What You Wish Someone Told You Before Surgery

[mrsgori101214 5]

Hello! My surgery is scheduled for 1/9/17 and I'm looking for advice and guidance! What are some of the things you wish people told you before you were sleeved?

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[IveGotThePower 395]

At 8 months out now, I wish I had done full body measurements before surgery. Because there are times when I don't see the scale moving, but I lose inches and so I keep track now, but didn't start right away. Also, I did do before pictures and the exact same photos after a while for comparison. Another thing is I was told and am glad I was, to keep a journal. It truly is a great way to look back at the beginning and remember how far you've come. The one other thing I wish someone had told me, but didn't is to make a couple of videos of yourself right before surgery. Something that you can add to your "Before Surgery" file. Because, hopefully, that is the last time you will see yourself at that weight ever. Wishing you a most excellent journey as I have had

[Tootsietoes 84]

That if you didn't have it before, you will likely have chronic heartburn, and it sucks

[bariatrica14 95]

That I will be cold 24/7/365

Im from MN here its cold 6 mo out 12mo I suffer sooo bad

I am cold even when its 80F outside ...

BariatricMatters

[FrankyG 1,450]

Hormones will make you crazy. The hormones stored in fat flush out into your bloodstream and cause you to feel out of control sometimes. Depressed (serious deep depression), anger, bouts of crying and instant irritation (short fuse syndrome) are all possible, for as long as you are losing weight. Would have liked to know before for this and alert close family that sometimes I might blow up or start crying and might need to excuse myself (or ask for help).

That the surgery is not the magic bullet you think it is. There is real work involved and it's not just healing from surgery - you have to use the honeymoon time to throw out ALL of your bad eating habits and learn what it means to eat healthy, whole foods. If you don't do this, you will lapse back into eating the old way, and likely regain most of the weight you lose in the first year or two. The surgery does help to reduce your portions permanently, but it mainly is a tool that helps you to lose a large amount of weight and reduce hunger and give you a fighting chance to replace the unhealthy eating habits. This is the most important part of this whole thing - and they just don't emphasize this enough from what I've read over the last couple of years. It is REALLY easy to eat around a sleeve if you go back to crap foods (high carb, fat, calorie foods).

How important it is to face up to your unhealthy food issues/relationship (binging, eating for comfort, using it as an emotional crutch, whatever). And find healthy non-food ways to reward, comfort, deal with stress. It has been HARD realizing how much I used food for so many things beside basic nourishment.

[Fredbear 397]

That I would feel so damn good all the time.

"When all is said and done, usually more has been said than done. "

[Yvette804 43]

Hello! My surgery is scheduled for 1/9/17 and I'm looking for advice and guidance! What are some of the things you wish people told you before you were sleeved?

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Congrats, how long did the pre-approval process is take?

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[FortKnox78 109]

That I will be cold 24/7/365

Im from MN here its cold 6 mo out 12mo I suffer sooo bad

I am cold even when its 80F outside ...

BariatricMatters

Try taking an Iron suppliment if you don't already

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[Selvia 10]

I wish someone told me about the saliva over production!!!

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[IveGotThePower 395]

Everyone is different. Keep that in mind. I too have the cold issue. Sometimes I just want to hurry up and get out of the grocery and back to my car because to me it seems freezing cold. And this in the summer time. I keep a heating pad at my desk at work that I use on my lap to keep warm. Otherwise I am wearing 3 layers. Crazy stuff. But I'll take it any day over where I was. Also, I had gerd before surgery and don't now. I say I don't now, but really I have nausea at night sometimes that wakes me up. I roll over and go back to sleep or take a tums and I'm good and it's fine in the morning, so if it is gerd it presents itself differently now, and still a major improvement. My plantar fasciitis is all but gone. Can walk much farther with less effort. Had a blast on my last vacation. Clothes shopping is sooooo much fun now. And while I would agree that I could still loose quite a bit, there is a vast improvement in my life since surgery. I just feel like I fit in the world much more comfortably now. The best to you on your journey.

[GACaldwell 112]

That it will take your brain a little while to catch up to your body.

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[Fausta 2]

I'm 34 days out from gastric sleeve. I had surgery at 7:30am on Monday and was home

by 7pm Tuesday. The first 2 days after i got home were very unpleasant. I had a fever and

couldn't keep down Water which would foam up out of my throat. I would wake up vomiting.

Also they pump you full of liquids in the hospital, so you have to pee copiously and it would not

be a bad idea to scare up a bedside commode as your incisions make it painful to get up and

walk. By day 5 I started to feel better and continued to improve. Despite this, I am so happy

I have had the surgery.

But in those first few days I had several moments when I thought something must be very wrong and

I would have to get someone to take me back to the hospital. Trying to make up my mind what to do,

I went back and re-read in all the papers the Team had given me and under the Warning Signs I found thesenotes: If you have a fever over 101.5--come back to the hospital. If you are vomiting violently,

continuously, or with increasing frequency--come back to the hospital.

So, in the middle of the night, while doped up with oxy something, I reread this 2-3 times and

concluded by reading between the lines, that with a moderate fever (mine was 99.5), and vomiting

that was not violent or continuous--I was doing FINE and this was NORMAL.

I just think they could have prepared you a little better by saying--these are some of the post-operative

symptoms you MIGHT, but may not experience. From reading various bariatric surgery forums, I have

seen that it is certainly true that there are a very very wide range of responses but I had a couple of very anxious, sleep deprived days of worrying continuously that I think I could have been better prepared for.

It increases my general distrust of medical professionals. I feel they don't want to say much of anything that could discourage you from having the surgery, and since some people may not have these postop symptoms, they don't mention them.

Edited December 18, 2016 by Fausta

[janMH 19]

Hello! My surgery is scheduled for 1/9/17 and I'm looking for advice and guidance! What are some of the things you wish people told you before you were sleeved?

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Mine is the 9th as well

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[bariatrica14 95]

That I will be cold 24/7/365

Im from MN here its cold 6 mo out 12mo I suffer sooo bad

I am cold even when its 80F outside ...

BariatricMatters

Try taking an Iron suppliment if you don't already

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Thank you, I think my Iron level was alittle down how many mg should I take?

BariatricMatters

I wish someone told me about the saliva over production!!!

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hi, happens to me when I am super full after I ate too fast

BariatricMatters

[ohyoufunny 11]

Be honest with your doctors, if you're in pain or not meeting expectations you had prior to surgery.. tell them. They can help you. Don't suffer alone, it could be so much worse for you.

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Edited December 18, 2016 by ohyoufunny