Just met with my surgeon last week. Because I am a procrastinator ...and a teacher...I am planning on having surgery done right before Christmas Break.That gives me about 21/2 weeks for recovery. My question is...what are the things I should go ahead and do NOW to make it easier post op? Give up soda, start exercising, anything that you wish you had known about/started prior to surgery? Thanks!

Just research. Read as many positives and negatives as possible before your surgery. You have plenty of time to educate yourself on every tiny little possibility of life post sleeve. I spent a year researching and the only surprises I had? Lactose intolerance (I was sure it wouldn't happen to me) and the challenges of life in maintenance. Otherwise? I felt well prepared and while I did find parts of the early months frustrating, I had no real challenges.

I would cut out soda if it's a change you plan to make post op. It's a trigger for me now and I seldom drink it, because it's hard to stop at one. I want one every day and that leads to endless empty calories. Not to mention that we all know how terrible soda really is for us, and that it's toxic! But many choose to drink it post op, with no real difficulties.

I think that I'd use a no pressure approach. It worked well for me. I made tiny changes in the months leading up to my surgery but I didn't force myself to act is if I were already sleeved. I started to cut out some bad habits (late night snacking!) and some trigger foods (popcorn and cherry coke!) but other than that I proceeded as normal. I do think I became more active in preparation, but I despise any and all structured exercise, so I simply spent more hours on my feet or moved a bit more when taking the twins to the playground.

This is a great opportunity to explore the why of your eating, though. When you see yourself eating, always ask yourself if you're hungry. Try to discover what makes you eat and why it happens, because this is something you'll be forced to do for long term success, anyway.

Best of luck, and I applaud your desire to gather information now. We see far too many people that have this major, life altering surgery without seeking out any knowledge or doing any preparation beforehand.

~Cheri

i would say anything that you know you have to give up post op start working on it now. for me soda was a big one. i gave it up in october and was sleeved in december. i have read posts from people who kinda forgot about soda and when they were starting their liquid diets were dying bc they wanted pop. its hard enough to give up food for weeks but to also have to focus on the soda, makes it that much harder. i also started cutting back on sweets and carbs and incorporated a protein drink into my day to sort of prep for surgery.

i also like the previous poster spent hours a night and week reading positive stories, negative stories, stories of complications. i wanted to be as prepared as i could be in case something happened. i wanted to know what my options were if X happened and what the signs and symptom to watch for etc. good luck to you!!!

oh something else i thought of. start practicing not drinking 30 minutes before and after meals and also during. this is still very hard for me to do.

I agree with the others that if your drink a lot of soda you may want to start giving it up slowly now so you can adjust prior, sometimes your body needs to slowly adjust. You may want to start getting used to packing your lunch and taking it with you to work, so it becomes habit which will make it easier when you have to. I do not recommend trying to pick any protein shakes or bars post op because a lot of people have found there tastes changed post op, and I have read many times where people had stocked up on things preop just to get to post op and not be able to tolerate them.. Relax, take things slow, and enjoy the journey. Good Luck.

After my first informational & NUT sessions, i started cutting back on caffeine, fast foods & other junk foods along with alcoholic beverages. I also started not drinking 15 mins prior to meals & not drinking until 1 hour afterwards. And not eating after 7 pm. All that was difficult initially but it was habit forming. with all of that, my post op transition hasn't been too difficult.

While I didn't know about this forum until 5 mons post op, the handbook my center gave me prepared my tremendously. I must say, had I known about this forum pre-op, I think the horror stories would have added more anxiety for me. I have a habit of over analyzing. so I probably would've chickened out. Some folks like a lot of information, for me, less was better. I relied on the information in my handbook & informational sessions. This worked for me.

Thank you so much! Giving up diet soda..I am an addict right now..is probably number one. I am a teacher and our cafeteria is awful so I already have to bring lunch every day. Any suggestions on the best testing high protein chocolate shake?