Recidivist

Hey all!

So, I'll definitely reply to other stuff soon but I've got myself into a bit of a situation...

I got 2 days 'till surgery and my back is freaking killing me. It started, I think, when I was lying funny in bed... and it's gotten worse over the past day or two.

I'm nervous because I've experienced back pain before (sciatic nerve pain is a... well, you get the idea) but this is entirely different. It's more to the side, middle of my back (so, like, shooting pains whenever I roll over and tenderness right under where my stomach is) and of course my catastrophising lil brain is like "probably not musculature--you got pancreitis, or whatever that thing's called when your pancreas craps out). I mean, I've been on Optifast for, like, a month, and the last week or so I've been really bad with the veges... either I won't eat them, or I'll eat them raw with soy sauce (no oil--which is supposed to help the pancreas).

I really don't wanna go into surgery with a bad back, because It's gonna really complicate the feelings in that area... I'm not going to know what's back pain, what's stomach pain, what I should worry about, what I shouldn't...

Gah!!!

Anyway. So I have a physio appointment in about 4 hours. Hopefully they magically fit me and I've done all this worrying for nothing.

Sent from my CPH1719 using BariatricPal mobile app

Hi, EmzBee. I understand your wanting to go through with the surgery as scheduled, but I think you need to be completely honest with your medical team regarding any issues. Your doctor would know best whether this might make your surgery riskier or increase the chance of side effects.
My big fear is getting a cold just before surgery, because I'm told that they don't want to operate if you have a bad cold. Not sure why--perhaps something to do with the anesthesia?

Enjoy every single bit of that steak. Savor it. Enjoy! And remember, some day you will get to eat teeny bites of really lean steak again!

I'm going to a high school class reunion in August 2019. It's not the reason I'm doing this, but I will admit that I'm pretty excited about great I will look by then! 🙂

So, the liquid diet for me has been very, very hard. Tomorrow will be one week on the all liquids and then surgery on Wednesday. I have strained a lot of Soups and my favorite so far has been Trader Joe's chicken Kettle broth and Progresso's canned French onion Soup. The seem to have the most flavor of the ones I've tried. I've made three types of Jello-o and overnight I'm putting my Protein Shake into popsicle molds to see if they will taste like fudgecicles. Fingers crossed! It has been so hard to watch TV with so many food commercials. My funeral meal (Mod Pizza) is what I'm craving the most. I had my favorite meals (yes steak was one!) each day of the week before the liquid diet. It's frighting how much I miss just ordering off the menu or grabbing a snack from the refrigerator. The agony is real!

I feel the same way about gaining a bit! But surprisingly I lost some from my consult to my last meeting with my surgeon. There's still the weekend lol. I'm in South Jersey. Here's to our last weekend! [emoji482]

Recidivist, things are going fine. They put me on a Keto style diet. I can eat meat and non starch veggies. No sugar, no dairy no starch like potatoes or Pasta, and no fruit. I can have almonds or cashews. I have been doing this a week all ready. Today, I only ate once all day and could not figure out why I was starving. So I got some meat for dinner tonight. The tough thing about this diet is we have been without power at our house for the last three days. But I have stuck to the diet

Yep that’s my struggle as well, I too have a choking reflex if I don’t have something to wash it down with I’ll start choking on it. I guess I’ll just keep practicing. My husband better get better at the heimlick maneuver. Lol

Today was a great post op day. I was able to get my walking in around 7000 steps. I got my Water and Protein in as well. Let’s just say I felt really good for just having my surgery Tuesday. And I even went to the dentist for a cleaning. My energy level is going great. I said that to say All my February buddies you got this and hopefully you feel the way I do.

Hi, it was explained to me the esophageal motor activity during swallowing is comprised of three contractions, first primary, then secondary and lastly tertiary. when we swallow these 3 muscles contract in a way that moves matter from our throat to our stomach. when they work in a natural way, food moves as it should through all 3 zones. In my case, the last muscle has lost it’s beat if you will. It no longer keeps food moving on. Food stops there and it takes more contractions than normal for that food to move on through, if it does at all. Thank heavens for Protein liquid drinks.

That sounds like a good plan, because I can't imagine measuring every drink I take. I'm a little stressed about the whole Water issue, because I drink a LOT of water now, and in huge gulps. It's going to be quite an adjustment.

i keep 3 23.7 oz waters around me and thats my goal for the day. sip sip sip sip. im still on the shakes but im up to two Water bottles a day and the Protein Shakes finish me off to meet the required amount. just got to keep shipping. also i would consider a shot glass about 1 oz.

Thanks so much, Mermaid--that is very reassuring! I don't "intend" to cheat during the liquid diet--but I'm not going to beat myself up if I do.

Hey! So don't worry whatsoever, I was eating huge meals and drinking a lot of beer before my two week liquid diet started and if I'm honest, I cheated a little here and there but only with a bite or two. I probably gained weight between my last visit with the surgeon and the beginning of the two week liquid diet. I'm not saying to go out and cheat but I am telling you that it's normal. Within the time frame that I did the two week liquid diet I ended up loosing 17lbs, bringing me lower than I was when I saw my surgeon.
Best of luck to the two of you. Another great piece of advice is, when in the hospital if there are other patients who had weight loss surgery, don't compare yourself and progress to them, it will do you no good.

I'm February 25th too! Enjoying my last few big meals before pre op diet begins!

Hi, all. I've announced my date before, but as a reminder--I will be on February 25, probably the latest in the February group. My liquid diet will start on February 11, and my surgeon said I will be in the hospital for one night. I'm excited and apprehensive--I just want it over with at this point.

It's exciting to see the February team starting on their pre-op liquids! I'm probably the last and will start on February 11.
The nutritionist at my hospital said that we should avoid stocking up on Protein drinks to have after surgery because your taste can change dramatically. She said that many people who liked the creamier drinks before surgery find them repulsive afterwards and prefer watery ones. Has anyone else been told that?

I saw my surgeon today and got a surgery date--February 25. Woo-hoo!

It's pretty exciting to see the February club starting to have their surgeries--and it certainly makes it seem real for those of us who are coming up soon. It sounds like everyone who has had surgery is doing well so far, which is great news.
I have still not started my pre-op diet--I will next Monday (Feb. 11). Is there anyone else with a February surgery date who isn't on the liquid diet yet?
Please keep the updates coming--they are very reassuring!

Thanks R. For some reason the pain relievers are agitating my stomach. I'm a regular Advil taker for my joint pain, so I took that. I may try Tylenol tomorrow to see if that helps and doesn't bother my stomach. With only liquids, Advil seems to make me nauseous. 😥

LOL! I'm going to have the exact same thing for my "last supper!" Good luck on the liquids!

Congratulations, Idawn! Glad to hear things are going well. You are the February pioneer, but we will start to join you one by one!

Finally in a room. Surgery went well. I passed my drinking test so I can advance to Clear Liquids. They won’t let me have broth for some reason, just Jello. I hate jello.

Congratulations! You made it! What was the drinking test like? You have to swallow barium, right? It's encouraging that you able to send a note to us so soon after surgery. How badly doest your stomach hurt? Is it hard to get the Jello down? Sorry, so many questions.

Well, if you are really disappointed, you could always go on an all-liquid diet, too. It's certainly not going to do any harm! 🙂