My surgery is scheduled for this Thurs. I have been reading posts on here for a few weeks but this is the first time I'm writing.

I'm starting to panic & wonder if I'm making the right decision. This process has been 1 1/2 years for me so it's not something I rushed into. But I'm suddenly worried. And the things that keep popping into my mind are: can I really never have pizza again? What about margaritas? What if the hunger feeling doesn't go away & I'm hungry all the time but unable to eat? What if there is a complication?

Please tell me I'm worried for nothing!

You're worried for nothing. And honestly would you rather be a healthy weight or eat pizza & drink margaritas until you die?

I'd like to be a healthy weight & be able to drink a margarita once in a while.

I can only tell you about my experience. And I went through the same nervous/excited feelings and thoughts.

As far as food and drinks and alcohol go, I was able to eat anything and drink anything I wanted at 1 year. Up until then, I could eat and drink anything I wanted, but Frankensleeve was still adjusting and would grumble and complain sometimes.

My hunger feelings went away, starting the week after surgery. I only feel real hunger now - meaning I can feel my stomach complaining it's empty. But daily head hunger and food cravings are a thing of the past. I'm now in control of my food and for the most part, really don't care what I'm eating.

The hardest part was getting out of old habits, eating when I'm bored or eating because I think it will taste good. I've had a few moments where I'll pass the donut tray at work and just have to have 1, but it's only 1, I don't have to eat 4 or 6 to be satisfied.

Or during the holidays, I'll allow myself to over eat a bit on all the goodies. The difference is, now I know I'm in control and can easily go back to my regular eating and drop the weight.

I'm in control now. The hunger no longer controls me.

Edited January 5, 201511 yr by joatsaint

I've read that what you are feeling is pretty normal. Once I got my surgery date I started feeling a little anxiety but I know it's all in my head.

I have a friend who had surgery about 10 months ago and she has an occasional drink. Usually it's just one and she doesn't finish it. So it's possible you might be able to have one every now and then. It's also possible that when you decide to have one, your taste won't be the same and you won't like it.

But it's better to be healthy and have no pizza and margaritas than to die early from something that could have been prevented!

@@joatsaint thank you! That's helpful. Yes the bad habits of eating when bored or mindless eating worries me. I was thinking of seeing a therapist to deal with that aspect.

@@dad77 you're just going through the freak out motions that a lot of us go through, you will have your surgery and figure things out along the way. It's like getting married only this one is REALLY permanent!

Edited January 5, 201511 yr by Elode

@@dad77, who said you can't have pizza!!! I did a search on the blog, The World According to Eggface, that you can use. I'm sure you can make many variations.

Shelly's BBQ chicken Tortilla pizza - Mission Carb Balance Whole Wheat Fajita Size Tortilla topped with 1-2 teaspoons BBQ Sauce, shredded cooked Chicken (leftover rotisserie is great), sauteed Red Onions & Mushrooms, fresh chopped Tomatoes, sprinkle of Cheddar cheese. http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/2009/11/tortilla-pizza-time.html

I used a Mission Brand Carb Balance Whole Wheat 6" Fajita Size Tortilla, leftover chicken (it was leftover Chicken Marsala), a little alfredo sauce, a slice of provolone, sauteed mushrooms and pancetta and a liberal snowfall of parmesan. Pancetta is Italian bacon but you could definitely substitute regular cooked crumbled bacon. This is a seriously yummy way to transform chicken leftovers.

I also made a very Traditional Tomato & Basil version topped with tomato sauce, provolone, sliced tomato, Italian seasoning and fresh basil.

http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/2007/10/watch-out-pizza-hut-look-out-papa-john.html

The other night I topped one with sliced turkey meatballs, tomato sauce, mozzarella, parmesan, Italian seasoning and fresh basil.

Directions: Place the tortilla on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Top with toppings. Bake at 375 degree oven for 8-10 minutes till the tortilla is crisp and the toppings are bubbly.

These Tortilla Pizzas are very family friendly. A little former teacher hint: children will eat anything thing they have a hand in preparing. I had kids eating all sorts of things they made in my class and Mom's saying, "OMG she would never eat that if I gave it to her." It really was just because they took part in the process. How fun it would be to have the kids help brainstorm and prep different toppings (using new vocabulary: dice, saute, grate), design their own creative masterpiece (tomato eyes, olive nose, red pepper lips) then slice them up for a fraction lesson.

http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/2010/04/put-lime-in-coconut.html

Shelly's Margaritaville Protein Mini Muffins

3/4 cup Spelt Flour
1/2 cup vanilla Protein powder
1/4 cup Unsweetened Shredded Coconut
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
dash of Salt
1/2 cup Cottage Cheese (I used pineapple Cottage Cheese)
1/2 cup Pineapple Chunks, well drained
3 Tablespoons sugar free Torani Syrup (I used SF Vanilla)
1 Egg, beaten

Topping
1 Tablespoon Unsweetened Shredded Coconut
1 teaspoon Sugar Free Lime Jello Powder, dry
4 Macadamia Nuts, crushed

Preheat oven to 350. Whiz in a mini food processor cottage cheese and pineapple till smooth.

@@BeagleLover This is awesome!! Thank you

I was concerned about similar things before surgery. Now, at times I wish I couldn't still eat some of the things I can. I am 6 months out and have eaten pizza. I also drink scotch about once per week. I don't get dumping syndrome when I eat sweets. Every person is different. Some people have intolerances and others don't but what I was told is that with the sleeve there are fewer permanent intolerances and at 6 months I have had none.

Oh and If you have the means and ability to invest time in therapy I would highly recommend it. I don't have the time or maybe don't want to invest the time but can confirm that there is a huge mental aspect to weight gain and loss and the sleeve isn't brain surgery.

I'd like to be a healthy weight & be able to drink a margarita once in a while.

Oy! I was being factitious. I was hoping you would see that not drinking a margarita was not worth not going through with this. Of course eventually you will be able to eat pizza and drink a magarita, but you want to get healthy now so they need to be shelved for a while. The surgery is not that scary. You will be fine.

Dad,

Your pre-op nerves are normal. But keep the faith.

Sure, you can have pizza and margaritas again.

However, I wouldn't have either of those soon after surgery though.

Follow your doctor's instructions to the letter, and you'll be just fine.

Eventually, we all have to figure out how to maintain our weight loss. That's when we get to figure out how much pizza and margaritas will figure into our menu. One thing's for sure -- we can eat or drink as much of either as we once did, especially if they were our go-to foods.

I'm 20 weeks post-op, and I've had pizza several times already (I love thin crust supreme with everything on it). But I can eat only a single slice.

I have NOT had a margarita in years -- but avoided them pre-op, too. They're VERY high calorie, with all that sugar mix.

Of course, there's always "Skinny Girl Margaritas." (Are guys even allowed to drink that stuff?!?)

You're going to be fine. Get up. Suit up. Show up.

Hang in there! I am 6 weeks out and I can have both alcohol (a sip or two) and pizza (about 1/2 a slice). It's enough that I feel like part of the group and not enough to be harmful to my daily regimen. Also, pizza is not a bad food in small amounts.

I hear that the first 2 weeks are the hardest. Very painful & difficult. Anyone care to share what specifically they went through? The more prepared I am, the better!

For me it was neither painful nor difficult. After two days it almost seemed like nothing had happened.