Hello All -

My name is Aaron and I am having my VSG done on 04/25 and I just seemed to be somewhat of a "Nervous Ned" that I am not going to be as prepared as I should. I am currently reviewing any and all of the information that was provided by my Surgeons office however I am hoping that someone in VST land has a good list of "Things to Remember/Have" for both going into the day of surgery (i.e. what to pack and take with you to surgery), and also "Things That Are Must Have's" for after surgery.

Thank you in advance for any suggestions you can provide me here!

Aaron

I would suggest not stocking up TOO much on Protein powders/shakes. Many people have reported that what they loved prior to surgery, they hated after surgery, so I'd hate to see you get stuck with any.

I'm a bargain shopper so for me getting good prices on things was super important... I looked around online for all the best prices on the Vitamins I'd need post op and stocked up. I also got the acid reducer ompezerole that my doctor recommended when it was on sale at walgreens. Gasx strips were a life saver because my stomach had a lot of gas for the first week or so.

Honestly, I didn't really worry about packing everything for surgery and I went all the way to Mexico for it. The biggest thing I did was prepare my body for surgery. I was on an 800 calorie diet for three months preop and I made sure to get at least 70 grams of protein a day along with taking vitamins. I also added some kale and ginger juice to my Protein drinks for three months prior to surgery and made sure I had lots of leafy greens and I avoided grains for the three months prior to surgery. I just wanted to bathe myself in protein, micronutrients, and anti-inflamatory foods as much as possible prior to surgery in order to have speedy healing time. I don't know if it worked, but I can say that I had very little inflammation of my sleeve post surgery... Could be a fluke, but I like to think it was a combination of having a fantastic surgeon, taking my daily kale and ginger juice, and making sure my body was not in any way Vitamin or protein deficient prior to surgery.

Hi Aaron,

Serendipity had some really good advice!

A few things I learned going into surgery was to be supper well hydrated! I also wanted to be as clean as I could (as in toxins). Since our goal is to shrink our livers pre op and our livers goal is to filter toxins I started drinking a detox tea I found on line. Not only did it get in the liquids I needed but it also helped detox me too... The tea I drank was made with dandelion tea (or any detox hot tea) 1/2 cup cranberry juice (no sugar added) 1 lemon sliced, 2 oz of ginger sliced and a few packs of splenda (just for taste) I liked drinking it better than plain Water...

The other thing I would suggest is to pack a little extension cord for your surgery day (hospital stay) I could never find an outlet to plug my phone/tablet into close to my bed... I had allot of people both here on VST and FB who wanted to know how I was doing. This might help you out a bit

Good luck with everything! Your going to do great!

Keep us updated, we would all like to know how it goes for you

Amber

Amberly, the extension cord is a great idea! My mom was just in the hospital & we had that problem in her room. I'm planning to have both chicken & beef broths made in advance & portioned out with some in the freezer. Aaron, there's a thread pinned at the top of this forum with all kinds of suggestions.

Hi Aaron!! You really aren't going to need a whole lot to take to the hospital with you. I would recommend maybe some slippers for walking up and down the halls, definitely ear plugs because all of the beeping from the machines almost made me lose my mind, and definitely your cell phone, iPad or laptop. Good luck!