vsgm

From reading great advice on this forum I made a list of these items & gathered in preparation........ :-) bariatric Protein powder (I like the fusion chocolate mousse) & some pre-made Protein drinks for quick & easy grabs GasX (sounds like the gas afterwards for a few days is quite painful) Nexium (ditto on the acid) liquid Tylenol (to use after the dr's liquid painkiller has finished it's job) lots of gatorade, s/f Jello, Water bottles chewable bariatric Vitamins (again the Fusion isn't bad...the mixed berry looks a bit intimidating but is relatively easy to chew up and swallow...my dr advised 2 of those a day for always after.) pill crusher (this is a cool little thing I found at WM which crushes any non-chewable pills you have to take) low cal/lactose free yogurt of course my chapstick! that's all I can remember at the moment! Best of luck! I go in tomorrow morning............(feels like the first day of school when you were a kid!)

Those first few days I thought I was starving! By about day 4 I wasn't hungry at all. As long as you force yourself to drink the protein shakes or have a Tbsp or two of tuna or something so you get your protein I bet you'll find you're not that hungry anymore either and not tired (if you keep your protein and water intake up). Good luck!

Pastormike. Ur post just kicked the tears in gear. I just left my final pre-surgery appt at the hospital, the last step b4 Monday morning's ""ordeal" is the only word that comes to mind. It HAS been such a long journey and I HAVE considered this for 10 yrs. This past 9 mths has been extremely educational and certainly not easy as I had to drive about 300 miles round trip for every appointment. So now I'm here. And I'm scared. SCARED. I have prayed non-stop and am not feeling a clear answer. One side of me is saying "it's just the doubter trying to pull u back....ignore it and forge ahead...You've come this far. You're ready. It's time." the other side is saying "wait! What the heck(!) am I thinking?!?!" ARGH!!!!!!!!

Ditto what SashaWLS said. Appreciate the posts from new sleevies. It helps to know what to expect in less than a week!!!!!!!! Ahhhhhh!!!!!! Best to u both on healing quickly & being past the pain. Hang tough!

Ditto on ALL accts!!!!! 2/13 is my big day too!!!! Start the liquid diet tomorrow!!! Here we go babyyyy!

Good to hear u r home and recovering!!!!! Keep walking and resting and stay positive!!! Congrats!

Please both of u keep us posted afterwards as soon as u can! BEST OF LUCK!! My surgery is 2/13 and I'm sure I'll be a basketcase a couple days before!

Don't overt think it. Just go with it. You've researched and informed yourself and you're ready. That little doubting voice is just trying to keep u from reaching all your goals!!!! Go for it!!!!!!

Well said Mater. Dooter be strong! U can do this!! I'm sure it's just a phase and in a day or two u will feel more upbeat!! Keep smiling!!

LilMiss.......man did I need to hear all that! Now, it's your turn. Take this moment and make it yours. Don't turn away from what is going to be a true miracle for you!! I'll have to keep telling myself that every day from now 'til 2/13 and just get my soon-2-b-lil-butt IN TO THE surgery center!!!!!!!!!!!! Fear is an awful thing!! Like someone else said previously, "JUST DO IT!" Okay, okay, I can do this!! just please tell me I will be the same person after, for my children's sake!

Oh man I can relate about the food funerals... and 'Last Supper' syndrome!!!! Ever since my date was set I've been thinking 'what should I eat since I'll never be able to have it again'!! Which I think is totally ridiculous as I think for the most part I'll be able to have my faves about a year out, just in much smaller portion?? Which is fine with me!! Just a taste now & then would be great! But right now I'm kinda getting to that 'flipped-switch' you're talking about and getting 'sick' of food.....as in not even interested in my normal favorites! However I'm trying hard to fight that (this is not a good thing) and sabotaging myself and still having my 'last suppers' daily! Good thing my Liquid Diet starts next week 'cuz this is ridiculous of me!! :-)

Hey! You're almost there! Don't know about you but I have butterflies already (won't be any room for them soon!!! haha) and my surgery isn't til 2/13!! AHHHHHHH!!!!! So nervous but so excited!!! Keep us posted how it goes for you on the 9th!

Thanks all - great words of wisdom. I am about a week & 1/2 to surgery and some days totally excited!! other days totally "what the heck am I thinking?" :-) I'm trying to just keep the fear dialed down and positive thinking dialed up.

Everyone has down days and you certainly had a blow so it's normal for you to have a couple 'bad' days. You sound like the type of person that will pick yourself back up and keep plugging! And end up stronger and better in the end! Keep your smile on, and know that God is right there with you - he knows you can handle this. Keep exercisin'! :-)

Very interesting responses all -- thank u for reading and responding. Dooter, well said. That does help. Capt D - sorry but I don't follow the twister game reference? (but I'm sure it's hilarious!?) And yes the pride aspect is something I've considered, because I must admit not only am I doing this to ease the load on my poor aching joints but also because I do love to shop for clothes and be fashionable and am sooo excited to buy smaller outfits!! That's prolly more troublesome to God than 'repairing' my stomach, huh!?

Thoughts from minds more clear-thinking than mine appreciated. :-) I'm kind of a superstitious person, and also fairly religious and have a great closeness with God the creator of our lovely bodies. So now that my surgery is scheduled (20 days out....yikes!) I'm not sure if I'm just looking for an excuse to chicken out or if I'm truly uncomfortable with the idea that I'd change the mechanics of a miraculous thing God created (the human body). I mean if every person is unique and special in their own way, will God turn his favor away from me if I mess with His unique and special work? Ugh!! I know not everyone believes in God, but I do, and I'm struggling with how to justify the surgery with my WWJD mindset.

Kemo46: I *love* myfitnesspal.com! I've been using it for about a year off and on. It is an excellent tool and what u say makes sense, about adjusting your calories throughout the process & eventually finding the magic number once u reach maintenance. Thx so much for the reply.

Love all the input! While I cannot fathom ever being TOO skinny, it really is a concern of mine. I've never quite figured out how eating 600-800 calories/day is bad for someone now, but for WLS patients it's a way of life. Granted, with necessary supplements. I'm just such a chicken!!

ladymacwhiz - thanks that makes me feel better! I've been reading a lot of posts on here and it really does seem like people have good energy after the surgery - that's good to know!

Mommy794 that's awesome that it all worked out for you!!!!!! Congrats!!!! It IS so frustrating trying to get the insurance part figured out - - after starting the process in June when I had Aetna that covered very well, on January 1 my employer changed insurance to BC/BS Anthem which has a very high OOP cost. I tried like crazy to rush the doctor/hospital/other insurance company, but of course Dec 31 came and went. Then on January 20th I was approved by Anthem. Yippie. I say that sarcastically but realize I'm fortunate to have insurance that'll cover anything. Now I just gotta figure out how I can do the OOP and if maybe the hospital/doctor would accept the insurance pymt as near full. that'd be awesome. So I'm thrilled for you that yours worked out!!!! You're almost there!

Approved (finally after 7 mth process!) now contemplating whether I should do it. (tell me I can't and I want to, tell me I can and I freak out!!!) My questions to anyone out there is can you lose too much weight after VSG? Yes I need to lose 80-95#, that'd be a perfect size for me. But much more than that and I would feel, for me, that I'd be TOO thin. So can you control that or do you just keep losing? Second part of my post is...I exercise A LOT and love to. Other than joint pain from arthritis and being overweight, I'm in great health and almost always have a lot of energy (I credit that to the working out). I'm afraid I'll get weak and tired after surgery and have no energy, which would make me regret it terribly. I understand a few weeks out from surgery I wouldn't be full-force and would likely feel tired, but 2-3+ months down the road will my energy level be great again?

wow, former_vgb, thank you so much for the great information! I love this forum for all the helpful information you can get from others in similar situations. this is such a life-changing decision and I'm kinda anal about wanting to make the 'right' choice. gonna post my next question here in a sec on this board so please feel free to respond! TIA and many blessings!

Omg that cracked me up! :-) VBG could stand for either I guess!!! Thanks all for the input! Maybe the two aren't as similar as I thought.

Brian66, your post was like reading my own thoughts. While my mom is still living she has been very ill and isn't the same mentally. I know the inevitable will come soon but I pray she'll be here when I get to my goal so she can see and share in my joy. She too has struggled with weight all her life so she understands. My sympathies to u and prayers for peace. Congratulations on your success - be proud!! U know she's proud of u!!

Am approved for surgery but have been struggling with whether or not to do it. (analysis paralysis, chicken, etc.) Main concern is any potential long term negative consequences. So in reading the book 'Weight Loss Surgery for Dummies' (suggested by my bariatric team) Chapter 3 explains the various surgery options. It says "In the 1980's the term 'stomach stapling' referred to vertical banded gastroplasty' and goes on to say 'the failure rate for VBG was very high'. My question: what has changed that now makes the vertical sleeve (which uses staples from top to bottom) different/successful?