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I’m in preop too but am curious.

Best of luck to you!! You can do this!!!

It took me a couple of days before I could sip without pain. I was able to handle sugar free popsicles and sugar free jello though. Go figure. I was eventually able to sip without pain.

Wow, that’s rough. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of anyone being outright denied surgery because of the psychological evaluation (not that it’s never happened; I just haven’t heard about it). I have heard of people being required to get psychological treatment before getting approval for surgery. Did the psychologist say anything about that? Maybe you can wait until he sends the full report and see what it says, because it seems very strange that he would just say you’re a lost cause and will never be able to get the surgery. A lot of us have a bad relationship with food and issues with emotional eating and still get the surgery. Is it possible to get a second opinion From another psychologist? That said, you probably shouldn’t get the surgery until you’re mentally and emotionally ready for it. It’s a big commitment and a hard journey, and you pretty much only have one shot (ok, you can get a revision, but even that doesn’t usually work as well as the original surgery) and you don’t want to waste it. So it might be worth getting some treatment for your emotional eating before you get surgery.

I'm flying out to Blossom on Sunday for surgery next Wednesday. All of these comments make me even more convinced I've made the right decision! Looking forward to it!

Congratulations. When I was 30 days from surgery I started creating a list of "50 things I want to do," I added it to my WLS journal which I updated every two or three days. After surgery whenever I accomplished something on the list, I would cross it off and add a comment. For instance #1 was "wake up after surgery." On 3 April 2003 I crossed it off with the comment "I did, in fact, wake up after surgery." I included what I call odometer goals, like weighing 4--, 3--, 2--, and clothing sizes. The fun ones where things like running, kayaking, dancing, etc. It was fun. Review your plan documentation. You should understand everything about your plan. If you're doing protein drinks, what are you going to do if they don't taste right, or they make you gag. Have options available, even ones you don't think you'll like. Be ready for the worst. Then your eventual food plan. Do you understand the principles of your plan? When you are out somewhere and your normal choices aren't available you need to be able to apply the principles to make a good choice. When you post a thread here asking for ideas on what you can eat, be sure to tell us your plan so that we can offer suggestions within your plan. In the first few months you can't not lose weight. If you go off plan and make bad choices, you will still lose weight. Your weight loss will be a positive reinforcement of your bad choices. When the weight loss stops the new habits you've built will be the bad ones. if you stay on plan consistently the weight you lose becomes a tremendous positive reinforcement for your new good habits. This helps make your new habits your new normal. You have some rough times coming up. Surgery hurts. Healing takes time. It will be hard. You will get frustrated. You will have to learn how to eat again, both mechanically (small bites chewed ridiculously well) and your plan. Be patient. In a short time things will start getting better. And better. Wow, this post sorta got away from me. Enjoy the ride. Tek

Hi - the cardio guy is grumpy but the stress test was not a big deal (I was super worried given my weight at the time). I went to Blossom last December and my experience was awesome. It was pre-COVID but from what I hear, they've adapted well. They will take excellent care of you. Sent from my SM-G975U using BariatricPal mobile app

Well, I had a different surgery than you so my experience so far may be very different then what yours will be. For me, I've had a lot of stalls along the way though my first one was when I was 3 months out (it lasted 23 days) and I've currently been in one for two weeks now though that may very well have to do with muscle gain as I've been at my sisters house and am taking care of her 1 year old who likes to be carried and I'm walking constantly up and down her stairs... I was told the Loop DS (the surgery I had) doesn't have dumping syndrome, but discovered that is a MYTH because wheat give me dumping syndrome so I avoid it like the plague! Constipation issues can and probably will happen with EVERY surgery though in my case it's when I have too much iron in my diet. I just had my 9 month check up and was told to cut back my iron even more even though I've been alternating it from 1 iron multi one day to 2 iron multi's the next. I was told to stick to just 1 because my iron was very close to being too high as it was on the upper scale of normal and like two points away from being way too high. I had a potassium deficiency in my 3 month check up but it was normal in my 6 month check up but now it's back to being too low. My Vitamin A was deficient in my 6 month check up, but is normal again as of my 9 month check up. My calcium has been a little high at every check up and they advised me to lower it again even though I was only taking two calciums a day they told me to try taking 1.5 a day. I'm currently 33 years old. My high weight was 389 pounds. I was 321 pounds on the day of my surgery and right now I'm 219 pounds and am 4 days away from my 9 month surgiversary. The farther along I get doesn't really make it any easier. I find I still have to actively work to stay on track because I'm the only one in my family eating healthy while everyone around me is eating the foods that I used to love. I find I have to pep talk myself into eating right and so far I've been good. The worst I've done is eat a snack size Kit Kat or the two times I ate a cookie. I refuse to get down on myself for that though as it's something I've only done a few times and I make sure it still fits into my carb intake and allotted sugar intake so it doesn't feel like I'm cheating as it fits into my diet plan. Even my surgeons office said it was okay to treat myself as long as I fit it in to my diet plan and didn't overindulge. I find that it's helped me not go crazy by allowing myself a little treat on rare occasions. The protein intake for my particular surgery for women is advised to get between 80-100g a day. I try and get the minimum of 80 but since I drink 1 30g protein shake a day I'm only responsible for getting a minimum of 50g on my own. I tend to average (with the protein drink) around 90-95 a day. A weight loss journey is not easy. I don't think it's meant to be, to be honest. I've used this time so far to try and get myself used to better eating habits so that I can keep them up even when I reach my goal weight. I NEVER want to get back to being as heavy as I was. I used to be a 32 in pants and a 34-36 in tops. I'm now a 16 in pants and an xl in tops. I can just buy things without trying them on and they actually look GOOD, which is shocking to me! I like that I no longer have to shop online because stores don't carry my size. I like that I'm no longer plus sized now and can shop in the regular womens section of the store. I like that when I have to visit the doctor the cuff can now fit on my upper arm where before they had to put it on my wrist because it wouldn't fit on my upper arm. I like that when I have to wear a hospital gown for a test or a visit to the ER I can now fit in the regular sized ones and don't have to embarrass myself by asking them for the plus sized ones. So yeah, the journey isn't easy, but it's 100% WORTH it! You will have ups and downs, but sometimes you have to celebrate the non-scale victories to uplift yourself when you're in a stall or frustrated about something. I like that when I go see a specialist or go the ER they don't bring up my weight at all, where before that was ALL they seemed to do. I love that I'm only 39 pounds from my goal weight when I had been over 300 pounds for 15 YEARS!

Watching others eat in the first weeks out can be challenging & very tempting. You may be craving salt - from habit or need. Try dipping a finger in a little salt & having a taste & see if that helps. If you haven’t yet, try chicken or beef broth as alternatives to protein shakes for a ‘meaty’ taste. Or sip on some warm/hot chicken or beef stock.

I did it at the beginning with beef jerky. I was so tired of sweet stuff and just wanted something different. I chewed it really well, made sure not to swallow any, and spit it out when I ran out of flavor.