Best piece of advice you have! I'm a day away from Gastric Sleeve surgery.

[deflateme 2]

How exciting! Im scheduled on 28th, two sleeps to go!

I think sipping Water is going to a priority for me. Its mid winter here, and I have heard dehydration is a common problem.

Keep us posted, and good luck!

[VSGAnn2014 12,992]

I'm expecting the pain but what I'm worried about is will I ever be able to eat normal again -- go to a restaurant with my husband, eat at holidays etc. I'm not talking about eating BIG. I realize that restaurant eating will mean eating a very small amount of the food. I guess I'm just nervous because right now I'm thinking of all the things that I would love to just have a bite of. (I'm on Day 8 of the Pre-op liquid diet).

Best of luck on your surgery!

Yes, of course you can!

You're on the front end of WLS. You have a lot to learn. And you WILL learn it. A year from now, you'll be living the life you wanted to live.

[Bonawanabfree 280]

Be patient and try not to beat yourself up when you stumble. Its just about recognizing your issues and trying to correct them. Know that your relationship with food goes deeper than your stomach. This is a mind game and you will learn how to play it. You will hate food and love it at the same time and that was the hardest part for me.

[sparkles1971 47]

I just went through mine on May 20. I will say 2 things...you may feel very very hungry. Keep your mind busy, I checked this site often and kept occupied. My biggest complaint was hunger and nausea or dry heaves. I was sleeved in the afternoon (3pm) and the first night I slept until about 11:00pm and was up peeing, dry heaving and feeling like crap. I could not have Water until next morning, so I kept a wet washcloth by my bed to set my lips and teeth. The next day I sipped water and juice and walked the halls of the hospital like no body's business. Go slow!! I had sadness and regret this day. I think it's normal, as anesthesia leaves the body. I also had massive headache for 5 days after surgery. It would come and go. The good news is every day you feel significantly better. By 3 days post op, I was laying by the pool, walking the marina, and way less hungry. Be patient, cry is you need to, try to read positive success stories to stay encouraged. Good luck!

[judyoz 240]

I am one month out. I did not have an pain or nausea. I only was allowed ice chips and they were like heaven. I just remember a dry mouth. Keep your chin up and do as they say. Hope it is going well for you today.

[ladypoohbear 123]

A pillow was alot of help first couple days after surgery. Press the pillow against your stomach. it gives extra support while turning in bed, coughing. Etc.

[jjmcrash218 94]

Keep telling yourself...this is the most amazing thing that is going to happen to me! It will change your life...it changed mine. Do what the nurses ask of you. Walk as much as you can stand.... believe me the more you walk after surgery the faster you will feel better. The gas that they inflate you with during surgery will also star leaving you body the more you walk (burps of course...lol) I walked so much after surgery they actually let me go home early. Good luck

[lexiemustang 268]

I had a list of requirements that I had to meet in order to be discharged the day of surgery. They were:

- Walk walk walk (and the nurses say something about it but I don't think most of them force you to do it...don't sleep the evening away! Get up and walk!)

- Drink 8oz of Water

- Be able to urinate on your own

- Not experiencing excessive nausea/vomiting/pain

- Use spirometer

Initially, I was able to meet all the requirements except being able to urinate. At 8pm, I had drank 16oz of Water, but still wasn't able to "go", even while running water while trying to pee. Even telling myself "Lexie, they're going to give you a catheter if you don't go" didn't work. Apparently there was some mental block keeping me from being able to pee.

I figured this out around 9:45pm, and decided to take my phone and headphones into the bathroom (no judgement) and listened to some music to relax. 2 minutes later, I was able to pee! a\All requirements were met and they discharged me from the hospital. I didn't want to stay overnight and I REALLY didn't want a catheter.

Moral of the story - if peeing is one of your requirements and you're not able to go, do WHATEVER you need to do in order to relax.

Edited May 27, 2015 by lexiemustang

[CowgirlJane 14,259]

You have received great tips!

Mine is simple. I was pretty overwhelmed, with a BMI over 50 and one "failed" WLS behind me. I revised to the sleeve in Dec 2011 and I needed to believe that success was possible for me.

I identified 2-3 others on these forums with similar profiles who were further along on the process. Their successes helped me believe that it was possible for me too. Since they were similar to me (age, gender, degree of obesity) I tended to "listen" closely to their advice and experiences.

A related note, on these forums, we are all experts of "one" - we know our own experiences. Sometimes advice is given on these forums that might not actually be the best thing for you. Example, people early on in the process might lose really well based on "restriction" and advise you to eat whatever you want, whenever you want. SURPRISE - long term success is not as much about restriction as you might hope....the advice to not change your eating habits might work for some, but over the long run, most of us need to eat differently, not just rely on eating less to maintain our losses. anyway, just be aware that this is a support forum, filled with great information and advice - much of it very good, but rely heavily on your NUT, surgeon, etc. too.

[JamieLogical 8,684]

My advice is to exercise extreme amounts of patience. Patience is what will get you through. You'll need patience as you are waiting for your surgery date to arrive. You will need patience post-op to just make it through day by day. Things DO get easier each day post-op, but it will feel like eternity. You WILL for "normal" again eventually. Just be patient. You'll also need patience with the scale. There will be times when it doesn't budge, even though you are doing everything "right". Again, be patient.

[SLF1027 136]

I wish someone would have grabbed me by the shoulders and said:

THIS IS STOMACH SURGERY, NOT BRAIN SURGERY! Those chips, popcorn, crackers and Cookies.. You'll be able to eat aaaalll you want after surgery. No problem. (So be aware that "slider foods" are real!)

Follow all the rules your doctor gives you. Try your hardest to not deviate even with one bite!

I wish you luck and success on your journey

[ZoeyBear 64]

My advice is to walk, walk, walk...drink, drink, drink...and get off of your narcotics ASAP! This will keep you from becoming constipated and will speed up your recovery! I didn't adhere to this advice and suffered greatly the first week! After I realized the error of my ways, I got with the program and have done fine ever since. I am 7 weeks post op. Also, don't let yourself get overwhelmed, trying to get in all your Protein, Vitamins, food, etc. for those first few weeks. Do what you can, but don't be hard on yourself. Water/fluids are the most important of all! Good luck to you!

[Alex Brecher 10,494]

I don’t have anything new to add, but what I do have is probably worth repeating a few more times (yep, I realize it’s been said before!).

Follow your surgeon’s instructions, including for post-op diet progression, long-term diet choices, exercise, and pretty much everything else.

Be patient, whether it’s with your weight loss, your diet progression, your recovery from surgery (and the pain you might have), how you compare to others, or anything else.

Get your Protein, drink your Water, and eat your fruits and veggies (once you can!).

Appreciate every moment. How often do we get a chance to turn our lives around?

[VSGAnn2014 12,992]

Alex's post makes me want to double down and say: Succeeding at WLS is not complicated at all. It's very simple. Do what he said.

I see people who think they're smarter than all that. Or nobody's the boss of them. Or they are "creative" and believe they can figure out a better way. Or just stupid, bless their hearts. Or "just want to eat normally" (in cultures where "normal" turned them into obese, sick persons). There are good reasons for your surgeon's instructions.

Just do each day what you're supposed to do each day. You will lose all your excess weight. And then you can learn how to maintain your new healthy weight.

[Sara51692 162]

Thanks everyone! I'm not going to lie and say I'm not a little nervous. I've never been 100 percent confident in myself, but I've also never been this dedicated to something before so I'm doing my best to follow all the rules, and I think I've been doing pretty well so far. Thanks for all the advice! I'm really enjoying reading about everybody's progress here.