MyGastricSleeveLife

I bought some Isopure clear liquid at GNC. There are also Beneprotein powder packets that you can mix into water, crystal light, or broth to add protein to those things. Unfortunately, Beneprotein is only found online at nestlenutritionstore.com or Amazon, so it might not help depending on how close you are to your clear liquid stage.

I think sometimes people don't understand the difference between surgical gas and intestinal/stomach gas. I know for a while I didn't understand that it would be surgical gas inside my system.

I was told to stop 30 days before and not start again until 30 days after surgery because of the risk of blood clots and just use condoms or other alternative methods if sexually active during that time. My surgeon said I should be fine to go back on it 30 days after surgery since the pills are small enough to take well. I've read on here that some doctors say not to use the pill at all after surgery & to use some other form of birth control, but my surgeon didn't see an issue with it as long as it's 30 days after.

Mine is the 14th. Right about now I want to just crawl in a hole and skip tonight, tomorrow and Monday morning & skip right ahead to Monday afternoon for surgery. Tonight I just feel like eating since I can't have anything except Clear liquids tomorrow. However, I know that's not right & I really don't want to because I know I'll regret it. I've always had a hard time with Mother's Day, especially since my mom & mother-in-law both passed away, so I just want to skip tomorrow. I also want to skip tomorrow since I know I can't Celebrate with food since I'll be having clear liquids (and probably be visiting the bathroom) all day! I want to skip Monday morning since I can't have anything to eat or drink after midnight Sunday & my surgery isn't until 3:30 PM. UGH! I'll probably be ready to pass out by then! I just want this weekend to be over with for so many reasons! I need to put on a happy face for my daughters tomorrow though because I know they made me things at school & they're looking forward to Mother's Day. I just want Monday to be here and for everything to go well with surgery!!! I have a FB page for my blog if anyone wants to follow it that way. https://www.facebook.com/MyGastricSleeveLife If someone makes a FB group, I'll gladly join too.

I've posted on a few of the main boards, but hadn't checked out this one yet. I'm in my pre-op diet stage now. My surgery is set for the afternoon of 5/14...... 9 more days!! I'm getting excited for my new life even though I know it'll be a long road ahead! I have about 130 lbs to lose for my ultimate personal goal. I'm 5'9" and currently 268 lbs (was 279 at my consult w/ the doctor). I'm almost 37, married, and have 2 daughters (12 & almost 8) & we have 2 dogs also. I'm a full-time student currently, but I'm getting my Associates next week and I'm not taking classes this summer. I recently got accepted to The University of Texas - Austin for the Fall semester. I also work part-time from home as a medical transcriptionist. I started a blog to chronicle this journey, which I listed in my signature. I'm also on MyFitnessPal as mygastricsleevelife if anyone wants to add me there.

besides what others said, if you eat crappy food now after eating well, your body will probably revolt & you'll end up in the bathroom all afternoon!! I've stuck to having more SF popsicles or SF Jell-O when I've craved stuff. It's not exactly the same, but gives me something other than liquid and it's okay by my doctor's guidelines. I'm NOT looking forward to tomorrow since I have to just to all clear liquids all day tomorrow since it's the day before surgery! So much for Mother's Day. I guess I'll just have to cherish the non-food gifts!!

Liza - yes, I would check with your surgeon. Mine said I had to stop 30 days before and 30 days after because birth control pills increase the possibility for blood clots. We just have to use condoms or something else during that time to prevent pregnancy. I would check with your doc to make sure. Every doctor is different.

I haven't had my surgery yet (set for Monday), but I had to stop my birth control pills last month to help prevent blood clots (have to be off of them 30 days before & 30 days after surgery). I just got my period a few days ago, but it's NOTHING like normal. I think my body is just messed up because of being on birth control for the last 8 years straight & now being off of it, and also because of my low-calorie pre-op diet. I've had quite a bit of brown blood and a little red, but it's more like spotting than a regular flow. It's been really annoying & I'm hoping it's done by Monday for surgery, but I'll deal with it if it's not. I've read some other threads on here where people have said their periods are really messed up after surgery. I'm hoping mine will regulate again once I go back on the pill, but who knows what my body will do during the 30 days in between!! Good luck!! oh - and I wouldn't see a problem with tampons. They told me if I have my period in the hospital, they'd give me mesh panties with a pad on them, but after I go home it's okay to use tampons again. As long as your doctor didn't say anything against them, I'd think they'd be fine.... but follow your doctor's instructions if he did say not to use them.

Had my last pre-op appointment today & everything is all set for surgery on Monday afternoon. They did a body analysis that showed my weight to be 266.5 (my scale this morning said 266.4), which is down 7 lbs since starting my pre-op diet & 13 lbs from 4/29. It showed my BMI to be 39.9 - I'm 5'8.5" tall - and my fat percent to be 49.8%!! Yikes!! It said I have 132.5 lbs of fat! Needless to say, I am SO ready for Monday to get here to have my surgery and start my way toward a healthier life!! On a really happy note, I've been stuck between 274-280 lbs since January even with diet & exercise, so seeing the scale drop to 266.5 with the pre-op diet is amazing to me right now!! My husband is going to take my pictures & measurements on Sunday to use as my starting point & then he wants to do pictures & measurements every Sunday to keep track of my progress! I think he's just as excited as I am about the surgery, not because he cares how much I weigh but because he knows I care! Have a great weekend everyone! See y'all on the other side of surgery. If all goes well I'll be discharged on Tuesday evening. Michelle http://mygastricsleevelife.blogspot.com

I just wanted to chime in that everyone is different and people have to do what's right for them. For me, that was to pay more and have the surgery done locally. I have absolutely no issues with doctors in Mexico, but for me personally I have more peace of mind knowing that I have a doctor locally who I can call and see anytime and who is right here in case anything bad happens (which I pray won't happen)! I trust my doctor completely & don't care that I'm spending more. I'm self-pay & his charge is $14,500 (ended up being $15,100 bc of administrative fees) which includes everything for the actual surgery and a year of follow-up care. We are financing it, so we will actually end up paying more than that over time. However, it is what my husband and I feel is best for me. Again, I'm not saying there is anything wrong with those who go to Mexico or even to another state from where they live. We all have things we do that we feel are right for us & I think it's great that there are even options available like Mexico out there because I know the surgery would not be possible for some people otherwise. We all need to do what's right for us. As far as them having more experience & therefore being "better" though, I don't think that's necessarily true. My doctor does surgeries almost daily also. Any doctor has the same chance for mistakes and complications no matter how many surgeries they've performed.

Ditto here..... I had an appointment with the dietitian at my surgeon's office before I started my pre-op diet. She's the one who explained things about pre-op & post-op diets in detail and gave me samples of some vitamins & shakes & such. The bariatric coordinator at the hospital also gave me samples and told me about some different brands of stuff. I bought one container of Chike protein shake mix at my surgeon's office, but ordered some other protein samples online too through Chike and through other places (found the thread on here about samples).

Thanks everyone!! I appreciate it! The hospital just called to confirm time of surgery - I have to be there at 1:30 PM & surgery is at 3:30 PM. I should be out of recovery & in a room around 7 PM they think.

I have one that I signed up with before surgery at Gold's. I'm not sure if he "approves" of me doing surgery, but he has agreed to still train me afterward. I am planning on asking if he has experience with other Bariatric patients though because I know that might make a difference in what he has me do after surgery. The Bariatric coordinator at the hospital said that the head trainer at my gym has done a lot of work with Bariatric patients, so I can always have my trainer talk to him about what to do too. I would just suggest making sure they've worked with other Bariatric patients and/or feel comfortable training you.

I bought a bottle of "Mango Peach" and "Grape Frost" I put both in my fridge and tried a teeny sip of the Mango Peach just because I didn't want to waste it before surgery since they're kinda expensive for what they are. I liked it okay, but it did have an aftertaste. I figured I'd save them for after surgery and try to mix something with them at that point. I think I might just stick to mixing beneprotein with broth or crystal light instead of buying more Isopure. I'm not sure yet though. I didn't want to buy too much since I didn't know if I'd like it, especially since people say that your taste buds change after surgery too!

Good luck!! My surgery is on Monday (5/14)

Oh - and in case I wasn't clear about it, the Isopure that is clear liquid is already liquid & not a powder like the other Isopure.

There is an Isopure product that is a clear liquid that has 40 g of protein in the 20 oz bottle or 15 g (I think) in the smaller plastic bottles. I bought some of the larger glass bottles at GNC last week to have for my clear liquid stage. I found the smaller ones on Amazon, but never ordered any. I've heard it has an odd aftertaste & some people don't like it. Some people say they mix that Mio drink mix or crystal light with it & that takes away the aftertaste. I only bought 2 bottles to see if I can tolerate it after surgery before buying more.

Amazing!! Great job!!

My surgery is set for this coming Monday. They just told me to bring my CPAP machine with me to use in the hospital.

Hi. My surgery is on Monday too. I've had a 14-day pre-op diet (which has been mostly liquids) & do just clear liquids on Sunday.

You can try vitamin E lotion and/or pills for the tummy stretch marks. I have a friend who lost a lot of weight & she opens up vitamin E pills & rubs the liquid from the pills right on her belly & looks great now!

I am self-pay and had to get all that done too. I didn't need a sleep study because I already have sleep apnea & use a CPAP machine. I did need blood work, EKG and pulmonary function test since I have asthma, and I needed clearance from my primary care doctor even though it's not going through insurance. My EKG was abnormal, so I had to see a cardiologist & he had me do a stress test just to make sure everything would be okay for surgery. My surgeon's office offered to have me pay them $500 extra to have them pay for all those tests & blood work. However, as it ended up they only ended up paying for my blood work & everything else had to go through my insurance because of trying to get it done faster. Therefore, I ended up having to pay them $200 extra for my blood work and then I have to pay all the other things through my insurance. Personally, I understand the other tests because they want to make sure I'm healthy enough to withstand the stress of surgery. However, I really think they should have a way to work all that into the price of the whole thing. My insurance is crappy and we'll have to pay a lot out of pocket for those tests we had to put through insurance. We're just going to take our time paying those off though. According to my surgeon's site, they don't include those things since each patient is different and some don't need the same tests done. I wish they would've been able to do everything through them for the $500 extra like we originally thought, but oh well. I'm just glad I got them all done now. Again, for me, I'd rather have the peace of mind that I'm "okay" to have the surgery done in the first place.

Yep. Got it. Yeah, that limit of 5 per 10 minutes is annoying, but I guess it's to help ward off spam requests. I played a game on my laptop while I added them & kept going back every few minutes to add more. :-)

Wheetsin - thanks for consolidating the list!! I tried adding you earlier, but it said your name didn't exist there. I just copied & pasted from your earlier post, but maybe it was being picky or something!

Robindei - lol - no problem! I love computers & enjoy walking people through things like this. :-)