In preparing for my SADI-S surgery on 12/31/25. What are some of the "Must Have's" pre and post surgery?

Must haves….I would say a variety or protein shakes, broths and water are the must have to buy (but so long as you have someone who can go to the store or you can do a Walmart order ke equivalent don’t stock up too much because your tastes may change a bit, especially for sweet stuff). This may be a good time to do the free trial period of a delivery service if you don’t have one. Just put a reminder on your calendar to cancel before you get charged if you aren’t impressed. Second most important in my opinion is YOU, in the frame of mind to put yourself and your health front and center for a while. It’s not selfish to put the energy into this that’s required to be successful and hopefully that’s where the third best thing comes in which is a really good source of support. If you realize post op that this is not your friend of family as you expected, be certain to tell your team and perhaps you can follow up with them more often and take advantage of any support groups they offer regardless and keep posting here. If they don’t have any, perhaps ask your team to pass along your number with another patient who is in the same boat looking for an accountability buddy. Also, it doesn’t have to be the support group from your surgeons practice. My support group is at a hospital where my surgeon heads it but patients who had surgery there with another doctor or even at nearly places that don’t have support groups join us. We really are all in this together and we all need support.

Beyond that it just depends on how much of a gadget person you are. I would say once you get back to normal foods I would want a good cooler to keep water, protein shakes and snacks with you all the time. Anytime I leave the house I bring twice what I expect to need and when I get home the leftovers go back in the fridge. This gives me options and I’m prepared for unexpected delays and don’t end up in a fast food line. When it comes to food you will be wise to forever be a boy/Girl Scout in terms of preparedness. People laugh all the time when they see me coming with my snack bag. I have a big ziplock type bag of non perishable snacks like protein bars and chips and turkey jerkey, etc. I said I should change it from the clear bag but if I’m being honest I kind of enjoy laughing about snacks when the others are laughing WITH me instead of AT me. I invested a good YETI cooler which the zipper is really hard to open but even in a hot climate it keeps things cold all day I also found some good continues on Amazon that are generic bento type boxes that have four and six compartments that are 1/2 Cup each these are great to bring your meals in the beginning and great for a snack assortment a little later out I look at the protein lunch/snack packs at the grocery and duplicates them. Turkey Jerkey, boiled eggs, cheese, nuts, fruit, veggies, lean deli meat (chunks are easier to eat I think) but I always always have water and protein shakes with me so I can do an extra meal if I’m out longer than expected. Same goes for my vitamins I have them and my rx meds in daily pill reminders and I bring the day no matter what and if I’m more than an hour away from home I bring an extra day with me just in case.

Basically you just figure out whatever your challenges are with your schedule and work out ways to make it more convenient and manageable. You will find your groove and it will be second nature.

If you’re itching to shop you may want to look for some descent athletic type clothes in your size and the next size or two down and a good pair of sneakers. I have found really good deals at TJ Maxx and those type of stores and real good deals for practically brand new stuff at thrift stores. My guess is with the new year coming they will be flooded with clothing in general come Feb or March from some who resolve to lose weight and others who just resolve to get organized.

If you are new to thrift stores they are not all created equal. Try out a few and compare prices and how they are organized and what they tend to have available. I find that people who frequently donate tend to have a preferred place to donate so some stores end up with more athletics, better brands, or more crafts, etc based on who it is that donates. And pricing seems to be more fair at smaller church type thrifts compared to larger ones that set one price for “pants” that may be brand new better brand with the tags on or they could be washed out Walmart brand with threads hanging and they are both $4. At the smaller place the better brand may be 10 bucks but it will be more likely to be hanging there since the people who scour thrifts to resell stuff don’t want to pay &10 when they may not sell it

Ooh and You may want to put a pillow in the car you are coming home from surgery in to put over your incision. I bought the abdominal seatbelt pillow on Amazon that velcros to the belt and that was convenient, but you don’t need it long so a regular pillow will do if your budget is tight. I mean you probably won’t be in the car again until your first post op outside of some emergency and your pillow will do.

Maybe a good cookbook for bariatric but you can also find loads of that stuff online. There are quite a few sites. I tried at least one new recipe a week that I thought I would like and one with an ingredient I had never tried. I still continue to try new veggies and fruits made different ways. Finding things that are nutritious and you also enjoy will be key to long term success. You’ve got this 😊

ShoppGirl THANK YOU! This is all great information, very helpful! My health team has been very helpful also but I also wanted to reach out to the community to see what people that have gone through it have experienced, did and are doing. Just a couple of days to go and I start this now chapter. Again thank you for the support!

3 hours ago, TAZMAZ said:

ShoppGirl THANK YOU! This is all great information, very helpful! My health team has been very helpful also but I also wanted to reach out to the community to see what people that have gone through it have experienced, did and are doing. Just a couple of days to go and I start this now chapter. Again thank you for the support!

Note that you will pass through the larger sizes quite quickly so I bought two pair of yoga pants and two pair of bike shorts that fit and the same for shirts. I took advice from someone on here to save my cash for later when the clothes become so much further to buy. Plus as you get closer to your goal the loss slows quite a bit and you will be wearing a size or two above goal for much longer. The first few pass by sort of like kids growing. Hence the thrift stores. Which I actually learned to love thrifting. It’s the thrill of the hunt for me. My husband laughs all the time because he says I’m the only person willing to buy a designer purse at the mall in the morning and then complain about a pair of pants being 8 bucks at a thrift the same day. It really is fun to find the diamond in the ruff if you have the time. If you’re in a rush, you most likely won’t like it. And if your on a specific mission you may have no luck but if your just openly browsing and you have a few things you would like to find but no rush, thrifting is a game you just may enjoy. I had the sleeve in 2021 and converted to the SADI on 2024 so I can answer many of your questions about my experience if you have specific ones. I have some other medical stuff going on now but I’m getting out of the weeds so I hope to be on here more often. Jsut post your questions, though. If I’m not available, someone always is. This community is a life saver. Filled with so many well meaning people who have been through it all or they are at least a step ahead of you and can help with that part. Once your in your groove it’s good to keep checking in for accountability and to help others behind you. I have found nothing but compassion and support here. Have you found the chat specific to your surgery month yet?

Thank you again. Thrift stores sound s like a good idea. I will look for a thread for my surgery month

1 hour ago, TAZMAZ said:

Thank you again. Thrift stores sound s like a good idea. I will look for a thread for my surgery month

Oddly enough I looked and can’t find a Dec group. They changed the platform though and I will admit I still haven’t been able to figure my way around and find everything. There should be one. In the the pre op area. If you can’t fine it it’s fine to post anywhere but I just figured you could find others who had their surgery this month so they will really be going through the stages with you.