goodlife

I don't have one yet...I'm hoping I will find out tomorrow. They told me it's usually between 7 and 10 days after the pre-op so I'm hoping for either the 28th, 29th, or 30th.

Good luck and best wishes for a successful and smooth surgery and recovery! Please update us as soon as you can!

Congratulations! I'm looking forward to the girls getting smaller! I've already told my husband that a lift just might have to be in my future.

I have my pre-op appointment tomorrow and I don't really any questions in mind because they've pretty well prepared me at the nutritional class I had to attend last week. They also gave me a list of things I have to bring with me to the hospital and how to prepare the day before. Example: I have to buy this Hibiclens soap and shower with it the night before surgery and the next morning before going to the hospital. They told I'd be given an incentive spirometer at my pre-op appointment and that I needed to practice breathing with it 4x/day up until surgery and afterwards as well. They told me to make sure I bring it with me to the hospital. She told me what kind of Vitamins to have on hand and what kind of scripts they would give me at my pre-op appointment. They told me what to expect when I get to the hospital, what to expect when I come out of surgery and that first day and night in the hospital, etc. She told me what they'd give me in the hospital medicine wise and what it is used for. I'm guessing I'll probably come up with some questions while there but I haven't been able to come up with any so far!

I totally understand. My husband hasn't actually really come out and said it but I know he sometimes feels that way. Not always though...I think he goes back and forth. Right now he's on a supportive streak again...he's especially happy because I started taking Chantix in an effort to quit smoking. To him that signifies that I'm serious about wanting to get healthy. I call him Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde....because he's so wishy washy all the time. But even though he's probably my biggest critic and may not be 100% behind my decision, I know that he'll be right there by my side as I go through it, and he will do anything I need him to do afterwards. I sat him down the other day and laid it on the line to him though. I told him I AM going through with it and that I did not need any negative comments from him. If he couldn't be positive and supportive then he needed to just keep his mouth shut. I don't have a problem with him expressing his concerns or whatever but that he needed to figure out how to do it in a way that didn't piss me off. LOL I've been trying to bring it up more and more and when we went shopping at Sam's the other day, we were looking at nutritional labels and stuff and talking about what I could have post-op and what not. So I think he's coming on board. But either way, I'm going to succeed either with him by my side or in spite of him..matters not to me which way it ends up. :biggrin2: Maybe you could convince him to go to a seminar with you? They said in the seminar how for most of us diet and exercise alone wasn't going to be enough to get to a healthy body weight and to keep it off. They cited studies and such. Maybe hearing something like that would help him? I also agree with everything Tiffykins said. I'd just keep working on him little by little and wear him down. Good luck to you and I hope he comes around.

MidwestGirl...how tall are you? Congratulations also on your fabulous success!

Hi there....where is Keithville? I've never heard of it. I live just north of New Orleans. So hello fellow Louisianian! Congrats on your loss....that's damned good.

Well good luck to you and I hope your surgery goes smoothly and your recovery as well!

Chancie...that's AMAZING!!!!

Tiffany, Do you really think you're ready to start this? Once you do it there is no turning back and there will be no more eating everything. Do you think you're mentally prepared for what's to come?

It is high protein/low carb. There are 14g of Protein per scoop and it takes 2 scoops to make a 12 oz. shake. The chocolate seriously tastes like brownie mix! LOL The PrescriptFit plan is actually a pretty involved long term plan where you add in different foods each week but maintain your minimum of 8 scoops. Of course for a pre-op diet purpose you never get much beyond phase 2 or 3. After week 1 of just the scoops (I can also have sugar free popsicles, Jello, etc if I wanted) you go to phase 2 which is the addition of seafood. You can eat all the seafood you want but you must still get in your minimum of 8 scoops. The next week you start phase 3 which is the addition of poultry but again, still getting your minimum of 8 scoops. That plan allows you two splurge days per week. So far I've splurged once and went out for Mexican food last weekend but I ate grilled shrimp and grilled veggies so I tried to make a good food choice still although I did have chips and salsa...lol Earlier today my husband and I did some work in the yard and I worked up a good sweat. We then cleaned up and went shopping at Sam's. I decided today was going to be a splurge day because I was really hungry at that point and said let's go to dinner at Outback tonight. He said great..lets' go. But we came home and unloaded everything we bought and I had a chocolate shake and now I'm full and not sure I feel like going out to dinner anymore! Maybe I'll save splurge night for another night. HOPEFULLY I have less then two weeks left. I go for my pre-op appointment on Wednesday and I'll schedule my surgery then. They told me it's usually 7-10 days after that and that fits right into my window of opportunity. I'm praying they can get me on the schedule for either the 28, 29, or 30. If I can't have it one of those days I will probably have to push it back to the end of June which I really really don't want to do!

Wow...sounds like your recovery has been pretty smooth! Are you able to get your fluids in and your protein? Is it hard?

Can I be your friend? lol I'd love to see your progression in pics! And that's great inch loss! You mentioned some that I didn't measure but I will!

before your surgery. I got out the ole tape measure last week and measured myself all over. I think that's just as interesting to keep track of as the number of the scale. I also agree with lots of people who have said that even during stalls you could still be losing inches so I think I will try the plan of weighing once per week and measuring on that same day. So those of you who did and do track measurements...how many inches have you lost?

I would imagine at less than two weeks out that your new tummy is not healed enough for that. Are you sure you can have mushies and soft foods already?

Diane, My husband is very worried. He doesn't always know how to express that very well too and sometimes comes off as unsupportive. My back pain was a big factor in my decision to do this. My lower back problems have pretty much led me to be sedentary for the past 1-2 yrs and that has just packed on even more pounds. I'm hoping to end that vicious cycle. I'm having my surgery locally here in South Louisiana. Mexico wasn't an option for me either. I have my pre-op appointment wednesday and will get my date then. Hoping for either the 28th, 29th, or 30th. That's pretty much my window of opportunity or else I will probably have to push it back until the end of June. So I'm really keeping my fingers crossed! You will definitely be in my prayers and I hope you continue to post about your journey.

I've never tried the chat room either!

I?ll go ahead and apologize now for the length of this post. I?m a very detail oriented person and just can?t figure out how to be brief about anything! Lol A couple of weeks before my consultation with my surgeon and after I'd been reading and absorbing as much information as I could from both this site and OH, I decided to be proactive and make some changes in preparation for my ?new life? post-op. I was a huge fan of sweet tea..I have a Sonic right around the corner from my house and I probably had at least 3 Rt. 44 sweet tea's every day. It was really all I drank. I was also a huge fan of cream and real sugar with a little bit of coffee thrown in. I'd drink that all day long at work especially during the winter when it's cold outside. I also knew that my eating schedule needed to change. I?ve never been a Breakfast eater and usually skip lunch as well. Coffee was my breakfast. I'll be perfectly honest there was a moment of panic at the thought of not being able to have those things anymore but I needed to know that I could get rid of that stuff. I also panicked at the thought of having to drink so much Water because I really just don't like it all that much unless I'm really hot and thirsty and then it has to be ice cold preferable with crushed ice in it. I?d also learned from all of you that Protein was about to become a big part of my life. So I started trying out different protein powders and Protein drinks. I started having a shake for breakfast and one for lunch as well to get in the habit of actually having 3 meals per day. I stopped drinking sweet tea altogether and started using fat free non-dairy creamer in my coffee with either splenda or equal. To my astonishment, it was very easy to do and I don?t even miss it! The shakes for breakfast and lunch were very tolerable. I also started drinking water and learned that I really like Crystal Light after all. I?m getting PLENTY of fluids in now. Two weeks before my consultation I went to my GYN for a yearly checkup (although tbh, it was my first yearly checkup in about 10 years or so.) The following week I had an appointment with my PCP (my first ever as I?d never had a doctor of my own to call ?My PCP?. I loved her and she was great and very supportive of me wanting to have the surgery.) Anyway I had lost 4 lbs since the week before. The following week was my consultation with my surgeon and I was down 11 lbs in that two week period. The next day I started my surgeon?s prescribed pre-op diet. He has two plans to choose from. One is the ?MyWeight? plan which actually includes boxed food and then the PrescriptFit plan which doesn?t right away. I chose the PrescriptFit powders. They have chocolate, vanilla, and chicken Soup. I can?t stand the vanilla even with the flavored oils that you can add to them. It just has a funky taste to me although there are different vanilla flavored powders that I do like that I will use after surgery. Anyway, I have to have a minimum of 8 scoops of the powder each day. They say you have to have it even if you?re not hungry. You can have up to 20 scoops per day if you want it. At first it was easy to get in all 8 scoops. After the first week you can add seafood to your diet. That is great for me as I live in the deep south and we eat a lot of seafood. And it?s crawfish season! So what?s my problem? For the past week or so, there have been several days where I just cannot get in the 8 scoops. When I force myself to have that last shake of the day I?m miserably full. I?m trying to get in all the scoops before I have any ?real? food but that typically means I don?t eat any real food because I?m just not hungry. Yesterday I only got in 4 scoops. My other problem is that I?m just really getting sick of these two flavors only?.chocolate shakes and chicken soup. Maybe I should cut back on my other Fluid intake (water and water w/crystal light or sugar free koolaid) and see if that leaves me more room for the scoops. The chicken soup is pretty salty and so that makes me thirsty which helps me get so much water in. I haven?t gotten on a scale since the 31st of March at my surgeon?s office so I?ll be really curious when I go for my pre-op appointment on Wednesday how much more weight I?ve lost. I know I?ve lost some because I can tell in the way my clothes fit. One concern I have is if I can?t even get it all in now how on earth am I going to do it when I only have a 4 oz. capacity stomach??

What is the difference between the RX version and the OTC version? They told me last week that they'll send me home with prescriptions for all of them and to just fill whichever one would be cheapest as all insurances are different. I've never taken any of them so I'm not sure what to do. I imagine I'll bring the scripts to my pharmacy and let them tell me my co-pay on each.

I forgot to add that both my PCP and my think that my sleep apnea will be resolved with weight loss and I'm glad for it.

My consult was March 31. He asked for a letter of clearance from my PCP who happened to be on vacation that week so I had to wait for her to get back before I could get it. Thankfully they faxed it right over the day she returned but that did set me back a week. My pre-op appointment with my surgeon is next wednesday and I'm keeping my fingers crossed they will have an opening the last few days of the month since that is my small window of opportunity. I'm hoping for either the 28,29, or 30. So if that pans out it would be right at four weeks.

Wow...your bike rides sound really nice. Congratulations to you both on your success and I wish you much more! I look forward to the day when I can ride a bike again. I used to enjoy that with my kids when they were younger.

I think you're doing fabulous and I think everything you're going through is quite normal. I also think you are very smart and it's great that you are aware and recognize what is going on and that's very important. I totally get what you mean about being sick of the same things though. I've been on this PrescriptFit diet for a few weeks now and there are two flavors for me. chocolate shake and chicken soup. That's it. I'm damned sick of both and those are the same things I'll be able to have post op as well. I haven't even HAD surgery yet. Hang in there....if you're having as weather there as beautiful as we're having a few states over then go outside and enjoy it. Best of luck to you and PLEASE keep posting and keep us updated. It's helpful for all of us!

I started taking Women's One a Day a few months ago and also Biotin.( I have beautiful long fingernails now that are very strong!) My surgeon has me taking a B Complex and Vitamin D supplements now. My Vitamin D level came back pretty low on my labs. I just got the list the other day of what I will need to take post-op but I left the paperwork at my office. I'll post tomorrow what it says.

Hi bubba...welcome to VST! I've been reading your posts at OH and keeping up with you. Was it you that made that funny thread about death breath? LOL I was thinking about that because when I woke up this morning I was talking to my husband in bed and he said OMG your breath is horrible! Yeah I've been noticing it too and have been brushing my teeth and chewing sugarfree gum a lot.