My surgery is next week.. and yesterday I had my final appt with my surgeon to discuss surgery day and any questions I had. I finally broke down, and cried Might I add that my surgeon is BEYOND cute... which made it worse! He was discussing surgery day and said that after the operation was over he would go out and talk to my family and friends and let everyone know how it went. . . only my family is back East, and I dont have that many friends who actually offered to be there waiting It really just makes me sad.. I never thought about that part I guess. I feel like im going at this alone..and it sucks.

Im also a little worried about remembering ALL THESE RULES after surgery .. I feel like Im going to have to keep my info packet next me so I can read what Im supposed to do everyday. Does this part get easier as days go by??

Also .. i have been thinking about all the foods that are no longer going to be in my diet. Am i NEVER going to be able to have a slice of pizza again? or a burger? I kinda thought that maybe eventually i could have these things, but of course extremely smaller amounts, way less often.

Any input is appreciated

Sweetie let me start by telling you that you are never "truly" alone! I know you wish your family and/or friends were there with you but unfortunately they cannot be. If I lived any where near you I would be there in the waiting room for you sending up good thoughts and prayers for your safe recovery. Know that everyone on this board will be thinking of you on your special day!!! I'm sure you will have a safe, swift and uneventful recovery. Please keep us posted on your progress and know that everything will be just fine.

Yes it does get easier as time goes on after your surgery and one day you will be able to get that slice of pizza or hamburger but as you said it will be smaller portions because you will be so much smaller!!! :D I'm sure you have happy thoughts about that now!! I look at my manual almost daily to make sure I'm doing what I should be doing but basically just do exactly what your doctors and nurses tell you to do and of course you have the people on this fabulous board to help you!!!

You take really good care of yourself and know that everything really will be just fine!

My surgery is next week.. and yesterday I had my final appt with my surgeon to discuss surgery day and any questions I had. I finally broke down, and cried Might I add that my surgeon is BEYOND cute... which made it worse! He was discussing surgery day and said that after the operation was over he would go out and talk to my family and friends and let everyone know how it went. . . only my family is back East, and I dont have that many friends who actually offered to be there waiting It really just makes me sad.. I never thought about that part I guess. I feel like im going at this alone..and it sucks.

Im also a little worried about remembering ALL THESE RULES after surgery .. I feel like Im going to have to keep my info packet next me so I can read what Im supposed to do everyday. Does this part get easier as days go by??

Also .. i have been thinking about all the foods that are no longer going to be in my diet. Am i NEVER going to be able to have a slice of pizza again? or a burger? I kinda thought that maybe eventually i could have these things, but of course extremely smaller amounts, way less often.

Any input is appreciated

Hi, I'm not sure you want to hear from an old foogy like me, I'm almost 2 years out and let me tell you what it sounds like your feeling is separation anxiety. I think most of us have gone through this at some point of our journey. Yes, you will be able to eat pizza and burgers again but not til your in the maintainence portion of your weight loss or until you learn what your body can handle or can't handle. For example I would love to eat a burger (I haven't had a take out burger in 2 years! ) but not because I can't, it's because #1. I know it's a waste of money cause i'll never finish the whole thing, amd #2. bread. lettuce and I don't get along at all, so for me that is a big waste. . . so I just don't bother. You will get back to normal eventually. . but be prepared to relearn everything there is about eating and drinking stuff. . . I promise you that it will get easier with time and that you must be patient. . . don't expect to come out of surgery a thin model that takes time too. . . Rome wasn't built in a day either. . . patience my friend and love for yourself is the key. . . rejoice with each success and be kind to your body. . don't expect to loose as others do, you may go faster or you may go slower, just be happy you are loosing. . your going to do ok. . . and honey you may not have your biological family with you, but you have your cyber family with you. . .take your computer and as soon as you can, get onto the forum and chatter to us. . . tell us about your experiences, your cute doctor, your fears, that weird feeling when you try to drink something the first time. . . you know just talk to us. . we are hear for you. . . good luck! Your going to do fine!

i am still in what i think of as beginning stages of my preop. I have no idea of when my surgery will be, but he did say "not this summer". I am required to lose 70 lbs first and control my diabetes. I don't know if you were in a similar situation or not.

I, too, don't have family that will be there for me either when the time comes. I highly doubt it, therefore I am preparing my mindset for going this alone. I am content with that idea. I do understand from your post that last minutes nerves will set in, fears, and doubts. I hope to be able to handle these by having it set in mind what will happen and how it will go post-op. Kind of a coping mechanism. Put in your mind too that you will look to this site and others like it for continuing support. I will.

As far as foods that we will be missing over our lifetime, i have two views on it.

1. in my required support group meeting, they said that once we are eating again after having lost our weight and are maintaining, that we will be able to eat some of the things we like in very small amounts. more like a "taste" from what i have been doing during my life. LOL.

2. i also know from previous diets i have been on that by that time I will be so used to avoiding such "bad" foods that I wont have a problem with turning down certain things. I think this is a matter of faith. they keep saying that this is a LIFE CHANGE and NOT a temporary measure. so avoiding bad foods and old habits is just something I (we) will have to do.

I wish you good luck and hope that my amatuerish support helps at least a little. I will watch for you here with eager anticipation for your follow-up posts. Hang in there and be strong for yourself. HUGS.

Jana Kay

thank you everyone for your kind words, you really cheered me up and made me feel at ease thank you!!!!!!!!!

Hi to everyone, I wanted to say to you Tamz that you are stronger than you know. You have taken a monumental step in your life by making the decision to have this surgery and I am so happy for you!! You have read the responses above and see what love and support there is on this forum and it truly amazes me how wonderful people really are! You keep your chin up and soon you will be on the journey to a more healthy, beautiful you!:cheer2:

God Bless!

You can do this Tamz!!!! Be strong and we will be here for you

I'm so sorry your family won't be there with you. Please know that you have all of us here ready to support you

Yes you will be able to eat pizza, and all of the other foods you love, BUT it may be different. I used to live to EAT and now I eat to live. For me eating a lot of the things I loved was what I enjoyed most, and now although I still enjoy food it's just not the same. AND thank God its not the same...that was my problem and that's why I was so unhealthy.

Here I am now happier than ever ...ENJOY your journey. You are going to love your sleeve!

We are with you!!! Keep posting!! Many of these people have gotten me through tough emotional times and I am not sleeved yet!! Lol. I'm sorry about your family not being here too. It is weird to say but going thru this emotional roller coaster is something we are all doing "alone" in a way. At the same time, I feel that by shedding the weight permanently, I am in a way un-isolating myself for the first time!!!! You know what I mean?? That fat buffer is going away...and it is vulnerable n scary at times!! But, thank God we are taking Lu lives back!! And going back to living!! Keep your mind focused on that. ps I have a super cute anesthesiologist!!! Lol. Thank goodness he will be at my face end during the surgery!! Haha!! Hugs n hang in there!! Joan

Hi Tamz!!

I'm just gonna say "Yeah....what they said". LOL plus some (((( hugs )))). Can't get anywhere in life without those! What date is your surgery? I am going to spend the day with you from here, I promise. I will be praying for you the whole day and sending all my good wishes and eagerly awaiting your first post-op post. Hang in there!! I am going to count on you to be with me on my day in September, ok? got it? :cool: lol

xoxoxoxoxox

Melissa

All of us here will be thinking of you on that special day. And yes some of us have to go it alone. You are doing this for YOU and that is what you should be concentrating on. This is one of the best decisions you have made. Concentrate on taking care of yourself and doing the things you need to do. As women we tend to take care of everyone except ourselves.

I have not told my mother about this ( she is 80 years old). I tried but she did not really understand so I just dropped it.

Khy

What everyone has already said Tamz! plus some! We will be there for you and try not to worry about things too much, everything will fall into place!