Howdy folks.

I hope all are doing well today.

I've had a lot of activity leading up to today and now it slows down for a short while.

I had my pre-op with my surgeon yesterday, pre-op with the hospital yesterday and my EGD this morning and it went really smoothly.

Seems like it's been a whirlwind of activity.......checklist items completed.....one after another after another. NUT, Physche evals, appointments, workshops, education and etc.

Now I'm done with all that and can relax. I started my 14 days of liquid diet this morning after the EGD. I can tell it's going to suck.....but, that's just part of it. The NUT guideline says I can have 5 Protein shakes per day (from the approved list of protein powders and ready-made shakes), however my surgeon is sticking to his guns.....he says only 3.

I've lost 40 pounds since deciding to do the surgery......it wouldn't surprise me to lose 20 more during this next two weeks.

The whole time I was seeing my first surgeon it was a foregone conclusion that I would have bypass (my choice). I chose this thinking it would offer the most benefit long term and I'd make biggest changes with it. He supported it.

As things progressed...and my insurance really started to present delays and roadblocks.....I switched over to the other local option. It's another bariatric center.....a center of excellence and is much larger than that previous program I was in.

More insurance delays after switching over the center of excellence finally made me made enough to tell them to piss off. I self funded the procedure and things began moving at a very fast pace. I'd completed 2 of my required 6 months diet when I made this decision. I'm able to have the surgery in the 4th month vs waiting what was actually going to most likely take several months more.

My employer is dropping our current insurance provider and doing open enrollment now for our new provider.....things were being delayed to the point where I could see my late December surgery being pushed back well into next year.....new deductibles to meet with a new provider to work with........arggghhhhhh. At best they were going to pay only 50%. The decision to self fund actually was cheaper for me in the long run. Crazy, insane scenario but a testament to the games played by insurance companies.

Anyway.....the new surgeon has been good. He's been upfront and consistent in his message from the first time I met with him.

He's sees my very pronounced umbilical hernia and knows that is going to be a large repair to work around. Today he also found the hiatal hernia that he's repairing at the same time.

He's concerned over my high bmi and doing the bypass at this point. He said it could be very tight having to pull it far up to reconnect it. He reserves the right to make a decision once inside to go with the sleeve after looking around and evaluating. He's done many of these and I trust his judgement. If it's not safe, then its just not safe.

The options were for me to delay the surgery and keep dieting for a couple more months and burn off some of the internal fat to provide more room........or do the sleeve now.

He maintains that he's seen equal effectiveness with each procedure in terms of weight loss in his 8 years of practice.

He also is aware of my poor knees and back injury situation and prior surgeries as well as the fact that nsaids are a source of relief for me.

I don't have reflux trouble.

There were other reasons he went into as well that everything in his opinion was pointing me towards having a sleeve not bypass.

So......after a long night staying up reading, studying, evaluating......I told him this morning that a sleeve was what I wanted to do.

Ordered my Vitamins, Iron, B12, D, Protein powder and Calcium. I know what I'll be taking to the hospital. Have my script for post-op pain meds. Recliner and extra pillows for the bed are ready....

A couple more weeks.....

@@tcrehm

Funny, I have 7 incisions?

So weird how surgeons do things differently.

@@Dub

Mine are pretty small and faded now after 13 months out, but definitely still noticeable. My biggest one is on my right where they took out the stomach. Not gonna lie, that one hurt the most!

I'd show you a picture of my scars, but nobody wants to see my stomach

Au contraire .......feel free to post up any pics you'd like of your fine self.

You have rocked the results really well and have been a great source of inspiration and motivation for me.

I get frustrated or down about things and have a weak moment......and just think about you and some of the other folks here and how they are living with the successful results......and I snap out of it and stay with the plan. I can't stress how much it helps to communicate with people that have lived this and can appreciate the struggle.

I had four incisions and a drain port and have pretty noticeable scars.

Edit: I posted a pic initially, but it's a little risque. I can post a link to another thread with it if people are interested.

Are there any gels or creams surgeons recommend to decrease scarring?

im having trouble seeing responses. Is there a delay in the time you post to when others can see your post? I dont know if someone has responded to a post unless I check my email. I that the only notification? Just wondering!

@@Namaste6 My doctor gave me a prescription cream that I already have to put on the scar after the surgery. Your doctor didn't give you anything?

@@Runner1 - I have yet to have my surgery =] But I like to be informed!!

I bet your surgeon will give you a prescription. Mine pre-ordered all my prescriptions and had them mailed to my house. It was nice to have everything already to go. I just had to pick up a few things that were OTC and Protein shakes.

Yeah - he is very efficient, so I am sure he will do that stuff. I have my pre-op appointment in two weeks. I just really need a note for work, or they won't give me the time off. (They only allow 2 weeks of medical unless it is severe?) so hopefully I am good in 2 weeks, or who knows...

Dub, best of luck with your surgery. I think you will be happy with your choice to go with sleeve rather than bypass. I had almost no problems at all in recovery from the surgery, and no problems with dumping or any of the other wonderful benefits from bypass. To me, the thought of bypass was just too much. I had enough problems wrapping my mind around the sleeve procedure. I almost backed out of the surgery at the last minute. In hindsight, that would have been the biggest mistake I ever made, and I've made some doozeys.

On the topic of incision scarring that came up, to the best of my memory I had five incisions, with the largest being about an inch and a half long. None of them left any visible scars. Then, about six months after my sleeve surgery, I developed a giant abscess on my abdomen (not related to the bariatric surgery in any way) that had to be surgically removed. That left a giant, ugly scar. That's just the way my luck goes.

im having trouble seeing responses. Is there a delay in the time you post to when others can see your post? I dont know if someone has responded to a post unless I check my email. I that the only notification? Just wondering!

I always use the "Notifications" link/icon in the upper right corner to see if there have been any recent replies to topics I am following. I use the desktop version of the site though. Not sure if that link is in the same place on the mobile version or the app.

Well.....a couple more things arrived today.

Also were three memory foam body pillows. I'll layer these so I can slay elevated....hopefully comfortably elevated...in bed.

I've had a couple odd developments over the past couple days. Tuesday, wee hours....found me in the emergency room taking one of my employees. She'd slipped and fell while walking to the restroom and broke her left wrist. 4 hours in the emergency room waiting room surrounded by folks that had flu, pneumonia, walking dead virus, etc.

I was glad that her break would not require surgery nor need further manipulation. Just a follow up with her ortho-doc for a rigid cast. Grateful.

Upon returning to work and getting my employee squared away, I later explained to our nurse about being surrounded by the walking dead.....and having surgery next week. Not only did she support the idea that I get on some antibiotics....she gave me a good general antibiotic that I started right away.

Today was a day off. Working all weekend and have surgery on Tuesday. Tried to get as much done as I could around the house.

Our mailbox has been pissing me off lately so I replaced it.

Somewhere along the way of digging the hole, shopping for the new mailbox & wood post and lifting the 80 lb bag of cement mix i really aggravated my healing back. Not good at all. Back on the pain med & muscle relaxer. All I freaking needed. Idiot. The mailbox could have waited.

No spasms yet.....so I'm not at DEFCON4. Just moving gingerly and resting.

Going to be very, very careful at work tomorrow.

I also broke ranks and cheated yesterday on the pre-op diet. Cheated and enjoyed every single bite and slurp. My cheat meal was Chic Fil A's grilled chicken nuggets, chicken Soup and two large diet lemonades. Damn tasty. It happened. I'm done with it and have been back on the Protein shakes since. Oh well. Sh@t happens.

I'm hoping the new unjury chicken soup flavored protein is decent. I'll be using in the days and weeks after the surgery.

Getting ready to hit the bed in a few and hope that the back will ease up for a 4-5 hour nap.

Edited October 9, 201510 yr by Dub

Are there any gels or creams surgeons recommend to decrease scarring?

My surgeon didn't give me anything, but I use Palmer's cocoa butter or Palmer's cocoa oil.

@@Dub You look well prepared! Make sure your surgeon knows you are on an antibiotic before you take anymore because he/she may not be ok with that.

And stop doing stuff that may cause your surgery to be delayed! (Did you hear my mean mom voice coming out there! LOL!)

where do you buy the supplements? Like the Calcium?

I ordered the calcium citrate chewables directly from Bariatric Advantage. I am not kidding when I say they are like candy. Very tasty.

I have been following my pre-op diet plan very strictly and have found having these to provide a nice flavor is something to look forward to and savor them. 1 or 2 really does tame the head-hunger-beast.

I love the Bluebonnett Isolate Protein in chocolate. Has 25g protein and is delish. I also just recently discovered the whey Shots. They have 43g protein in different flavors. Just add water or put in propel bottle and drink.

I love the Bluebonnett Isolate protein in chocolate. Has 25g protein and is delish. I also just recently discovered the Whey Shots. They have 43g protein in different flavors. Just add water or put in propel bottle and drink.

That sounds really interesting. Who makes them and where do you get these ???

The Bluebonett Whey Isolate I get at Sprouts, but you can order off Amazon.