I’m new here.

[Hazel_Lane 10]

I just need to know more information I should have my surgery in June and I’m kinda scared.

[New To This23 102]

Welcome hopefully you find the information you are looking for

[summerseeker 1,923]

Hello and welcome. Read the back pages of this forum. It was so helpful for me. Any questions ? ask away

[SHORTY_ 154]

Welcome! What kind of info are you looking for? Nerves are normal, It's a big decision to make.

[Hazel_Lane 10]

I have a surgery date set for June 2023. I would love if you guys would share your experience with me. I know everyone is different but I’m just here to learn more about it. I’m kind of nervous.

[SHORTY_ 154]

I started my journey in January 2022, between all the appointments and getting approved for insurance my surgery date was August 2, 2022. The 2-week liquid diet wasn't too difficult up until day 10 ish I started to get a little over it, especially on the day of my birthday. I drank a lot of Protein Shakes (fair-life chocolate is still my favorite to this day) and ate a lot of applesauce, berries, sugar-free pudding, and Panera Soup broth along with V8 & grilled veggie kabobs. I lost about 13 lbs on the liquid diet but aside from weight loss, the main goal is to shrink your liver.

Day of Surgery I was scheduled to be there at 7 am and surgery at 9 am. I didn't go back till about 2 pm. My hospital stay wasn't bad at all. I actually was able to get around just fine with very little pain the entire stay. Getting in liquids was quite difficult but when you have nothing else to do watching the clock and drinking your liquids wasn't really that bad in the grand scheme of things. I only stayed one night and was discharged by 11 am the next day.

First week home I was completely drained, and starving. Especially those first couple of days. I basically stuck to everything I had on my liquid diet aside from the berries and veggies. I got around just fine with very little help from my daughter. I was down about another 10 lbs in the first 2 weeks.

3 months out I was "only" 30lbs down from my surgery weight. I was really disappointed at the time but now looking back Averaging 10 lbs a month is pretty healthy. By that time I was eating pretty normally in the sense I wasn't as restricted. Exercising regularly. Had taken a week's trip to Disney World and had my energy back. On the downside, I got sick often. meat of any kind never sat well with me or anything Tomato based. I would end up purging often. I also had a lot of issues with Constipation. I became slightly reliant on ducolax (would take every other day to avoid being bound up). I was very reliant on Protein shakes, Water, and v8. I remember thinking at one point if I knew it would be that bad Idk if I would have gone through with the surgery because I was so miserable (but so glad I did).

6 months out I was 45.9 lbs down from my surgery weight. I was low on Iron and high on copper (pretty abnormal about the copper and they think there was a possibility that was inaccurate). I was completely drained and was blaming it on the cold and the weather, not really thinking my Iron was a possibility for how I was feeling. I didn't talk to my doctors about it sooner and I wish I would have. I was still sick often. Meat of any kind still not sitting well with me or anything tomato based. The doctors were kind of unhelpful and just kept encouraging me to keep trying, which was kind of frustrating because I felt like I wasn't being heard for the first time. My issues with constipation weren't as often and was only taking ducolax about 1 or twice a week compared to the months before. I became a lot less reliant on liquids.

8 months out I'm 55lbs down from my surgery weight. 83 lbs down from my highest. I work out 5 times a week and my eating has been dang near spot on, with a few occasional indulgences. If I feel drained I know it's because I missed a few nights in a row of my iron. I can eat pretty normal without the sick feeling but it still happens every once in a while. Constipation is super rare

I feel like I hit a lot more stalls than probably most. Eating and physical activity def. go hand in hand and It can be really frustrating. Consistency is your best friend. Between logging your meals, protein & water intake & some sort of physical activity you'll get where you want. I don't think you will ever be fully prepared for what's ahead of you after surgery. I did the research for months to prepare myself and feel like it still wasn't enough.

I feel so much more confident now, Clothes fit great. No worries about fitting into booths at restaurants or seats on roller coasters or seat belts on airplanes. I love to put on clothes that once couldn't fit and now are way too big on me. It helps me remember how far I've come even if the scale is disappointing. The biggest compliment I love to get these days isn't how great I look, but how happy I look. I get being nervous, we were all in the same storm as you just different boats. But rolling into that surgery room was the best decision I could have made. I feel like I got my life back.

[NettyD 93]

Hi Hazel, congrats on your surgery date in June 2023. I started in Jan 2023 and I’m praying that my surgery date will be in July while my son is on summer break. When did you start the process?

[Hazel_Lane 10]

I started this process in January this year.I’m completely scared,but I’m hoping that this becomes a great journey. Running around here getting all the clearances is the headache before the surgery now after the surgery it’s a journey that I hope I’m ready for.

[mcipanda 121]

Im two weeks post op. Started thinking about surgery a few years ago, but actually acted on it in late January if this year. Wrapped up my pre-reqs in a single week and cleared with insurance in one day. After that, had a week of food funerals (fun times eating things I wouldn’t be able to for a while), then started my two week high Protein low carb diet. It was tough, not gonna lie. I weaned myself off caffeine during the same two week period and BAM it was suddenly time for surgery. By this point, I’d lost about 6 or 7 lbs.

Rolled into surgery at 6am on 3/13, started on time at 8am, only discomfort afterward was nausea from anesthesia. No vomiting; they took great care to relieve the nausea immediately and sent me home with medicine to help.

First few days, I felt hungry. Dreamt of food. Realized it was just gas in my tummy causing a “hunger” feeling. The gas went away within a week and so did the faux hunger. I tried to go off pain meds too soon, and that sucked. When they do the surgery, they will go through the abdominal wall with the scopes. I had pretty strong abs (yay…) and the scope caused a bleed that healed very slowly. Caused me some pretty serious discomfort especially without the pain meds. Went back on the meds and rested for several days, all the while working to get all my protein and fluids in. Lost 9lbs the first week and then stalled three days into week two.

The stall just broke today, one week after it began. Total of 16lbs lost since the start of the pre-op diet. I’m three days into week 3 and just started soft foods.

If I had to choose one hard thing, it would be the emotional response I had post surgery. I realized “omg, I cannot eat those things…” the choice was no longer mine. I was scared at first, almost grieving. And then I felt light because the pressure of making the “right” decision was out of my hands.

Yes, I could still make a bad choice… and when I made brownies for my daughter the other day I was tempted, but I don’t want to hurt my body or deal with the backlash from eating so much sugar after barely having any for the last month. I can just imagine the sugar rush and terrible feeling I would get… it would suck. Not to mention, with VSG (my procedure), the first six months are critical. You’ll lose the most weight if you can just get through with as much discipline as possible. I’m thankful for my family and therapist; they’ve all helped me find my way in the dark.

I’m so glad I did this. Even as I just ate my first egg in weeks, I still wouldn’t change a thing. It’s like experiencing food again for the first time but with a coach in my body helping out 👌😊 Good luck to you with whatever you choose!

[Roxane 8]

This is such a hard journey for all, and completely life changing in more ways than one. The change of losing weight, the change of not having the choice to eat whatever you want, and I'm sure many other changes along the way as well. Keep "fighting the good fight" as they say, it will be worth it in the end!