Very helpful advice needed!

[hernewselfie 43]

Hi everyone I'm pre op and have a question for all of you post op people! What are some things you did pre op that made you more successful post op? Also, what are some things that you've seen other people do that you wish you had done? Thanks so much, I know this will be a great help!

[Bufflehead 6,358]

I practiced the behaviors I knew would be important after surgery. I got a myfitnesspal account and a digital kitchen scale and got in the habit of weighing or measuring my portions on myfitnesspal and logging everything. I stopped drinking with meals and for 30 minutes after. I gave up caloric and carbonated drinks. I started walking 20 minutes per day. And I read all the threads here and on other wls boards -- not just things that were of immediate concern to me, like what to take to the hospital or insurance approval, but I read all the post-op threads so I knew what to expect: things like the three week stall, gas pain from surgery that is only relieved by walking, stuff like that.

[hernewselfie 43]

thank you!

[Sophie74656 1,572]

I don't have anything that I wish I knew before. i was very prepared. I think that may be why i was successful. I did tons of research. i had a concrete meal plan for each stage post op and I had terrific support from my family

[KristenLe 5,980]

I'm still pre-op but one thing I did that I feel will make me more successful is going to therapy to learn how to deal with mindless/emotional eating.

[tholbert08 51]

I am through month 1 of my insurance requirements and I, too, am starting to try to put some things into practice. I crave Water so stopping drinking 30 mins before eating has proven to be tough. Still a work in progress there. I have given up sugar and carbonated drinks and have been off of those for 4+ weeks. Since I am such a Water craver, I am trying to sip more frequently rather than guzzling and not using a straw as much as possible.

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[Clementine Sky 708]

I tried to learn from the experiences of others who had the VSG to help prepare myself for what I might experience. I read through this forum and others like it, read a book about the "sleeved life" from Amazon, watched a lot of YouTube videos from people who'd had the VSG as well as from surgeons (Dr. Matthew Weiner has some especially informative videos), and went through the sites for major bariatric centers like the ones at the mayo Clinic, UCLA, and Stanford to try to gather a wider range of medical information.

Specifically, this is what helped me the most -

- Packing lists of what to bring for the surgery

- Making my own packing checklist based on the recommendations from others and allowing myself enough time to buy everything on it, and put my bag together

- Lists of what to eat during each of the stages. The blog site The World According to Eggface has some great Protein shake recipes that helped me to make it through the liquid stage in good spirits, as well as this guide: http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/2016/05/liquid-phase-for-post-weight-loss.html

- Stocking my pantry and refrigerator with Protein powders, popsicles and the like so I'd be all set. One woman who made a YouTube video said she regretted buying as much as she did before surgery because she didn't end up consuming it all, so I didn't go overboard but I got enough so that I wouldn't have anything to worry about while healing.

- Knowing to expect a stall about three weeks out, and to not be discouraged by it because it's normal

- Knowing that many people experience "buyer's remorse" in their first month post-op when they are struggling to acclimate to all the rapid changes they're going through, and their hormones are fluctuating due to rapid weight loss. Though I never had a moment of regret, I think knowing that if I did it would likely be fleeting was helpful.

- Having the house in order, and a cleaning service arranged to come in a couple of times while I was still recovering to help pick up my slack (my husband does his part too, but he had an especially busy month and I hadn't wanted him to have any extra stress)

- I weened myself off soda and coffee. I was told that I could begin to gradually have coffee again a couple of weeks post-op, but I knew I'd feel the caffeine headache everyday until that point if I hadn't already broken my dependency on it

[Elle09 157]

I did a lot of research about wls procedures and once I decided on vsg I focused my research. I watched others on you tube to see what their experience was which was very helpful. I also watched a couple of videos where they in detailed did surgeries and what was happening. Helped me with the unknown of what would happen once I was on the table. Researching and learning as much as I could really helped me. I had a great surgical team so I can't say there are things that others did that I wish I had done, but there is a wealth of knowledge and experience on BP that I find truly helpful from those who share.

I took my weight management time serious and started practicing healthy choices. The pre op diet I took serious and prepared mentally so that I could do it and be successful. Understanding the importance of it to prepare my liver for surgery was serious to me. Since there are variations it is important to follow your prescribed plan from Doctor.

Participated in group exercise... Zumba, AquaZumba, belly dancing, hip hop aerobics, and walking. Although this part I started some time ago it just got more intense before surgery.

For a couple of weeks prior to surgery I nested. I am glad I did. Coming home with everything in order was great. During that time right before surgery pre made meals for family.

Overall this was a good decision to go through the surgery,

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[VEGAN ME 117]

MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A ABDOMEN binder, IT HELPED ME SO SO MUCH

[OutsideMatchInside 10,166]

@@hernewselfie

I worked on my emotional issues, and my stress issues. I streamlined my business so it was less stressful for me. I also cut some people out of my life and made sure that the people in my life were people that really loved me.

Before I went into surgery I was really happy and satisfied with my life and looking to move forward and experience new things.

I think being in a good place before surgery is really critical to a good post-op outcome.

I think a lot of other stuff that people do before surgery is pointless. Before you have surgery, there is no way to understand what post-op life is like. Practicing eating slowly, and sipping Water, is useless. Just my opinion.

[CowgirlJane 14,261]

I spent a year in anguish over the decision to revise from band to sleeve. It was not fun, but I think that helped me really come to grips with how important this is. How big this decision is. I never had any regrets post op because I KNEW I had no real choice - that my very life was on the line.

I have been shocked at how well it turned out! I am 4 1/2 years post revision to sleeve and still a hot ole lady - ha! I am loving life.

[OKCPirate 5,323]

Two months out I started walking an hour a day, lifted as much as I could to maximize my muscle mass knowing I was going to lose some in the first few months.

I weaned myself off of alcohol and caffeine (I started that process a month out).

Three weeks out I tried out the foods I was going to eat in the first month, had them in stock before I left.

Two weeks before, I started practicing slow eating at lunch.

Tried about 6 different Protein powders to find the one I liked.

I worked through https://www.amazon.com/Emotional-First-Aid-Kit-Practical/dp/0976852659?ie=UTF8&*Version*=1&*entries*=0 to get my mind right.

And every-time I would get second thoughts I would read: http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/195065-you-know-you-lost-weight-when/

But months before sending in my deposit I watched every video I could on worst case outcomes. I analyzed what they were doing wrong and figured out in my mind was I willing to take that risk. The vast majority of the failures were people who tried to keep eating chips and Twinkies or were emotional basket cases. After seeing that, I started watching people who succeeded and built a program to imitate their success.

[Deborah Bennett 81]

Thank you so much for your advise. I'm about 6 weeks out from surgery. I've already started doing the same.

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