Peggy Jean

You look awesome! Can really tell a huge difference in your pictures. Keep fighting the food fight! My surgery is Tuesday and getting a bit anxious/excited!

It happens to me too. I'm on day 10 of liquid pre-op diet. Not sure what it is but hopes it goes away...

Way to go girl! You got one in for all of us lololololol

You can add small amounts of powdered crystal light; I also sometimes add a spoonful of cocoa to help. There are also sugar-free flavored syrups you can buy - DaVinci or Torani to help with the flavor.

I have suffered from depression since the age of 5, seen therapists/psych on and off my whole life and have been on anti-depressants since my 40's. Being depressed in and of itself will not necessarily fail you for surgery. They want to know if you are able to commit to this life changing surgery, that you are strong enough emotionally to stick to the diet, They want to make sure you don't have any psychotic thought processes including hallucinations and delusions. They also touch a bit on your family unit to see if you have support at home. Remember, they are doing all this for a good reason and it is all for our benefit. They want to make sure there are no roadblocks to impede you on your new journey to your new self. Like super said, you cannot get to be our age (i'm 60) without being depressed sometime in your life.

As I suffer from severe chronic depressive disorder, I am hoping this diet will free me from most of the problems I have to deal with from day-to-day caused by being morbidly obese. I know it will not take it all away, as it is a medical issue, but hope losing the weight and becoming more mobile and getting into exercise and getting out of the house and starting to really live will lesson the symptoms (I don't even remember what it's like to not be depressed).

That said, I am an eternal optimist and I have totally committed to this program. I have 6 days to surgery and feel like I am floating on a cloud! I am doing this for me .... whatever it takes!

I'm on day 8 of the liquid pre-op diet and haven't had diarrhea yet. One week to go! WOOT! Time went sooo slow for so long and now it's speeding by lol

I have talked to my sister about it and as soon as I get the go ahead, I am joining a gym. Yes, as always, I will feel like everyone is watching me wiggle and jiggle. But i've only got a certain amount of time to lose the most weight and I am just gonna take a deep breath, walk through the door and ignore everyone else. I WANT to be active; I WANT to live my life as a normal person. I've been doing a stationery bicycle but can't imagine me doing it out on the roads ... they would make me carry a "WIDE LOAD" sign! But one day I will.

I am starting yoga in the evening to stretch out some of my muscles. Trying to get rid of so back pain so I can walk again. Lots of plans lol. I had surgery in 2007 and now my trachea is in the middle of my neck. I learned then that if people were going to judge me for something that was no fault of my own, then I certainly don't need them as friends. I learned to walk with my head held high and I learned (after a lifetime of looking at the ground) to look people in the eye. It won't be easy, but i've made the commitment "whatever it takes!"

So, it's time to stand up and not let my thoughts of what others are thinking spoil my new journey. I am in this for the long haul; so one step at a time with head held high!!

Best wishes and good luck everyone!

Peggy

I have been looking around online at beginner yoga classes. I am morbidly obese, have back pain problems and thought this might be something I could do. I even read that some people use it to actually lose weight. I am surprisingly flexible. I am hoping over time that it will stretch some of those muscles in my back and help with the pain that keeps me from walking any distance. Once I get some of this weight off, I want to try Zumba! It looks like so much fun!

Surgery in 8 days! YEA!

I have had over 3 dozen surgeries and this is the first time i've been told not to wear polish. Most of the time the nurses love my nails and i've never had a problem getting my pulse through the bright colors. But, I have taken all my acrylic nails off for the surgery and will replace them with gels after surgery.

I love working outside gardening and landscaping ... have done it for years. However, since I started the pre-op diet last Tuesday, I find I have very little energy for working outside. I seem to be a lot more sensitive to the heat and the energy I used to have just isn't there. I used to work outside the whole day; yet know i have to take breaks every two hours or so for at least an hour. Has anyone else had this problem? Does this continue all the way through post-op too?

I live in Florida (born and raised) and working outside for me is so peaceful and relaxing. Now it's become a chore and i'm very disappointed in myself (feels like I am being lazy)...

I am on my 4th day on the pre-op liquid diet. I also have headaches. I don't have a problem with sleepiness but find I am really tired a lot of the time.

I think a lot has to do with your ago too?

Welcome! and congratulations on your decision. I too have health problems, including diabetes, that I am hoping will be corrected with this surgery (I chose gastric bypass). I have started my two week pre-op liquid diet and surgery is set for August 19th. This site is such a wonderful place for support, and you can find surgery buddies and the information found here is priceless. The more I read the less scared I become. Wish I had done this sooner, but I guess it wasn't the right time. This is my time now and I am optimistic and committed and will follow this new journey all the way to the end.

Good luck on your own journey...

I just started my two week liquid pre-op diet yesterday. I am glad it's here because it means I am that much closer to my surgery ,,. Aug 19th! You just have to make that commitment that you will do whatever it takes. Stay optimistic! You CAN do this. Like Jessica says, it is such a small blip of time in the big picture of your new self. I live with my sister (my best supporter) and she makes her own meals and I make mine. I used to do all the cooking, but just don't want to be that close to real food atm lol. I can't smell anymore, which at this time is really a good thing.

Stay strong! It's so close now.

By the way, not sure about your doctor, but my doctor allows Almond milk.

That is tough ... I am happy when I hit my 30-min a day mark!

I add a tsp of cocoa to mine and it makes it better...

Will be praying everything goes perfectly! Good luck!

I use a scale (i'm pre-op) but try to keep it to once a week. I also do measurements for those times you hit a plateau ... you can still see that you're getting smaller!

Wow, that's awesome Paula. That's more than I lost. You should be very proud of yourself! 27lbs is NOTHING to be disappointed about. You go, girl!

This is exactly the reason it took me so long to finally decide on getting this surgery done. I had surgery in 2007 for cancer and they did a laryngectomy. A week in the hospital at the most, they said. First off, they stopped all my meds when I went in, including several antidepressants. The third day post-op, I developed a fistula (an abnormal connection) in my new trachea and spent a week having it packed and treated. I had a horrible time with the new trachea, kept clogging up so I couldn't breathe and they kept having to suction it out. I had a stomach tube and they put me on some liquid stuff that was awful. My body didn't tolerate it ... I would drink for 5 days and have explosive diarrhea.

By this time I was suffering from being taken off my meds plus the constant fear of not being able to breathe and dealing with not being able to talk ... for the first time in my life i actually had thoughts of suicide whirling around in my head.

Then some funny things started happening ... they kept moving me around and eventually gave me my own room. I was constantly being asked if I wanted a bath. Like how many times a day do I need a bath? I'm not running the marathon here! Then I noticed a nurse bring in a lump of coal in a basin and putting it in my room. Not a word was ever said to me. After a week to 10 days of this I asked the nurse what was up. She finally told me there was a terrible odor problem. Then she asked if she could search me. I said sure. Well, she found an infection that had been festering for two weeks (it was actually life threatening at this point). Understand, I lost my power of smell with the surgery and there was no feeling left where they cut me. So I had no clue. The nurse said she told the doctors it smelled like an infection but they paid no heed.

Well, I never saw the residents again who were attending me, just the Head of the Dept. I ended up with some machine probe in me draining the infection, I am diabetic plus have had radiation in the same area of my throat so everything takes forever to heal anyway. That was another few weeks added to the 'ten day' stay.

Finally, they were letting me go. I had to do a test and drink some barium so they could test my esophogus. Well, they discovered a stricture. Well, I think they were so tired of me by then they just wanted to get me out of there. They released me a few days later with instructions to see a Gastrointestinal doctor.

I WAS FREE!!! After six weeks I was finally heading home (4 hrs away).

The next day I was in the ER having difficulty breathing. i was talking to the ENT doctor and all of a sudden my worst nightmare happened again. I couldn't breathe! I couldn't talk to tell the doctor! I was trying to cough but couldn't take air in ,. my sister was sitting with me and I was gonna die! I finally get one last cough out and dislodge a clot of blood. Air never tasted so good! This whole time the doctor is just staring at me ... truthfully, I think he panicked.

Well, guess what. I was put into ICU that night, the doctor here called the doctor there and reamed him out for sending me home too early! So, the next day I am in an ambulance taking a 4 hour ride back to Shands.

I spent another few weeks in the hospital (with another episode of not being able to take a breath) and they finally decide it's time to go home. I was so scared to leave but happy too. It had been two months!

Over the next year I went through 2 dozen surgeries to enlarge the stricture in the esophogus (if it gets too small they can't enlarge it and you are stuck with a stomach tube the rest of your life). I would get it done and be able to eat and within 2 weeks the stricture has shrunk and I was back in having it done again). I finally ended up in NC with my son who took me to Duke University. A wonderful doctor named Dr. Esclamado corrected the stricture (several more weeks in the hospital).

Ever heard of Murphy's Law? lol

Sorry for such a long post but there is a point. You CAN get through anything you set your mind too. This too shall pass (I live by that saying). Just keep telling yourself that one day this will all be over and you will be watching the lbs drop off and it will be free sailing ahead.

I KNOW it's hard, but keep looking at the big picture. Keep a POSITIVE attitude! Stay strong and keep your support system close. Reach out to people if you need some support.

I will pray that your difficulties will soon end and that your new life will start free of problems.

Good luck!

I use the Protein powder and turn it into slushies. I haven't tried any of the flavored syrups; just read about them yesterday. I combine the milk, orange juice ice and powder for my Breakfast shake and for dinner I use the powder, small amount of milk, ice, yogurt and a spoonful of cocoa ... yummy. I buy Centrum chewables as a Vitamin.

I'm a bit ahead of you at 60 and this is exciting! Full steam ahead with no looking back!!!

Thanks for the post. I know it is something I will need to always remember. I hope i am as blessed as you have been; I am so looking forward to really being active for the first time. I know it is a very long, slow road; especially as I have other medical issues, but it is one of my goals ... just one foot in front of the other, right?

I am 61 and also scheduled for bypass on August 19. Started to get excited!

That is so awesome! I live about 2 hours away from Disney and it has been very hot. I am going back once I hit my goal ... it's gonna be so different not lumbering around in the heat with all this weight, being able to walk around without running out of breath and being able to fit on all the rides! Congratulations on your weight loss and I will pray for blue skies ahead and hope you have a vacation of a lifetime!

I'm in Vero Beach and my surgery is scheduled for August 19. Would love to be in a group!