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

[Sara51692 162]

Hi everyone! I'll be sleeved on Tuesday, 5/26 and I'm sure this has been posted before, but I'd love to hear your best pieces of advice or things you wish people had told you when you got the surgery. Any resources you use that you swear by (books, websites, apps, etc)? My surgeon's office is amazing and supportive but I want to hear what works from people who have actually had it too! =)

[scoutmom 63]

Hi @@Sara51692,

I am being sleeve on May 26th as well.....pretty nerve wracking right now, right??? Hope all goes well with your surgery!

[SuperDave 1,115]

The one thing I wish someone told me before surgery is that it hurts. I woke up in the post op recovery room and had a few choice words to say about the amount of pain I was experiencing. Fortunately I had a VERY understanding nurse nearby who took great care of me. (Nurses are the best!) I know this is not advice, but it is something I wish I had known going in. On a more positive note, the pain passes quickly and it is just a vague memory at this point.

Best of luck on your surgery!

[VSGAnn2014 12,992]

The sleeve won't solve your eating / overweight / obesity problems.

It will help. A lot.

But you'll have to exert discipline, a positive attitude, healthy self-talk, personal accountability, question and change the way you eat, understand that this journey is never over, and possibly seek the help of a counselor / therapist / psychologist to deal with weight-related issues.

You may even have to go on a (gasp!) diet and exercise!

I'm being sarcastic.

You will have to go on a diet and exercise.

Seriously.

What the sleeve basically does is make it POSSIBLE for you to stick to a diet and (eventually) an exercise plan. That's how you lose weight: by eating less and moving more.

Best wishes to you on a successful surgery and an easy recovery.

[Sara51692 162]

Thanks guys! I've been making better, healthier choices for the past year or so and didn't even start the surgery process until 6 months ago so I'm excited for the sleeve to help me keep making those choices. I'm worried about keeping up with exercising! I've been overweight my whole life so exercise was always something I dreaded because it just wasn't easy for me. Here's hoping I find some exercise that I love!

[FraggleRock 19]

Be prepared to vomit. I was vomiting blood for a day and a half after surgery. But I didn't have any gas so I guess it was the better of the two.

Oh and I didn't walk at all. Not one bit while at the hospital. But I left on time and felt and looked amazing.

[Healthy_life2 8,330]

@@Sara51692

The pain is temporary. Your results will be amazing!

Its not just the physical changes but the changes on the inside that seem to have surprised me the most.

What has helped most:

Having support: Friends, Family, Local support groups and support from BariaticPal

After care programs: Working one on one with my dietitian. Bariatric cooking classes. Behavioral change classes. a therapist to work through the weight loss process.

Fitness: Starting slow and building up. It is my stress relief, my adrenaline rush and best place to problem solve issues. ITS MY CHURCH!

Motivation: Find what is fun and excites you. Reward yourself for the big and little goals. Document your loss with a photo each month so you can see how far you have come. Save a pair of pants.(If you have days you struggle put them on). Get involved with weight loss challenges, sporting events, fun physical activities, charity events and just savor life before it's gone. Be prepared that your motivation will elvovle and change as you progress.

Apps and Websites: Love that you can find an app for anything. I use them to track food, blood sugars, workout's and weight loss. Information is power. I receive MSN health and fitness feed. Keeps me up to date on trends great new articles every day. Fitness sites like tone it up keep me motivated. So much info out there just google it

Welcome to an amazing experience that you are fortunate enough to have in life

I hope you heal quickly,

Jennifer

[Bufflehead 6,358]

For immediately post-op, the best piece of advice I got was be upright (sitting or standing) and move as much as possible. When they move you into your regular hospital room after the recovery ward, do not let them put you into your bed! Instead, sit upright in the loveseat, easy chair, rocker, whatever they have for you in your room. That makes it easier to get up and down for your walking and trips to the bathroom (unless you have a a catheter you will be making plenty of trips to the bathroom). When you are sitting in your room, you can gently rock your upper body back and forth with your arms crossed over your torso. Sitting, standing, walking, and rocking help get rid of the post-surgical gas and will make you much more comfortable. Lying around in bed will not help you. Don't even get into bed unless you are going to nap or sleep.< /p>

Don't overpack for the hospital. It's surgery, not a cruise. The hospital will have virtually everything you need.

Apps: Myfitnesspal (though I mostly use the website rather than the app) and Eat Slower.

If you find yourself thinking, after three weeks on liquids, or only being able to eat yogurt, or whatever, "I'm bored with this food" -- remember that food is NOT entertainment. Find something else to entertain you and resign yourself to being bored with your food, at least for the immediate future. It isn't the end of the world.

Do whatever you can to not compare yourself to other people. Don't weigh yourself every day if it is going to drive you crazy. It doesn't matter if other people are losing 40 lbs a month (they aren't), are told by their doctor to start eating solid foods 5 days after surgery, have to limit themselves to 8 grams of carbs per day, or are running marathons 6 weeks after surgery. What everyone else is doing and what their results are should be irrelevant to you if you trust your surgeon and his team and are faithfully following the program they laid out for you.

[Kindle 8,667]

Stay off the scale. Concentrate on staying hydrated, getting in your Protein and learning to eat healthy. Dont worry about the numbers. Seriously!

[1SlimmerMe 122]

Constipation....I wish someone had told me! Even with the fluids, it was a REAL problem.

Get up and walk as soon as possible. It's temporarily uncomfortable, but it helps in the long run!

Your journey is your own! Take advantage of this blessing. It's a wonderful tool, but you have to work. It's the best that I've ever done for myself.

[Vikingsfan8178 62]

Follow the rules and do not deviate.

Immediately post op -- friend or family support will be helpful, get up and move, focus on your intake, get off pain meds as soon as possible

2 week post op -- follow the rules, get your fluids in to the best of your ability, walk, rest

[Sara51692 162]

Awesome! Thanks for all the tips. Anybody have any good recipes for post-op (any stages)? I'm hoping I don't lose my taste for Greek yogurt because I love it now.

[Inner Surfer Girl 12,015]

Do everything you are asked to do in the hospital and post-op. It's all for your benefit.

[3Pugaliers 30]

My best advice for making the hospital stay more comfortable is to pack a back scratcher and some Biotene dry mouth spray. The pain meds make me itchy so my back scratcher was a life saver. And after surgery you can't eat or drink anything so your mouth will be unbearably dry! My doc let me use Biotene dry mouth spray.

[davidncara@sbcglobal.net 9]

WALK, WALK, WALK, makes everyday better than the one before!