FutureSkyDiver

For me, the choice came down to some non-physical things (i.e., the idea of my guts being rearranged with the RNY, or the stomach being removed for the sleeve). I considered my lifestyle. I travel quite a bit for work and am not always in control of the food put in front of me for a meal. I travel to remote parts of the third world, where culturally refusing something to eat or drink is seen as very rude and can impact my ability to do my job, so I've eaten some...things. Let's just leave it at that. I opted for the sleeve because with the larger stomach pouch post-op, I was less worried about dehydration and there is a lower chance of having dumping syndrome if I eat something too sugary or too fatty when I'm out.
Good luck with your choice, it is a difficult one!

PS...DS is a dudoneal switch and GERD is Gastro-esophegeal reflux disease (acid reflux)

Three days out there is absolutely no way I would have been able to sit in a typical university chair/desk for 8 hours and gain anything meaningful from the classes I was attending. Set aside the pain that you may or may not be in at that point--everyone is different and while I was still experiencing a good deal of pain at three days post op, not everyone does. Honestly, my biggest issue was that I could not sit upright completely without a dull aching pain in/around the large incision where she removed my stomach. I had to be slightly reclined at all times to keep that pain away. Three days post op your ONLY concern should be getting in enough liquids to not dehydrate. For me, this required me to set a timer and take a TINY sip of Water every five minutes from a 30ml cup I refilled every 15 minutes. Can you concentrate on the material being presented if you are constantly checking a clock to see if you should be drinking? Can you not be a distraction to your fellow students while doing this?

There may also be a lot of things you aren't considering involved in attending classes. How far is the walk from the parking lot? Can you walk that distance post-op? I am a triathlete who regularly ran 10+ miles at a time pre-op. Three days post-op I could walk to the end of my 200ft driveway and back before I felt like I needed a rest.
Are there stairs to get to your classroom, or inside the classroom itself? Can you navigate stairs three days-post op? Maybe...I struggled.
How heavy are the materials you need to bring to class plus the bag you carry them in? If you have to bring books and a laptop to class, you may be WAY over your 5-10lb lifting weight. You mentioned in-hospital practicals too, which I assume means lifting or moving patients and equipment. I was given a 5-10lb weight lifting limit for 6 weeks. I'm a university professor and I know that many of the books I use for my research and teaching weigh more than that. I have had to ask my wife to bring them to me and put them in my lap.
How many breaks do you get throughout the day? I was exhausted for the first two weeks, requiring at least two, and sometimes three 45min-hour naps a day, on top of sleeping 12 hours a day. This is pretty normal, given that your body has just been through a huge trauma and is healing itself. If you aren't getting proper rest, your healing will be slowed and honestly, how much good are you getting out of the classes you are attending if you are exhausted and/or falling asleep during class? If you are at the stage of treating patients (again, I assume based on in-hospital practicals), you can make critical mistakes if you are that tired. Critical mistakes can kill people.

I will also add, as a university professor who has seen so many students get sick/have surgery/miss a lot of class for one reason or another, those students RARELY do as well as the other students in the class, no matter how hard they try or how many accommodations are made in terms of assignment or exam extensions, make up exams, etc. There is a considerable body of educational literature that suggests there is simply something about doing things at the same time as the rest of your class that makes students perform better. I see it time and time again--those who take make up exams do not perform as well as they otherwise would have done.

I wish you the best of luck with your surgery and the difficult decision you have to make. Personally, I would not do it mid-semester, even as a faculty member.

I would be VERY cautious using this technique. It is considered disordered eating and may well be the jumping off point for a more serious eating disorder (note, I am NOT saying your wife has an eating disorder, just that this behavior is considered disordered eating and it can LEAD to an eating disorder).

My suggestion is just to buck up...seriously, just gut it out. The liquid diet is hard, but it is finite. You know it is going to end. If you try to cheat around the restrictions on this diet, it is a pretty slippery slope to cheating around the restriction your pouch/sleeve is going to create (and there are lots of ways to cheat that).

This doesn’t sound typical to me. How many times have you called your surgeon? I’d probably be sitting in his office by this point if he hadn’t called me back.

All else failing, so to the ER.

I’m only 20 days out, but I have been using salt and chili powder on my eggs with no negative consequences. Other things get seasoned well too.
I’d rather stay on liquids than eat bland food.

Relax…everything you are experiencing is completely normal.

your weight will fluctuate throughout the day, depending on Fluid intake, exercise, food intake, etc.

pain in the shoulders is pretty common shortly after wls due to the gasses pumped in. Three weeks post-op seems a little late, so pay attention to when it is happening. Shoulder pain was one of the first and most persistent signs when my gallbladder went kaput.

Can you calibrate the scale? Use something of known weight (like a 5lb of flour) and weigh it. Then either adjust your scale, or adjust your weight mentally.

Probably best not to worry about things you cannot control. Focus on you and making good choices in the pre-op period to prepare yourself for surgery, no matter how long the pre-op period is.

Can you calibrate the scale? Use something of known weight (like a 5lb of flour) and weigh it. Then either adjust your scale, or adjust your weight mentally.

Probably best not to worry about things you cannot control. Focus on you and making good choices in the pre-op period to prepare yourself for surgery, no matter how long the pre-op period is.

Just follow your plan. It will kick in.

Never accept the first denial from insurance companies. If they deny you, appeal. It is a heck of a lot faster and cheaper for them to deny coverage than to cover something, so they do…gambling on the fact most people either don’t know they can appeal, or don’t actually do it.

Hernia shouldn’t affect your ability to have the surgery. My surgeon said it was very common and they will fix during procedure.

First, congratulations on the 25lbs! Great start toward your goal!
One thing that has, in the past, always helped me kick start a weight loss is to add in (or increase) resistance training. Whether you are doing body weight exercises, lifting weights, or something else, anything you can do to increase your lean muscle mass will help with losing weight, because muscle burns more calories.
You might try changing your cardio too--add intervals of increased speed, jog a little if possible, bike, swim, do an exercise class. Our bodies get used to certain activities and can adapt to the pressures of those activities so it doesn't have to burn as many calories to do them. Change things up a bit and it can start shifting weight too.

Follow the guidelines of your surgeon, not something you found online. Think of this as a practice run for post-op, when “cheating”, or “slipping up”, or having a “bad day, or whatever else you want to call non-compliance to make yourself feel better, can actually kill you.
I’d say if you don’t have the discipline to follow the pre-op diet, you probably should reconsider surgery at this time.

Follow the guidelines of your surgeon, not something you found online. Think of this as a practice run for post-op, when “cheating”, or “slipping up”, or having a “bad day, or whatever else you want to call non-compliance to make yourself feel better, can actually kill you.
I’d say if you don’t have the discipline to follow the pre-op diet, you probably should reconsider surgery at this time.

Sorry to hear about light headedness. I haven't had that problem, but do have a raging headache that has persisted for the last three days and nausea. I've read all of these are normal reactions to a liquid diet.

Light headedness when standing is generally due to a sudden drop in blood pressure. Two things that may help are a little exercise early in the morning (even just a short walk to get the blood moving) and try not to sit or lay down too long. And...stand up slowly when you have been doing so.

Hmmm…might want to check with your gyno, just to be sure.

One of my NSV aspirations!! Good for you!

Definitely a question for your surgeon or nutritionist. There are so many things that can factor into the “right” calorie goals—age, weight, activity level, history, etc. none of us could possibly give you a good answer for this question for you. We can probably all answer it for ourselves, but what works for us is not likely to work fine you.

Wow!! Your nutritionist sounds awesome! Mine seems useless. I’ve met with her twice. The first time she spent an hour going over the calories in carbs/fats/proteins, which is information I’ve known since age 13 (when my parents put me in my first diet workshop). The second time she spent telling me about the liquid diet pre-op, but couldn’t tell me how long it would be, what counted as liquid (I.e., can I have things like popsicles and jello), or any sort of caloric goals-high or low. I feel very much like it was wasted time, but my surgeon requires it, so I jumped through that hoop!
I’d much prefer to visit your nutritionist. She seems to be providing a useful service!

July 13 for me.

I donate blood regularly, and was due at the beginning of May. I decided to wait for the time being and do what is best for my body. Surgery is scheduled for mid-July and I hope to be able to donate again around late October/November.

The US Red Cross requires a waiting period of three months to donate after surgery. Platelets centers can require as long as a year post-op.

You’re going to need your platelets after surgery, so I’d be concerned about how far in advance of surgery you need to stop donating in order to be safe.

My tipping point was March of this year, about two weeks after I had my gall bladder surgery. I was sitting on the couch, bored out of my brain because I had a 5lb weight restriction and I couldn’t do anything I wanted to do. I realized that if I didn’t do something, this was going to be my life in the future. I didn’t want that, so I looked up the local clinic and away I went. Surgery scheduled for July 13 now and I’m getting all my ducks in a row. Trying to finish my house remodel before the date—extreme nesting, you might call it.