Scylla

That's wonderful! Tomorrow is my big day, and I am pretty anxious! How are you feeling, jerseyjazzell?

I will be sleeved in two days (4/23) and will be going on an Alaskan cruise on 7/29. I went on a cruise during Christmas while I was pre-op and doing medically supervised weight loss and actually managed to lose a pound, so I am confident that I will do well with the sleeve. There are so many good food choices on the buffet and in the dining room. I will also be bringing some of my Protein shake supplements just in case. MaryRS, you cruise as part of your job?! I am totally jealous!

Me, too! It kinda sucks to make a nice meal for your family and not be able to eat it! I will be sleeved the day after tomorrow.

Hi there. I am scheduled to be sleeved next Wednesday (!) My insurance company required SIX months of medically supervised weight loss sessions (which was actually seven months because they don't count the initial visit). I could have either met monthly with my primary care doctor or the bariatric nurse at my surgeon's practice. I met with her, and I'm glad I did because my doctor would probably just have weighed me each month. The bariatric nurse actually had me making goals each month for changing my lifestyle and eating habits prior to surgery. Hope this helps!

HI everybody! I swear I posted back in March that I was approved and had gotten scheduled, but I went back and checked and I guess I didn't post it in this group! Ooops! I have been doing a one month pre-op diet consisting of 4 protein shakes and raw vegetables per day. My surgery is scheduled for 4/23, so a week from today!

Post op, SF pudding usually isn't allowed until the "full liquids" or purees stages.

Re gummies, I don't think that it's necessarily that gummies are not allowed or inherently bad for you. My NUT told me that gummies weren't a good choice for WLS because they don't contain nearly the % of Vitamins that the chewables do, which can leave you with nutritional deficiencies when following such a reduced diet.

That's great news! Congrats!

Haha! Thanks! I've been on 4 Protein shakes a day since 3/25. The first two days were super rough! After that, it got a lot easier.

I started the pre-op diet on 3/25 and am down 17 lbs. since then. Walking a bit, but not going to the gym or anything. I find I don't have much energy on the liquid diet.

Thanks for posting this question! My surgery date is 4/23 and I was wondering, as well. After reading this, I'm just going to go with the hospital gown duo, as well.

I'm on day 15 of a 30 day sentence. It gets easier. Are you allowed to have anything besides the Protein drinks? I am allowed 4 Protein shakes per day, plus raw vegetables (no dips, dressings, etc.) Having the raw vegetables definitely makes it easier for me. I would totally miss chewing! I am surprised to hear that you had watery poops. Completely opposite effect with me! I've never had problems with constipation before and it's pretty horrible! I am having to take Pericolace, which is a stool softener and a mild intestinal stimulant.

Thank you all for your comments! I love this forum (and its' members) and would not give it up no matter what she said! Plus, she knows I'm smart enough to do my own research and draw my own conclusions. But as PdxMan said, there are quite a few threads (like the DQ one that we both saw ) where people seem hell-bent on doing their own thing, not following "the rules" and expecting validation. I'm sure it's that kind of patient that my bariatric nurse has had issues with.

In talking to the nurse/bariatric specialist who works in my surgeon's practice, I told her I was reading all I could about the sleeve, various types of Protein, what to eat after surgery, different people's experiences, etc. and generally getting good information on this forum and another bariatric surgery forum. She kind of rolled her eyes and was quite negative about it. She said that in her experience people spread all kinds of misinformation and ways to "get around the rules" on forums like this. She said she didn't think it was a good idea, because she and the surgeons in the practice have had patients come back to them and say things like "Why do I have to quit caffeine? So many people on X forum don't have to!" or "Why do I only get to eat 3 meals a day and no snacking after surgery? All these other folks get to have 3 meals and 2 snacks!", etc. I told her that I am going to follow my surgeon's directives and my main purpose for reading the forums is for ideas on what to bring to the hospital, the best tasting Protein shakes, Vitamin recommendations, etc. and to find out about other people's personal experiences and support others. Did anyone else get a reaction like that if you mentioned your forum surfing to your surgeon's office?

I've been on 4 shakes plus raw veggies a day for 13 days so far and have 16 more, as my surgery is on the 23rd. The first two days were kinda rough for me--I felt very hungry, tired and kinda foggy and out of it. I recall feeling similar during Atkins induction, so if you've ever done that you might know what I am talking about! Then when I woke up on the 3rd day I felt MUCH better, and not at all as hungry. And it has just gotten easier from there. Good luck! You've got this!

Thanks for your honesty, wendymayhem. I'm sorry to hear you are struggling. I wish I had some advice or feedback to share with you, but I am still pre-op.

I am jealous of those of you who get to eat something more than Protein shakes and raw vegetables! I am 8 days into a 30 day sentence (ha ha!) prior to my surgery. The first two days were very tough--I was very hungry and also my head felt kinda swimmy and zombie-ish. After the 3rd day it has been relatively easy. The only problem I am having is with constipation from only drinking shakes and eating 2 cups of raw veggies a day.

My NUT gave me a whole binder full of information re the different stages of the post-op diet, how to get your Protein in, etc. It's surprising to me to see how many people on this forum don't seem to be receiving much information from their bariatric surgery teams.

Yay! I definitely know how you're feeling! I started the process 8/29 and will finally be having my surgery 4/23.

Have you ladies "kicked" caffeine and carbonated beverages yet? I had to give up carbonated beverages several months ago as part of my medically supervised weight loss. Not a big deal--I replaced diet soda with Water with a squirt of Mio. Caffeine is proving a much more difficult hurdle! Previously, I had been drinking probably 32 oz. of coffee with flavored CoffeeMate each morning before work and then having probably 16 additional ounces with sugar free CoffeeMate at my office during the day. I am down to one 8-10 oz. mug of black coffee with Splenda each day, but I need to get completely off of it before surgery. My surgeon's office said that caffeine dehydrates you and is also a gastric irritant, which is why they demanded that I quit before surgery. I have been tempted to cheat many times, but I have not done it. I know the goal here is to shrink my liver and the abdominal fat to make surgery easier.

H M O is not a dirty word! LOL

I have an HMO, so I was limited to the six surgeons within my medical group (although, admittedly, it is a HUGE medical group within the Chicago area). I chose the one who is head of the group, who has done the most sleeves and whose surgical practice is >80% bariatric surgeries.

Hi KeedyGettingWaisted and Nicey2u! Yes, I am doing a month long pre-op diet consisting of 4 Protein shakes per day plus raw vegetables. It was rough the first two days but I am used to it now. It didn't even bother me this weekend when we had my son's birthday party and there was Lou Malnati's pizza (famous Chicago style deep dish pizza) in the house, not to mention Oreo ice cream cake! I thought it would drive me nuts, but it really didn't bother me at all. I call that an early NSV!

When your husband tells you "Why can't you just not eat too much and exercise?" you should ask him if he'd say the same thing to an alcoholic! It's an addiction, just like alcohol, but it's even more insidious because we NEED to eat food to survive! You can't just NOT eat! Re being selfish, maybe we are being a little selfish. But we NEED to be! If you're anything like me, you always put your husband/boyfriend and kids first! This time, for this little while, we need to put OURSELVES first!

At my bariatric surgeon's office they would measure me EVERY MONTH during my medically supervised weight loss. I thought this was weird, so I asked about it. Apparently, all that weight compresses your spine and can make you shorter. Sure enough, when I got my driver's license when I was 16 I was 5'6. Now I'm 5'4 1/2. It remains to be seen whether I will get my 1 1/2 inches back--I'm getting sleeved on 4/23.