Howdy all,

I'm just starting the pre-op diet and have my surgery date set for 11/4. I'm nervous and excited and scared and ready all at the same time. For my pre-op diet, my doctor has me having two Protein shakes a day, and a "sensible" dinner (all to be less than 1000 cals a day). Today is day one, and I knew I'd be hungry.

Just seeing if anybody is my neck of the woods and what their experiences have been like? I have a friend that had a sleeve about 6 months ago, and they have had great success. However, they don't really eat what they're supposed to now, they cheated during the pre-op diet, and are not a great source of information. (We are friends for other reasons besides just weight loss, obviously - hehe).

Looking for others that have had similar experiences and just a support buddy.

Where in Nebraska are you? I'm in sioux city, ia and am 11 months post-op.

I'm in Lincoln. How are you doing? Right now i wish I was 11 months post op

You'll get there, just hold on!! Follow your surgeons rules - they're there for a reason! I'm doing really REALLY well - 318 at my highest, 311 the morning of surgery (11/21) and 186 today. My surgeon says I'm ahead of the curve, but I also had a couple preop issues (pcos & LARGE hiatal hernia) that may have been contributing to metabolic issues.

My tips for an easy recovery?

- if you don't have a recliner, rent one for the first week. You'll sleep so much better and its much easier to get up

- get out of bed as quickly as you can post-op. I was afraid my period started, so I got up as soon as I felt awake enough to get to the bathroom. While I was up I walked a very slow lap around the pod. After that, I was up walking very hour or two.

- do NOT let nausea or pain sneak up on you the first couple days. Keep your zofran and vicodin ON TIME. Trust me on this . My surgery was in a Thursday afternoon and my last dose of pain meds was Monday morning, but the zofran continued for another day or two.

- be gentle on your tummy. Don't push the limits with the diet restrictions. Keep the foods very soft and mild for a while and let your tummy heal. I couldn't have steak or pork for 6 months, but I did it

- and finally, if you think it's going to suck, then it's going to suck. Keep your chin up, stay positive, remind yourself any pain, discomfort or frustration is only temporary and it will pass!

Thank you so much. That's exactly what I needed to hear right now. Pre-op diet is going ok. Since I've started all this (about two months ago), I'm down 35lbs from 330 to 295. Hoping the preop diet will shed that down a few more before surgery.

I, too, have PCOS. not fun. Best wishes to you and thanks again

I thought of 1 more tip that may help. When I went to my required preop class, the nutritionist was all about choosing low calorie, low fat, low sodium foods. When I met with the other nutritionist that I was assigned to, I mentioned my philosophy is to eat real foods - have an egg, have a cup of whole milk, have dark meat, have a hamburger. She said she was ok with that as long as I had restriction and was losing weight. I've always had pretty tight restriction, so even eating real foods with real fat and oh-my-gosh, cooked with salt, I was getting a MAX of 900 calories in, if that. So I would encourage you to eat real food - it doesn't all have to be heavy or fatty, but have thigh meat (it's easier on my tummy and tastes better), have shrimp, have a hamburger patty, have avocado, full fat yogurt. But don't get caught up in all the diet foods that may be allowed - Protein bars are usually really high in sugar and are a trigger food for me, low fat salad dressing just doesn't taste good, skinny cow just about anything is just going to torture you - because you can eat it, but you'll want more and more. I still "cheat" occasionally, but where I went through a couple weeks where I kept skinny cow ice cream in the house and went from having 1 every couple days to 2-3 a DAY, now I don't buy them at all, but every couple weeks my hubby and I will go to culvers and I'll get a single scoop of frozen custard and throw half of it away. It tastes better, is way more satisfying and doesn't make me crave it constantly.

You are gonna do great! This site has been really helpful for me, but keep in mind that a lot of people come here because they are having issues with their sleeve. I'm in a Facebook group with other people who had surgery the same month, and very few of us even come on here anymore. Just a heads up

Hey all! Best of luck to you both. I'm three weeks post op and adjusting well to the soft food diet.

Only thing I'm struggling with right now is my main incision is giving me pain issues and keeps running me down by the end of the day.

Oh and down 32 from 361 lbs!