toasty

pureed pickles and green olives! Mmmmm!

I don't know anything personally about these drinks, and they are probably fine, but be sure to look at calories. I have been bushwacked by drinks that I thought were good for me, but when I looked had a surprising number of calories.

My doctor said that drinking from a straw introduces air into the pouch, which is a bad thing. He indicated I should never drink from a straw after the surgery.

Congratulations!

@@Trisha213 Am I correct that you are having trouble getting in enough food pre-surgery? That pre-surgery, you are eating only 600 calories a day? You are eating lots and lots of veggies, and that you are getting filled up? That is an extremely low calorie load for someone pre-surgery. I understand your concern. I think a call to your nutritionist or doctor would be wise, or even a visit if possible. With such a low calorie level, you need to ensure that you are getting in enough Vitamins, and that there is not some other thing going on. If you are eating this low number of calories under your doctor's supervision and with their OK, that's one thing. But if you are eating this few calories and the doctor doesn't realize it, that could be an issue.

I get these same calls. As @@James Marusek indicated, I think it is tied to the medications being taken. In my case, they wanted to talk about my diabetes (I don't have diabetes, but I do have metabolic syndrome, which uses some similar medications). It seemed pretty useless to me, they didn't tell me anything I didn't already know.

When I originally went to see my doctor, my BMI was 49; I'm 5'7" and I weighed 315 lbs. He told me that really the only serious option for me was the gastric bypass. He said that a person with as much weight to lose as I have does best with the gastric bypass, because it provides the most weight loss. I have heard other doctors say the same thing. Second, if you read these boards you will find many people who have had revisions from other WLS (both band and sleeve) to the gastric bypass because of various problems with those other forms. I decided I only want one WLS ever. Third, as others on this thread have said, the gastric bypass is no more "radical" than a sleeve; both will require Vitamins for the rest of your life, both involve significant changes to your stomach, etc. The gastric bypass provides weight loss because of malabsorption, restricted pouch size, and possibly reduction in Ghrelin (the hormone that triggers hunger). One of the side effects many gastric bypass patients experience is dumping syndrome when either poor foods (high fat, high sugar, various other bad things) are consumed or too much food is consumed or "stuck" (often because food has not been chewed sufficiently). Although the symptom is unpleasant, it acts as a "teaching tool" to change bad behaviors, which is a very positive outcome. In the end you will have to make the decision on your own. You are the one who will have to live your life with whatever surgery you choose. The people on this forum are pro-gastric bypass, since this is a gastric bypass forum. If you are really leaning toward the sleeve, you might want to go on the sleeve boards and ask around there about that surgery, to get a different slant on this issue. Good luck and best wishes on whatever choice you make.

Oh no! Sorry to hear that. Yeah, I decided on gastric bypass from the beginning, it was my doctor's recommendation since I have such a high BMI. Good luck on your revision surgery, I'm sending good vibes your way that this is the last time you have to deal with it.

@@aelovelady Very interesting. Certainly follow what your nutritionists recommends, but that is not what my nutritionist has been recommending for me. I am required to do a pureed stage and I have been encouraged to continue using Protein shakes until at least the normal food stage. Just saying that different doctors and nutritionists have different recommendations, and generally I would highly suggest listening to your specific doctor/nutritionist recommendations.

@@njmomof4kidz Just a note, you are actually in the "PRE-Operation Gastric Bypass Surgery Questions & Answers" forum. @@Cervidae did get the gastric bypass I believe, not the sleeve.

@@superslim yes this is my first time, and hopefully my last! I decided on the "gold standard", so I don't know what I would do after this if it didn't work. *shudder* I'm not even going to think about it.

I gotta agree with @BigViffer. I realize you feel your specialist payment is not worth it for seeing a PA or NP. However, I would look at it this way. The PA or NP will probably understand the issues you are facing much better than the surgeon (they see bariatric patients all the time and know the after-care issues, where the surgeon spends most of his time in surgery). By the same argument, the bariatric PA or NP will also know much much more about bariatric issues than your primary care doctor will, at least that would be true for mine.

Surgery in two weeks! Can hardly wait.

Two weeks to go! Can hardly wait. I'm going to start my pre-op diet on Tuesday.

Congratulations on your incredible weight loss, and happy surgiversary! Why don't you mention it to your family and close friends? I agree with @@AngelaWilliamsMD that it is probably not on their radar. I would bet they will be very happy for you and will give you accolades for your hard work.

The reason that people say that bariatric surgery is the "easy" way out is because they have no understanding of what is involved. Many people think that bariatric surgery is a magic zapper: you get surgery, and poof, now you're thin! As we all know, there is nothing further from the truth. Even many prospective WLS patients think this early on, and become surprised when they realize differently. People don't realize that WLS is a tool, albeit a powerful one. We have other tools: high Protein low carb ways of eating, chewing food thoroughly and eating slowly until we feel satisfied, avoiding grazing, staying hydrated, etc. To say that WLS is a powerful tool for losing weight is correct, but saying it is the easy way out is totally missing the point.

@@kimdlawson06 I have a daughter, so I know just how you feel. Although there are some people, like @@maletakay, who are back to work after a week (which is awesome!), there are many others who speak of being weak and exhausted for two or more weeks after the surgery. Everyone's different. Not trying to be a pessimist, but just giving you some things to consider. If it were me, so long as I had at least four weeks to recuperate after my surgery before going back to school, I would be pretty optimistic about it, especially with the dorm environment and clinic support you mentioned. She will be needing lots of support, but I am sure you guys will all be talking on the phone a lot! And be sure she signs up with BariatricPal, this site is incredible with great people to help. An awesome community. And there are a number of people in their 20s and even some in late teens who she will be able to relate to.

Congratulations!

Congrats! When I got approved, I felt relief, excitement, and anxiety all in one. I am now two weeks away from my surgery, and now all I feel is excitement and anxiety!

My doctor requires a 5-day pre-op liquid diet, but I have decided to do 10 days pre-op. I start Tuesday. I love the suggestions for making it easier to get through, keep them coming!

@@Faithoftheheart Interesting, I will have to ask my doctor about this. My surgery is in 2 weeks, and I was planning on using my recliner when I got back home.

@@Julie West We should not think of WLS as a "miracle cure", but simply as another (powerful) tool to help us lose weight. As the other posters here have said, in the end it is about the choices we make in what kind of food and how much we eat that allows us to lose weight. The surgery and smaller pouch help us feel full faster, and malabsorption helps too, but if we don't follow an appropriate way of eating we can still gain weight. I would definitely see your doctor about this, to see whether you are stretching your pouch or something else is an issue.

Oh yeah, and lots of people feel tired like you are. You've just had major surgery, it is going to take a while to heal and for your body to get back in stride again.

So I'm not there yet (my surgery is not for two weeks yet), but everyone I have heard on here says don't do it. You will most likely just feel awful and throw it up. You need to let your pouch heal. The consensus is to strictly follow your doctor's or NUT instructions on your diet to have the best outcomes.

Congratulations!