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Great responses already so I will add this because this is what most of us feel after the success... Why oh why did I not do this sooner??!! True story. Good luck, you will do great.

Mari3997, Pre-op diet will definitely help you and helps get "your head" into the right place for your new fabulous healthy life. Support system? I have no one. My husband tried to talk me out of it, NOPE! My body, my life, I make my own decisions...autonomy. Find support groups here, Facebook, IG, etc, research youtube videos on bariatric surgeries. Some FEAR is normal but still wasted energy and can become crippling. Find a way to reduce fear to a reasonable concern. I responded to another post with this...it might help you, I hope so, just do it. Definitely do it! At 71, 100lbs overweight, in pain constantly, both knees destroyed by arthritis, peripheral neuropathy in both feet with hot burning pins and needles when standing and walking, back pain. My journey started in orthopedics with knees, steroid injections, worked well most of the time, but didn't stop the occasional fall [3 to 4 times a year]. I knew sooner or later something would break. I would have had knee replacement sooner except for covid & elective surgeries were cancelled for two years [socialized medicine ***] weight gain, but developed hypertension. Researched weight loss thru ***, and because I had obstructive sleep apnea, I would qualify, and found this bariatric surgery should be first before the knees. I researched, attended classes, youtube videos, surgeons, after care, supplements etc. I wanted the Roux-N-Y but at my age surgeon said no, VSG. The surgeon recommended to me, is EXTREMELY strict and no BS kind of guy, he canceled my first surgery date because he didn't like something I did, so I really buckled down to his protocol. I knew I would have nausea and vomiting from anesthesia so I told EVERYONE, to give me whatever so this didn't happen. Well...it happened, no medication, and postop recovery the uncontrollable violent projectile dry heaves started, nurse good, gave IV Zofran, the IV Reglan and within a few minutes it stopped, but it was bad. I went home the next day. I had all my foods for week two, supplements etc. I am keeping up with supplements and fluids but not hungry. Dr said eat 1/4 cup every 2-3 hours otherwise your body will try to hold on to everything and the metabolism shifts. I'm going to add the vitamin patches from Bariatric Pal to my daily regimen of chews and capsules, [ I am very fatigued] for a while and see how this works. I use Mira Lax/:axa Clear equivalent in my morning water bottle and use a stool softener at night. Find whatever works for you, the stool softeners alone did not work for me. Trying to find my new normal, I knew it would be a process. I have NO regrets, and would tell anyone considering surgery to 'go for it' and FOLLOW directions strictly. Once I pass the phase of full liquids and get into pureed foods it will be another advancement. During surgery found a hiatal hernia and did the repair. Who Knew?! I didn't, glad it's done. My significant weight loss will help me in recovery for total knee replacement. I'm looking forward to repairing the rest of my body in my older age. Best wishes to you. Surgery May 15. 

Haha yesssss that is the spirit happy and proud of you!

Not silly. Food funerals are real. Before my surgery I had wings and ice cream. Now that surgery is over I’m not feeling hungry I don’t have cravings either. I can smell the bacon my wife has cooked and it has no appeal. There is such a connection with food, making plans with friends visiting family… all have something to do with food. Would t it be nice to have someone say hey let’s get together and skip rocks at the lake or something. Stay strong and you are aloud to mourn.

I’m home now! So far everything is perfectly average. Last night the nurse came in to give me a pill and I ended up chugging some water for the pill. Oops. That will be the last time I make that mistake😁 I didnt throw up but sure felt like I should. The pain is mostly tolerable. I found reaching for something high was uncomfortable and sitting down I’m having to take a new approach. I hope y’all are doing your best no matter what stage you are in!

Vitamin patches are hit or miss. They work for some people but not for others. If you're not taking any multivitamins, patches are almost certainly better than nothing, so it's worth a try. Did the multivitamins that caused nausea contain iron? A lot of people experience nausea from iron supplements, so you might want to try a multivitamin without iron. For iron supplements, there are different forms of iron, and iron bisglycinate is supposed to be easier on the stomach than ferrous sulfate (which is the more common form of iron), so that's another thing you can try. I don't think it's particularly common to get a medic alert bracelet just for bariatric surgery. I do have one because I have a pacemaker, so in addition to my pacemaker info, I have "No blind NG tube" and "No NSAIDS." I wouldn't have gotten one just for that, though (and I didn't get one until I got my pacemaker). I don't have an actual bracelet, either -- I have a tag that attaches to my watch band (it's from a web site called Road ID). It is much more subtle than a separate bracelet, so if you want a bracelet but are self-conscious about it, you might consider something like that.

Great to hear your sister is doing better!

I'm down 83 lbs and so much healthier! Best decision I ever made! I'm so happy with my progress exceeeept my hair shedding/ loss will not stop 😭 please tell me it gets better?

I’ll answer my own questions to try to get the conversation going. I’m doing ok - some bad, some good. Today is 2 months until my surgery date (which is July 12th, 2023). I have two big steps before that day - a virtual group class with the surgeon and dietician and an in-person visit for blood work and an EKG in which I’ll also pick up my pre-op diet food. I’m actually excited about having a regimented diet. I love following a food plan; it’s creating the food plan that is hard for me. I’m terrible at making time to plan meals and shop for the food and prepare the food. I’m excited to have a smaller stomach so I can cook something like a crockpot of shredded chicken, portion it out, and warm it up for lunch every week day. (And not binge eat it all in 2 meals.) Now I’m enjoying reading and viewing content from other women who have gone through the surgery part of the journey and are joyfully sharing the good, the bad, and the ugly with others. Ugh, the talking about it. I’d rather not. I’ve spent hours and hours researching the surgery before I made this decision. So it’s hard to know what to say in a few minutes to help the decision make sense to someone else. Two supports I’ve found useful are youtube videos from women who are post-op (like Simply Megan and Erin Branscom) and the podcast Our Sleeved Life.

Was traveling home yesterday and spent a few hours in the airport. Brought out the laptop to do some work. About a half hour into it I realized I was actually using my laptop on my LAP for the first time. I have a lap!!!