MadameX

I'm scheduled for sleeve surgery next week on March 24th and I think I'm going through the "OMG, What am I thinking stage"! I keep waking up at night thinking of all that can go wrong. I'm a worrier by nature and here in Sweden a big part of the initial meeting is all of the things that can go wrong. They really stress it here. I've been on my prep diet (Protein drinks -800 calories a day) since last Wednesday and lost 2.5kg right off the bat then bounced up .4kg (WT%#€*??) and now the last two days nothing...I have to lose 3 more kg before my op or they won't operate! Now I'm getting worried. Funnily, I am not a soda person but the last two days I've been drinking diet Fanta. Maybe that can cause Water retention? The label says 0% sodium though. First meeting with the doctor I weighed 115,4kg now I'm at 110.4 kg. I've probably weighed as much as 125kg. I've been overweight my entire adult life. My wake up call was last summer when I wouldn't put on my swimsuit to go swimming at the beach because I felt so uncomfortable and I was also diagnosed with hbp in the fall. And I just turned 50...mid life crisis? I'm tired of feeling held back because of my weight. Anyway, I guess my last minute jitters are normal??

I've been drinking broth during my preop diet to get rid of the flu-ey feeling from the low carbs and calories. This morning I woke up a kilo (2.2 lbs!!!) heavier. : ( Will cut it out now so would love to know a substitute also. Kind of scary as my surgery can be denied if I weigh over 110kg..I weighed 110.2 this morning- yesterday 109.2. Feel like crying as I am starving the whole time and haven't cheated once! Dreaming of a chicken breast with tomato paste and a slice of mozzarella melted on top...day before it was marshmallows. haha! Trying to stay strong!

Hi! Thanks for your responses! Yes, I feel the same. More anxious about the unknown but I do feel more at ease the closer the surgery date gets here. Strange. Talked with the anesthesiologist by phone which reassured me as I need a special intubation due to a neck operation. He assured me I'll do fine. On another note, my liquid diet has been going ok. I started getting a flu-ey feeling which I read can be due to low carb/calories. I read it can be caused by loss of salts or detox and that drinking bouillon which contains a lot of salt can help. Well, this morning I'm up 1 kilo!! Frustrating when I'm starving all of the time and have not cheated!! Arrggghh! Flushing with lots of Water this morning!! Good luck with your surgeries!

Thank you for the replies and kind words! I guess it's last minute nerves and I was frustrated that my weight wasn't stopping but this morning I'm down .9kg! That's almost two pounds! woohoo! I saw my therapist yesterday and she helped calm my nerves and put things in perspective. mechele8 -OMG! I don't know if I'd want to do this alone. You sound like a strong person. Do you have a therapist? I got one on my own and I must say it's one of the best things I've done to help me through this. I don't feel looked down on or analyzed. She's more like an older, wiser aunt and I feel lucky to have found her. I can discuss anything with her. Let's keep in touch. Good luck with your surgery. xo

Hi! I am scheduled for a gastric sleeve next month on March 24 and I live in Sweden -I'm from Florida originally : )) . My husband is traveling to Texas the week before my surgery so I am making a shopping list for him of things to get for after my surgery. A lot of items I read about on this forum are not available here in Sweden. I'm so thankful for everyone posting here on BariatricPal as the info you get here in Sweden for after the surgery is very minimal. They stitch your incisions up and send you out the next day with some very basic guidelines for eating and drinking. Have check ups at 6 weeks, 6 months, 1 year and then yearly after that for life. It's very different here...!! If you have any recommendations or something that you think really helped please reply! Here's the list: Gas X Strips (will ask my husband to buy several boxes as my friend with IBS is very eager to try this too! haha) GENEPRO unflavored Protein powder (how long does a bag last?) Chewable Vitamins (?? so many brands) Chewable Calcium (Viaktiv??) sublingual B12 (here you get pills) Biotin (figure it can't hurt) Tightening moisturizer Aveeno (worth a try!) Crystal Light Cream of Wheat

Thank you so much for the information! This is exactly what I need to know. : ) I'm not sure if they have Trader Joes in TX? But maybe I can order online. I figure chewables the first three months then maybe I can switch to some local brand of vitamins. They did have a bariatric vitamin here but it must have not done well as I can't seem to place an order with the co. Good point about the Cream of Wheat. I can find some protein powders here but the choice is pretty limited and expensive. Not sure what PB2 is but will Google it. I do like peanut butter. Same with the bars. .Thank you so much again for the answers. I appreciate it. : )

Hi! I'm new here. Have been reading for a couple of months but decided to sign up today. My first consultation is on Jan 29 and I'm pretty sure I'm going with a sleeve. Was first interested in the bypass but after reading and researching I think the sleeve is a better fit for me. I had lunch with a close friend today who knows about my decision to have WLS. She is totally against it which I respect but she keeps coming up with these weird facts like all people that have wls regain the weight, etc...and, also, that if I just put my mind to it and exercised and watched what I eat I'd lose the weight naturally. Oh, and that I just want to do the surgery to be skinny...Sigh........ I have struggled almost all of my adult age with my weight and have developed high blood pressure which scares me. My body is starting to feel the extra weight. I had spinal surgery 2011 (laminectomy c5&6) and need to get the extra weight off for the sake of my spine. I turn 50 this year and want to start the next 50 years healthier! I guess what I want to say is how do you make people understand? I realize that from her point of view it is hard to understand why someone would do something so drastic to their body. But my health is starting to scare me. I never used to think about it but after my spinal surgery it's been kind of downhill.... I haven't told my mother or parents in law. Just my husband and close friends know about my plans for now. I don't want everyone to focus on the weight loss but on how much healthier I'll be. Maybe it was a mistake telling people except for my husband. I can feel myself already getting irritated by all of the questions about how much weight I've lost! I think I've rambled enough! Haha : )

I've had the opposite reaction! Most are not positive when I tell them which really, really surprised me. I live in Sweden (I'm from US) though and weight loss surgery isn't at all as common here in the US. There have been some programs on tv and articles in the paper sensationalizing negative experiences after surgery and I think that's is probably about all most people know about wls here. Thank you for that, @@brennasmom!! : )

I certainly don't bring up the subject. She is just concerned for me and we have agreed to disagree. I respect her opinions and vice versa. In the end it's up to me. Going to meet the surgeon and nutritionist on the 29th. : )

Yes, I am coming to that conclusion myself. I thought I would be open and honest about it because it's always nice to get support but it just seems to be a can of worms! Haha!

Hi! Thank you for your reply. Yes, she isn't being mean I think she is scared for me and I've told her I appreciate her concern but just as I respect her opinion she must respect my choice. But the weird things she is coming up with sometimes are getting old. I live in Sweden so there isn't as much info online in Swedish as in English. I think someone that has never struggled with their weight has a hard time relating to something that comes naturally to them. It's good to hear you'd do it again. I think I'll end up wishing id done this earlier..which I almost did in 2009 when we lived in the US. I chickened out because I was afraid of anesthesia but now I know it's nothing to be afraid of.