Hello everyone,

I am looking for as much guidance as possible. I am very excited for this VSG surgery (September 9). I am feeling a little uneasy for many reasons. One, I am doing this alone. I am getting it done in Mexico, where my mother had hers done. I have only heard exceptional things about all aspects of the journey there. The staff, doctors, drivers, the stay itself etc. I am 23 years old and am still kind of a baby when it comes to going out into the unknown, so far from home (Oregon). I have a million questions, even after doing a bunch of research. I suppose I will list some and see where this goes.

1. I am a smoker, and as much as I would like to not be, it is hard to quit. My surgery is coming up soon and I am quitting cold turkey. Any ideas to keep away from that post-op? I also do think once the surgery is done, my outlook on cigarettes will change dramatically because I feel this is a total reboot, but who knows.

2. How soon after surgery can I start working out? I have been planning on some cardio and strength training... I do not want to go too hard, too soon, but have heard even after two weeks of surgery one can go back to a normal workout routine. (I am signed up for a walking class in the fall, because I didn't want to go too hard post op)

3. Loose skin: should this be a worry of mine? 200-205 lbs currently, 23 years old. How can I really minimize that?

4.Best Protein shake suppliments? What to mix with to lessen the nasty taste?

5. I am a big baby and get overly nervous for a surgery. Although I know every individual is different, what can I expect post-op the day of my surgery, and day after. Pain scales, nausea?

I am sure I will be posting more questions on this, thank you for your time guys, it means so much!

Mariah

PS ---- Garcia is my doctor!

Hi Mariah - Congrats on your surgery date:)

I'm only 4 weeks out but wanted to recommend a great facebook page that is private to members who join so no one from your firends list will see you post unless they are also members. Many of your questions can be answered there as well. "The Sassy Sleevers"

Can't answer #1 for you as I'm not a smoker.

About exercise. My local bariatric surgeon at home told me to wait until I was 3 weeks out before doing more that walking. He said to start out slow for a few weeks with lite cardio and NOT to do much core exercise. He said give that area another month. In the meantime, I started doing a gentle yoga class 5 days a week and I have to say I'm surprised by how much of a work out there is it!! I was a non-believer lol.

Loose skin - So everyone has a different recovery and loss experience. I know for myself I can tell I will have a little bit of loose skin because I have yoyo'd with my weight for 20+ years. You are young and may be surprised at how well your skin snaps back!!

Post op - Again everyone is different. My personal experience has been super easy. I even questioned a couple of times if it really happened and maybe he only pretended to take 3/4 of my stomach. As I started each phase of the postop diet, I'm more and more challenged by feeling restriction. I literally get 4 or 5 small bites and I'm stuffed. I can tell I'm getting full by these little half hiccup half burps I get.

My pain - on a scale of 1 - 10, I was a 1. I had almost no pain except for the drain. The stich was tight and pulled and was uncomfortable but once it was removed I was prettty much pain free.

Hope some of my experience helps.

Hi Mariah - Congrats on your surgery date:)

I'm only 4 weeks out but wanted to recommend a great facebook page that is private to members who join so no one from your firends list will see you post unless they are also members. Many of your questions can be answered there as well. "The Sassy Sleevers"

Can't answer #1 for you as I'm not a smoker.

About exercise. My local bariatric surgeon at home told me to wait until I was 3 weeks out before doing more that walking. He said to start out slow for a few weeks with lite cardio and NOT to do much core exercise. He said give that area another month. In the meantime, I started doing a gentle yoga class 5 days a week and I have to say I'm surprised by how much of a work out there is it!! I was a non-believer lol.

Loose skin - So everyone has a different recovery and loss experience. I know for myself I can tell I will have a little bit of loose skin because I have yoyo'd with my weight for 20+ years. You are young and may be surprised at how well your skin snaps back!!

Post op - Again everyone is different. My personal experience has been super easy. I even questioned a couple of times if it really happened and maybe he only pretended to take 3/4 of my stomach. As I started each phase of the postop diet, I'm more and more challenged by feeling restriction. I literally get 4 or 5 small bites and I'm stuffed. I can tell I'm getting full by these little half hiccup half burps I get.

My pain - on a scale of 1 - 10, I was a 1. I had almost no pain except for the drain. The stich was tight and pulled and was uncomfortable but once it was removed I was prettty much pain free.

Hope some of my experience helps.

Hey there!

Thank you so much for your response, you've Enlightened me!

I actually just deleted my Facebook, unfortunately. I wish I could join! Do you know of any other resources?

I remember when my mother got it done, she would have like 3-5 bites and sometimes feel full stuffed!

which brings me to another concern.. later on, say a couple months+ when I am good to exercise regularly, I wanted to start training pretty hard, not necessarily body building ripped but definitely tone up and grab some muscle all over my body. so my concern: how will I be able to get a sufficient amount of liquids, Protein, etc in my body post work out? Is it a lot easier than I am thinking it is? My mom said you just sip all day on your shake or whatever. What do you (or anyone else reading this) think?

I have a strong feeling the surgery is short and sweet and not very painful. To be honest, I am just a big baby worry wort! I am quite nervous about the initial entering the operation room and then the drain. I have bad dreams about waking up during surgery (even a long time ago). I am sure I will be fine though. I have heard such exceptional things about my doctor and his team!

My daily food intake: I start my day with a shake, takes me about an hour to finish it. I bought a can of the Enspira shake mix and add a 1/2 a banana and sometimes a teaspoon of Natural Almond butter.

I eat maybe 3 or 4 other small meals throughout the day. At 4 weeks, that consists of 1/4 cup of lowfat chili, tuna chicken or egg salad, 1/2 a small sweet potato, 1 scambled egg, the other night I had some salmon...... stuff like that.

I start with a trainer on Tuesday next week. He is well aware of my surgery and knows I need to take it easy on my core to begin with. He recommeded a product called Muscle Fuel to drink before the workout and asked that I show the back of the packet to my doc before taking it. Its like an energy boost and you add it to bottled Water. Its oonly 20 cals, low in carbs and sugar and doc said it would be fine to take. I'm not worried about post workout food so much at this point but I do get these bariatric protien bars from my docs office from Healthwise (can be ordered online) that are pretty good and I'll probably throw some in by gym bag in case I'm hungry after my WO.

Being scared is normal. When they came to get me to go in for my surgery, I got tears in my eyes and thought to myself, my God am I doing the right thing. Worrying about waking up during surgery was one of my fears too!! 5 minutes later I was asleep and what felt like just a few minutes later I was waking up. Hubs right by my side holding my hand. Other than feeling groggy, it didnt even feel like anything was even done.

I hope i didnt scare you about the drain, it really isnt that bad, it was more of an annoyance. Its only in for 2 or 3 days and thats a a small price to pay. You'll do great and these boards are a great support group.

Mariah,

If you tell the nurses or Dr. Garcia you are nervous, they will give you something to relax you, something along the lines of Valium I believe - it makes waiting for the surgery easier on your nerves.

Everyone's experience of recovery is different: some of us have more nausea and pain than others post-op. Just accept your experience but be sure to let the nurses know how you feel and don't be afraid to ask the dr.s if what you are feeling is within the normal range.

Same with progress after you go home. It took me the longest time to move from one food stage to the next but I took it slow and five months out, I have no problem getting enough Protein and fluids to do a good workout. That was a good question on your part.

As for Protein drinks, this is hard as everyone has different reactions to different brands. I used unjury until I got sick of it. I couldn't stand Isopure from the start and gave it to my husband. Try different brands til you find one you like.

And for heavens sake, DO NOT start smoking again! Smoking is one of the biggest risk factors for this surgery and post-op complications. We don't want to read about you on the complications board.

Best of luck sweetie! You are very brave even if you don't feel like it.