ShinyLady

I wouldn't think so. The pre-op diet is mainly for liver shrinking purposes for ease of access to the op site.

As long as you are sticking to the diet that shrinking should happen.

Also you say next week... so there's a good chance you will lose more by then.

I lost 4.8 (BMI 41) on the 2 week pre-op diet. My Dr was pleased with that. [emoji3]

Good luck to you [emoji4]

My time is NOW!

I'm in Aus too.
My surgeon required an initial consult, wait a month (to think about it and research) and then could book at next consult. I had routine blood tests taken before surgery.
My surgeon also required dietician visits. (Just one before... and each stage after). I was given the number of an exercise therapist and psych but these were optional.
We are not required to have the same level of diet and psych prep as in USA as is automatically covered by private health fund (if you have one that covers it).
Depending on your personal circumstances/medical history, your surgeon may require you to have other tests e.g. sleep apnea, ECG.
They usually also require the scope (via throat to check out stomach). Some do it a couple weeks before but mine did this at the beginning of surgery while I was under general.
They seem to vary by personal choice on Pre-op diet. Usually Optifast 2-4 weeks before surgery.

My time is NOW!

I think if someone has found a way that helps them, they should share. It's up to each of us individuals to monitor ourselves and how we would do with or without it. It's not up to us to contradict what is working for her, the OP. We should be congratulating her that she's found a way that helps her and each other, for whatever way we go.

I am surprised reading the many comments in direct conflict with this post. It is my experience it is what we should all be working towards. Eating "what your want, when you want" does not mean binge without consequence, rather it means listening to your body and trust it to tell you what you need or want when and how much. Our bodies have amazing and complex feedback loops, but all of us spent years ignoring them and eating for emotional reasons, not physical ones. Relearning to listen and to trust your feedback loops is the ideal state of being. A constant diet mentality with or without surgery is not healthy or ideal, and statistically speaking won't work. I also realize learning to listen to your feedback loops and not your emotions is a difficult transition that should not be attempted when in the weight loss phase, but to maintain that phase I think it is essential.

Well I decided that anyone who brings that crap in the house will not find in the trash can you are right. I cleaned out the cupboards yesterday and my neighbor was one happy camper. From this day forward this is all about me .... thanks for you kind words

WLS can be a tool that can help you lose weight, maintain a healthy weight, and improve your quality of life, but you have to put in the hard work to be successful long-term. While you can (and probably should) work closely with a psychologist and a nutritionist, it ultimately comes down to you doing what you need to do to be successful. And you must make a commitment to this become a lifestyle change. People bat those terms around all of the time, but it is true. The people on here that do not reach their goal or that regain all their weight later never changed their relationship with food, depended on the "honeymoon period" to do what they did do, and more or less were seeking to "eat normally, but just less" (which is a fallacy, in my opinion).
The question you have to ask yourself is this: Am I prepared to change my life to ensure my success? If yes, then WLS is for you; if no, you might lose a little weight, but you'll never get where you want to be.

Well I need to lose 50 to get back to my lowest. The weight has gone on gradually over the past 3 years, I knew I had to get it in hand but didn't. How did I get in this position well it's wine and snacking (grazing). My husband and I can share a bottle of wine (or 2!) but it is accompanied by crisps (chips) and a family bar of chocolate. Cakes and biscuits have also creeped in to my diet. See I know exactly what I'm doing wrong. I do have good restriction and if I eat correctly I get full on quite small amounts. The other thing I have done wrong is give up exercise. I don't like exercising but I do know it is essential.

My plan: initially there will be no wine at home and consequently cut out the crisps and chocolate. Exercise. The number 50 is too big for me and quite frightening so I am going to cut it down into sections of 5 which seems so much more manageable.

I have started today and I have used my elliptical and there is no wine in the house.

I wouldn't think so. The pre-op diet is mainly for liver shrinking purposes for ease of access to the op site.

As long as you are sticking to the diet that shrinking should happen.

Also you say next week... so there's a good chance you will lose more by then.

I lost 4.8 (BMI 41) on the 2 week pre-op diet. My Dr was pleased with that. [emoji3]

Good luck to you [emoji4]

My time is NOW!

I think the only way to start exercising is to start moving -- just a little bit. Then move just a teeny bit more. I honestly believe anyone can do anything if they just do that.
Last spring when I was recliner-bound (yup, could hardly move my ass out of it), I started counting my steps in my head (one, two, three ... thirteen, fourteen ... sixty-one, sixty-two). I literally counted how many steps I was walking each day. Kept a record. I found I was walking less than 1,000 steps a day.
These days, even before being sleeved (happens in a few weeks), I'm now hitting over 5,000 steps daily and sometimes 6,000 and 7,000/day. I've lost over 10 pounds in the last 8 weeks.
I'm now on Day Two of the pre-op diet. I have no doubt I will survive that, too.
It doesn't matter at all what you can and cannot do. Just do that today. Then tomorrow do a tiny little bit more. The next day, same thing. And along the way, be kind to yourself and don't hurt yourself.
If you want some inspiration, check out this guy!

No, not "end of discussion". I didn't say I was going to block newbies, I said I was going to block newbies and ANYONE who comes in guns blazing and name calling. I am here to support people, not to watch someone give good advice and be called an a-hole for doing so.

Sheesh.
I think Rants and Raves shouldn't be included in the regular feed. You should have to intend to click on it, and even possibly have to click through a disclaimer saying you understand that it's Rants and Raves and agree not to get butthurt.

I was told that if you're happy with the size you are when wearing a bra (boobs all propped up) then you only need a lift (they rearrange your own tissue), if you think they are too small in a bra... then you need implants.


My time is NOW!

@@Kate THEY LOOK AMAZING! Why wouldn't you feel like a teenager again with the the cool new boobs! You have the boobs of a teenager!
(I don't normally talk in exclamation marks, but heck, those boobs deserve at least 2 each!! )
So very pleased for you. Enjoy your sexy matching lingerie shopping. You have earned it. xx

First of all, congratulations!! You've done amazing, and you DO look awesome.
But wow - you sound just like me! But we tend to be our worst critics.
When I started this "journey", I didn't think I'd care about loose skin. Boy, I was wrong! And it isn't just that it was loose skin, it was the way it looked...like the skin of a 100 year old woman. It was awful! So I did end up having plastics. I'd like to say I'm done, but I know that I want my face done. Hey, the skin sags EVERYWHERE.
So far I've had arms, tummy (upper and lower), extended mini thigh lift, and excess skin from under my arms (extending down my sides), belt lift (completed the 360 lift separately) and breast implants. Three plastic surgeries since December 2015.
As far as the face, I'm going to get a consult in the near future. Not sure if its just fillers and botox needed or what and maybe/probably live with the neck...or just stop. I'm really unsure. And the there's my butt...seriously...WTF happened. No fair.
I wish insurance did *something* (mine did cover the panni after documenting rashes). It really is repairing our largest organ (our skin) and addressing our mental health. I'm not a "give me this, I deserve it" kind of person. So I struggle a bit over the insurance issue - but the system is so screwed up, I just happen to think there's a stigma against it being "cosmetic" and weight loss related.
Do I feel a little silly doing all of this at 53? Sure, a little. But then I get over it. I've been overweight to some degree as long as I can remember until my VSG. It's been a new life, and there's no reason the next 10, 20, or even 30+ years I may have left can't be flipping awesome.
Good luck with what you decide. Just remember how much better off you are now!!

I completely understand how you feel!! I too am so grateful for my weight loss and the fact that I have maintained it (over two years post op).
I love myself and have a wonderful fulfilling life, yet I don't really like clothes shopping because nothing ever fits quite right and I have to look for things to disguise my "hump"- which is the name I have given my lower belly. It does get frustrating.
I have tried a million creams, oils, exercises and nothing makes a difference for me.
I feel like you, that I am not "finished" until I get my stomach fixed. Hoping next year to try and fund plastics- this year we had to have a new roof and our pool redone.
I think that part of the problem is I was normal size a good portion of my life and like you it's kind of a shock see our bodies look the way they do.
I know seeing a therapist would not help me. I don't have body issues or feel bad about myself. I just want my stomach gone. Hopefully we will both find a way to get our plastic surgery done!!

It's interesting to read this thread. Before I went through surgery, I read a LOT about how the dark side of this surgery and that it will end up shining a light on relationships that are not strong. Sometimes ending otherwise weaker relationships because one of the partners evolves and the other doesn't like the evolution and change.
But there's a pattern here: It appears (and maybe it's because I'm like the ONLY guy posting) that women are finding their male partners aren't very supportive of them and are actually kind of mean. Reading the comments is making me feel like men are really, really mean spirited towards their partners. I don't quite understand it, I would think if I was married or with a woman that wanted to be healthy, look great and feel great, I'd get 100% behind her and support her.
How can I not benefit from that as a man?! Seeing the pictures of women and their bodies before and after, come on... that's awesome. If you're a male, you have to love that! I just don't get it...
I also find it really interesting that I'm not seeing a lot of men sharing the same issues where their wife or partner was negative or simply mean to them. I'm starting to think now that these men chose women they could control or feed off their insecurity or body issues and now fear the "new person" will be not the person they can continue to hold back because they will have confidence, feel good and probably get more attention.
I don't have the same experience.
In fact, my own situation, my wife was very supportive and does really supportive things like helps me clothes shop (which you have to do after losing so much weight). Little things that make me feel like what I'm doing is not only good for me, it's good for her -- she says kind things to me like "wow, you look good, how do you feel?"
It's troubling that women are in these bad relationships and it took a surgery to finally have them realize this.

I'm right in the thick of it - about 2 months post surgery - and went into it at 45 with jacked hormones, hypothyroid, tons of allergies, auto-immune problems, and a partially torn tendon in my ankle that requires low or no weight bearing exercise and PT. Not your ideal patient .
My surgeon was never negative about my losing potential, just upfront with "most patients lose x% of excess weight" but made it clear that everyone responds to surgery differently - fast losers, slow losers, big losers, small losers.
I am apparently a very slow loser. It took me weeks to drop below my day of surgery weight and even now I'm still a bit short of a 20 lb loss from that day.
However.
That number is still a good 15 lbs lower than my lowest weight in the last decade, and about 35 lbs lower than my "normal" weight. My surgery went well, but I am having new and different health problems tied to my compromised immune system and hormones. I'm working closely with my hormone doc to monitor things; she's doubled my armor thyroid and increased progesterone to try and deal with sudden onset menorrhagia. I've also had a severe bacterial infection in my ear that spread to my neck and jaw - 2 courses of antibiotics later and it's not entirely resolved. The giant eczema flare on my scalp travelled into my ears, making it worse, and I'm trying to figure out if I can truly give up dairy and still come close to my Protein goals.
Do I worry I won't lose enough weight? Absolutely - I have well over 100 lbs to lose. Do I hate the ongoing health complications? Extremely - they make it very hard to exercise and go to PT. Do I think they're surgery related? Tangentially. I was jacked up going in and it potentially flared up all kinds of things.
However.
I am actually losing weight, which I've never managed to do in my entire life. The scale isn't moving tons but my body is changing, hopefully for the better. So I don't regret the surgery at this point, health problems and all. Not feeling hungry all the time is *amazing*. So I just keep plugging on, keeping in touch with all the doctors, and praying that I actually manage to finally make that big change that will make the weight come off and stay off.
I'm not trying to be negative, just prepare you for unexpected complications and encourage you to keep a sharp eye on your thyroid and hormones. People keep saying "the sleeve is a tool" and I think they're right - even if I'm still struggling to use it properly
Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

I had a sleeve and needed to lose 100 pounds. I was a slower loser than most people in my age range (30s), losing at an average rate of about 5 pounds monthly. I eventually lost the 100 pounds in 18 months.
Based on anecdotes, RNYs seem to lose somewhat more quickly than sleeve patients.

@ShinyLady

Yeah basically, that is why the sleeve is so popular now. A lot of people that were not candidates for RNY due to other issues can be sleeved. A lot of Drs though only know RNY and lot a Surgeons only perform RNY. So people get roped into RNY because of that.

I have chronic spinal stenosis + and grade 4 osteoarthritis in my knees and was steered towards G Sleeve due to the ongoing need for NSAIDS. 95lbs to lose. 52 yo. Cannot take NSAIDS with RNY so I also find it interesting that the back specialist suggested RNY.
My time is NOW!

What screws us up most in life is the picture we have in our head of how things are supposed to be. Sounds to me sweetheart like it's time for you to get out your camera and take a new picture.

Problem is, BMI alone is not an indicator of health.. using BMI by itself as an indicator of health would be counterproductive.
Things that are diagnosed on the side of BMI as indicators:
- Lifestyle issues (such as mobility, pain, quality of life)
- Comorbidities (liver disease, diabetes, anemia, heart disease, etc.)
Before I gained weight I had a BMI of 30 because I was quite muscular. No useful doctor would have told me to lower my BMI into this "range". Health Canada is actually in the stages of changing this correlation of BMI and health because of the over-reliance upon BMI as indicators of health when it's quite counterproductive to this intention.

I understand your fears, as this is major surgery.
My wife and I are in the process of getting gastric sleeve together, within a few months of each other.
I am scared for her and scared for me.
However, we both understand the risks involved and the rewards of a healthier better life.
We are getting this done to improve our lives and to be healthy for our kids.
I would suggest counseling and therapy to work on your fears and anxiety.
You are correct about the resentments he will harbor towards you if you discourage him from getting the surgery.
I wanted to get sleeved 4 years ago and my wife was opposed to it.
I had resentments towards her for that, but now here we are trying to get it together.
You said you are afraid you won't like the new him, that very well could happen.
You could also find out you don't like him without surgery, relationships and especially marriage take a lot of work.
At the end of the day it is about him and his health and feeling better about himself.
I believe you can get on board with that [emoji4]

I've been waiting to post my story because I'm afraid it will come out too negatively and may scare off folks looking into surgery. Now that I'm where I am in the recovery process, I feel like I can tell the tale. Plus, I think the stories that are tough are just as important to the discussion.
I had RNY on October 5th 2016. I had it at DHMC in Lebanon NH with Dr. Truss, they have an excellent program and great safety & success stats there. I did months of Dr. supervised diet, psych visits, and all the other Insurance prerequisites. My program weight was 413 lbs and I was 45 years old.
On the day of surgery I was 385 (mostly thanks to the 2 week pre-op diet), my blood pressure was perfect and I was in high spirits. I went into surgery, came out and felt good. I had the broth and Jello they give you, then immediately started feeling pains in my stomach which my Doctor at first judged to be "normal." But it got worse, and that's when things start getting fuzzy. I remember going down for a scan where I was standing and drinking a liquid so they could watch it flow through me. I remember sitting down in a chair after this... and that's the last thing I remember for over a month.
Long story short, everything that could go wrong, did. I had blood clots in my remnant stomach, no one knows why. They split me open and went in to clean that up. I got sepsis. My fever spiked and they couldn't bring it down. One of my lungs collapsed, and my kidneys started failing. Everything was going very badly. They put me in an induced coma because I was trying to pull tubes out and they needed me resting. They filled me full of fluids adding nearly 100lbs. to my overall weight. I was grossly bloated (I've seen the pictures). The skin on feet shed like a snake. They put in a trach. A couple weeks one very insightful Doctor suggested that maybe I was allergic to the very common paralytic they gave me. They stopped giving it to me, administered an antidote of some sort, and my condition began to improve. No one had any idea I was allergic to it, I'd never had surgery before.
All in all I had 11 surgeries. I have a piece of biomesh holding my stomach muscles together. They expect that to dissolve by fall and the Docs expect me to develop a hernia at that time so they are planning on another surgery in the fall.
My wife says I was trying to communicate, with open eyes, long before I remember waking up. She has pictures of me and my eyes are open but it's clear there's no lights on.

When I woke up, I didn't understand where I was or what was going on. I had been out so long, and pumped full of so many drugs, that I had been living in a dreamworld in my head. I thought I'd gone on a drug-fueled bender and crashed my car. I thought I was sleeping every night on a battleship, or a space ship, I had a million crazy theories and thoughts and they all seem totally real to me. My hallucinations lasted well into the time I was in rehab. They put me on an anti-psychotic developed esspecially for patients who had prolonged ICU stays and it slowly cleared my head.
I couldn't speak because of the trach. I had lost over 100lbs while in the ICU for nearly 2 months, mostly muscle wasting from my legs and arms. I couldn't stand or walk. My hands where so shaky that I couldn't write. So I mouthed words and my amazing wife and friends did their best to read my lips. It was so frustrating. Every time I asked my wife what happened she'd start crying so it took a long time to get the full story, and even longer to accept it. Because my hallucinations were so strong, they bled into reality. I didn't know what was real.
My wife had a steady stream of friends and family visiting me, sitting with me so that she could do some work, or take a break. My in-laws are full time RV'ers who spend winter in Florida, instead, they moved into our house and took care of my wife and son. They kept his life as "normal" as possible with school, dinner on the table, basketball practice, etc. I'm forever indebted to them.
As my health improved, I moved to stage 2 of the trach where I could finally speak if I held my finger over my neck. This was AMAZING. I have always been chatty, plus I sing and play the ukulele. I thought I'd never speak again, much less sing. Thankfully that has all come back. I was able to finally have conversations with my visitors and start sorting through everything that had happened. I would frequently ask "Real? Or not real?" about things I remembered. I took advantage of the massages and total care and eventually started PT and OT.
My emotions where another challenge. I would cry at the drop of a hat. When I wasn't in tears, I was very flat emotionally. Everyone, nurses, PT's, OT's, family & friends could see it but I thought that was just my new "normal." It was only after I was home that the fog truly lifted and I started feeling like myself again.
On December 6th I stood up for the very first time (see attached photo). That was a GREAT day.
All in all I was in the ICU for nearly 2 months, then a regular hospital room, then off to rehab for almost 3 weeks, then back at the hospital for an abscess next to my pancreas for 2 weeks, then back at rehab for a week. Now I've been home since January.
Things were tough at first. Our bedroom is on the 2nd floor and I couldn't do stairs yet so I had a rented hospital bed in the living room for a few weeks. We all had the challenging of having me back home, re-integrating me into everyone's lives. it wasn't easy at first, but over the last 3 months we've found our way. I'm doing weekly outpatient PT, I've ditched the crutches I came home with and warm weather meant I could finally do laps of our neighborhood. I'm getting stronger every day, my head is clear, my smile is bright, and I'm loving life.
The only hiccup since I've been home is that I went out to breakfast at a local diner just a few days after returning home. I ate a tiny bit of food, but halfway through Breakfast, I passed out. My wife said it looked like a seizure as I was shaking , and my eyes rolled back in my head. When I awoke, my friends (who we were dining with, one of them was my OT) were already calling 911. I left for the hospital in an ambulance. What the Docs there found after 2 days of monitoring was the the blood pressure medicine that DHMC had put me on was unnecessary, and my B{ had crashed, causing my fainting. They took me off those meds and I've been fine ever since.
So... take away all those complications and the question I get from everyone is... "was it worth it?" I can say now, that yes it was. I've lost 150lbs and will continue to lose. I currently weigh around 260lbs, I've lost 14 inches off my waist and I'm down 3 shirt sizes. It took a while to learn what my pouch likes and doesn't like because the hospital and rehab controlled my eating and portions for so long. Though I'm 6 months out from my surgery, I really am only 3 months out on my own, making my own food choices, and mistakes. Mostly, I can eat what I want, just in very small qualities. I don't really get hungry any more. I eat small portions of healthy food, avoid fried food and sweets, try to get enough Protein, take my Vitamins, and exercise. The Gastric Bypass worked, it was the complications that nearly killed me, and they are rare.
My wife kept a Caring Bridge Journal if you want the play-by-play. It, and the pictures she took, have been an invaluable resource as I've recovered and tried to piece together the time I lost. https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/davemorin/journal/index/0/0/asc
In conclusion, I hope this story helps someone here. I got a lot of great info from this forum before my surgery and my intent is not to slam RNY, my caregivers, or try to discourage anyone. I just hope that it can be educational about some of the risks.

I found this to be somewhat true. And Botox and Juvederm work great.