Hello My Dear Bariatric Beauties (and handsome Dudes) in the Making!

If you are reading this, you are probably trying to mentally and emotionally prepare for what is to come. I know, because I was in your shoes a few weeks backJ I found the mental preparation way harder to do than the physical pre-op diet. I’m a week out of surgery, and in great spirits considering all, I’ve been through and the considerable trauma to my throat (which is making drinking over excruciating at this time). If I was not mentally and emotionally as well prepared as I was…I think at this point, I would have fallen into depression as is quite common at this stage. But…I am well girdled to deal with this and I thought I’d share the 10 most important things YOU can do, to prepare yourself for what is to come J These are not in any particular order, and I think they are all important, but I don’t want to spend too much time tweaking them because I want them to be as fresh from my experience as possible. Also as a disclaimer, this is my list and what helped me and is not to be substituted for any medical advice…there…I think I’m covered, so let’s step to it!

So here we go, in no particular order.

1. Ask your Surgeon LOTS of questions right up until the wheel you away into the OR. When you think of them, write them down and make sure you cover them. Understanding what is going to happen and his/her expectations of you and how you can partner with them for success is key!

2. Determine who you will tell about it and what your emotional support is going to be, and not a person more! Telling someone that will not be supportive will emotionally drain you as you try to educate/justify/explain etc. If your mind is made up, you don’t need to subject yourself to that.

3. Watch lot YouTube videos to get a broad idea of what you can expect. There are tons of them out there. The Before and After videos are particularly helpful in building moral, and giving you a sense that you too can do this.

4. Join and participate in Bariatric Pals (a given J)

5. Make a dry ran. Visit your surgical facility before surgery day (see the pre-op and recovery rooms). I did that and it really helped with the anxiety as on the actual surgical day, it was a familiar place, I had even spoken to recovery nurses prior to my actual surgery. Saw the pre-op areas, and the recovery rooms.

6. Invest in a FITBIT or other tracking device and start walking! I think this was single handedly one of the biggest things I could do to prepare myself. I worked up to 12 K steps prior to surgery. By day 4 post surgery I was walking 6 K steps a day and the past two days I’ve hit 10 k steps a day (albeit slow steps…I’m like a crooked question mark, slowly haunting the streets of my neighborhood J). But walking as soon as I was lucid enough was key to help with gas, AND to get the Serotonin levels going!

7. Visualize yourself on the other side. This for some reason was harder to do for me, but seeing myself make it through surgery somehow strengthened me.

8. Write a journal of all the reasons you are doing this. Read them often leading up to the surgery, especially on those times when you get cold feet. I chose to divide mine into the following categories.

a. Physical

b. Emotional

c. Mental

d. Social

e. Health

9. Minimize distractions and noise that could emotionally destabilize you. See less of negative people that leave you drained and cravey. It’s hard enough dealing with pre-op diet as it is! I personally stopped watching the news (too depressing), and decided to mentally give myself as much focus as I could!

10. Pray about it with all your heart, cry it out if you must, and then trust, let go and Let God see you through! The night before surgery after my prayers, a very odd calm came over me…and I knew He was with me and that I would be okay J

Hope this is helpful in getting you ready for your big day!

Blessings and Green Lights!

Ellie123

My Dear Bariatric Beauties (and handsome Dudes) in the Making!

@@ellie123

hi back at ya

nice of you taking the time to write to your fellow newbies

people helping other people

generous and free at the same time

can't get better than that

YOU are a newbie

keep "listening/remembering" all your thoughts

they'll come in handy

welcome to the losers' bench

i'm saving a spot for you

next to me of course!!

good luck

kathy

Thanks, I'm gonna save this one. On good days I hit 15000-18000 steps on slow days 6-8k the Fit bit has been a huge help. It keeps me honest. My husband got me the scale too after he saw I was sticking with it. (2years now). The YMCA has been good to me too. I'm going to put your post in my journal. Thank you it really means a lot to me.

@@ellie123 - thank you for your words!! I'm just beginning by journey and am a few months from surgery(fingers crossed I'm approved) and your words touched me!! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Thank you so much. Surgery is on Dec 1st

Surgery 29 days out. Feeling good. Agree that naysayers shouldn't be part of my world at this point.