SandyT

@Zinger I had 2 preop appts, one with my surgeon, 30 min, and one with my dietician 1 hr. But a few weeks before that I had initial visits with the dietician and social worker. The hospital called today and scheduled me to come in next week for my preop testing. Maybe your providers combine some appts so that it takes 4 hrs? I am learning that every surgeon has a different process.

So, I just completed day 3 of my liver prep diet. Today seemed to be better than yesterday. I am not feeling as hungry, although I am already getting tired of the protein shakes. I still have little energy, just doing the absolute necessary and resting a lot. It's hard but not horrible and will be worth it when all is said and done. Everyone hang in there and remember what the goal is... better health and a longer life. I'm still nervous, but also ready to move forward. We got this!

@corylus Glad to meet someone having surgery the same day as me! I also feel that it is good to read others comments here, we are definitely not alone. My first day I also felt brain fog, and a craving for something sweet or salty. I think I will try some gatorade to see if that helps the craving. Maybe I need sodium. I keep thinking 1day down and 13 to go. I hope it does get better eventually. I did discover that adding some PB powder to my vanilla shake made a pretty tasty peanut butter shake. I also added a bit of sugar free chocolate syrup to my chocolate shake and it was pretty tasty. I do love chocolate.

Well, it's countdown time for me. I start my liver prep diet tomorrow and my surgery is two weeks later. I have all I need for the next two weeks, it came in a tote bag from my surgeon's office, chocolate and vanilla protein powder. I can add some fruit to the shakes if desired and have other clear calorie free liquids and jello and popsicles. I hope it won't be too bad. I'll let you know how it's going! It's getting real y'all.

Hello! Nice to meet you! I see you're in the UK. We have some wonderful friends who live in Leeds. We met them on a cruise several years ago. We hit it off immediately. We took a tour to Ireland and Scotland last year and spent one day in Liverpool and they drove over to see us. It was so special! Love the UK. As far as shakes, the only ones I have stocked up on are Fairlife chocolate shakes. I have tried several other brands, and they are the tastiest. I bought a case at Costco, but they are available from Amazon also. I think we need to try to stay as bust as possible for the next few weeks to keep the anxiety at arms length.

Hi, I'm Sandra and I am having a gastric sleeve on May 6th! I have been lurking here reading as much as i can of other's posts and have learned a lot. My situation is a little different as this is my second bariatric surgery. I had lap band surgery in 2009 and now am having it converted because my band stopped working for me. I did lose weight but then gained a lot back and recently have lost some again but need to lose more. My reason for surgery is to be healthier and hopefully improve my arthritis pain and mobility. My emotions are currently all over the place, anxious, worried, happy and excited. I will start my liver prep diet in 1 week. Not looking forward to 2 weeks of shakes only. I really am not too concerned about the surgery itself, as I have had several surgeries, and the pain has not been bad afterwards. As for my overnight hospital stay, I plan to pack as little as possible. I will plan on wearing home the clothes I arrive in. I think moisturizer and lip balm are good ideas. I may take a light robe. Someone mentioned a heating pad, but I don't think most hospitals allow you to bring them (coming from a retired RN here). They can be a burn hazard if they malfunction. If I am only staying overnight, I may not need reading materials. I will likely watch TV and nap. Slippers to walk in will be needed. I wish you all the best of luck for an easy surgery and pain free post-op course!

Hi, everyone..... It's great to hear from some of the folks who have been on the same wild ride as I have. I haven't been here in so long, but like some of you I spent a lot of time reading about other's experience before I began my own. I was banded June 4th 2009 and have lost 120 lbs. I'm not sure how much farther I will go, I have some telling me I don't need to lose more but the scale tells me otherwise at 179. From almost 300 to here, I can hardly believe it. I am a totally different person, and even now, 2 years later, I still have people telling me everyday how good I look. I thought I was losing slowly at first, but finally got to a point in my fills that the weight came off faster. I have struggled with my band for a couple of months now, have to be so careful because I have trouble with solids and can only eat very small amounts. I use a lot of Protein Drinks, but I know I should eat more solids. I am thinking about getting some taken out, but I hate to mess a good thing up. I struggle with sweets, and love ice cream, so I will really have to be careful from now on. I am 55, and I feel better than I did at 40. I have been able to stop taking arthritis meds and have decreased my blood pressure meds. My blood sugar is perfect, my mother was a diabetic and I want to avoid the trouble she had. I don't knock myself out with exercise, but enjoy Zumba and take a class a couple of days a week, and just try to be as active as I can. I am so glad I did this, and hope those of you struggling will remember where you came from to get here, and keep up the battle. We are all human and have our weaknesses, we slip and fall, but just have to get up and keep on truckin. Sandy

Hi all... I haven't been here in a while, and I'm glad I came back. I have been having some of the same challenges I read that you all are having. I had my first fill on 7/7 and haven't noticed much change at all. I seem to be able to eat anything and my appetite seems to be increasing. I am getting hungrier quicker and need more to satisfy me. It's hard to just focus on eating right. I'm hoping I will start getting some restriction after my next fill and things will get easier. I haven't lost any weight in the last 2 weeks. So I guess knowing I am not alone in this struggle helps. Hang in there everyone....we have to be strong! :smile:

Hi, everyone... Banded Yesterday!!!! Feel really good, some soreness on the left side around port incision, not bad. Taking my pain meds but going to space them out longer today. I did a good bit of walking around the house after I came home yesterday and feel good moving. No nausea or voming, tolerating all my clear liquids fine, but not really hungry. Overall the surgery experience was much better than I feared. Now on to recovery. Hope you all have as easy a time as I so far! :biggrin::thumbup:

June 4th will be my big day....I am so ready. I only started this journey a little over a month ago. I have worked so hard getting to all the classes and getting all my info together to submit to the insurance. They approved me within 24 hrs! I am now on a 2 wk liver diet, day 3, and it sucks. I would die for meat right now, but I'm serious about this. I envy those of you who don't have to do a diet. :wink2:

Hi, everyone! I've been reading your posts for a few weeks now and have found them very helpful on my journey this far. I live west of Chattanooga and just got my surgery date today....June 4th. Dr Ponce at Memorial. I go tomorrow for my surgery class and start my diet on Thursday. I am a nurse, formerly a surgery nurse so I know more than a little about the surgery and now I am a precert nurse so I was able to get my surgery approved in 24 hrs, I guess because I knew exactly what they were looking for. Anyway, I find myself more nervous than ever now, probably more worried about the liver diet than anything. Any tips?