I just got a voicemail from the surgical coordinator to schedule my surgery, so I'm assuming insurance has approved me!

I'm looking at mid-July, and...I know in my head and heart that the sleeve is the right thing and I definitely want to move forward, but am also feeling super anxious about the pre-op diet (I have difficulty choking down protein shakes and get queasy without solid food), and even more so, about the recovery and all the long-term changes ahead of me, as well as the whether or not this will be sustainable over time. It's scary to read of stories of people's hunger coming back and regaining weight after all the effort. I just really want this to work.

Any words of wisdom? ?

Edited June 11, 20215 yr by lunadreams

I just got scheduled for surgery on August 12th. I don’t know any more than you but I plan on watching my son’s baseball games, learning guitar, and riding my bike/walking whenever I get antsy about it. It’s just short term, one moment, one day at a time.

Congratulations on getting approval. Have you tried any of the clear protein drinks? They were a godsend for me right after surgery cause all the protein shakes were too sweet.

That was my biggest concern, also. What's gonna happen if I put in all this effort, only to regain my weight and then some? I'm roughly a year and a half post-op. Can't say that I've been perfect along the way, but I have certainly not given up and I am still losing weight. That being said, I think the regaining is the furthest thing from my mind right now. I still get sick eating the wrong foods...So I guess my new question/anxiety is- will I feel sick forever? The weight is gone, but that doesn't mean it went peacefully. Many, long nights, I spent over a trash can after eating something that "didn't agree with me". And still learning, to this day.

As far as the pre-op diet goes, I figured that would be my downfall, too. While I can't recommend what I did (sneaking in some crackers here and there), I CAN tell you that it is best to keep it interesting. Think of ANYTHING liquid. My typical food was a protein shake from Glucerna (the hunger smart ones seem to be the best tasting IMO). I absolutely LOATHE protein drinks. There is also one by shamrock farms that is under 200 calories and tastes like a melted shake to me. You could look into that as well. I found that I could palate campbells fat free broccoli cheddar soup thinned with some fat free milk and then strained to get all the broccoli pieces out. It sucked the first week and a half, but by day 12, you really don't care. You are just so excited to get on that operating table (side note- I was f**king TERRIFIED the day of).

Suffice to say, keep the diet simple and interesting. Change it up, as much as possible. Jell-o, soups, drinks, etc etc. Don't start thinking about the failure now...That's a terrible mindset. This absolutely, 100%, needs to be a commitment of the heart, mind AND stomach. You aren't doing this for now. You are doing this for your future. When you think back to a miserable time (like when I couldn't buckle my seatbelt in a friends car), all of that "can I do this forever?" crap just fades away. Realize you made a huge decision that is going to be life-altering. Accept it and press forward and maintain a positive outlook that you will succeed and be healthy.

Sending good vibes your way!

On 6/17/2021 at 2:50 PM, ShoppGirl said:

Congratulations on getting approval. Have you tried any of the clear Protein Drinks? They were a godsend for me right after surgery cause all the Protein Shakes were too sweet.

Thanks! I tried the Premier Protein water and couldn't stand it...just got a Protein20 to try, and hoping that goes better...

On 6/17/2021 at 9:11 PM, TheAngryMeow said:

That was my biggest concern, also. What's gonna happen if I put in all this effort, only to regain my weight and then some? I'm roughly a year and a half post-op. Can't say that I've been perfect along the way, but I have certainly not given up and I am still losing weight. That being said, I think the regaining is the furthest thing from my mind right now. I still get sick eating the wrong foods...So I guess my new question/anxiety is- will I feel sick forever? The weight is gone, but that doesn't mean it went peacefully. Many, long nights, I spent over a trash can after eating something that "didn't agree with me". And still learning, to this day.

As far as the pre-op diet goes, I figured that would be my downfall, too. While I can't recommend what I did (sneaking in some crackers here and there), I CAN tell you that it is best to keep it interesting. Think of ANYTHING liquid. My typical food was a Protein Shake from Glucerna (the hunger smart ones seem to be the best tasting IMO). I absolutely LOATHE Protein Drinks. There is also one by shamrock farms that is under 200 calories and tastes like a melted shake to me. You could look into that as well. I found that I could palate campbells fat free broccoli cheddar Soup thinned with some fat free milk and then strained to get all the broccoli pieces out. It sucked the first week and a half, but by day 12, you really don't care. You are just so excited to get on that operating table (side note- I was f**king TERRIFIED the day of).

Suffice to say, keep the diet simple and interesting. Change it up, as much as possible. Jell-o, Soups, drinks, etc etc. Don't start thinking about the failure now...That's a terrible mindset. This absolutely, 100%, needs to be a commitment of the heart, mind AND stomach. You aren't doing this for now. You are doing this for your future. When you think back to a miserable time (like when I couldn't buckle my seatbelt in a friends car), all of that "can I do this forever?" crap just fades away. Realize you made a huge decision that is going to be life-altering. Accept it and press forward and maintain a positive outlook that you will succeed and be healthy.

Sending good vibes your way!

Thank you so much! Good advice. Did you try adding unflavored protein powder to soups? I've heard of some recommending that.

And I fully expect to be f*cking terrified the day of...I just terrified myself today realizing I have to start the pre-op diet in two weeks! ?

I'm sorry you've been sick so much...I hope you find what works for you!

If you haven’t had surgery yet, I recommend the bypass. Sleeve seems to give a lot of us GERD. I’m revising from a sleeve to a bypass now because of GERD. Give it some thought.