I'll try to be as detailed as I can to help others about to go through this.

My surgery was scheduled for this past Wednesday 12/21, I was told to go to the hospital at 7:30 AM. My wife had to take the kids to school so my mother brought me. No waiting, immediately they took me into the back to start getting ready, and my mom was able to come. They filled out some forms, put the IV in, gave me a shot of Heparin (blood-thinner) in my stomach (didn't hurt) and told me I'd get an additional shot every 8 hours until I got discharged.

They gave me a few pills and some horrifically nasty stuff to drink (everything I had to drink in the hospital was terrible). Some of the nurses came by to introduce themselves, the anesthesiologist came by to chat. I had been concerned because I had been coming down with a cold but all I had left was a slight cough so it was fine. My doctor came by to let me know I would be going in soon. He had a busy day, at least 6 surgeries! I think I was number 3.

So about 9:45 or so they wheeled me in. My mom was given a tracking number, and there was a monitor in the waiting room where you could find a patient's tracking number, and it would light up green when they were in surgery, and blue when they were in recovery. They said they'd call when I was out of surgery (they didn't).

I went into the room and laid down on a very narrow table and got strapped in. My doctor wasn't in there yet, but they needed to prep me anyway. They put a mask on face and told me to breath deeply, and bam I was out. My next recollection was waking up in recovery with an oxygen mask (they give everyone oxygen via mask for two hours post-surgery) feeling very woozy and nauseous . I told them I was feeling sick and they gave me something that helped. Soon after, they brought my mom and wife back to spend some time with me, but I was really in and out.

Shortly after, they had me stand up and walk around a bit, and then they sat me in a lazy-boy type chair for a while, then I walked around a little more. Walking felt OK, felt some tightness in my stomach around the incisions but it wasn't unbearable. Then they put me in a wheelchair and brought me to my room which I was sharing with another guy who got the same surgery from the same doctor that day (he arrived later).

They put me in the bed and asked me a bunch of questions to get me admitted. After that it was mostly just sleeping as much as I could. Every two hours I had to get up and walk for several minutes. They got all the bariatric patients up together so every two hours it was like the world's worst conga line and we shambled down the hospital hallway. I made sure to go to the bathroom after every single walk so I wouldn't have to get up unnecessarily. They let me have ice chips and thank god for that. I didn't have a sore throat from the surgery although I'd heard some do.

It was a long night, people kept coming in to check blood pressure, give me heparin shots, take blood once I think, maybe twice. The next morning some folks from the hospital came in to give me and my roommate a holiday gift of a poinsettia which was nice but I would have rather kept sleeping.

In the morning they brought me down for a GI check. I had to drink some absolutely foul liquid four times while they took x-rays of my stomach (standing) to check for leaks. No leaks! So I was cleared for Breakfast. Breakfast was some Water, some orange Jello, and some Protein things to drink, they tasted completely disgusting and I couldn't finish them. When they saw I tolerated it well, they brought lunch, which was scrambled eggs, Powerade zero, and more horrible Protein drinks including one marked Prostat that I think I was supposed to drink but it was so awful I couldn't take more than a sip.

I had noticed over the night that was having pains in my back and shoulder, I was told it was gas pains and they would go away, I just needed to keep walking. The surgeon stopped in at some point to check in, told me my surgery lasted just 26 minutes, amazing. He said I did a good job with the liver shrinking diet.

About 2:30 or so I was discharged. I was able to dress myself which was nice. I had an appendectomy and umbilical hernia repair last December, and felt much worse after that, and couldn't dress myself when I left the hospital.

The drive home was uneventful, when I got back I took a little nap, but I got up to walk every hour or so. For the first day or two I noticed some ankle and calf pain when I got up but that went away and today it's almost all gone.

For dinner my wife made me some pureed tuna with low-fat mayo. I ate two ounces and could barely finish it. I drank about 2/3 of a bottle of Protein shake (the Premier Protein, same thing I drank on my two week liver shrinking diet), took me a looong time to drink it. Then drank some water, not that much, I was being very cautious. When I swallowed it felt very weird, like I could feel it settling into my stomach. Didn't hurt, but just weird. I didn't have any real unbearable pain. When I stood up it hurt where my incisions were. If I coughed it hurt a lot but that went away.

Spent that day (thursday) just relaxing and walking and trying to get down some fluids.

Sleeping was uneventful, I took some of the percoset they prescribed and that helped. I slept on my back the entire night which is rare for me. Friday I felt a little better. Ankles still hurt, and my neck was killing me, I assumed it was the gas pain. Breakfast was two scrambled eggs which took over an hour to eat but I finished almost all of them. I finished the Protein Drink and tried some powerade zero which was delicious. Lunch was the rest of the tuna (3.4 oz, ate the whole thing), and dinner was egg salad with low fat mayo, and a little bit or paprika and mustard for taste. I ate 3 oz and it went down pretty quick. At some point during the day I took a shower which was great. No problem at all standing for several minutes.

Sleeping was again uneventful. Today I woke up late, so no breakfast. I had more egg salad for lunch and it went down fairly quickly with no adverse effect. Drank a protein shake (11 oz) and 16 oz of powerade zero, no problem at all going down. Before the surgery, the doctor said it should easier and less painful day after day, week after week, and that's been true so far.

I had read about "sleever's remorse" and yes I've felt it too, starting with when I first woke up in the hospital, and it comes back several times a day. I think once I reach the point where there's no pain, and I can eat solid foods again, and get back into my regular routine and see the effects of the surgery it will go away. I know that this was the right thing for me to do, and even though maybe right this second I feel like I wouldn't do it again if given another chance, I'm pretty confident that I'll be happy with my decision in the coming weeks, months, years, etc.

So that's the journey so far. I'l be happy to answer any questions anyone has, and good luck to anyone who is still pending surgery!

Oh yeah I used to do the banana thing years ago, will start again when I'm cleared for fruits!

Im going under the knife tomorrow and unexpectedly very nervous..My doctor does only 1 day of Clear liquids prior to surgery and clear liquids for 2 days post op. 3 weeks of full liquids and 1 week of puree. I guess every doctor is different and has his own game plan.

Hey man I feel you, I was nervous right before too.

I watched your entire video, and basically you're me. Same height, age, approx starting weight, two kids, similar back story. I even work in law enforcement too.

DON'T BACK OUT. I'm only a little more than two months out, and I'll say what you said you've heard other say - Best thing I've ever done. I'm sure you've also heard, the only regret is that I didn't do it sooner. When you have the feelings of wanting to back out, think of this - if you hadn't backed out last time, you'd be at your goal weight be now and enjoying your life a lot more. If you back out now, you'll have to go through this again in a few years, when you could be enjoying being at your goal weight and all the health benefits it brings.

For what it's worth, I loved my italian food. And you know what - I don't miss it AT ALL. I'm sure I mentioned this in an earlier post, but during my two week liquid diet (and holy crap you only have to do one day you lucky bastard) I was craving chicken parm like I needed it to live.

Immediately after surgery, I lost all craving for it completely, and that is still the same today. I remember how good it is, I know that I would probably enjoy it if I had it right now. And I COULD have it right now if I wanted to (just less), but I have absolutely no desire for it. You're not going to miss it. And even if you do, ask if the food is worth the years of your life you'll lose to being overweight. For me it was a no brainer.

I wish you the best of luck, if you have any questions afterwards don't hesitate to drop me a line, you're welcome to call me if you want, just send a PM if you want my cell. Good luck and welcome to the club!

Still plugging along, everything is going great! Hit some more milestones - down 70 pounds now and BMI below 35 so if I had started at this weight I would officially be ineligible for surgery even with the co-morbidities.

I had a bunch of t-shirts I had gotten over the last few years that were a little too snug at the time. Tried some of them on but now they're too big So I went too fast to wear any of these. I guess that's OK, would rather have the weight lost than wear some shirts.

Had my first "bad" food last week and I survived! Went out somewhere with my family and didn't bring any food with me. For lunch I got a little wrap with turkey, carrots and lettuce, that was fine. About halfway through I ditched the wrap and just ate the turkey. Then we took the kids to the local ice cream place where they have homemade ice cream and I decided to try a scoop. Man, it was good! But I felt like crap later. No pain or anything, just sluggish so I won't try that again. It's still a learning process.

On 1/17/2017 at 10:22 PM, Tufflaw said:

That's awesome, good luck with the scrambled eggs! I make them similar to the way Gordon Ramsey makes scrambled eggs (but without the creme freche, if that's how you spell it). I put a little splash of skim milk and an ounce of shredded cheese, put the pan between low and medium, wait about a minute, pour in the eggs, shortly after start scrambling, then take them OFF the heat and scramble for a minute, then back on the heat for a bit, then off, and that's it. As soon as they're solid I'm done. Eggs are creamy, fluffy, delicious. I used to like that a little al dente and with the crispy edges but this is SO much better and easier to eat too. Here's the video that inspired me -

Also, lucky you with the mashed potatoes! I was told I wasn't allowed to eat them because of the starch

I just discovered your posts and want to tell you that I appreciate your level of detail. Very helpful. Thank you!

I'm glad I can be some help! These forums were very useful to me before (and after) my surgery, I'm just trying to give back.

Well today was a pretty kick-ass day!

Officially down 75 pounds in a little over three months, it's almost like magic! Also today for the time down below 240 for the first time in a looong time.

And foodwise, for dinner I FINALLY made a cauliflower pizza crust that didn't fall apart!

I did a few things differently, so I don't know which it was. Instead of grinding up a head of cauliflower, we bought some pre-packaged cauliflower rice at Costco. Steamed it in the bag per the instructions on the bag. Drained the water really well - last time I tried using paper towels to smush the water out while the cauliflower was in a strainer and that was just a disaster. A buddy of mine suggested putting it in a strainer, and then using a bowl to push the water out - worked much better!

Added two eggs, 1/2 cup of part-skim shredded mozzerella, 1/4 cup of grated parmesan cheese, some salt, garlic powder and italian seasoning, 2 eggs, mixed together in a bowl and then shaped into a circle on a baking sheet with some parchment paper. Baked at 425 for 25 minutes, flipped it over and baked for another 7 minutes. Flipped again, onto the pizza stone, added 1/2 cup of sauce, 1/2 cup of mozzerella, back in for 14 minutes. And DELICIOUS! I cut into quarters and one piece filled me up. The numbers are great too, it's 221 calories a slice, 11 carbs, 12 fat, 15 protein. And it tastes REALLY good.

So overall, great day!

Hey@Tufflaw
Congrats on the 75 pounds. That's great. So happy for you. See u got a few more recipes for me :-). Im 8 weeks post op n 40 pds down myself. Havent been on here as much since return to work. Still getting accustomed to the new me n the fluctuating energy levels. Talk soon.

VSG 1/6/2017
SW 242 GW 140

Woohoo
...summer 2017 here we come :-)

Wow, I haven't posted here in almost two weeks! I'm still here and kicking. Things are continuing to go very well, the scale continues to give good numbers so that's great.

I "cheated" a little bit last week. It was my sister's birthday and I decided to have most of a piece of cake and two cookies. Didn't sit well with me later. I didn't get sick or anything, just felt yucky and sluggish so, lesson learned.

Also I think my taste buds are totally changing. Went out to eat lunch today, which I've only done once or twice since surgery. Went to Buffalo Wild Wings to try their "Naked Tenders" which are basically grilled chicken tenders. I chose the Honey BBQ sauce which I've had a million times and is not at all spicy. This time I could barely eat it. WAY too spicy, and didn't taste very good. My friend tried a bite and said it's definitely not spicy, so it's just me. Anyone else notice more a sensitivity to "spicy" foods?

Also, a little self-promotion if that's OK, I hope it's not against the rules. My wife and I have signed up to walk 39 miles in two days as part of the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade. Our team has pledged to raise at least $3,600 to help fight this disease. If you can spare any amount, your tax-deductible donation help support the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade's goal in fighting breast cancer. You can donate - or sign up to walk too! - here -> http://www.avonwalk.org/goto/teamk-rock

Thanks!

Things are still going great, the weight is still coming off but slowing just a bit and I'm fine with that. I've been noticing loose skin which I was hoping wasn't going to happen, but if the weight loss slows maybe it won't be that bad. Either way, I'd rather be healthy with loose skin than the way I was before, so I'm happy.

Found a new favorite snack - celery sticks! I was never big into celery before, but I love it now. I cut up a few stalks into little sticks and have it with hummus (I've been getting the Spinach Artichoke hummus from BJ's - delicious!) I had some the other day with some peanut butter as a dessert, and yesterday I found a chicken cheddar dip at Target (only 1 carb per serving! Also low fat and low cal), and had some of that with some celery sticks.

I'm also making my roasted brussels sprouts regularly and eating them several times a week with my meals.

I've noticed my calories are going up - still very low for my weight, but finally at the point that Myfitnesspal will actually record it (for those unfamiliar, it gives you a warning if you end a day with under 1200 calories).

Something new too - I bought a Veggetti Pro (spiralizer) this week, it lets you take veggies and basically turn them into noodles so you feel like you're eating pasta without actually eating pasta. I bought some zucchinis and spiralized one into noodles (or Zoodles). It looked great, and I tried to make a garlic parmesan meal out of it. Ended up getting REALLY sick and couldn't even finish a few ounces of it. Not sure what happened. I'm pretty sure it wasn't the zucchini - I think I might have used too much olive oil in the pan, or too much salt. When I first made the noodles I put some sea salt on and a paper towel to draw out the water so they wouldn't be soggy, I might have overdone it with the salt. Next time I'll use regular salt and much less, and only a small amount of olive oil.

I bought some pesto sauce at Costco so I want to give that a shot, maybe tomorrow if I'm feeling bold. Anyone who knows how to cook this stuff and has any suggestions, let me know!

OK so I tried the zoodles again today with a new recipe. I had them cold this time, no salt. I spiralized a zucchini, mixed in 3.5 oz of chicken, and 60 grams of basil pesto sauce and ate it cold.

AMAZING!

It was absolutely delicious and totally filling. Looking forward to having it again soon.

Ok I only had 5 days from my pre OK to my surgery date what can I do to shrink my liver that quick my bmi is 36 my surgery is may 2sd please help

Just had an interesting dinner, 3 oz of TURKEY salad. My wife took one of those turkey chunks they sell at Aldi's, it's pre-seasoned, she blended it up good and added some low-fat mayo, delicious with the seasoning it already had!

I have an Aldi's in town, and I would like to know the brand of pre-seasoned turkey they have. I'm still on a puréed diet and I could really use a change! Do you just eat it plain with the low fat mayo?

According to my entry in myfitnesspal, it's listed as "22 oz (56g), oven roasted turkey breast portion", and I added some low-fat mayo to it. It wasn't too bad actually.