tj Mexico? Also, do you all have any recommendations as far as sleeve or mini gastric bypass? And recovery time? Thank you! Mia

So I just had my consult for my sleep study and I will have that in a couple of weeks. Then on the 31st I have my scope. I just feel things are taking so long in the process. I really hope that after my scope it's not too long after they schedule my surgery. Started this process the end of January.

Thank you ? to everybody who responded to my questions these past couple of weeks. I just left the dr’s office and ended-up canceling my surgery set for tuesday. After reading a medical paper recently published about the correlation of wls and a decline in mental health, I’ve realized this route really isn’t worth the risk of the onset of acute anxiety and panic. Today I weighed in at 202. Would like to get to 138 (5’4”) and even though I’ve done it a million times-am going to give it another go the old fashioned way. I told my surgeon that I feel like I’m trading one health anxiety (pre-surgery—high bp) for another, (fear of bodily sensations as I heal and mental w…

I’m 3 weeks out from surgery. May 16. Gastric Bypass. I’m 60. 5’6. 43 BMI. With so many co-morbidities ! Diabetes, high blood pressure. Arthritis in knees and ankles. Last weekend I got very down, thinking if I hadn’t been successful before long-term how was I going to be able to do it now. If I had slowly been losing since this whole process started last July when I had my first consult I would weigh less now as I know wls is just a tool and not a magical solution. I talked about my fears, ordered a bariatric cookbook and got on here to read to see if anyone eles was going through something similar. I didn’t find anyone who wrote word for word what I was feeling but …

I went for consultation at HCMC and they told me they are 6 months out for surgeries. I am trying to have surgery during summer while my kids are away for summer at their dads. Are there any doctors who have earlier dates like Aug for surgery?.Or what’s the fastest anyone has had surgery scheduled from first consultation to surgery?. I know it depends on insurance.

Bariatric surgeon here! Looking to gain insight into patient perspectives on surgery. If you could choose how your bariatric operation was going to be performed, what technique would you request? Please leave any additional comments as well. Thank you for your insights!

I’m 4 days post op and on Monday i felt this really sharp burning pain on my right side but a bit under my belly button. It still hurts every time I get up from bed or a chair. Sometimes when I sit down too or do a movement that triggers it. Anyone else feel this?

Hi, all: I started out on the April surgery buddies board. However, my Results visit with my surgeon is Monday, May 16, and I am looking for a surgery date of 6/13. School will be out, and I won't have to stress about recovering. I'm particularly interested in reading surgery and recovery experiences. I've amassed a large amount of useful information in the short amount of time I have been here. My surgeon's admin told me yesterday that many of his patients choose to start the liver shrinking diet 2 weeks prior to their Results visit which is about a week away. That would put me on liver shrinking eating plan for about 6 weeks which doesn't really interest me…

Hi there, I am looking for a surgery buddy and people who are also going through this to go through it with me. I currently have my surgery scheduled with Dr. Almanza on April 28 (Eeeee!!!! So excited!!!). I am wanting some positive people to do this with that will understand what I'm going through and be there to text, email or call when we need it. I am a very positive person, 39, BMI is 39. I live in Dallas, I'm a CPA, no husband or children (yet... I hope!!). Please let me know if you are interested in going through this adventure with me! Take care, Cynthia

My file is complete per my surgeon’s admin. I’m going to start the CPAP tonight or tomorrow night. The admin will call Monday to set up my ‘Results’ appointment with the surgeon, and my paperwork will go to CIGNA on Monday. Now I wait. I’m so tempted to book a date in May and only give myself 5 days till I’m back at school. HOWEVER, I will most likely choose to do the more prudent thing, and have surgery June 9th or 10th-ish when school is out. Yes, I am enjoying a food bucket list until I start the pre-op diet. My BMI is 40.9 and I’m hell bent on keeping it there till Cigna says yes. I’d love to hear from the April Surgery Buddies regarding your immediate post-op …

I know that's a question that only I can really answer, but it's one that keeps spinning through my head. I came to this site today to do a bit more research and realized I had joined back in 2018! So yeah, this is something I've thought about off and on for the last four years. What's stopping me? First, I have had SO many surgeries in the last decade. Fourteen to be exact. I really don't want another one. Second, the thought of having part of my body removed (especially my stomach) is triggering and scary. Been there, done that. A bit of history: Up until about 8-9 years ago, I was a fairly thin and fit person. In Jan 2012, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I wen…

So for the last 30 years I've always ate fast. Since deciding to get the surgery I've been definitely chewing my food extra good and have slowed down I just dont think its slow enough. Any suggestions to slow it down even more?

Well, I had my day 1 of my journey on Sunday 4/17. At that point I weighed 278 pounds. I’ve had quite a few doctor visits lately so I’ve been weighed more frequently and I’m gaining. 4/21/22 279.4 4/23/22 279.2 4/24 (today) 282.2 I’ve been eating a little better and trying to move more so this is very frustrating. A weight I have always feared is being 300 or more and it looks like I’m rapidly getting there.

Well, I’ve hit a little bit of a bump in the road. The appointment I had with the WLS surgeon on the 25th had to be canceled as that particular clinic is out of network with my insurance, but they didn’t tell me until 2 days ago. I immediately reached out to another clinic and they ARE confirmed to be in network. They explained the steps required by my insurance. First they requested records from my PCP yesterday. Once those are received, they’ll schedule a consultation with their WLS, then I’ll have to have a psych eval and a nutrition assessment. So the process is slowed down a little, but I’m determined to make this happen.

I had my first consultation with my Bariatric surgeon today. I said I would prefer a sleeve but that maybe a bypass is better for me because it seems to have a better long term outcome with keeping the weight off. He said that both procedures have the same long term weight loss it’s just up to the patient to eat right. He also said that you cannot stretch out a sleeve. The one that really surprised me was when I said that I have reflux and I don’t want a sleeve to make it worse, we’ll he told me that both can give you reflux and that I’ll just be on Prilosec either until it resolves or forever because it’s perfectly safe. What is everyone’s thoughts on all of this? H…

I am going in for surgery this morning. I am so looking forward until this is over. My nerves have settled but I am still a bit anxious and hungry. My wife is downstairs cooking turkey bacon and eggs for her and my daughter, while I upstairs wishing the next 30 days would fast forward. I just wanna eat some vegetables and a small piece of salmon! 10:30AM is not coming fast enough.

If you could go back in time and warn/educate your younger self on how to best stick to the all liquid pre-op diet, what tips and tricks would you share? My all liquid pre-op diet started today. I'm allowed: 3-4 shakes (pre-made or via protein powders) Water Clear protein waters Crystal Light mixers and such Gatorade, Vitamin Water, Propel Sugar-free gelatin Sugar-free pudding Sugar-free popsicles Light Greek yogurt Fat-free cottage cheese Broth Herbal teas ANY ADVICE/HELP IS GREATLY APPRECAITED! I feel like I can succeed, but I've always known THIS would be the hardest part of my jou…

Hi I’m just looking for some people who are going through or have been through the same. I have really PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome) I have tried for years to loose weight and it has impacted on my fertility hugely for the last 3.5 years. I have decided on a VSG (hopefully at the end of May). I am so angry that it has come to this as my only option and feel completely abandoned by the NHS. I know that this surgery will change my life and hopefully for the better but the permanence is bothering me. Is there anyone out there who has had their PCOS symptoms improve with VSG? What is the post-op like? Please help, I’m in so much turmoil about everything a…

I think I’ve seen mention of “last suppers” and such on here but I’m wondering if this is normal or just me? My surgery is May 24 and for the last month since I’ve found out my surgery date I have pretty much ate terrible! Since Dec. I’ve gained 8 pounds back but I know exactly why. I just feel somewhat nervous and anxious and…etc. my bad habits that were better are now worse. Is this something that happens before surgery? Am I just broken and need to forget about it? I had done so well but now I’m so worried. Any advice?

Hey all- I'm a college student, and the only time I am able to fit my surgery in is the second weekend in September (unless I want to wait until Spring Break, which is not an option for me!). I don't have classes on Fri or Mon-- so if I have my surgery on Friday early morning, is it possible to be back at school on Tuesday for classes? All my classes are in one big building with elevators, so the walking around is pretty minimal I would think. Any special precautions I should take? Any recommendations?

Hi. I need a safe place to post my feelings and I thought of posting here. I hope I can be as raw as I need to be without getting criticized or judged. I'm on day 6 of the all liquid diet. I'm not doing well emotionally of physically. My mood prior to the all liquid diet was me always happy, active, healthy and on top of my game in all senses. Prior to the all liquid diet, I was working out and eating right and losing weight to the point that the surgeon's team told me I could stop eating right and stop working out because I had showed them I'm fully capable of following the plan and succeeding on it. I didn't listen to them telling me to stop because I was feeling …

Hey I’m new here and I finally found a doctor in my city who accepts my medicaid for Bariatric surgery. So I have a consultation. But I wanted to know the process of getting approved for surgery and the wait period of being approved for surgery.

doing something brave, and for accountability...saving these photos as my “Day 1”...super ashamed and embarrassed of how far I’ve let myself go, but it’s only going to get better from here... Starting weight (and heaviest) 278.49 pounds, 5 ft tall, age 31, BMI 54.3 (pics taken on 4/17/22).

Question for those who struggled with type II diabetes prior to their WLS...if you don’t mind me asking, what were your sugars running prior to WLS, (and how long had you been a diagnosed T2, what were you doing to treat it before) and what are your sugars now? Are you able to come off diabetic meds post surgery? I’ve had D2 for about a year and a half and my A1C keeps climbing, as does my dose of metformin. Despite that, my sugars hang out in the 150s-180s consistently and my body is in an a acidiotic state more and more often...

So I’m in the part of the bariatric program where I have to lose a percentage of weight to qualify. Now that may not sound like very much but for someone who doesn’t lose weight easily at all it’s a little bit more harder for me. This is only 11 pounds, once I lose that I do a weight check in and then I get my surgery date. Once I get closer to that surgery date then I have the two week preop liquid diet. I need help and support as to how to start the weight loss going? Should I just go ahead and go into the liquid pre-op diet to lose the initial wait to get in and get my date?

Hi all, my name is Carrielee and I am 31 years old. I have battled being overweight / obesity since I was a young child and I’ve finally gotten the courage to taking the steps toward a healthier self. At 31, I’m 5 feet tall and weigh 278 pounds, at a BMI of 54.29, it’s time to do this. I suffer from a myriad of weight related health conditions and fear an early death if I don’t take control of my weight and health. I suffer from acid reflux, hypertension, high cholesterol, Type II diabetes, arthritis, limited mobility, chest pain/angina, sleep apnea, liver disease...I’m slowly killing myself and I’m tired of it. Any ti…

Hey everyone, Hope you're all doing well! So, I kind of just need to vent for a bit. I know everyone's experience is different and only my Doctor and Surgeon can give medical insight, but I'm hoping someone may have been in a similar situation as I am. So, before I could schedule a surgery date I had to do all the tests. The last step (which I now wish was the first step), was my blood panel. All results came back good, except the blood panel. The results returned showing that my Vitamin D, B12 and folic acid are all low. Easy enough to fix with a supplement. It also showed the my cholesterol was low, so my Doctor said to make sure I am eating healthy fats (avo…

Hi! Is diarrhea normal when on the all liquid pre-op diet? I'm on day 4. My intestines are nonstop rumbling and causing discomfort. I have probably gone #2 about 5-7 times so far and I've been awake for only 8 hours today. I called my surgeon's office today to ask if I can somewhat expand my diet or maybe add some other things to it (like fiber? or chia seeds?) and I was told I'd have to make an appointment and the next availability wasn't until June 9 (LOL my surgery is scheduled for April 26th). I was on such a clean diet and losing weight prior to the all liquid diet. I was at the gym daily lifting heavy too. I stopped going to the gym since I started the all liq…

I have decided to start the process of getting gastric bypass and my sister is doing the same thing and she has her surgery scheduled for beginning of May. I'm just struggling with the whole process! I feel guilty for being hungry and wanting to eat. Like physically hungry not just head hunger. And when I do eat I feel like it's never a healthy enough choice and I constantly hear my sister and the surgeons PA in the back of my head saying I'm not eating healthy enough, or I'm eating too much or not enough? This is what scares me about this whole process because I've tried losing weight in the past and I became SO OBSESSIVE with counting calories that I went days without e…