So I am 5 1/2 months into my 6 month insurance requirements for approval for the gastric sleeve. I have finished my support group meetings and have one more visit with the dietician on February 4th. After that I will get my insurance approval and then surgery is on April 5th. I am a teacher and have scheduled surgery during my spring break to avoid too much time off work.

I am excited about my surgery and excited that I've found a place to have support from. My husband is my number one support saying that he can't wait until I lose the weight because he is ready for me to see myself the way he's always seen me. : )

I am writing this post to request any pre-surgery advice that any of you could offer to help make life after surgery easier. I have already cut my caffeine intake by 75% and I am starting to exercise. I look forward to hearing from you guys. Thanks ahead of time for all the support!

It seems that the more weight you lose before surgery, the safer the procedure and easier recovery. I just had the surgery so I don't have a whole lot of helpful advice but here's a few thoughts that come to mind:

-Start a journal.

-Take daily Vitamins and eat whole foods to try to be in the best of health at time of surgery (try to go for no sugar / artificial ingredients or processed foods - maybe have one cheat day a week to keep you sane until pre-op diet starts).

-Get 20 minutes of direct sun (if you can) between 10-2 PM in shorts/tshirt to optimize your vit D levels (most of us are seriously low).

-Have your post-op liquids purchased in advance.

-Purchase some weight loss surgery cookbooks (most people have much more luck finding them online than at stores).

-Start doing the lung (deep breathing and coughing, ask your doctor for a spirometer thingy) and leg exercizes (stretching the foot at ankle forward and back to improve blood flow) well before surgery.

-Take some good 'before' photos from different angles.

BEST OF LUCK TO YOU!! This is a really wonderful site and will be extremely helpful for you before and after your life-changing surgery!

So I am 5 1/2 months into my 6 month insurance requirements for approval for the gastric sleeve. I have finished my support group meetings and have one more visit with the dietician on February 4th. After that I will get my insurance approval and then surgery is on April 5th. I am a teacher and have scheduled surgery during my spring break to avoid too much time off work.

I am excited about my surgery and excited that I've found a place to have support from. My husband is my number one support saying that he can't wait until I lose the weight because he is ready for me to see myself the way he's always seen me. : )

I am writing this post to request any pre-surgery advice that any of you could offer to help make life after surgery easier. I have already cut my caffeine intake by 75% and I am starting to exercise. I look forward to hearing from you guys. Thanks ahead of time for all the support!