So i get my surgury date on tue. Does any one kno what to expect. As do u get surgury right away? what to prepare for right before surgury? What is it like after in the hospital? how fast do i go back to work?

Welcome to the forum. You will find support here as well as lively disagreement. Opinions and tact will vary. I am always glad to see a newbie snooping around, so chime in and ask all the questions you want. If you are looking for a particular topic, you can go to the search box, type in your topic in quotes if it is more than one word. Go to the little tiny almost invisible arrow, and click for a drop down menu. Click on FORUMS, and then the search magnifying glass.

Since you mentioned that you are working, I will assume that you have insurance.

My insurance, BCBS Federal Employee, required a 2 year history of doctor supervised weight management, two sessions with a psychologist (one pre-op and one at two years post-op, and a three month nutritionist supervised diet before approval. I lost 22 pounds on the supervised diet pre-op.

For tests, I had blood labs, EKG, EGD, and an ultasound for my liver. Since that revealed fatty liver disease, I had to have a liver shrinking diet ten days pre-op. For some folks it is two weeks. The liver lays over the stomach and the smaller it is, the easier it is for the doctor to see what he is doing and manipulate his laparascopic tools.

If you have never had a surgery where you are given anesthetic and knocked out, he is a simplified way to look at it: You have to have an IV put in, then they give you something to help you relax a bit. It's like you see and hear what is going on, but you don't really care. In the OR they give you something in your IV that gives you a nice nap while they are operating on you.

After a while, you wake up in recovery and the initiation into to your new life begins. You will be thirsty but not given anything more than chipped ice for a while. Make sure you take Chapstick. It is more important than underwear! You will be sore for a few days and nauseous, but you will be given meds for that. My sleeve was my twelfth surgery (including knee replacements and c-sections) and frankly, it was the easiest recovery of them all.

After my bariatric team submitted my packet of treatment and compliance documentation that I had finished the pre-op requirements, I was approved in two days. Different insurance plans have different requirements and response times. For some people it is an aggravating test of character to get their approval.

On the day of approval, my date was set. Post-op, my new tummy had to be re-introduced to foods, implemented in stages. My program was clear liquids at the hospital, full liquids at home (I was there two days, which is typical). Then at two weeks out I started pureed foods (runs off a spoon).

At three weeks, I started soft foods (holds on a spoon, but has no bits or solid pieces). At the end of one month (4 1/2 weeks) I was allowed to see what regular cooked foods I could tolerate. At three months I tried raw fruit and greens like lettuce and spinach.

Recovery is progressive and it's very important to follow the plan that was given to you. If you don't follow your doctor's orders and try to push your new tummy to process foods it's not ready for, then why have surgery at all? The head game is harder than your actual physical recovery. Bariatric surgery is a lifetime committment.

As for returning to work, I will let the working folks address that. I am 63 and retired, so all I can tell you is that I spent the first week just sleeping off the anesthetics and pain meds. Then, after that, I was able to putter around the house. It was two months before I had any noticeable energy.

I humbly bow to my bariatric brothers and sisters who had to return to work or take care of children too small to help out. You are my heroes.

Congratulations on making a decision that will drastically improve your quality of life. The pre-op and post-op regimines are inconvenient and uncomfortable, but once you lose that first thirty pounds, you will begin to notice changes in your body and how that body feels. I wish you good luck and good health.

Thank you

I strongly advise you, and anyone else, to do extensive research from multiple sources so you are well prepared.