Surgery approved

[xLosty 13]

Hey everyone

This morning I received a phone call from the hospital telling me they approved me for a sleeve gastrectomy. I felt kind of relieved and some kind of peace when they told me. However, not only my nerves are starting to increase, but also my doubt wether I'm making the right decision. I told the person on the phone that I was very happy but rather it was also possible to arrange another appointment with the surgeon, psychologist and dietician, because I am quite stressed, I want to make sure I'm making the right decision and I want to be as much prepared as possible. She told me to try and trust them because they wouldn't have approved me if they thought there was another way for me to get to a healthy weight and maintain that weight. And also that they thought the quality of my life would improve. Still, she understood and put me through with the psychologist. I arranged a new appointment with her and they are going to try their best to arrange an appointment with the surgeon for me as he has a really busy schedule. But I got patience, so I don't mind waiting.

Somewhere inside of me, I still fear that maybe the cause of my overweight is more psychological than physical, but I hope that my appointment with psychologist can help me get some more answers and insights.

Next up, the echo of my abdomen and the gastroscopy, which I'm both going to have tomorrow.

Xxxx

Edited March 22, 2017 by xLosty

[orionburn 1,023]

Everything you're going through is perfectly normal. If you search the forum you'll find a countless number of posts second guessing their decision as their surgery date approaches (myself included). I think it's great that you made the decision on your own to talk to a psychologist again. My doc always told me he was more worried about patients that had no fears/worries prior to surgery. To him that means they are taking this seriously and what impact it is going to have on their lives.

The surgery is going to be a tool to lose weight. I do believe most people don't put enough emphasis on the mental preparation required for this surgery. It is a life changer and only you can decide if the pros outweigh the cons. For me my decision was a bit easier given my age. I can completely understand how undertaking this at a younger age can give you more pause. On the upside I'm envious of the younger folks because they'll have a longer future without being overweight. I'm only 8 weeks out now but I haven't felt this great in years. I had spent the past 3 years in miserable pain and I wish I would have done this surgery sooner. I've missed out on so much and there's nothing I can do to get that time back.

Much of our lives is tied to food and you have to have a good relationship with it. I think you're taking the right approach to everything. Wish you the best of luck on your journey!

[xLosty 13]

1 minute ago, orionburn said:

Everything you're going through is perfectly normal. If you search the forum you'll find a countless number of posts second guessing their decision as their surgery date approaches (myself included). I think it's great that you made the decision on your own to talk to a psychologist again. My doc always told me he was more worried about patients that had no fears/worries prior to surgery. To him that means they are taking this seriously and what impact it is going to have on their lives.

The surgery is going to be a tool to lose weight. I do believe most people don't put enough emphasis on the mental preparation required for this surgery. It is a life changer and only you can decide if the pros outweigh the cons. For me my decision was a bit easier given my age. I can completely understand how undertaking this at a younger age can give you more pause. On the upside I'm envious of the younger folks because they'll have a longer future without being overweight. I'm only 8 weeks out now but I haven't felt this great in years. I had spent the past 3 years in miserable pain and I wish I would have done this surgery sooner. I've missed out on so much and there's nothing I can do to get that time back.

Much of our lives is tied to food and you have to have a good relationship with it. I think you're taking the right approach to everything. Wish you the best of luck on your journey!

Thank you so much <3

Yes, I am very much aware that the mental struggle is going to be much harder than the physical struggle. I mean, bodies heal, they always do, but unfortunately there's not a "quick fix" for your mind. It's like quitting an addiction cold turkey. That's why I told my doctor like 'please, give me as much information and support as possible before the surgery so I can prepare myself mentally as much as possible and at least find some kind of peace'. I'm happy she agreed to let me make a new appointment, all though she also warned me to try and let it go as much as possible too and rely on them as she knows I'm really perfectionistic and a little bit of a control freak, which makes her fear I'm just going to make it more difficult for myself than it actually should be...

I am happy to hear you're feeling great and the operation has helped you! How did things go for you in the beginning? It's hard to imagine not being able to even just drink Water (I currently drink 2-4 L of water a day).

XxX

[orionburn 1,023]

4 minutes ago, xLosty said:

Thank you so much <3

Yes, I am very much aware that the mental struggle is going to be much harder than the physical struggle. I mean, bodies heal, they always do, but unfortunately there's not a "quick fix" for your mind. It's like quitting an addiction cold turkey. That's why I told my doctor like 'please, give me as much information and support as possible before the surgery so I can prepare myself mentally as much as possible and at least find some kind of peace'. I'm happy she agreed to let me make a new appointment, all though she also warned me to try and let it go as much as possible too and rely on them as she knows I'm really perfectionistic and a little bit of a control freak, which makes her fear I'm just going to make it more difficult for myself than it actually should be...

I am happy to hear you're feeling great and the operation has helped you! How did things go for you in the beginning? It's hard to imagine not being able to even just drink Water (I currently drink 2-4 L of Water a day).

XxX

The two week liquid diet prior to surgery and then the liquid phase after surgery was a big wake up call for me. You're right, it's like giving something up cold turkey. In that time I came to realize how much control food had on my life and spent a lot of time thinking of my relationship with it and how it had to change. I look at it as the surgery being an aid to help that relationship. It's a stop gate to help keep me from going down old/bad roads.

The other thing that was a slap in the face to wake up was seeing so many posts on this forum asking "when I can go back to eating/doing this?" Essentially asking how do I get around my sleeve/bypass so that I can still cheat from time to time and eat bad things. I totally get not wanting to give up everything in our lives and still enjoy ourselves from time to time, but some seemed to want to take the approach of not changing eating habits. Basically it was wanting to continue to eat unhealthy foods but since I won't be able to eat as much it'll be okay. Umm...no.

I won't lie. The first week was tough. It didn't help I had some complications, but it happens. Pain wasn't ever a big issue outside of being really sore the first day. It was the difficulty in getting fluids down the first few days due to all the swelling. Honestly it goes by quickly and within a few days you're on the road to getting back to normal. I'm a big drinker too and as odd as it sounds I was more worried about that than issues with food. I don't drink near as much as I used to, but still drink plenty. The main thing is breaking up the drinking from eating. I had a bad habit of drinking a lot while eating so that's been the main reason I don't drink as much as I used to.

[xLosty 13]

3 minutes ago, orionburn said:

The two week liquid diet prior to surgery and then the liquid phase after surgery was a big wake up call for me. You're right, it's like giving something up cold turkey. In that time I came to realize how much control food had on my life and spent a lot of time thinking of my relationship with it and how it had to change. I look at it as the surgery being an aid to help that relationship. It's a stop gate to help keep me from going down old/bad roads.

The other thing that was a slap in the face to wake up was seeing so many posts on this forum asking "when I can go back to eating/doing this?" Essentially asking how do I get around my sleeve/bypass so that I can still cheat from time to time and eat bad things. I totally get not wanting to give up everything in our lives and still enjoy ourselves from time to time, but some seemed to want to take the approach of not changing eating habits. Basically it was wanting to continue to eat unhealthy foods but since I won't be able to eat as much it'll be okay. Umm...no.

I won't lie. The first week was tough. It didn't help I had some complications, but it happens. Pain wasn't ever a big issue outside of being really sore the first day. It was the difficulty in getting fluids down the first few days due to all the swelling. Honestly it goes by quickly and within a few days you're on the road to getting back to normal. I'm a big drinker too and as odd as it sounds I was more worried about that than issues with food. I don't drink near as much as I used to, but still drink plenty. The main thing is breaking up the drinking from eating. I had a bad habit of drinking a lot while eating so that's been the main reason I don't drink as much as I used to.

I am not sure whether I'm going to have to do a two week liquid diet before surgery. I think the results of the echo and gastroscopy of tomorrow will determine if I need to do a liquid diet or not... It's incredible how strong you are to actually face your problems and be able to work on them! I hope I'll manage to do that too, because I really want to change my lifestyle and not constantly let (bad) food control my life and to find ways around the sleeve. That's definitely not my intention, but I don't know if I'm still going to be that strong when I'm actually facing these problems, that's something future me is going to have to deal with.

I can imagine the first week being one of the toughest, especially with complications... I always drink a lot with my meals too, so it's going to be quite the adjustment having to do that separately. Can you properly drink a bottle of Water? Or do you get your water intake by slowly sipping throughout the entire day? And about how much water can you drink now, 8 weeks post-op, during the day? Do you feel like each day your intake is still improving?

[orionburn 1,023]

4 minutes ago, xLosty said:

I am not sure whether I'm going to have to do a two week liquid diet before surgery. I think the results of the echo and gastroscopy of tomorrow will determine if I need to do a liquid diet or not... It's incredible how strong you are to actually face your problems and be able to work on them! I hope I'll manage to do that too, because I really want to change my lifestyle and not constantly let (bad) food control my life and to find ways around the sleeve. That's definitely not my intention, but I don't know if I'm still going to be that strong when I'm actually facing these problems, that's something future me is going to have to deal with.

I can imagine the first week being one of the toughest, especially with complications... I always drink a lot with my meals too, so it's going to be quite the adjustment having to do that separately. Can you properly drink a bottle of Water? Or do you get your Water intake by slowly sipping throughout the entire day? And about how much water can you drink now, 8 weeks post-op, during the day? Do you feel like each day your intake is still improving?

For most the goal of the pre-op liquid diet is to help shrink the liver since being overweight leads to fatty liver. They have to "move" the liver out of the way for surgery so the smaller it is the easier for them to operate. Even if they don't require it you may want to do a few days on your own as a trial run to prepare for life post-op. It's just hard to give advice sometimes with so many doctors having different plans pre/post surgery.

One thing I do wish I would have practiced more was giving up drinking with meals prior to surgery. My nutritionist constantly told us to practice this but I didn't do it enough....or at all to be honest...lol. I've gotten better at it but for now it's a struggle. I have to put my drinks away so I don't grab it without thinking. For the past few weeks drinking is back to normal. I can take several large sips at a time with no problems. Usually I keep a 32 oz bottle with me throughout the day that I refill. Most days I have the first one finished off by late morning. While I don't drink as much as I used to I've never had a problem getting in all my fluids. At this point the only limitations I feel is when eating. For solid foods I don't like going past 1/2 a cup at a time. Guessing you use the metric system so not sure what that translates to for you

[xLosty 13]

1 hour ago, orionburn said:

For most the goal of the pre-op liquid diet is to help shrink the liver since being overweight leads to fatty liver. They have to "move" the liver out of the way for surgery so the smaller it is the easier for them to operate. Even if they don't require it you may want to do a few days on your own as a trial run to prepare for life post-op. It's just hard to give advice sometimes with so many doctors having different plans pre/post surgery.

One thing I do wish I would have practiced more was giving up drinking with meals prior to surgery. My nutritionist constantly told us to practice this but I didn't do it enough....or at all to be honest...lol. I've gotten better at it but for now it's a struggle. I have to put my drinks away so I don't grab it without thinking. For the past few weeks drinking is back to normal. I can take several large sips at a time with no problems. Usually I keep a 32 oz bottle with me throughout the day that I refill. Most days I have the first one finished off by late morning. While I don't drink as much as I used to I've never had a problem getting in all my fluids. At this point the only limitations I feel is when eating. For solid foods I don't like going past 1/2 a cup at a time. Guessing you use the metric system so not sure what that translates to for you

Yes, every doctor probably has their own procedure. I am very curious to how the next steps are going to go.

I always do it it like that too! I'm one of those people that carries around a 32 or 64 oz bottle of Water everywhere with me and then fill it in the afternoon It's good to hear you at least can drink a proper amount of fluids. By reading a lot of other people's posts, it scares me more to reading how much difficulty they have drinking water, than having difficulties with eating. So, it makes me feel a bit more at peace, hearing form you that your limitations are mainly when eating and not when drinking as you're even only 8 weeks out of surgery. Xx

[orionburn 1,023]

16 minutes ago, xLosty said:

Yes, every doctor probably has their own procedure. I am very curious to how the next steps are going to go.

I always do it it like that too! I'm one of those people that carries around a 32 or 64 oz bottle of Water everywhere with me and then fill it in the afternoon It's good to hear you at least can drink a proper amount of fluids. By reading a lot of other people's posts, it scares me more to reading how much difficulty they have drinking Water, than having difficulties with eating. So, it makes me feel a bit more at peace, hearing form you that your limitations are mainly when eating and not when drinking as you're even only 8 weeks out of surgery. Xx

Yes, I wouldn't be that concerned with Fluid intake. It seems the majority of people don't have issues with getting their water in thankfully. The first few days are a different story due to the swelling, but each day you'll see an improvement and before you know it drinking won't be an issue.

Look forward to hearing about your progress in the coming weeks. Good luck!

[xLosty 13]

2 minutes ago, orionburn said:

Yes, I wouldn't be that concerned with Fluid intake. It seems the majority of people don't have issues with getting their Water in thankfully. The first few days are a different story due to the swelling, but each day you'll see an improvement and before you know it drinking won't be an issue.

Look forward to hearing about your progress in the coming weeks. Good luck!

Thank you very much! I'll keep you posted x

[nocturnalgemi 66]

Hey everyone [emoji4]
This morning I received a phone call from the hospital telling me they approved me for a sleeve gastrectomy. I felt kind of relieved and some kind of peace when they told me. However, not only my nerves are starting to increase, but also my doubt wether I'm making the right decision. I told the person on the phone that I was very happy but rather it was also possible to arrange another appointment with the surgeon, psychologist and dietician, because I am quite stressed, I want to make sure I'm making the right decision and I want to be as much prepared as possible. She told me to try and trust them because they wouldn't have approved me if they thought there was another way for me to get to a healthy weight and maintain that weight. And also that they thought the quality of my life would improve. Still, she understood and put me through with the psychologist. I arranged a new appointment with her and they are going to try their best to arrange an appointment with the surgeon for me as he has a really busy schedule. But I got patience, so I don't mind waiting. [emoji4]
Somewhere inside of me, I still fear that maybe the cause of my overweight is more psychological than physical, but I hope that my appointment with psychologist can help me get some more answers and insights.
Next up, the echo of my abdomen and the gastroscopy, which I'm both going to have tomorrow.
Xxxx

My surgery is Monday. I made one last appointment with my psychologist and met with him on Friday just to touch base. I think helped a lot, just the reassurance that I'm making the right decision and that I can do this. I'm in a much better head space than when I saw him a couple of weeks ago, when I was anxious and crying. One last meeting certainly couldn't hurt.

[xLosty 13]

10 hours ago, nocturnalgemi said:

My surgery is Monday. I made one last appointment with my psychologist and met with him on Friday just to touch base. I think helped a lot, just the reassurance that I'm making the right decision and that I can do this. I'm in a much better head space than when I saw him a couple of weeks ago, when I was anxious and crying. One last meeting certainly couldn't hurt.

Yes, that is exactly the same thing I need/want, just one last meet-up with both the surgeon and psychologist to reassure myself. I wish you the best of luck with your surgery tomorrow! Xx