suzannethemom

Yesterday was my first appointment at Ridgeview Bariatric Center. I met with a nurse first and then the surgeon. I can’t believe I got to meet with the surgeon on the first appointment. Is that normal? The surgeon was really impressive, informative and encouraging. I left with a binder loaded with all the information I need (pre-op plan and checklist, surgery overview, post-op plans for diet and exercise with log charts, meal plans, recipes and more). They did blood work before I left. I drove home feeling so happy and hopeful (I might have shed a few tears). Today the nurse called me to schedule appointments with a dietician, psychologist and exercise physiologist. I don’t want to get too excited because I know things can go wrong at any step along the way (with the psych eval, testing and insurance approval). Right now I’m feeling really optimistic.

It really depends on how it's effecting you. Are your symptoms bad? Or are you asymptomatic? Quarantine is usually 10-14 days so if your surgery is 16 days away... as long as your symptoms aren't that bad or you're asymptomatic I don't see why you'd have to delay it. But yeah, definitely get the surgeons impute on what they think.

I’m trying not to complain, but I’m just a little downhearted. Just got diagnosed with covid and surgery in 16 days. I do have a question has anyone else had surgery after covid?? I’m guessing I should at least put it off a month maybe? I’m calling the doctor Monday to see what the surgeon thinks.

Yesterday was my first appointment at Ridgeview Bariatric Center. I met with a nurse first and then the surgeon. I can’t believe I got to meet with the surgeon on the first appointment. Is that normal? The surgeon was really impressive, informative and encouraging. I left with a binder loaded with all the information I need (pre-op plan and checklist, surgery overview, post-op plans for diet and exercise with log charts, meal plans, recipes and more). They did blood work before I left. I drove home feeling so happy and hopeful (I might have shed a few tears). Today the nurse called me to schedule appointments with a dietician, psychologist and exercise physiologist. I don’t want to get too excited because I know things can go wrong at any step along the way (with the psych eval, testing and insurance approval). Right now I’m feeling really optimistic.

My main strategy is to fill up on low-calorie foods. Once a week, I buy and prep a bunch of snack veggies (celery, carrot chips, cucumber slices, pepper slices, and cherry tomatoes). I portion them out in meal prep containers, one for each day, and I have a saved meal that I enter in My Fitness Pal at the beginning of the day. Then I snack on the veggies whenever I want (I usually split them between mid-morning and mid-afternoon), knowing that they’re already accounted for. I use Walden Farms “calorie-free” dressing as a dip. It is a LOT of food for ~60 calories.
If I’m in the mood for something warm, my go-to is cauliflower rice with Flavor God cheese seasoning and Mrs. Dash. Or I make a Soup with cauliflower rice and chicken broth. 20-30 calories and very satisfying.
I have a great substitution for ice cream! Whip pasteurized egg whites (safe to eat without cooking) with cream of tartar, calorie-free sugar substitute, and flavoring of choice (vanilla is delicious but I like to experiment with different flavors of One-On-One) and freeze. It’s best to eat before it’s frozen solid, or after letting it soften for a few minutes. It makes about 1 cup for just 25 calories, and it’s dairy-free and high in Protein. I also use it (without freezing) as a substitute for whipped cream and put it on 10-calorie sugar-free Jello.
Sometimes just looking at the nutrition information is enough to deter me. One time someone brought donuts to work and they were calling my name. I looked up the nutrition info to see how bad a small glazed donut would be, and it was 280 calories! I could eat two Built Bars for that and I would enjoy them more, and once I looked at it that way, I had no desire to eat the donut. Not worth it!

My surgeon's office was in the hospital itself, so he had me trot around to various departments. The EKG was in the cardiology department. The blood work and urine sample were in the lab across the hall. The only involvement my primary care doctor had was a separate appointment to give final clearance for surgery, which was basically him reviewing the results of the labs and EKG and then going, “Are you ready?” “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

I think a lot of us had that same worry.
I'm here to tell you that the eating habits DO change.
Sometimes, if I'm out, I'll order food like The Before Times... and then after a few bites I'm all "yeah, not doing this". Tonight there was cake. I had a few bites and pushed the rest away. The old me would have et the whole dang thing and gone for seconds (and possibly thirds).
The whole point of the surgery, really, is to give you a tool that makes it a bit easier to develop better habits.
You know how when you start a diet pre-op, and the first week or few days you're ALL IN on the diet, and the weight starts to come off, and you feel like you can just DO this?
Now imagine that for six months. Or a year. Because the weight will just come off. Especially for us—it is, unfairly, still easier and faster for male bariatric patients to lose than female (in general).
By the time the weight loss slows down, the habits you need are ingrained.

Hello all! I had the SADI-S on July 24, 2020. I weighed 393 pounds at my highest and 368 on the day of surgery. I am so excited because today I finally made it to onederland! When I started out I was hoping to get at least down to 200 pounds. I am so happy to be officially under that number now and I hope to go even lower. My weight has slowed down a lot in the last few months and sometimes it's hard to stay motivated but I am not giving up! My wonderful, supportive husband gave me the shirt I'm wearing in this pic to Celebrate. It came last week and he wouldn't let me open it and I thought it was something for the anniversary of the day we met, which also happens to be 18 years ago today. I was so surprised by the shirt.
Anyway. I just wanted to share because I am so excited and had to tell someone who understands.  
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I had always been in the pre-diabetic stage for YEARS when it came to my A1C and in fact, right before surgery it went above and into that dreaded Diabetic stage (6.7). That was in March 2021. May 19th 2021 was my surgery. Well in September 2021 my A1C had dropped to 5.8. I was also taken off my one BP med and the second BP med has been cut in half. Also had my Metformin (which I was taking for PCOS and Insulin Resistance) dose cut in half too. I am hopeful that come March, when I go back to my doc, I will be taken off those meds completely or at least have them cut down once again. The goal is to come off them completely if I can.
So, far things have been moving in the right direction. I have been monitoring my BP at home and, even though I only take one 20mg Lisinopril at night, my BP is normally around 108-117/73-85 all throughout the day/night.
Otherwise I didn't really have any other issues. My cholesterol has also been improving as has my glucose numbers in general.
If I were you I'd stick to the plan and see what happens. There is still plenty of time for things to improve and they most likely will.

Oh don't worry, they aren't going to quiz you. They're going to go over your past history of dieting, comorbidities, etc. They're going to ask you which surgery you want. They're going to ask you if you have any questions. You don't have to be an expert.
And it's okay to be nervous. It's a big deal.

I just did the math and 8 ounces of Water for an 8 hour period is 64 ounces. That’s not bad. I agree with the comments above that this is an emotionally and physically challenging journey that you are on. You can do this!

I am new to the group (first post). I have my very first appointment in a few days and I am SO NERVOUS! I have done tons of research and decided that RNY is the best option for me due to my severe GERD. I have a BMI of 37.8 and two co-morbidities. I have made notes of all my health issues and reasons why I want the surgery. I’ve been rehearsing the question “why do you want the surgery” with my husband and my answer is a rambling mess. I get so nervous and talk too much and try to sound educated. Good grief, I could use some solid advice. This first appointment is SO important to me. I don’t want to mess it up and not get a second appointment with the dietitian. S.O.S.

I am new to the group (first post). I have my very first appointment in a few days and I am SO NERVOUS! I have done tons of research and decided that RNY is the best option for me due to my severe GERD. I have a BMI of 37.8 and two co-morbidities. I have made notes of all my health issues and reasons why I want the surgery. I’ve been rehearsing the question “why do you want the surgery” with my husband and my answer is a rambling mess. I get so nervous and talk too much and try to sound educated. Good grief, I could use some solid advice. This first appointment is SO important to me. I don’t want to mess it up and not get a second appointment with the dietitian. S.O.S.

This is me, 7 months post-op..79lbs lost

I had surgery almost 10 months ago. Hubby is just eatting better

I remember being pre-op and my favorite thing to do was look at progress photos and dream
I am 6 months, 10 days post op and I am down 128 pounds total. This isnt a very great pic since I have been sick, but i still took it because anything is better than my before!!

I just did the math and 8 ounces of Water for an 8 hour period is 64 ounces. That’s not bad. I agree with the comments above that this is an emotionally and physically challenging journey that you are on. You can do this!

My first appointment literally lasted 5 minutes... Just brought in prior medical history which the assistant looked over and she asked some questions and then the surgeon came in and talked about the procedure quickly and quickly looked over the assistants notes and that was it. Never asked why i wanted the surgery just asked which surgery i want.

Its honestly not an interview, your medical history will speak for itself as to whether you need the surgery since it is a medical decision. I was nervous too so I get it but try to relax. Maybe come prepared with some questions you have for them so if you feel yourself getting worked up you can ask them to do the talking for a bit.