Got my surgery date: October 22, 2018....and now the wait... Would love to gather a cohort here to go through this with!!!

45 minutes ago, Oct517 said:

"Organic" doesn't mean without preservatives. It means that they follow stricter regulations on what preservatives they use and how much.
I also was never recommended v8.

Yeah, that's why I wrote organic AND without preservatives. One thing I've learned here is all of our recommended plans are pretty different!

1 hour ago, TropicalBeachDoll said:

I’m so excited after all the loops i had to jump I finally got my date October 26

Surgery buddies?

It is interesting the various rules docs give. I ended up seeing three different surgeons to find someone I was comfortable with and due to some insurance issues. Each of the three had different programs on what you had to do before they’d submit to insurance, what pre-pre of diet you needed to be on before they’d submit to insurance, what pre-op rules were, and the stages for food re-introduction afterwards. So interesting. I really hope someone is doing the research to see what is really the best way for future patients. I get the feeling some of it is more art than science at this point.

On 10/06/2018 at 17:03, Oct517 said:

I was told that baby food is a big no-no for bariatric patients. Most have tons of sodium and other preservatives in them. They're also designed with the purpose to help infants/babies gain weight and get bigger, while our goal is the opposite.

You have to read the labels.. the ones I buy have about 30mg of sodium. I bought 20 of the item in the picture.

Low in sodium, low in carbs and low in calories.. it’s got one gram of protein but I’m getting the rest from shakes ( (4)8oz protein shakes a day) with 28grams in each.

Both my nutritionist and my surgeon said it was ok (idk) I’ve been satisfied thus far. I don’t like the consistency but hey.. it’s pre-op lol

Anything to shrink that liver! :)

On 10/06/2018 at 20:13, notmyname said:

It is interesting the various rules docs give. I ended up seeing three different surgeons to find someone I was comfortable with and due to some insurance issues. Each of the three had different programs on what you had to do before they’d submit to insurance, what pre-pre of diet you needed to be on before they’d submit to insurance, what pre-op rules were, and the stages for food re-introduction afterwards. So interesting. I really hope someone is doing the research to see what is really the best way for future patients. I get the feeling some of it is more art than science at this point.

I agree. I’ve seen so many different variations of diets for the procedure before and after..

I'm also scheduled for 10/22/18

I definitely saw warnings in the forums about this before surgery, but now that I'm going through it, I find it really weird and uncomfortable to feel hungry gurgling in my stomach and not be able to stop it with the amount of liquid it will accept. I made it past 50 ounces of liquid today(!), a good 61 grams of protein(!), and there is so. much. gurgling.

I'll get more protein and fluid in tomorrow, too. Maybe that will quiet the angry beast.

10/06/2018 05:03 PM, Oct517 said:

I was told that baby food is a big no-no for bariatric patients. Most have tons of sodium and other preservatives in them. They're also designed with the purpose to help infants/babies gain weight and get bigger, while our goal is the opposite.

More options of low in sodium, calories and carbs..

It would be insane to feed a baby more sodium than what an average adult consumes in a day.. I know that in the past baby food was being criticized for having higher sodium in their foods to the average intake which was causing kidney problems in some babies. Today baby food has a significant less amount of sodium than before. 

These are beech nut baby food brand

More options of low in sodium, calories and carbs..
It would be insane to feed a baby more sodium than what an average adult consumes in a day.. I know that in the past baby food was being criticized for having higher sodium in their foods to the average intake which was causing kidney problems in some babies. Today baby food has a significant less amount of sodium than before.

These are beech nut baby food brand

Yeah, those might be good options pre op. Although with a normal sized stomach, youd probably have to eat like 5 of them to feel full. However, for after surgery probably not a good idea. No protein in them.

On 10/06/2018 at 20:06, amanda-xo said:

Surgery buddies?

Yaaay we are I’m so excited I’m going to inbox you

10/06/2018 10:27 PM, Oct517 said:

Yeah, those might be good options pre op. Although with a normal sized stomach, youd probably have to eat like 5 of them to feel full. However, for after surgery probably not a good idea. No Protein in them.

Nope. I only eat these as a ‘snack’ since no fruit is allowed and that was my go to for snack (was fruit) ..The instructions calls for 3 Protein Shakes 6-8oz each as ‘meals’ that’s where the bulk of my Protein is coming from and only 3 of these jars of baby food the rest is Water or sugar free juice :) and if I’m still ‘hungry’ just add another protein shake

as far as after surgery.. same thing until okay to move into soft foods and so on..  :D

You're not allowed fruit on your pre op diet? I didnt have to do a preop diet.
It took me 3 days to finish 1 protein shake post op, I feel like (at least for me) it would be nearly impossible to drink 3 of them a day after surgery.

On 10/06/2018 at 23:04, Oct517 said:

You're not allowed fruit on your pre op diet? I didnt have to do a preop diet.
It took me 3 days to finish 1 Protein Shake post op, I feel like (at least for me) it would be nearly impossible to drink 3 of them a day after surgery.

Nope. not in the pre-op diet phase I asked about apple sauce (because it’s cheap) plus I love apples, haha and she said ‘only unsweetened applesauce’ . After surgery once I’m back in the solid phase I can have fruit.

She gave me this sample post-op plan to go by aiming for 7 carbs, 8 protein and 9 Fats (to start with) it’ll be adjusted as I go along to maximize weight-loss with the surgery.

Have you tried setting a timer to drink one protein shake of 8oz? When I had my first visit with the nutritionist I had a protein shake and she asked me how long have I had it (that day) I said since breakfast. She shook her head and say ‘it shouldn’t take you all day to drink one shake. If it does then you’re not hungry’ then told me to throw it out ‘it’s too much’. I asked her what’s the amount of time it should take me? She said at least an hour (before surgery) and after surgery she said you should be ‘full’ after a half hour with ONE 8oz shake.. that’ll be 4oz..

She also said that some patients drink ‘around’ their sleeves meaning they’re drinking to frequent and not feeling ‘full’ and that’s why a timer is helpful to encourage you to drink that shake within that time frame and learning when you’re ‘full’

I started my journey the beginning of February this year (lost up until today 40lbs) and been practicing the tips that I’ve learned from the nutritionist and support groups they make you go to, to learn from veteran sleevers, by-pass and even lap-band patients.. They also give you these packets of nutritional tips and websites, apps.. list goes on. It’s up to me to learn the new lifestyle that is about to be after my surgery. It’s truly a lifestyle change and I’ve learned a lot. :)

On 9/5/2018 at 7:20 AM, ShimmyShade said:

Was sleeved in July, but just wanted to tell you all that you got this. It's going to be rough at first but when those times come just remember that the recovery process is only temporary and when you're back on your feet you will be so happy you did this.

Thank you! I’ve been struggling 5 days post op with being hungry and watching my family eat stuff that I love (like homemade bread and butter) and I’m sipping a clear protein drink. I’m also used to doing a lot more but my energy level is low and the pain is high. I stopped the Tylenol codeine a few days ago. Didn’t like how it made me feel. I’m just trying to take it one day at a time but I keep asking myself if I made the right decision or if I’m a failure because I wasn’t able to just buckle down like one of those people I see in the news and lose the weight without surgery. I’m hoping it gets better. It’s not all negative. I’ve lost quite a bit just in 5 days but I have a lot more to go.

7 minutes ago, tmrtyty2018 said:

I’m just trying to take it one day at a time but I keep asking myself if I made the right decision or if I’m a failure because I wasn’t able to just buckle down like one of those people I see in the news and lose the weight without surgery. I’m hoping it gets better. It’s not all negative. I’ve lost quite a bit just in 5 days but I have a lot more to go.

You are NOT a failure. If you lost the weight without surgery, the most likely outcome would be gaining it back (like I did.) I really like this article.

https://highline.huffingtonpost.com/articles/en/everything-you-know-about-obesity-is-wrong/