Hi Everyone,

I finally got my surgery date for June 8!!!
It’s really strange to me how excited I am about this!
I would love to share this journey with others scheduled in June!
I think it would be so helpful if we can help each other through this experience!

1 hour ago, t0bell@ said:

Hey Everyone, Monday morning is my surgery. Any suggestions for this weekend to help me prepare? It’s so odd, I was told no nail polish on the day of surgery! It’s a silly thing, but my nails are pretty and probably one of the things I’m most proud of about my body. I was looking forward to having a nice manicure... oh well.

I think it is helpful to spend quiet time with yourself, get lots of rest and I listened to some guided imagery/meditation that Kaiser hospital has posted on their website. I've done this prior to surgery before and I honestly think it helps me recover more quickly. Here it is if you're interested https://healthy.kaiserpermanente.org/health-wellness/podcasts/conditions-diseases/surgery.

As to the nail polish, your blood oxygen levels are monitored via your fingertips and nail polish can interfere with their readings. But, you know what? When you get out of the hospital and have recovered a bit, you can take yourself for a mani/pedi and treat yourself to some lovely self care to go with your new journey. Best of luck to you and let us know how you are doing!

Edited June 5, 20215 yr by pk88

I had surgery Thursday June 3rd, I prepared by eating healthy and measured portions for about 3 weeks and I did two protein shakes and one small meal for one week and then the full liquid diet for 3 days. I thought I was ready. I was not prepared for the pain after surgery, the gas pain was terrible, right after I got out of surgery as I was waking up I realized I couldn’t breathe through my nose and my throat hurt so bad I started to have a panic attack. They gave me pain meds and I slept for a few hours I did start walking as soon as I felt able to. I’ve been having lots of mucus and a bit of nose bleed... I’m able to tolerate a few sips of Gatorade Zero and chicken broth... but I’m still dealing with gas pain and can’t seem to be able to take deep breaths.
I don’t mean to scare anyone I just wish someone somewhere would have talked about some of the very real post op stuff . I know everyone is different and maybe I’m just a big pansy ... at this point I know I have no choice but to stick to it and deal with the pain until my body gets used to everything that I just put it through... I know the rewards will be great!!

Highest Weight : 228 lbs April 2020

Surgery Day Weight: 215 lbs June 3 2020

Goal Weight : 125 lbs

On 06/05/2021 at 11:57, pk88 said:

I think it is helpful to spend quiet time with yourself, get lots of rest and I listened to some guided imagery/meditation that Kaiser hospital has posted on their website. I've done this prior to surgery before and I honestly think it helps me recover more quickly. Here it is if you're interested https://healthy.kaiserpermanente.org/health-wellness/podcasts/conditions-diseases/surgery.

As to the nail polish, your blood oxygen levels are monitored via your fingertips and nail polish can interfere with their readings. But, you know what? When you get out of the hospital and have recovered a bit, you can take yourself for a mani/pedi and treat yourself to some lovely self care to go with your new journey. Best of luck to you and let us know how you are doing!

Thank you so much! I really value you sharing that information ?

I am scheduled for June 28th. Pre-op appointment on Tuesday June 8th.

June 9! I’m on my pre-op diet and I’m FINALLY not starving or lightheaded.

I am scheduled for 6/22 at Blossom. I am so grateful and also thankful for all of the advice that this forum has! Feeling nervous and excited.

Hi Everyone,

I finally got my surgery date for June 8!!!
It’s really strange to me how excited I am about this!
I would love to share this journey with others scheduled in June!
I think it would be so helpful if we can help each other through this experience!

Hello. I am Aspasia from Greece. Yesterday I left the hospital very happy and in an exciting mood. It's my first day at home and my emotions are mixed. It does not hurt at all, just a little itching at the points of incision and drainage. But I'm worried about what I should do.

Sent from my A80Pro using BariatricPal mobile app

10 hours ago, It’sMe said:

I am scheduled for 6/22 at Blossom. I am so grateful and also thankful for all of the advice that this forum has! Feeling nervous and excited.

I'm going to Blossom too. Surgery is 6/15. I will keep you posted. I love the blogs but have to admit they have given me some anxiety too. I want to heat the good and the bad, but some of the "worst pain ever" and regret ones are freaking me out.

5 minutes ago, Drinkwine28 said:

I'm going to Blossom too. Surgery is 6/15. I will keep you posted. I love the blogs but have to admit they have given me some anxiety too. I want to heat the good and the bad, but some of the "worst pain ever" and regret ones are freaking me out.

Lol im with you there!! I'm like oh no don't freak me out !! ??

I am June 17 th ....let me know how you are doing! Good luck!!

11 hours ago, It’sMe said:

I am scheduled for 6/22 at Blossom. I am so grateful and also thankful for all of the advice that this forum has! Feeling nervous and excited.

I had my surgery at Blossom on June 1st. You will be in great hands. Please let me know if you have any questions.

My DS surgery on 6/1 went well. My biggest issues in the immediate post op were nausea and pain but both were treated quickly and effectively. Wednesday morning I was taken to radiology and swallowed a couple ounces of contrast for a leak test...I passed the test so go to start clear liquids. After the leak test I did have quite a bit of diarrhea which wasn’t pleasant. I spent 2 nights in hospital and came home Thursday afternoon. I was allowed to advance my diet from clear liquids to “high protein full liquids” yesterday...never knew protein shakes or unsweetened applesauce could taste so wonderful! Lol! But again, I developed lots of diarrhea all day yesterday. Very frustrating! Better today since I realized I may be having lactose intolerance issues so I started taking Lactaid today and it does seem to be helping. Fortunately the pain is getting better each day because the stuff they gave me for home is pretty useless: a compounded mixture of gabapentin and Tylenol. Each 5ml dose contains 200 mg of gabapentin and 32 mg of Tylenol. Gabapentin is usually given for nerve pain/neuropathy. Preop I daily took 2000 mg Tylenol daily for my arthritis. Pharmacy charged $50 for the compounded medicine...rip-off and I will tell the Drs office my opinion of their pain management program next week. I know there is an opioid crisis in this country HOWEVER let’s be real folks, 80% of my stomach was just removed snd my guts rearranged...gabapentin 200 mg and 32mg of Tylenol does NOT cut it. Once I could take PO they gave me Tylenol 3 in the hospital which was very effective and actually helped me both move around better and get more rest when I slept. Fortunately the pain is lessening every day. I have to have all my meds as either crushed, liquid or chewable for the first 6 weeks. Yuck! Some of the ones I need to crush are tiny so I’m going to ask if I can swallow them whole since they are way smaller than a tic tac. Mixing with a small spoonful of applesauce or pudding does help though. Wearing the abdominal binder is helpful and when I’m sitting up watching TV I find hugging a heating pad is helpful.

56 minutes ago, Nsch1018 said:

I had my surgery at Blossom on June 1st. You will be in great hands. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Thanks so much! How are you feeling? I wish I could fly home the day they do my IV fluids mostly because I’ll just want to get home. But they said I need to stay that night. I’ll probably be glad of that when the time comes. I am going alone and using their companion care which also makes me nervous to have a stranger in my hotel room, but I’m sure it will be ok. I’m also trying to think about what to pack that still keeps me at one small bag.

Did you lose a lot on the pre-op diet? I am at BMI 35 now and am not sure what I’ll lose in pre-op. I start that diet on Tuesday.

Hope you are recovering well!

1 hour ago, Drinkwine28 said:

I'm going to Blossom too. Surgery is 6/15. I will keep you posted. I love the blogs but have to admit they have given me some anxiety too. I want to heat the good and the bad, but some of the "worst pain ever" and regret ones are freaking me out.

Good luck on your surgery! I’m nervous about the nausea. I do like all of the blossom videos though. I think those are helpful! I’ll be thinking of you!

2 hours ago, It’sMe said:

Thanks so much! How are you feeling? I wish I could fly home the day they do my IV fluids mostly because I’ll just want to get home. But they said I need to stay that night. I’ll probably be glad of that when the time comes. I am going alone and using their companion care which also makes me nervous to have a stranger in my hotel room, but I’m sure it will be ok. I’m also trying to think about what to pack that still keeps me at one small bag.

Did you lose a lot on the pre-op diet? I am at BMI 35 now and am not sure what I’ll lose in pre-op. I start that diet on Tuesday.

Hope you are recovering well!

I’m feeling much better than I anticipated. For me, the pain was not bad at all. If I was laying perfectly still, I could not feel a thing. The strongest pain meds I took were Tramadol and I only took those for the first 12 hours and then just at night for the first two nights. For me, the key was getting up and walking. Also getting my back pounded on to get rid of gas pains.

I had a companion traveling with me but the patient staying in the room next door to me took advantage of the companion care and it was a really great experience. Out of towners all stay on the third floor of the hotel and you’ll see several walking the halls at all hours. Also the hotel rooms all have a section separate from the bed area that has sofa, etc. so there is some space. The visit from Nurses the evening after surgery for IV of fluids and anti nausea drugs was the best thing ever.

I don’t know how long your journey home is, but I had two flights — 4 1/2 and then 1 hour — and I believe the timing was about right. It was really good to shower in my own bathroom and sleep in my own bed.

my BMI was not as low as yours I think it was at 38, and I’m only 5’ 2” so I wasn’t expecting to lose much. I lost about five pounds from the time I started two week pre-op diet and the day before surgery. I was happy with that and as of today have lost a total of 10 pounds. WARNING - Blossom will weigh you the day after surgery when you go in for IV and final visit. I gained a pound but totally expected that because of all the IVs I got from surgery.

feel free to ask any other questions and I’ll be happy to share my experience. So far it’s been great!