I am hoping to have my surgery on May 2nd. I received the typical pre-op instructions from my doctor which have a 3 days prior to surgery liquid only and laxatives diet requirement. I am a graduate student who has a 4 hour long final as well as research presentation on April 30th. I am wondering how others reacted to the change in nutrients. How was your concentration, energy level and memory during this time? Can you recommend certain liquids that will be better than others during this time? Thanks!

Hi I am a grad student fulltime too and the pre-diet for the vertical sleeve was really hard, but you can push through it, if you can get ahead of your work then do it because your energy is also affected I tried to get some work done before I started and thank God everything worked out. Just plan and plan and stay ahead of your school work any reading you can do now will also help you. I read as much as I could because it was hard for me to concentrate when my belly wanted food and my head could not understand why, once you have the sleeve its a different game I felt so much better I moved slow but dint have the hunger pains..

I am hoping to have my surgery on May 2nd. I received the typical pre-op instructions from my doctor which have a 3 days prior to surgery liquid only and laxatives diet requirement. I am a graduate student who has a 4 hour long final as well as research presentation on April 30th. I am wondering how others reacted to the change in nutrients. How was your concentration, energy level and memory during this time? Can you recommend certain liquids that will be better than others during this time? Thanks!

I was exactly in the same boat before my surgery. I am a grad student at Dartmouth and was finishing up my fall term just days before the surgery. My pre-op diet was 2 weeks before the surgery so it definitely cut into my final project, presentation and exam. I was pleasantly surprised how much energy I had after the first day or so. I thought I was going to feel fatigued but I really wasn't. The key is getting in plenty of Water. I also chewed gum like crazy while in class and on exam day. It just kept me going. One thing I would ask your doc is whether you can wait on the laxatives until day 2. I never had to take laxatives or do anything having to do with a bowel prep, so I was lucky in that regard. Good luck to you!!!

Hey all you grad students, just wanted to say congratulations on your journey - academically and weight-loss wise. I finished up grad school in Dec 2012. I'm a mom of 2 so the sleeve really wasn't something I could fit onto my plate at the time but I seriously give you all props for taking on both! Both of these major life changes are going to feel great when you reap the rewards.

Hi I am also a grad student. I am almost 5 weeks post op and in my next to last semester of school. It is really intense but soooo worth it. I think that people not going through the struggles of both at the same time don't get how hard it is!!