Things To Do While Waiting For Bariatric Surgery
December 30, 2019The thing is (and I know this all too well) you become somewhat obsessed with surgery once you've decided that you are going to go through with it. It's understandable because we know that it's going to be an amazing change, especially after seeing so many of our friends go through this surgery or seeing the before and after photos. Quite frankly, we are also a society where we have very little sense of delayed gratification - we want what we want NOW. So I'm here to shed a little understanding of WHY the waiting for surgery is crucial and what you can do to benefit you in the meantime.
Reframe Your Thinking
You need to reframe your thinking on the whole process. This is not merely a set of hoops to jump through. To be a success with duodenal switch, gastric bypass, or gastric sleeve, you are going to need to make some drastic changes BEFORE surgery.
For the best outcome, there's so much to learn and understand. We get our bodies rerouted, but we still have the same fat brain. That fat brain will want to sabotage us along the process. We have to outsmart it with education and by establishing some positive habits now.
There’s also a HUGE learning curve. Go in on a wing and a prayer, and you might not be equipped with the tools to keep off the weight long term. Education is KEY when it comes to long term success at keeping the weight off.
In the grand scheme of things, getting the weight off will be the “easy” part, although you may have some bumps, bruises and hard times along the way. It’s keeping it off for the rest of your life that requires the ultimate in dedication, discipline, and healthy habits.
We have SO much to learn through this process in order to be a success that I often suggest to people that they EMBRACE the pre-surgical time as preparation time for what is going to be the most amazing (but often challenging) time of your life. So start preparing now!
Prepare Your Resources While Waiting For Surgery
You might not learn everything you need to know from your bariatric center. Be open to learning about best practices in the bariatric world and researching studies on your own.
Begin by preparing your resources for surgery. I would suggest looking beyond the handouts given out by the surgical center, learn more by reading books and articles on bariatric surgery. Some of my favorites are Weight Loss Surgery for Dummies, the Real Skinny on WLS (Janeway), the Complete Weight Loss Surgery Guide and Diet Program by Sue Ekserci, and ObesityHelp articles.
Start a binder with all of the resources given to you by your hospital, as well as your eating plan from your surgical center. Start creating meal plans according to each food stage. Many people get home and then don’t know what to do food-wise.
Here are 20 ideas to get you started!
- Make a shopping list for your preop and post-op diet.
- Know your eating stages like the back of your hand.
- Try a few shakes, but don't get carried away as your tastes may change. Remember, protein is key!
- Educate yourself about good quality protein shakes (low carb, high protein).
- Understand what slider foods are, why carbs matter, and ketosis.
- Collect recipes and calculate nutritional info if possible.
- Get in the habit of reading nutritional labels and measuring out portions.
- Learn about malabsorption and restriction.
- Start tracking before surgery, trying using a nutrition tracking tool such as MyFitnessPal.
- Learn from your peers by reading message boards every day.
- Follow people’s journey stories. This can give insights on what to do and even what not to do!
- Write down a list of complications and what to watch for. (strictures, hypoglycemia, and so on)
- Learn about plateaus, stalls, and regain.
- Learn what the expected weight loss rate is for your surgery type.
- Learn about things you can do to impact your weight loss rate and success long-term.
- Document your pre-op appointments, write down what you learned at each visit.
- Learn the difference between dumping syndrome, foamies, and things getting stuck.
- Learn about NSAIDs (we cannot have them), vitamins, and medications after surgery.
- If traveling, research your hotel and travel options, routes, and shopping areas.
- Most importantly, read and read and then read some more! (Seriously!)
Prepare Your Mind
The mental aspect of surgery is the hardest. Prepare your mind and take time to explore the issues that have led you to this point.
- Look into whether you have an eating disorder, learn about what your patterns are, and why you've gotten here.
- What are you replacing with food? Are you a binge eater? Emotional eater? Boredom eater?
Start working on these issues now. After the first year, it is no longer going to be a constant high, and the amounts that you'll be able to eat will be greater. I'm going to be honest here and say that there is a failure rate for surgery. Some people do gain all or most of their weight back because they have not dealt with these issues. You need to know that and really start to explore your eating issue.
Do you just "like food"? Is it instant gratification? If so, start teaching yourself about delayed gratification.
After a certain point, willpower will matter. Start to teach yourself about discipline, putting off a craving, finding other outlets for emotions and stress. I know this sounds preachy but my surgical center did nothing about this and I really wish they did. At 2 years out, I had to find therapy in the community and was lucky that I had it.
- Utilize your center's dietician and social worker. Start making big changes now. You can only benefit from this.
- Start getting rid of all the negatives in your life. Time for a positive change. Get rid of the baggage.
Build a Support System & Learn from Others
To quote one of the members in my support group, "Suck up every bit of information" from people that you can learn from, especially from people that have been there, done that. Experience is an amazing teacher. My most valuable piece of advice is to learn from others and make connections of support. Some times that means "putting yourself out there," and it is worth the risk!
Listen CLOSELY to the stories of the veterans and their struggles. There may be a time where you feel like you are invincible and that you will never ever have food issues again. You need to know that issues can and do come back. You will not be a perfect bariatric patient forever. Early out, you may feel like you will never be that person again, but you will! Old habits die very hard, and over time, we can easily become lax with our habits. No one is immune.
Find Mentors: Find a mentor - whether online or in person. Find someone that wouldn't mind you emailing them if a question should arise. You might be feeling panicky after surgery, or you might not want to post everything to the masses online. Find that person who you've learned from and respect and who will give you quality, sound advice. Find someone who is stable and secure. If they seem flighty or highly emotionally charged, stay away. Find someone who seems to give helpful advice and is willing to answer your questions. Find someone you relate to. If anything, find MORE THAN ONE mentor. Sometimes people fall off the face of the earth, or they might get to a point where they are struggling themselves and might not respond. It is always nice to have a backup!
Find a Support Group: Look for a support group in your area, many communities have them. If you have to travel to a nearby community, I think it is just as valuable and worth the trip. For open support groups that allow guests, you can bring your spouse if they are a bit leery of surgery or bring a friend who is willing to support you. Face to face contact is important. You have to be careful who you trust to be a mentor and seeing people in person may help you find someone. Don't be hesitant to email someone in your support group, they probably will be more than happy to help you. Even go out for coffee if they are willing. It helps to settle the nerves when you have a one on one talk. It's important to go to support group meetings!
Prepare Your Family or Spouse: There may need to be some changes to your household. Although you cannot DEPEND on your family to go through all the same changes as you, you will need their support and their help, especially for the first 2-4 weeks. Use the pre-surgical time to prepare everyone about what you'll be needing and what they'll need to do to pitch in to make your recovery smoother. Remember too - if you are keeping your surgery a secret, you need to draw boundaries with your family as often the "secret" gets out.
I wish you well in your journey. Embrace the time you have now. Good luck, my friend!
 | ABOUT THE AUTHOR Dawn Rudling Stefani had surgery in 2006 and has been an avid member of ObesityHelp since her pre-op days. Her OH username is “Diminishing Dawn.” She is an advocate and a strong supporter of the weight loss community, runs her local support group, and is an elementary school teacher. She is very active in weight loss surgery groups on Facebook and enjoys making new acquaintances with other WLS patients. Read more articles from Dawn! |
