Schmincke

Heavens, call your doctor. You do not want to have a fall. Maybe you can put a stool in the shower, too, for today? But call your MD today and be careful. Good luck.

Best wishes for a successful surgery. ..I go in 1/13/14 so I too am on the liquid diet. I had one fall off the wagon. At any rate, were almost there! Me too: Jan 14 also. I am on low carb high protein high fluid diet and the weight is dropping off right now. Making up for my Christmas "Last Supper"!! My pre-op testing (ECG blood etc) is tomorrow. It is good to know a bunch of us are in it together. I'll be thinking of you here in Chicago!

Today is day 4 for me too and I am also headachy. Good luck to you! Feel better!

I am DrSchmincke -- I don't know how to add friends!!

Tylenol should be just fine. No Advil (ibuprofen) or aspirin (ASA) pre-op so Tylenol Migraine would not be an option. Also for some headaches a long hot bath may help. It may be caffeine withdrawal - does your MD require no caffeine?

There are various bladder life procedures, of different invasiveness, and some are quite involved. You are telling the truth if you tell your colleagues that you had a bladder lift. The difference between you and the other colleague is that **for you, it is not going to be a simple laparoscopic surgery** as it undoubtedly was for her. Non-laparoscopic abdominal surgeries typically have a 6-8 week recovery time. The reason for the additional recovery time is not their affair. If any one asks the difference, you could say that in your case they had to cut your abdomen, it was not simply laparoscopic. Or you could say that the surgery was unusually complex. Both are true, yes? And really, it's nobody's business but yours. Good luck to you!

My upper GI, yesterday, was different from Macman's. It was endoscopic, so it was like Magtart's. It was very easy. At the hospital they gave me sedation as Magtart described. Once I was snoozing lightly, they put a fiberoptic tube down my throat and looked around my stomach. They took three biopsies. But I was snoozing the whole time (not a general anesthetic, just a light sleep) so I was unaware of it. After, I woke in the recovery room it was like I had just had the best nap ever, and there was no discomfort at all. My husband drove me home, and that was all there was to it. Not a thing to be nervous about!

Yes, I like My Fitness Pal. I got a FitBit for Christmas that tracks my steps and my sleep, and it can track my food too, but the reason I like My Fitness Pal is that it gives me a nutrient summary for the day so I can watch my Protein, sodium, sugars, Fiber etc. So, I use My Fitness Pal for my diet log and FitBit for my exercise and sleep log. BTW my surgery is in 10 days. It is very exciting.

75 extra pounds is hardly a "little excess". Eleven tries at Weight Watchers. Hypertension and high cholesterol. Back and hip problems. Hiatal hernia. Verge of diabetes. Family history of early heart attacks. I certainly fill the medical criteria. I have "successfully" lost hundreds of pounds since the age of 10, and always regained. Every year it is getting worse, and every year my surgical risk rises. I have reduced from BMI-39 to my present BMI. I am in my late 50s and would like to live to my late 80s. I think we all come from the same place here, although we may be different sizes right now. So regarding your comment, wouldn't that apply to any of us? We all know the reality of our situation.

My doctor asks for a low-carb pre-surgical diet but told me that it is optional for me since I am on the lower end of BMI (36). I am following a low-carb diet pre-surgically anyway before my Jan 14 surgical date. It will improve my blood sugar and be good for my liver. I agree though - so many people are talking about strict regimens that I feel a bit weird about it.

Hi - this is my first posting! I am scheduled for Jan 14 at Northwestern in Chicago. I am really excited about it; it's my Christmas present to myself.