Nancy Rivers

Congratulations! I'm so glad you are doing well!

Now I know when I will be getting the sleeve - 10:30am! I have to be at the hospital at 9. Woo Hoo!!!!

Well, I just heard back from the dietician. She told me that they do not want patients to drop too low in their calorie intake before surgery and that it was ok to only have 4 of the 6 servings of "real food" per day. Whew. Apparently the amount of Protein and carbs isn't concerning them as she told me I was doing well with the pre-op diet. I don't know if you are allowed sf Jello on your pre-op diet, but if you are, you could get some of those sf jello cups. I would just get a bag together that has bottles of Water and toss in some of your medifast. If you can have things like yogurt or veggies, have them packed into ziplock baggies for the right portion size and when you need to go - just toss them in your bag as well. It just takes a bit of planning is all.

Thanks for sharing! I'll try that the next time I get one of my migraines coming on (which are related to my monthly).

If he wants to tell people he had surgery, he should be able to. If anyone asks you - you can just say that you are doing a "sympathy" lifestyle change to support him (you decided to exercise and eat the way he is supposed to in order to make it easier on him and give him support). In a way it's not lying as the two of you are going through this together, and it is a lifestyle change.

So sorry you are still having the pain. I hope you get feeling better soon and the antibiotics do their job. Thank you for sharing your experience.

Good luck Kath - your surgery is tomorrow! I haven't started stocking up yet - mainly because I'm currently in Michigan, then will be traveling back to Ohio, then MD for a family reunion then back to Ohio for my surgery. 2 weeks after my surgery, I will be moving from my friend's house to an apartment of my own.

I currently live in Michigan and will be having my surgery in Cincinnati Ohio area (5.5 hour drive one way). The surgeon wrote the orders of what tests he wanted my PCP in Michigan to order for me as well as gave me information about the letter of medical necessity he needed from my PCP. All of my bloodwork and gallbladder testing was done by my PCP in Michigan and those results were faxed to the surgeon. The letter took longer and several phone calls on my part, but it finally got sent so that by the time my EGD came around that the surgeon performed on Friday, he had everything else needed from my PCP. Monday I had my pre-op teaching and everything, so the next time I have to be in Cincinnati is for my surgery.

Also, scales are rarely ever in agreement with each other. I have weighed myself on my home scale, drove to the doctor's office 5 minutes away and hop on their scale and have had a difference of 5 pounds. I did that a couple of times - and both times it was consistently like that, so I just figured that was the difference in the scales. If you are going to track your weight, use one scale only for sanity sake. I'm using my personal scale since I know that I won't be at the surgeon's office as much after the surgery, so this way I will be able to track my weight. Officially, they go by the doctor's scale of course, but for me, I will be using my own scale.

Thanks for doing this. Wow, it looks like the big day is the day I'm getting sleeved - July 12, followed closely by July 27.

I agree - it seems like they would all have more similar requirements. I've emailed the PA and dietician to make sure I'm doing their diet right. Of course being so late, I won't get an answer until sometime tomorrow I hope. I may be over-reacting with these numbers, but I want to make sure this whole thing is going to work for me. I thought I would be closer to the 500-700 calories - I think I would feel better about that. LOL

Yup, sounds like detox. I'm sure it will pass in a few days and you'll be fine. I just did my food log for today and am SHOCKED at the numbers. Calories: 1044.9 Fat: 16.5 g Protein: 134.6 g Carbs: 79.5 g DANG.... and technically I still have 2 servings of food left to eat which I won't as it's too late now. With those numbers, I wonder if I will get to detox. Most of my carbs are from skim milk which according to the directions from my doc, I have 4 times a day - with each of the Protein powder shakes. The instructions specifically state that if not mixing with milk, then add a 5th shake. This was my first day of the diet. I didn't realize I would be having that many calories - but I suppose that's "normal". For some reason I thought it would be fewer calories during these 2 weeks. Of course, I did have 2 tablespoons of regular dressing for my salad - which that was 142 calories right there. I won't be doing that again (I ate at a restaurant while waiting for a movie - I had salad with chicken broth for the Soup - very filling oddly enough). But it's still 900 calories that will be the same for the next 10 days.

It depends on your job. If it's a relatively sedentary job, then you should be fine. If you have to do a lot of lifting, then probably not. There's several on here that went back to work a week after the surgery. There's also a number of people who went back in 2 weeks. Others take longer. Personally, I am planning 2.5 weeks.

Thanks ladies for your input.

Glad you are home and feeling better. Thanks for the update.

My surgeon's office says to not weigh yourself everyday - only do it once a week at the very most because it often will "mess with you" . I started my pre-op today. My surgeon only does a 12 day pre-op instead of the 14 day that I originally thought it was. 4 Protein shakes per day plus 6 servings of "real food" that I get to pick from a list of 6 foods. Hmm... something strange about that. LOL Anyway, it's 8pm and I am full but still have 2 servings of real food to eat today. I'm going to try to do better tomorrow and make sure I get everything in. This is going to be hard from the perspective of eating everything they want me to! I had originally thought that I would be hungry during this phase, but that definitely isn't the case today. Keep with it - the pounds will eventually come off. Make sure you are getting all of your Water too.

I would take your food/exercise diary with you. Your surgeon may want to take a look at it. Definitely have your list of questions for the surgeon. Other than that, I wouldn't take anything else for the first meeting. The surgeon will discuss the options and your health history and will decide if you would be a potentially good candidate for surgery. Sounds like you are on top of it. Oh, and welcome to the forums!

After not drinking the carbonated beverages for a while, I have found I really don't like the carbonation. That's why I shake these waters - once they are flat, I really enjoy them. I just wish they would make them without the carbonation, but then how would I get my exercise in? LOL

Well, it was bound to happen I suppose. I finally found a Protein powder that I really don't care for. My surgeon required me to purchase 2 big containers of Protein Powder for this pre-op diet. I chose nectar chocolate and

Wow - congratulations on the weight loss so far! That is awesome!!!!

I was the same way. I had such a LONG time (at least it seemed that way to me) from the informational seminar on April 6 to the first appointment on May 18 then to all of the hoops on starting on June 21. Now here I am starting the pre-op diet today (my doc required a 12 day diet) and now it seems like a whirlwind. Back in April and May I just wanted to get started on it, but couldn't. So, I kept coming onto the forums, researching (which I LOVE to do), and started making small changes that I knew I would have to later - like stopping the caffeine and carbonated beverages, stopping the fast food - although frankly that one was the hardest and least successful of the changes, eating more often but in smaller quantities, etc. I figured if I did it one step at a time, it would be easier in the long run for me. And it helped keep my excitement up because I actually felt like I was working toward the new me.

Congrats on getting a date!

I don't look at it as giving up control. I look at it as taking control over my life. I am learning how to eat to be healthier, how to exercise to be healthier, etc. Before this journey, there was no exercise, and my eating was out of control as I would eat anything and everything that I wanted. How was that in control? Now, I'm learning to control my urges and eat only to live - not living to eat. It's a major change in mindset - but it's a change for the better. It will be hard, no doubt about it. Change is always hard - especially when social situations all have unhealthy foods that we are expected to eat. But you can do it! One of my best friends in high school was in a different social situation with me and got very angry with me and stopped talking to me when I was cooking a dinner and made it a healthier version that what was normal. I actually had a lot of people come to me after the dinner saying it was one of the best they had in that type of situation. I think she was just jealous that I was making the meal my own instead of the unhealthy versions that everyone else had been using because they were following the ancient recipes. Well, I followed the recipe too - I just made some healthier substitutions. It still tasted very similar. This was a few years ago, and it upset me at the time, but now I know it was probably just jealousy and frankly, I'm better off without her in my life. I hate to say that, but it's true.

During my pre-op teaching, the PA said that there was no solid evidence that drinking through a straw produced more gas - so if we wanted to we could.

I hope you get feeling better soon!