Stephanie Stroup McIntosh

As far as your hospital bag...chapstick, toiletries, cellphone and charger. You really don't need any more than that. You can bring your own night gown or robe, but with all the wires, I found it easier to just wear the gown. You will spend most of your time in the hospital sleeping or walking.
I started driving when I was no longer taking pain meds. I started with short drives and worked my way up to longer ones. I found it helpful to wear the binder. You will also want to avoid potholes. They cause some pain.
I pretty much slept for the first week or so, but then I started making myself get up and get moving. The more you move the better you will feel. You should feel fine to do your crafts. The movies will be fine, if you can avoid the popcorn and soda.
Listen to your body. It will tell you when you have had enough. Always travel with Protein and Water. I like the premier Protein shakes. They are ready to drink, so I can always just keep one in my purse. The first few weeks, you are really getting used to the new diet. I wasn't getting enough because I didn't feel hungry and then I would crash because it had been so long.
Good luck with your surgery. You can do it.

Prunes helped me to lose about 5 pounds. They kept me full, satisfied my sweet tooth, and kept me regular. LOL
Changing up your routine will help too. Add in some strength training. It will change up how your body is using the energy and burning calories.
Watch your sodium to reduce excess Water weight.
I also lost 15ish pounds during my liquid diet. 3-4 Protein shakes and no calorie drinks, sugar free popsicles or Jello. I prefer Premier Protein. 160 calories and 30g of Protein. The protein will help you to feel fuller longer.

You have been very successful on your own, so congrats. That's awesome. I assume your surgeon knows that you lost so much weight already. If that is the case and he still approved you for surgery, then I see no problem in having it. A lot of people think that surgery is just an easy way out or a quick fix, but its a lot of work. At the end of the day, its just a tool. You still have to use it.
I would ask yourself why you want the surgery and why you are doing it now. If you can honestly answer those questions, go for the surgery.
Don't let anyone else get in your head. If this is what YOU want, do it. You are worth it.

I am 4 weeks post op and very rarely feel the need to eat. I notice that if I go 5-6 hours without having something, then i will feel some hunger pains and feel a little weak. I just try to make myself stay on a schedule, otherwise it will be 9pm and I would have only had a Protein shake.
The more you can detox before surgery the better. Stop sugar and caffeine now. That way when you come out of surgery, you won't even want it.

The first few days are the hardest. This liquid diet will help to make sure your surgery is safe and get you started on the right path. Resist the urge to cheat. It will only make the pain worse.

2 weeks of waiting on BCN of Michigan and I finally got the call!!! Scheduled for May 19th!

239 today!!!

You may just be very swollen still or you could have a blocked stoma. Talk to your doctor.

My understanding is that your body uses the energy stored in your muscles first and that you need more Protein to rebuild your muscles. It also helps to keep you fuller longer, so you don't want to eat as often.
I a recommended to get 60-100g of Protein, but for my height (5'3"), the ideal amount is 80g.
To get my protein I make sure that I am choosing items that are high in protein and eating them first. I also make an iced coffee Protein Drink, which i could drink all day long. My doctor is ok with Protein drinks at all stages assuming it is high in protein and low in carbs/calories. I also mix powders?utm_source=BariatricPal&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_campaign=CommentLink" target="_ad" data-id="1" >unjury or Be Pure unflavored Protein powder into other foods. This morning i had greek yogurt and mixed in half a scoop of Protein Powder. That made my yogurt have 25g of protein. I will mix it in with a lot of other foods as well.
I am only 4 weeks post op, so I have just recently gotten to the point that I can get enough protein and most of it is still via shakes. I do get at least 60g and usually have 80-90. I recommend switching up the flavors of products. If you can cook the products to taste differently than you won't get tired of them as easily.
What stage of the diet are you? That will help us to give you some recipes.

@@AvaFern I just sent a big bag of prunes to your house. Enjoy!

No one can ensure that this surgery will work for you. YOU have to do the work. If you follow your surgeon's instructions, get your Protein and Water, and plenty of exercise, your odds are great to lose weight. If you live life in the way you have in the past with poor food choices and a likely lack of exercise, your odds are not good at all.
You can do it and be successful. Don't let the fear stop you.

Hello I am new to this site. Just wanted to put my story out there, in hopes of encouraging someone who is as big a chicken as I am. I went through the whole preop test, appointments, classes, physchological eval, EVERYTHING... two years ago. Insurance approved, was scheduled for surgery, then backed out. I just couldn't do it! I really worried about post op pain and getting back to feeling well.
Well, after I backed out. Things never got any better. I was so disgusted with myself. The weight was really getting to me, my back, my legs, my overall well being, so I decided to try again. I went to a different doctor and had to go through everything all over. Of course it took a lot of convincing to get my husband back on track. Well, I had a wonderful doctor. (Dr. Aaron Hoffman at Buffalo General Hospital) I am 9 days post op. I had my gastric sleeve surgery on 4/9/15. Now I wonder why I waited so long. On my post op appointment 4/14/15 I asked Dr. Hoffman if I could hug him, and I did. So happy to start this journey and shed these unwanted pounds.

I just realized this morning that i have dropped under the "obese" range on the height and weight charts and am now only "overweight"! I never thought I'd be so happy to be considered overweight. ????
What an amazing thing a sleeve and 4 months can do!

Haha, you are the only person I have heard who says they miss prunes. I tried those little prunes that come individually packaged in the little plastic jar and I gotta say, yuck! My mom loves them though so maybe it's just an acquired taste. You can have them again as soon as you are back on regular foods. A few more weeks and it's prunes for you! I won't ask you to save me any.

I feel like I am pretty successful in my life. I have been able to do everything that I have really wanted. I am happily married and have a good job that I like. I have great friends and consider myself to be a happy person. But you know what the one part of my life that I couldn't master was? My weight. I tried. I did everything I was supposed to do. I even when to the doctor, joined a gym, met with a dietitian. I gave up fast food and soda. I worked out 5 days a week. I completed 6 5ks. Guess what happened... I gained weight and my blood work numbers all got worse. How was I doing everything I was supposed to do and still failing? This was new to me. Most things have come fairly easy for me in life. Here I was actually trying...and i was failing.
That't when I decided that I needed help. I couldn't lose the weight on my own. That's when I realized that I NEEDED to have surgery. Sure there were days that I felt like I was taking the easy way out, but I was wrong. The easy way was continuing the path that I was headed on before.
The process for surgery approval is a pain in the butt, but its all worth it. The surgery is just a tool. YOU have to be ready to change your life. You are choosing to make a life-long commitment. That's not an easy thing.
I know you don't really want to tell anyone, but honestly telling other people is what has made my life better so far. I have a huge support system. I have lots of people holding me accountable and keeping me on track. If you choose not to tell people, that's fine too. You can just let them know that you were having some medical issues and had to have surgery so now you are on a very restricted diet while you heal. That is usually enough to satisfy people.
Its your life and your decision. Admitting that you need help is not a sign of weakness, but a sign of strength.
Good luck and feel free to reach out to me if you need someone to talk to.

I have no experience with that, but I do recommend you take the 3-6 months. It will help you to transition to your new lifestyle. I read so many posts about people that didn't have to wait and are horribly unprepared. They all thought they were ready, but really weren't. I suggest taking that time and using it to research everything about the surgery and post-op life. Good luck.

I feel like I am pretty successful in my life. I have been able to do everything that I have really wanted. I am happily married and have a good job that I like. I have great friends and consider myself to be a happy person. But you know what the one part of my life that I couldn't master was? My weight. I tried. I did everything I was supposed to do. I even when to the doctor, joined a gym, met with a dietitian. I gave up fast food and soda. I worked out 5 days a week. I completed 6 5ks. Guess what happened... I gained weight and my blood work numbers all got worse. How was I doing everything I was supposed to do and still failing? This was new to me. Most things have come fairly easy for me in life. Here I was actually trying...and i was failing.
That't when I decided that I needed help. I couldn't lose the weight on my own. That's when I realized that I NEEDED to have surgery. Sure there were days that I felt like I was taking the easy way out, but I was wrong. The easy way was continuing the path that I was headed on before.
The process for surgery approval is a pain in the butt, but its all worth it. The surgery is just a tool. YOU have to be ready to change your life. You are choosing to make a life-long commitment. That's not an easy thing.
I know you don't really want to tell anyone, but honestly telling other people is what has made my life better so far. I have a huge support system. I have lots of people holding me accountable and keeping me on track. If you choose not to tell people, that's fine too. You can just let them know that you were having some medical issues and had to have surgery so now you are on a very restricted diet while you heal. That is usually enough to satisfy people.
Its your life and your decision. Admitting that you need help is not a sign of weakness, but a sign of strength.
Good luck and feel free to reach out to me if you need someone to talk to.

I hope your consult goes well. You can do it. Cheers to you and your new life!

@@Stephanie Stroup McIntosh
@LivingFree!
Thank you so much for taking the time to reply to my post. Your words of wisdom and encouragement really did help. Today I did a lot better ! I got myself a fit bit and met all of my daily goals. 1 day at a time!

I feel like I am pretty successful in my life. I have been able to do everything that I have really wanted. I am happily married and have a good job that I like. I have great friends and consider myself to be a happy person. But you know what the one part of my life that I couldn't master was? My weight. I tried. I did everything I was supposed to do. I even when to the doctor, joined a gym, met with a dietitian. I gave up fast food and soda. I worked out 5 days a week. I completed 6 5ks. Guess what happened... I gained weight and my blood work numbers all got worse. How was I doing everything I was supposed to do and still failing? This was new to me. Most things have come fairly easy for me in life. Here I was actually trying...and i was failing.
That't when I decided that I needed help. I couldn't lose the weight on my own. That's when I realized that I NEEDED to have surgery. Sure there were days that I felt like I was taking the easy way out, but I was wrong. The easy way was continuing the path that I was headed on before.
The process for surgery approval is a pain in the butt, but its all worth it. The surgery is just a tool. YOU have to be ready to change your life. You are choosing to make a life-long commitment. That's not an easy thing.
I know you don't really want to tell anyone, but honestly telling other people is what has made my life better so far. I have a huge support system. I have lots of people holding me accountable and keeping me on track. If you choose not to tell people, that's fine too. You can just let them know that you were having some medical issues and had to have surgery so now you are on a very restricted diet while you heal. That is usually enough to satisfy people.
Its your life and your decision. Admitting that you need help is not a sign of weakness, but a sign of strength.
Good luck and feel free to reach out to me if you need someone to talk to.

First off, congrats on opening up. It takes a lot of nerve. I personally found it freeing. 7 months ago, I would never have told anyone my weight. Today, I practically shout it from the roof tops and I am still morbidly obese. You know what has changed the most...my attitude. I found that when I opened up to people about it, I found so many other people that were also struggling. I found that I had a lot of support and that really helps to make everything else easier. Its hard to pass up the pizza and pepsi, but the compliments I get from people satisfy my so much more.
I think its important to get to the root cause of your initial weight problems. Why do you turn to food? Take a deep look at this and see the real reasons. It may even help to talk to a counselor about it. So many people struggle with food issues and don't know it. For me, it was a control issue and the fact that I grew up poor and couldn't have things, so as I earned my own money, I could spend it. I could justify spending it on food, because we had to eat. That problem continued into adulthood. When you figure out why you have a problem, it will be easier to move on.
Also, you need to really ask yourself why you want to have surgery. Why now? Be honest with yourself (and others if that will help you) and make sure you are ready to change your life.
Most insurance companies require a supervised diet program. Take that time to make sure you are well informed on all the aspects of your surgery. Also use that time to start changing your habits. Ween yourself off the fast foods and sugar now, so you don't go into a state of withdrawal or shock. Start exercising now. It will make everything easier for surgery.
I am not trying to sound harsh. I weighed 295 in September, possibly more before, but that was the first time I got on the scale in almost a year. On the morning of my surgery I weighed 263. Now at 23 days post-op I weigh 241. We all got overweight for a reason and we have to really be willing to change for surgery to work. I am here if you ever need to talk. You can do it.

Its the fluids. I gained 8 pounds in the hospital.

First off, congrats on opening up. It takes a lot of nerve. I personally found it freeing. 7 months ago, I would never have told anyone my weight. Today, I practically shout it from the roof tops and I am still morbidly obese. You know what has changed the most...my attitude. I found that when I opened up to people about it, I found so many other people that were also struggling. I found that I had a lot of support and that really helps to make everything else easier. Its hard to pass up the pizza and pepsi, but the compliments I get from people satisfy my so much more.
I think its important to get to the root cause of your initial weight problems. Why do you turn to food? Take a deep look at this and see the real reasons. It may even help to talk to a counselor about it. So many people struggle with food issues and don't know it. For me, it was a control issue and the fact that I grew up poor and couldn't have things, so as I earned my own money, I could spend it. I could justify spending it on food, because we had to eat. That problem continued into adulthood. When you figure out why you have a problem, it will be easier to move on.
Also, you need to really ask yourself why you want to have surgery. Why now? Be honest with yourself (and others if that will help you) and make sure you are ready to change your life.
Most insurance companies require a supervised diet program. Take that time to make sure you are well informed on all the aspects of your surgery. Also use that time to start changing your habits. Ween yourself off the fast foods and sugar now, so you don't go into a state of withdrawal or shock. Start exercising now. It will make everything easier for surgery.
I am not trying to sound harsh. I weighed 295 in September, possibly more before, but that was the first time I got on the scale in almost a year. On the morning of my surgery I weighed 263. Now at 23 days post-op I weigh 241. We all got overweight for a reason and we have to really be willing to change for surgery to work. I am here if you ever need to talk. You can do it.

Great post. I have only asked a few questions myself and will search out questions that were already answered, but when the answers are years old, its nice to be able to ask again. Its nice to hear from people that are still involved in the process.

I was also required to do a 6 month process. I used the time to make sure I knew the ins and outs of the surgery and the new lifestyle. I worked to gradually cut down on my sugar and fat so I wouldn't be in shock when I had the surgery. I also kept it in my mind why I was having the surgery. I would talk to myself about it. Every night I would sit on the computer and research. I would watch videos. I would read blogs. I did whatever I could to be prepared.
That being said...It is hard to pass up my favorite foods and I wish I could eat bread, but I know that eventually I will be able to eat bread again. It will be smaller portions less frequently, but I will be able to have some. It will all be worth it in the end. Stay strong and remember why you had the surgery. You can't go back and change it, so you might as well just start looking to the future.
Good luck