bobbyswife

It all depends on the surgeon whether or not they'll set you up that day. Be ready with LOTS of questions. Make a list of all the things you need to know. Make sure your hospital is a center of excellence and ask about complication rates, leak rates, preop diet, post op diet, every question you can come up with. You'll still be thinking of questions after your consult but take your questions and a pen and write down all the answers you get. That's what they are there for. Some sample questions:

After the stapling of my sleeve, will you over-sew the staples?

What is your complication rate?

What is your mortality rate?

More specifically, what is your sleeve leak rate?

How many trocars will be used for my surgery?

I have read that most leaks happen at the top, near the esophagus; are there any extra measures taken to protect against this happening?

What brand of liquid Protein is used for the pre-op diet?

Will you leave in a drain?

Will you put me on Lovenox or other blood thinners?

If I have a hernia will you repair it at the same time?

Do you remove the gallbladder during surgery?

There are lots more and you can find a ton of sample questions if you look for them on this site and on Google. The better informed you are, the better you will do!

Thanks for sharing! I start my pre op diet around the beginning of Dec.

It sounds like you know exactly what to do. Get off the sweets, stop drinking, eat your Protein first, don't drink while you eat, and exercise. Go back to basics. Don't overthink it. Exercise is great for preventing disease, too. Start walking NOW.

My friend who is a bariatric surgery nurse and has lost 200 lbs since his surgery 18 months ago swears by them. Only ate half at a time for about 6 months but now can eat the whole thing.

Do this:

Hey everyone! Sorry I have been traveling for work but I'm back today. Please PM me how to find you on Facebook and your phone number and I'll do the secret group on there today.

Hi all! Yes, sorry I have been out of town. I am planning a meeting at my house on Monday at 7:00. If everyone will PM me their name, phone number and how to find you on Facebook, I'm going to make a secret group in just a minute.

I don't discriminate

Monday, November 3rd at 7 pm at my house in Bethlehem, GA (between Loganville and Winder) some of us will be having our first in person meet-up group. If you live in Georgia and are interested in attending this group support and you have been sleeved or are to be sleeved, please consider joining. If you are interested, please PM me your email address and how to find you on FB to add you to the group. I do not intend in any way shape form or fashion to "lead" this group, as I am a newbie myself, I am simply volunteering to facilitate this meeting since there has been an expressed interest here in the forums. My hope is that we can do this once a month (?) and that each person will bring their own questions, experiences and perspectives as we all support and lean on each other through our journeys.

I posted a notice last Friday and nobody responded. I was willing to offer my home next Monday night at 7 pm in Bethlehem. Whoever is interested just needs to PM me with their name and phone number and how to find you on Facebook so I can create a private group for it.

I'm down for whatever y'all want to do. We can sit at the park or we can start a group at my house. Whatever everyone is most comfortable doing!

EWWWWWW why???

Are you getting enough Protein and Water?

Breathe. Your weight fluctuated before surgery, it will surely fluctuate after.

Make a list of questions NOW. I forgot to ask so many things. Thankfully I had this site, but you need to hear some things first hand. Grab pen and paper Some good questions to ask:

Is your hospital a center of excellence? (very important)

What is your complication rate?

What is your mortality rate?

How long will I be in the hospital?

What does your preop diet and post op diet look like?

Will you give me samples of bariatric Vitamins to try?

Will you give me samples of Protein powders to try?

How long will I need to be out of work?

Will you repair any hernias you find while you're in there?

So much more...

Why didn't I think of that? Just fill up and follow the schedule on the left. Refill and follow on the right.

Check with local support groups. My bariatric center has a free clothing swap. You bring in the stuff you shrink out of and swap it for someone else's stuff in your size.

When you get to solids a friend of mine who has lost 300 lbs in 18 months after the sleeve recommends Quest bars, but it took a long time to get to the point of eating bars. For a long time he could only eat half of it.

I haven't had my surgery yet but I have seen some people say applesauce helps get things moving.

It's pretty normal for your body to feel weird when you shock it with such a drastic change. I am DREADING pre-op diet but I also know that if I can get through that I'm in the clear. I've seen lots of people post-op say the same thing. Do you have any blood sugar issues? If it's unbearable you need to call your doctor, but any time I have done slim fast or medifast I have felt pretty creepy for about 3 days and then been good to go after that.

I'd say 38 lbs is pretty freaking awesome. To follow this thread, go to the top of the page and click "Follow This"

Bethlehem GA - getting sleeved on 12/18

Monday, November 3rd at 7 pm at my house in Bethlehem, GA (between Loganville and Winder) some of us will be having our first in person meet-up group. If you live in Georgia and are interested in attending this group support and you have been sleeved or are to be sleeved, please consider joining. If you are interested, please PM me your email address and how to find you on FB to add you to the group. I do not intend in any way shape form or fashion to "lead" this group, as I am a newbie myself, I am simply volunteering to facilitate this meeting since there has been an expressed interest here in the forums. My hope is that we can do this once a month (?) and that each person will bring their own questions, experiences and perspectives as we all support and lean on each other through our journeys.

OK Everyone - How about Monday, November 3rd at 7 pm at my house in Bethlehem? If you are interested, please PM me your email address and if you are on Facebook and I'll make us a secret group. I think that would be a heck of a lot easier to keep up with!

@@Bluesea71 I love everything about what you said. Thanks so much for the feedback!