Pre-Op Weight Gain

[hap314ness 90]

Hello all! This is my first post here and I am thrilled to have this resource available at my fingertips. I have been reading posts for about two weeks and decided it was my turn to ask for your opinion.

My relationship with food has been a lifelong struggle. After a while I gave up hating myself and tried to work on self love, which really just turned into justifying my bad habits. I started this gastric surgery journey at over 300 pounds after seeing a candid photograph of myself. I didn't recognize the person I saw in the photo. I had been ignoring health issues far too long that I knew were related to my habits. I began to make small changes like eliminating soda and fast food. I knew, though, that I needed to make a longer lasting change and the sleeve sounded like a great tool to reset my eating habits and relationship with food.

My first appointment with the surgeon was June 8 2017. I weighed in at 294. I had four months worth of nutritionist visits, all of which I fluctuated between 295 and 297. Then I had my psychiatric evaluation on August 23 2017. My weight that visit was 299. The psychiatrist cleared me, but was very insistent that he typically wouldn't clear someone who had gained five pounds since their first visit and that my surgeon wouldn't perform the surgery unless I was down 5-10 pounds. My current weight is 290. My pre-op appointment is November 8 2017 and my surgery is scheduled for November 13, 2017.

I am a nervous wreck. I have started going to the gym five days a week and doing half an hour of cardio. I don't restrict what I eat, only how much of it I eat. I know I will lose some weight as a result of the liquid pre-op diet but the psychiatrist's words haunt me. I am convinced after paying such a high deductible and all I've already been through that for some reason my surgery will be postponed.

Has anyone else had a similar issue? How was it resolved?

Edited October 17, 2017 by hap314ness

[karen_marie 220]

I know others can chime in that have been in similar situations. From my view, my legal background tells me ‘the one with the most paper wins’ - make sure you’re logging all of your food/drinks and your activity. You can use that as ammunition to say ‘look, I’ve been doing what you told me and still haven’t lost weight.’

It’s also a great tool if you wanted to reach out to your nutritionist just to see if they have any suggestions for anything you could be doing differently before your pre-op appointment. I’d def recommend that if you haven’t already.

For peace of mind, I’d call and talk with your surgeon or their office too. Point blank ask them if they will cancel your surgery if you show to have gained or not lost weight, even with a food/activity log showing that you’ve followed their instructions.

[hap314ness 90]

Thanks Karen, you're right. Unfortunately the only paper trail I have would be a log that my gym would be able to print out detailing every visit. I haven't kept a religious log of my food. I will start one now, though, and hopefully if I run into any issues I can use it.

[karen_marie 220]

3 minutes ago, hap314ness said:

Thanks Karen, you're right. Unfortunately the only paper trail I have would be a log that my gym would be able to print out detailing every visit. I haven't kept a religious log of my food. I will start one now, though, and hopefully if I run into any issues I can use it.

Logging can be a pain, but it definitely helps! You can even note just general gym activity you did that day, just so it's all in one place. I would hope your doctor wouldn't ask you to provide the actual gym logs, but crazier things have happened lol At least you know you can get them if need be.