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I started biotin a little bit before surgery. A week before surgery I had to go off all vitamins & minerals. I started the biotin as soon as I thought I could swallow the pill at home. If you drink any pop (diet or regular) or coffee quit now! Quit before you have to go on the pre-op diet. I can only tell you things that made things easier on me. I brought one of those soft cuddly comfy throw blankets from Target (mine was brown, one side was soft and comfy and the other side was fluffy). I had it freshly washed and it smelled like home (Downy). It was my comfort in the hospital, I cuddled with it in the chair and it made me happy. I went into the surgery smiling and humming. Made my nurses hum, even hummed my favorite little theme song to my doctor and anesthesiologists and nurses. It made everyone smile and lighten up and I was told I was one of the most positive people going into surgery and I woke up positive. I found a decaff tea that was refreshing to bring to the hospital plus I bought my own artificial sweetener (truvia). I tried several decaff teas (after quitting coffee). Bigelow Peppermint Tea fit the bill with truvia. It literally calmed my tummy and felt better than water at first and even though it went from warm to cold, it tasted good cold. Hospitals normally serve hot tea with generic artificial sweetener in a coffee cup. It's not appetizing it smells like coffee though it's hot water. I probably have mentioned this 100 times since surgery in posts. This was my saving grace. Bring Cottonelle or Charmaigne Box of wet wipes. After surgery your privates feel nasty (after getting the catheter out). It's a little harder to urinate on your own. Wiping yourself is a little hard because your tummy is swollen, but getting some of the orange stuff off you makes you feel cleaner. I also kept a brush on my table, because it was such a comfort to brush my hair because it became a birds nest. When you go for your walk around the ward, bring along one of those mouth stick wipes because if you talk while you walk, your mouth will dry up on you so fast, especially if you are given the anti-nausea patch and anti-nausea shots. You will be most likely be receiving shots in your belly every so often for blood clots. I wasn't prepared for this, nor was I prepared for a drain. Ask the doctor if you are getting one. The ted hose they use and compression thing I was afraid of but it actually didn't hurt and was comforting, I was nervous about those. If the ted hose starts rolling down and hurting, makes sure you get someone to fix it. I made sure I kept my mouth sticks, water and peppermint tea and spirometer and I brought my own Kleenex (Vicks) type to the hospital. Those I made sure were close to me. When I would wake up during the night I would make sure I used the spirometer. I am prone to pneumonia and I used it OFTEN. I would take my big brown blanket and ball it up with a pillow and then cough. I still use it and it's 19 days out. My hardest part of surgery (I was in the hospital 5 days) was the leak test. I had an allergic reaction to the Gastrique used and it was really hard on me. My face, neck and chest turned a bright red and I got dizzy and sick. Most people just feel sick from their first drink being something like that. Things I did not use. I didn't use my kindle, didn't change clothes once (all the iv's getting any real pj's on there is no way.) I did have a pair crocs that I used to walk in, which was more stable to me than wearing their socks. When I came home getting in and out of bed was not easy for me, and I spent a lot of time sleeping in the lazy boy. I walked as much as I could and I started spacing it out 20 minutes walking through the kitchen, living room and dining room 3 times a day. I had the drain for 9 days and the last few days it started bugging me. Getting it out, was not comfortable but there was HUGE relief getting it out. I could finally actually breathe again. Realize that no two people heal alike. There are people that sound as though they have surgery and go home and are out walking miles in the first week. You may have had previous abdominal surgeries and have more scar tissue, you may have never had one and aren't used to it and take it harder. Everyone recovers differently and don't compare your experience to others because it's unneeded frustration. Try to remain positive, even when the going gets tough. I had only questioned my decision when I had the reaction to the gastrique, and then when my drain got infected (I have lupus), they were fleeting. I have tried to stay positive otherwise and it's done me well. I have a brain tumor, and I suffer from Lupus, I had diabetes and sleep apnea, and I suffer from raynauds and severe migraines and I have a lot of things that could contribute to me not staying positive. I had complications during my surgery which were pretty severe and still I would do it all over again. I will be 49 in August, which is how old my Great Grandmother Died due to obesity, and I am built just like her. Good Luck to you and stay positive, keep a fun song in your head that day, be it a theme song - like Brick House, or whatever current music you like. Mine was the Theme from Sanford & Son and old TV show that I loved as a little girl. The music is happy & funky and to remember the look on my surgeons face or remember the nurses trying to hum it or my husband and son humming it as I was being wheeled out still makes me giggle

I wanted to tell you about when I woke up from surgery.. I thought I was going to die for about 24 hours. I had a nausea patch behind my ear. I touched it and touched my eyes (do not recall when. how or why) but this caused my pupils to dilate for about 4 days. I couldnt read close up and everything was a tad blurry. I was VERY nauseous and needed my pain medicine, just in the hospital, as soon as I was allowed to have it.. every 4 hours I think. Because the IV was wide open, I had to PEE literally every hour. My doc wanted me moving as soon as possible, so I did not have a catheter . . so every hour... on the dot.. even through out the night, I had to yell for my husband to unhook my legs from the massager thing, my IV from the wall, and help me to the toilet. THANK GOD for the On-Q pain pump! (ASK FOR THIS at your last pre op appointment with your doctor.. you will need it). The on-q pain pump is kind of like a small hose with holes in it (very small) that goes under your skin during surgery and releases a little bit of numbing medicine for about 3-5 days (mine lasted 5). This is the only way I made it to the bathroom or was even able to move. Once it was time for it to come out, I was really sore and could only imagine what pain i would have been in if I didnt have that thing. The nurse had me swallow some pill that was ground into powder with a little bit of water. . 2 minutes later my friend stopped by to visit me.. i was gagging to throw up as I was talking to her, so do yourself a favor and save visits for family who are ok seeing you look like death and won't bother you. you really just need to concentrate on walking, breathing normal, swallowing water, and resting! I was really glad after that my mom had my friends wait a couple of days. By day 3 I took a shower, got my nappy hair into a pony tail, and had a splash of make up on. I got really annoyed with people asking me how much weight I had lost... I mean.. come on.. this started day 2.. I was not up to stepping on a scale because I knew I was pumped full of fluids and swollen and it was pointless. . dont weigh yourself until your first doctors visit. I think that is everything I wish I knew or had heard to kind of prepare myself! Good luck!

Thanks for the helpful information, ladies! @MinaT: SOOOO many helpful tips and suggestions... WOW! I was never big into coffee but pop/soda is a habit that needs to be broken. I usually drink up to 20 ounces per day - eek! After reading your post this morning, I decided to take my remaining cans and donate them by placing in the breakroom at work. Instead, I grabbed a crystal light lemonade packet and sipped on that throughout the afternoon. Who knew how good 5 calories and 0 grams of sugar could taste!? @Kathy: Thanks for the advice and support! Congrats on all your hard work over the last 6 months. You're almost there!!

hi Melissa congratulations on your pending sleeve - we're all excited before being sleeved. I was one of those horrible people that did go on a food "funeral" eating way too much - like i was never going to eat them again. its not true that you can't have whatever you want later after surgery, just in small portions. i'm 6 months post op - never never eaten a sweet, cuz that is my BIG downfall. i don't want to eat a "little" bit, thats like teasing myself. My advice pre-op concerning the food, you can eat a little more before your WLS, but don't overdue. i regret pigging out too much. whats done is done. 6 months post up im down 75 lbs - 20 left - so i've done pretty well. some people do lose some hair. i was one the lucky ones - that didn't have any problems with hair loss. the subject has been spoken of the board - so write a question. my other regret is that i never did i BLOG. you've obviously got that covered -good for you best wishes good luck kathy

So I have been having my food funeral for a few days. to be honest, at first I was excited, I was gonna eat whatever and not feel guilty. Im not really feeling guilty, but I have been eating healthy for so long that I feel like crap. Im tried, unmotivated and just want to take a nap. Which, in my life does not work! I have 5 kids ranging from 6 to 17. I am taxiing tham daily and I need my energy! So it was fun for a few days but im over it ..lol I know that im not going to go back to salads and all the perfectly wonderful healthy things for the next 3 weeks but im definatly going to chill out a bit.. its amazing how what you put in your body effects how you feel on the outside..

I havent been on here for a while and thought I would post some things. I'm almost 2 months post op and down 28lbs as of this morning. I'm not seeing a huge scale change but I was also not putting in 100% effort either. The holidays were...well the holidays. lol. So yes I did induldge a bit. I was excited to know that there was a limit to what I could eat and ran into a couple times where I ate too fast or too much and it was extremley uncomfortable. I started off Monday back in the right direction. I'm eating a lot of protein and eating very little of anything else. I've been doing a lot of diced up meats and cheese, chicken, string cheese, squash, and other meats. My diet is not very exciting but when I stick to it, it seems to work. I got down to 31lbs lost before the holidays. I would like to be down atleast another 10 if not 20lbs by the new year. I am learning a lot about myself. I really love my lapband. I have had 2 fills already and I have another scheduled for next week. I have 4.1cc's in my 10cc band. Anyone that is reading this that does not have lapband yet just know that this is not the "easy" way out. ANY WLS takes effort. And yes, some may be a little easier at first than others but in the long run its up to us to keep the weight off. I cought myself a couple of times eating things that I use to eat and then I would ask myself, Why did you have surgery? Just because you have lapband doesnt mean your obesity is cured. I wish. But that's not how this works. If you put in the time and effort the weight will come off. If not, than there is really no point in having surgery. I feel very motivated right now and have been doing well sticking to my diet. I do have days though where I am not as motivated. The nice thing though lately is that the more fills I seem to get the more I cant just eat without thinking about chew chew chew. Or else I have extreme pain. So I love that my band holds me accountable. My doctor also would like to see me have less than 30grams of carbs a day....Has anyone else been asked to do this? If you are new to the whole counting calories thing that is like two string cheeses! So if anyone has any good ideas for high protein/low carb foods please LET ME KNOW :-) Have a great day!!!