RedSalamander

Hi all! I'm 3 days post-op and hanging in there. Now, I know that I can expect a massive deflation of "the girls", but I'd love to know your experiences. How many band and cup sizes did you lose, and how quickly? I generally have to buy pricey bras (I'm a 38 J cup) and my favorite online bra shop is having a sale, so im thinking of getting a few bras to help out as I lose. Thanks in advance!

Leggings are miraculous and will fit at all kinds of weights! You can wear them under dresses and skirts, etc.

Hi everyone! Great to see you on the other side! I have no stats updates, but am happy to report that everything went well on 1/14 and I'm home resting now. And feeling MUCH better at home where it's easy to get out of chairs and couches, ha! Water isn't going down so well so I'm sticking with sugar-free vitamin water and protein shakes. My surgeon says I can have tomato soup made with milk, hooray! I'll wait till tomorrow though...I just had a pretty unpleasant heaving spell after taking my Tylenol with codeine. Hang in there, everyone! It gets better every day. Right??

I'm 2 days out--on full liquids now and getting discharged from the hospital later today.

Agreed--the gas pains are killer! I got my drain out this morning--hoping that helps with pain. Getting discharged and back to the real world today...

I was sleeved yesterday and all went well. I'm pretty miserable today--that gas is no joke for sure! But I am having tiny spoons of broth and protein juice, so hopefully that's a good sign. Set to go home tomorrow. Thanks for all the good thoughts!

Chicory root has that coffee richness.

All sleeve-i-fied. Damn, this gas is killer! They weren't kidding.

Yes, I'm def worried about that whole "leaving my kids without a mom" thing. But obviously I'm not THAT worried, or I wouldn't go through with it. I left my DH a list of "instructions", just in case. Like, remember to register for summer camps in January. Here is how you make pancakes. Find someone to help you shop for their clothes. Etc. etc. On another note, have you guys ever noticed how delicious chicken broth is? It really is the FULL ESSENCE of chicken. Surgery in 11 hours.

Yes.

My surgery's tomorrow. I got broths, a selection of ready-made and powered protein, some sugar-free vitamin water, those sugar-free water flavor drops (Mio, Crystal light, etc.), sugar-free jello, sugar-free popsicles, cream soups to strain, and sugar-free pudding. Oh, and Genepro unflavored protein. We'll see how it goes!

My pre-surgical appointment (if that's indeed what this is for you) consisted of a nurse asking me a lot of health questions, a meeting with an anesthesiologist, and a trip to the lab for them to take vials of blood and a urine test. Oh, and of course BP/temp/pulse. They didn't weigh me, and I didn't see anyone from my bariatric team.

Thanks for all the support, guys! I'm just so ready for it to be OVER already so I can stop worrying about it and start worrying about the after-effects.

I have to be there at 6:15am for 7:30 surgery the day after tomorrow. Fingers crossed all goes well...

You're so right--it's so much easier to stay on that liquid diet when you're distracted! I'm glad there's only 2 days left for me...and then post-op liquid diet, ha! Is it possible to die from whey overdose?!

Hey! I'm on the 14th, so these are useful tips. I actually have a special MRSA-prevention soap that they gave me at my pre-op appt.--I have to wash with it every day starting today. A lot of people talk about Gas-x strips, but would we really be allowed to take them at the hospital? I thought you were restricted to what they give you there... Oh, and I have a hiatal hernia, too! Here's hoping that at this time next week we're all feeling great.

You're gonna do great! I'm following you on Weds...save some room for me on the loser's bench!

Thanks, all! Looks like I'll have lots of virtual friends going through the same stuff. Hooray and good luck to us all!

Life is just chock full of loose ends, isn't it?

My surgery is scheduled for Wednesday. Crazy! Now I just have to get through the next few days of my pre-op diet and get to the hospital on time. (We won't discuss the loose ends at work, the kids, the husband, etc...)

I think all offices and insurers have different approaches. It's pretty complex--even at one surgeon's office they have so many different protocols to follow for different insurers. I wouldn't sweat it--they WANT to get you scheduled and approved. It's in their best interest! So stay on them, but be optimistic.

Woo! Let us know how you're doing!

I think it's important to remember that you're NOT giving up food. Once you're healed, ALL food will still be available to you--it will be up to you to manage how and what you eat. So you can still have your favorites, just mindfully and in smaller portions. I have a good friend, who also happens to be a physician, who was sleeved quite a few years ago. He eats oreos. He eats cold cut subs. He eats cheeseburgers. The difference is both how often he chooses these things, and what the portion sizes are that he chooses. Everyone is different, but food isn't gone forever. What should be gone is food as an emotional stand-in! That's the thing to work on now, I think.

Totally agree with all of the above! My BMI is 35ish and I am having surgery in 6 days--my only comorbidity is sleep apnea, which was diagnosed through the process of being approved. And as far as regaining the weight, that was a crappy thing for her to say! She obviously isn't attached to a bariatric program--you will probably have much more success with seeing one who is (they sort of have a vested interest in encouraging you to have the surgery, right?) Good luck!

I think most of us are talking pre-op, and I would think that taking whatever measures are necessary to become accustomed to something unfamiliar would be a good thing. Especially for people who aren't even in the pre-op diet stage and are just trying to learn how to choke down those nasty farty proteins! I do have the Premier premade drinks in Choc and vanilla, but I prefer thicker shakes made with ice at this stage. Obviously that's all likely to change post-op! But I think they're also good to carry around with you--in your purse or whatever. Keep going! You're doing great!