HopeandAgony

I have bought unflavored protein powder, and also have found a chocolate protein powder for drinks that I love. I hope my taste for it doesn't change after surgery. I plan on stocking up on lots of sugar free jellos & puddings, assorted broths. I have also been eyeing up low sodium cream soups, hummus, and fat free refried bean. I am spending time googling ideas. My most expensive purchase though will be a hair topper. I have very thin hair on the top of my head and have a synthetic hair topper now that I wear if my hair doesn't have any volume some days (though I haven't worn it in a while!). I am going to spend the extra money and get a human hair topper so I can color it and curl it or do whatever I want to it.

Wishing you the best!!

Hi! I am Nov 16th. I was all anxious wondering when I would be scheduled. Then as soon as I got my date fear and doubt kicked in. I am gathering that it is pretty normal. So I got scheduled on Monday, and since then I feel equally scared and excited. I go back and forth. I am totally going through with it, and mentally counting down the days but I am nervous as heck!! I thought I would be upset that it so close to Thanksgiving but I'm not, at all. I keep wondering what I with feel and look like at this time next year!

I am 38. 5'4". Highest weight 265, currently at 250. I have no co-morbities but I have very achy joints. Hips, back, elbows, shoulders, and most recently knees when I climb stairs. I am equally excited and terrified.

Thank you!! I am a little stressed out right now. Yikes!! This is it.

Just got my call. November 16th. I feel like I'm going to throw up and poop my pants at the same time. I've been on journey for 8 long months and now I am terrified. I feel like I have a lump in my throat!!!

Gallbladder.

Following

Even you feet look thin! Congrats

I just looked at that picture and thought I would be OK looking like that...

I know how you feel. I've been in the midst of this journey since April. I had to do 3 months of monitored weight loss which I finished in July. I saw the surgeon in August but have had a really hard time getting my 3 evaluations done (due to schedule conflicts). I have two this week and one the following week then I will be done. Then it's a matter of when I can have the surgery. I am hoping before Halloween, but I feel it's so far away. SIGH. I have gone back and forth a few times over the last 6 months. Some periods I am totally on board, some periods I have no motivation. Looking back I am thankful for this time. I've been able to review the procedure, and make sure this is what I really want to do. My relationship with food has also changed... big time. It doesn't control me. And if I do have bad moments I am fully aware of them and it helps me quit when I start. Hang in there. Some days you won't be motivated. It's OK. Nobody is perfect.

Wow that's crazy! My gallbladder was easily the quickest and least painful of the three! I was raring to go from the minute I woke up from surgery. Part of it was probably that I had gone undiagnosed for years and didn't realize how badly it had been making me feel all that time and I finally felt GOOD. But really, it was very easy for me. I do wonder if you had a bad surgeon. Yeah. I was told it was no biggie. Man I wasn't prepared!! She told me after the gall bladder removal that one of my stones was extremely large. I can imagine that made things more difficult but not to have pain like I had. I could barely stand up straight, let alone walk. It was awful. My c sections though we're a breeze. I am going to chalk my gall bladder up to a fluke experience because I don't know anyone else who felt like I did from it.

Great question! I've had 3 c sections and didn't consider recovery of them to be bad. However, I had my gall bladder removed and that was horrid! I had bad pain for 2 weeks. Everyone said gall bladder removal was a piece of cake but I really struggled, so much I wonder if I just had a bad surgeon or something. I haven't had the sleeve yet but hope it's not like the gall bladder removal I experienced 6 years ago! My last c section was 2 years ago and was the easiest one by far.

Do you have your gall bladder?

Hi. How are you doing today? Any news?

Both stomach flu and colitis can be extremely painful. I don't think you should consider this to be any indication on how you will feel after being sleeved. Hang in there and get well soon.

I've completed almost all requirements. My last evaluation is the first week in September. About a week ago I had a sudden strong sense of dread set in about being one of the small few who suffer serious complications. I try to keep abreast of the complication stories so I am prepared and I think now that I'm close to go time, the complications page has finally scared me...significantly and seriously. I don't want to end up in the ICU for weeks or months. I can't be away from my family like that. I can't be away from work like that. I've been thinking that I shouldn't do this. I have had 7 prior surgeries. I've never been scared, but I've also never sought out stories on complications either for those other surgeries. Please talk me off this ledge. I am a very rational person and I know this is good for my future. I know chances of complications are low. I have worked so hard over the last 6 months, I can't give this progress up, but I also can't shake this sense of dread. Anyone else go thru this and how did you cope with the fear?

This is really interesting information that I hadn't heard before (the part of 10% extra loss as well as the REM/sweet craving connection). Although it doesn't necessarily correlate with needing the study done prior to surgery it would surely factor in after surgery. Thanks for sharing!

All the replies are interesting. I am still struggling with the logistics. The broad discrepancies of who and who doesn't need a sleep study leaves me perplexed. Essentially in any surgery there is an anesthesiologist at your head watching your breathing, your heart rate, the oxidation in your blood, all of your vitals... I completely agree that going in to this and knowing ahead of time is of course hugely beneficial, but is it really required?? Why, in my 5 other surgeries has this need never come up? I had hoped someone who has had prior surgeries AND was required to have a sleep study before bariatric surgery was in the same mindset I am in and asked what makes this surgery different. And also why not all Dr's (or insurance companies) require it if it is so vital to surgery, healing, etc...

This is all so informative! I do have a pretty thick neck. I did have to go to the hospital and do the pulmonary testing which was an hour of abusive breathing demands...lol. I passed those just fine, but I don't see the Dr for a few weeks still. Wonder what will happen.

And who decides if you need one and how is that decided?

I'm trying to understand why a sleep study *may be* required by some for this surgery. I havent been told I need to have one and do not expect I will. That being said I am honestly confused about why they are so important for this surgery. Is it simply because this is an elective procedure and all bases need to be covered? I am honestly interested in understanding this and here is where my thought process lies currently. I have had 7 surgeries in the past 15 years. Six of them I was asleep for. None of them were elective, only one of them was immediate. So for the 5 that were scheduled in advance, why was a sleep study never required. Wouldn't the same logic apply? I am asking here because it is concerning, and of course if there are reasons this is needed specifically for this surgery I want to know for my own safety! But at the same time I don't want to question the Dr because I don't want him to feel like I need one...I just want to know why it's not needed for other surgeries but *may be* for this one. What's the difference?

Thanks Babbs. The thought of skin doesn't bother me for some reason. And to be honest I've had thinning hair for a while because of a burn on my scalp that took place years ago. Of course my main objective here is to be healthy. I am not doing this to look better though I'd be lying if I didn't acknowledge it being a perk. I just don't understand why these images vary so much. I haven't been under 200 for 20 years, or under 175 for 24. Maybe the fear of not knowing, not having a comparison... It's interesting that you have a hard time seeing the weight loss as you lost and in pictures. I wonder how common that is? I know right now pictures are brutal on me. I look so much bigger than I do when I look in the mirror (at least I think so). I always try to ask these random questions. It helps me pass the time while I wait for my surgery date, and I love others perspectives. I like to hear what others think about to.

Lately I have been trying to imagine what I might look like after surgery and losing some of this weight. My images can vary significantly. Sometimes I picture this svelte version of me. More often though I picture this slightly chubby version of me with very thinning hair, no boobs, and a severe muffin top. In both images I feel the person looks a lot older than I am. Neither image ever has a face. I haven't figured out what drives the different images. I find it slightly interesting, and slightly disturbing, and scary? Is anyone else struggling with this? Do any of you picture yourself as this person who in some ways makes you sad because she/he isn't what you hoped for? I am assume it's fear based. I guess I am asking if it's normal? I feel like a crazy person...

I've already started looking at hair toppers! I already own one because I sustained a bad burn on my head and my hair has been thin since, but I am definitely going to invest in more.