Peggy D

Yesterday I was really hungry in the late afternoon so I had more Jello, some homemade chicken broth & still more sugar-free drink mix. Today is day 14 & I'm not hungry. I'm too busy getting last minute stuff done for surgery tomorrow. I check in at 5 am & it's an hour drive to the hospital, so I'll be going to bed early &, hopefully, to sleep early.

I got the Withings Wireless Scale WS-30 from Amazon. It's more expensive but it syncs wirelessly with my iPhone & iPads & an online account.

I have lost 14.4 pounds since I started this 2-week pre-op diet on August 8. And I had lost 10.7 pounds when I did a one-week trial of the clear liquids back in June. Overall, since I saw my surgeon for my initial consultation on April 25 & started the high Protein, low carb diet the same day, I've lost a total of 42.7 pounds. I look at it as a head start on my post-surgery weight loss. My surgeon is very strict on the diets. Post-op I'll be on clear liquids only, no Protein shakes for a week then the clears & protein like the 2-week pre-op for 3 more weeks. On week 5 I start pureed foods for 2 weeks, then soft foods for 2 more weeks. Finally, on post-op week 9 & beyond, I introduce regular, solid foods. But this process since April has showed me that I can do it.

I used Chantix 4 years ago & haven't smoked since. You can smoke during the first week but it is a 3-4 month program & you do have to want to quit. It took more than 3 years before I no longer had any urge to smoke. Chantix is supposed to lessen the chance of gaining a lot of weight when quitting. I did gain about 10-12 pounds over 6 months & then lost it over the next 6 months without changing anything. But a former co-worker of mine says she gained 50 pounds & is now diabetic.

I'm on day 11 of the same diet. Day 3 was the worst but it does get better. I do have hunger occasionally but some more sugar-free drink mix or jello takes care of it. Broth does too but I have to limit broth because it makes be retain Fluid.

I was told to stop fish oil, vitamin E, CoQ10, NSAIDs (aspirin, ibuprofen, naproxen) 10 days before surgery as they can all interfere with blood clotting.

Thanks

Where do you get the chewable calcium citrate?

It's "Peggy D's VSG Journey" - just click the blue title to go to my YouTube channel.

I have considered making my own broth, but I've worked out what works for me. Maybe when I've gone through all of the sports drinks I bought I'll do it. Some of the drinks are better than others. The Walmart brand are a lot better than the Powerade Zero.

I'm on day 8 of my 2-week pre-op clear liquids & the only problems with nausea is when I drink a sports drink. They are just nasty! Unfortunately, I have to drink them for the electrolytes because I can't have broth. Even low sodium broth makes me gain 2-3 pounds in a day & then it takes at least 2 days to lose them.

I did decide I should make a video diary for myself but it took me awhile to decide to create a channel of my WLS journey. I've really enjoyed watching others but didn't find many from those of us who are older. I just posted my third video today. I don't get a lot of views or subscribers, but that's fine, this is more for me.

I'm also scheduled for August 22 & am on day 5 of clear liquids & 4-5 protein shakes a day. Day 3 was the worst so far for me, including a headache, but today I am a bit hungrier than yesterday. I find that sugar-free Jello or broth is more "filling" for those super-hungry times. Also, some sugar-free drink mix, like Crystal Light, seems more filling than plain water. Some surgeons do allow full liquids but mine doesn't. If your surgeon does allow it try thicker soups or yogurt.

I'm on day 5 of my 2-week pre-op Clear liquids. Day 3 was the hardest. You're allowed a lot of things my surgeon doesn't allow. I can have only sugar-free, caffeine-free clear liquids plus 4-5 Protein shakes a day. I started weaning myself off of caffeine & carbonated sodas right after my first visit in April & have been completely off of them for over a month. I don't miss them any more.

Thanks. The class was good. Dr. Srikanth may be stricter than other surgeons but he has very good outcomes, so I stick with his program. I did a one-week trial of the clear liquids a month or so ago so I know what I'm getting into.

I'm in the Kent/Covington area. I'm scheduled for August 22 with Dr. Srikanth at Evergreen. I'm going to the "mandatory" pre-op class this Wednesday & start the clear liquids on Thursday.

I live at the south end of Lake Morton & would love to meet other sleevers in the Covington area. My surgery is scheduled for August 22 at EvergreenHealth in Kirkland.

I'm scheduled for the 22nd, too. I start the clear liquids plus 4-5 protein shakes a day on August 8.

I just joined VST today. I'm 63 & a retired RN. My surgery is scheduled for August 22. I've lost almost 30 pounds on the 3-month supervised diet, but I am sure looking forward to not being so hungry after surgery.

Hi, my name is Peggy. I'm 63 years old & a retired RN. I live near Covington, Washington, with my husband of 30 years, our two grown sons (will they ever move out?) & five dogs. I’ve been overweight to obese all of my life. I recall that I was switched to nonfat milk when I was 6. I was put on my first “doctor-supervised” diet with amphetamines & sit-ups & other exercises when I was 12, more than 50 years ago. At that time I was 5’ 2” & went from 139 pounds down to 111. Of course it didn’t stay off. I don’t remember all of the diets & exercise programs I did. By the time I graduated from nursing school I was 5’ 7” & around 200 pounds. A couple of years later I went on the Adkins diet & lost 38 pounds, from 201 down to 163 & actually stayed there for a couple of years. Back in the mid-70s I did look into weight loss surgery. At that time the only real option was intestinal bypass & I’m glad I didn’t have it done. Most people who did have it died within 5-10 years. I do remember weighing 228 pounds then, so my BMI was 38. I didn’t have any co-morbidities, so I would not have qualified by today’s medical necessity criteria. When I got married I weighed about 250 pounds & was still that weight after my two sons were born 1 & 3 years later. I did develop gestational diabetes with both pregnancies & was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in 1992 & hypertension in 1997. I’ve known about gastric bypass for quite a few years & would have met the criteria for coverage by my insurance, but, especially as a nurse, I’m just not comfortable with the malabsorption aspects.So I was resigned to living the rest of my life like this. But I’ve had increasing problems with arthritis in my knees & pain in my right sacroiliac joint. I can’t walk for very long without having to sit for a few minutes while the pain subsides, so last fall I did more research & learned about the sleeve gastrectomy. It just seemed like the perfect “fit” for me. I had my first visit with my bariatric surgeon on April 25, 2013, & started the pre-op high Protein, low carb diet & all of the testing he requires. I got clearance by a psychologist & a cardiologist & met with a nutritionist 4 times, did a one-week trial of the clear liquid diet &, Monday, I got my surgery date - August 22! I started this journey at 303 pounds on April 25 & today I am 274.7 , a loss so far of 28.3 pounds. I do have to do the Clear liquids plus 4-5 Protein shakes a day for two weeks before surgery. I would not be surprised to lose another 10 pounds or so by surgery day.