Date 11/14..what do I need to do?

I am scheduled for 11/14, does anyone have an advise in what was useful for them or any insight as to what do I need to do to prepare for the upcoming date? Thanks, Christina

I just posted a list of what i am doing to get ready, check it out.

I found these on the main board and some websites.. hope they help.. Some things won't apply, I kept the whole list and then edited it for the things I may want/need. I have many websites and recipes for protein shakes, to.. if anyone wants them.. This is LOOONG, better go get a drink..LOL. Jacki K Things to take to the hospital: Congrats!!! I would suggest you take: shampoo/conditioner travel sizes soap/body wash travel sizes hair brush/comb hair tyes/scrunchies/clips deodorant toothbrush and tooth paste robe/slippers slip on type things to do.. books/puzzles/CD player or radio and batteries chap stick a change of comfortable clothes for the ride home. yucky panties for some runnies portable fan if you're a Hot person small pillow to hold your belly Things you MAY need: pill crusher or pill cutter grabber (you won't be able to bend over to pick things up) small pillow (helps to hold it against your tummy when you cough) slip on shoes back scratcher first aid supplies (tape, gauze pads, Band-Aids, etc) Imodium - for diarrhea colace - for constipation liquid Tylenol gas x chewables chewable vitamins sublingual b12 baby utensils (to help with portion control) baby bowls and plates (to help with portion control) magic bullet or other blender shaker cup (vitalady.com has great ones for abt $3) Food items to stock up on: bottled water or flavored waters sugar free sugar free popsicles and fudgcicles sugar free jello and puddings cans of chicken, beef or vegetable broth splenda or other sugar substitute decaf coffee and tea (if you drink these) crystal lite or other sugar free powered drink (you can get regular Kool-Aid packs and mix with splenda) 4. Have someone stay with you your entire stay at the hospital. Its good to have a helping hand and someone who is not groggy to know what is going on with your care. I was groggy till the end of the 2nd day. I felt much comfort knowing someone was there looking out for me and helped me to the bathroom, walking, reaching for things etc. Its only 3 days, and they can eat in the cafeteria. You are worth it!!! What to expect: 1. You will come out of surgery with an iv and catheter. My catheter came out the second day after surgery. Felt a little funny coming out, but it was ok. 2. IV stayed in till my 2-3 day. 3. Day after surgery you will go to xray in the morning, drink something nasty and they will check to see that your pouch is not leaking. 4. You will probably have compression hose on your legs to prevent blood clots. (your family member can help get these off when you have to go to the bathroom and walk) 5. You will be up and walking the day after surgery. And I urge you to walk as much as you can. Helps with circulation and prevents complications. This is when a nice robe comes in handy. Your doc will probably tell you to work up to a mile as soon as you can post op. Remember exercise is a regular part of your life now. 6. You will have a G-tube (stomach tube), and a jackson pratt draining tube. The nurses empty that several times a day, and the jp will be removed before you go home. When it comes out it feels like a long snaky tube coming out (that is because it is wrapped back and forth in your abdomen to get the extra fluid out). I did not like the way it felt coming out, it was uncomfortable, but remember it is only for about 5 seconds and it is out! 7. The G-tube stays in for about 10 days (some docs don't use this) Its there incase you can't drink fluids and need a way to get nutrition. Mine was tender at the insertion site. I drained it daily, and couldn't wait for it to come out. I did not need to use mine, but remember it really is your friend if you need it. It was momentarily uncomfortable coming out, like the catheter. Nothing like the JP coming out. 8. You will be given little 1 oz cups to drink your protein shakes with. Broth day one post op, protein starts day 2 post op. Drink as much as you can, you have to get your fluids in. 9. Your stomach will be tender. Lots was done inside there, so don't lift things over 15 lbs. Listen to your doctor! Don't try sit ups or the such till doc says it is ok. Listen to your body. 10. At first I drank my protein, and tried to add foods. But even now at 2 months out, I still drink a protein shake a day. 11. Your pouch will be swollen, and sensitive, do take foods easily. I would encourage you to not eat sf pudding and potatoes because they are empty calories. Gastric Bypass shopping for liquids Immediately post-op Clear Liquids (thru day 6) Broth (chicken, beef, vegetable) Decaf coffee or tea Crystal Light Jell-O - Sugar Free Kool-Aid or Lemonade - Sugar Free Clear, 100% juices (apple, grape, etc.), dilute 50% with water ***************************************************** Full Liquids (days 7 - 20 oruntil told elsewise) To the above, you can add... Milk (skim, ½% - 2%) Pudding, Sugar Free Smooth Yogurt, No Sugar Added Fudgesicle, Sugar Free Soups... No tomato or split pea (because of the sugar content)... and, you will have to blend and strain these. Carnation Instant Breakfast, No Sugar Added Hot Cocoa, No Sugar Added Alba, No Sugar Added You will want to get some protein powder or liquid. GNC sells a lot of good products and they offer a 100% refund on anything you don't like (yes, even if you've used it once). The chocolate Whey powder that you can get from GNC is good, but gets kind of thick like a milkshake. I enjoyed it, but some people are turned off by the milkshake consistency. I would make a double batch and drink half for breakfast and freeze the other half for an evening snack. Yummy! The first week is mostly liquid and at best very very soft food. I made sure that I had sugar free Tang or something similar, yogurt (again the light is best because of the low sugar), sugar-free popsicles, also some baby food. That's right baby food, bland but by the end of the first week you will think it taste pretty good, just add some salt, go for the chicken or what ever meat you think you might like. The most important thing is the protien(60grams/day) thing so be sure to have a source for that. I got some of the already made up stuff like "Body for Life" and I got the clear drink Isopure from the Vitamin Shoppe or GNC (like most the flavors), I also got the unflavored Unjury (www.unjury.com) which can be put in the tang and also suger-free pudding stc, no taste. Dr will tell you when you are ready for things like cottage cheese (buy the small 4 oz), a soft egg, he let me have these things after my first check up. Also don't forget to get chewable vitamins, I got the Centrium, still take them every day. Plus he will send you home with pain medicine, and because of this be sure to get a stool softener (very, very important, the pain medicine will constipate you). He will give you a list of supplements that you need the day you leave the hospital (like B12 etc) but everyone is different on that and he adjust that to you blood work which is done almost daily. ********************************************* I am using Fitday.com religiously. I am on full liquids and would like to know where the average carb level**** for other folks in this stage. I am hitting my protein requirement every day and sometimes go over by about 5 grams or so. My fluids are always at or over 64 ounces per day. My carbs, however, can range from 25 grams to 100 grams. My weight loss stopped two days ago and I think it was because my carbs were so low (under 30 for 2 days). I have them back up to between 80 and 100 but the scale's not moving. I really am not complaining that I'm not losing weight because I know I will, but I want to do a little comparing with where others were during the full liquid stage with carb levels. I did start exercising today. I do 10 minutes at 2 miles per hour on the tread mill every two hours or so, totalling 1 hour per day. Not a bad start seeing as my endurance has really sucked since the surgery. Shauna... welcome to my world!! I also use FitDay religiously (I actually bought the program). Actually seeing the numbers in FitDay has made me very aware of everything I eat and I have wondered about the whole carbs thing since day one. I have asked Dr and the nutritionists at Barix and they will NOT give me a range to stick to... they just tell me that as long as I'm getting my protein and water in and keeping my fat in the range I'm supposed to, then I should have no problem. They tell me not to worry about carbs. However... I am finding that the more carbs I have, without going over 80 - 100 grams/day, the easier my weight comes off. If my carbs are super low, I plateau longer (I always have a plateau about every 2 weeks and it lasts for about a week). Also, I only eat pasta about once a week (Barilla makes a protein plus pasta that tastes like regular pasta). I mostly get my carbs through low-fat milk, yogurt, cottage cheese and fruit. Then I alternate potatoes, multi-grain breads and pasta, etc. on different days (never on the same day). I think it's most important to find the balance that works for you. And, unfortunately, finding this balance usually happens through trial and error. I'm still working on the best balance for myself. I also think that you have to re-balance your numbers as you lose more weight and you stop losing as fast. I also never eat fruits/dairy on the same day as a grain/root veggie. They told me at Barix not to worry about the carbs. If I get the protein, fluids and keep the fat down carbs and calories will fall into place on their own. I'm sure the further away from surgery you are, the bad choices start to creep back in but you should not have to worry about that yet especially since you are on liquids still. As for the scale not moving...welcome to MY world! The first 11 days I lost like 12 pounds without trying...well I wasn't eating either! Then...you know the rest. I do everything right, including exercising. Don't worry though, I have yet to read a slower loser than me so far on these boards. It will start up again...Jacquee ****************************************************** In my opinion, FIRST; during the first week post-op, don't hold back from pain meds for the sake of constipation prevention. You will have a baby type poo during clear liquids and you really won't be able to constipate yourself. SECOND; if you find that your endurance is really down and you are over a week or so out of surgery, start doing SMALL things to challenge yourself. I got on my treadmill for 2 minutes at first at 2 miles per hour a few times per day. I have increased that amount to 10 minutes at 2.5 mph every two hours throughout the day for a total of one hour of very gentle but deliberate movement. THIRD; do not be afraid of sipping during your clear liquid stage CONSTANTLY. If you keep doing it, it will only serve to help you heal and prepare for the heavier stuff involved with full liquids. I was TRUELY afraid that since I wanted to drink stuff, eat Jello and sip broth CONSTANTLY the first week, that I would not be able to eat only 6 times times daily when I hit the full liquid stage as we are told to do. I was WRONG. I am now two weeks out tomorrow and I have to make myself eat what I 'm supposed to. FOURTH; remember to count all of your intake as fluid during the clear and full liquid stages. It all counts toward your 64 ounces or more per day! ******************************************************** String cheese (a lot of kids like these also) comes in different type of cheeses-colby/jack mix, mozzarella, etc. Comes in 2%, low rat, etc. Check the cheese area in the store. But let me warn you-they are addictive but have lots of good protein-but don't eat TOOOOOOOOOO many as they are CHEESE, if you get my drift. ******************************************************** Helpful thoughts pre op: Things to do to prepare for surgery: 1. Educate yourself:Read other peoples profiles on the obesity site. Read all information from doctor and on this site about surgery, complications, etc. 2. Stick to the doctors pre-op diet. Don't be tempted to binge or eat the "last supper". In fact, I'd encourage you to NOT have a last meal. Why do it? Start your new life now, what will this last meal give you? Nothing but some more calories. Make a conscious choice to be in control over food, and you will feel great about yourself. I know I did. I was tempted to have the last meal too, but didn't. I realized how silly my mindset was....was that food so important to me? It was, and it bothered me, because I saw a part of myself I did not like that was controlled by the taste of food, and I knew that is what got me here in the first place. So, I resisted, and lost 6 lbs prior to surgery...and now another 30 lbs down I don't regret missing that last meal at all! Think about it! 3. Start your lifestyle diet early, proteins, veges and fruits. Start drinking 80 oz water a day. Get off caffine and sodas. If you can lose some weight before surgery you decrease the fat around your liver. This makes you a better candidate for lap surgery instead of a full line open incision. 4. Stock your cubboard with foods you will need post op. Chicken broth, beef broth, protein shakes ( I like the unjury powder. You can go to www.unjury.com to get them or perhaps your doc sells them). I prefer the chocolate and the unflavored. I use the unflavored to add to meals, and broth to up my protein. SF jello, decaf tea, skim milk, frozen fruits, cottage cheese, regular cheese, dannon sf yogert, unsweet applesauce, SF v-8 splash and SF popsicles. 5. Buy a food scale because you will need to measure your cooked food. 6. Buy baby spoons to eat with post op. Helps you portion control better. Post-Op The first 6 months is the best time to lose weight. Don't try to eat like you did before, really use this time to change habits. You don't need sweets, and anyway they will make you dump. (dumping is when your stomach cramps for 15 min to 4 hours if you eat sugar, nothing relieves it) Once you experience this believe me you won't want to eat sugar again! 12. Discomfort and pain, do take your pain med when you need it. Even at 2 months out my pouch is sensitive and I still use a little pillow to cushion my left side when I sleep. 13. You will throw up. Its not like the throw up we used to do. We don't have stomach acid in our pouch. But it does feel like a golf ball inside, and when it comes up, it comes up quick. I know this might sound gross, but I keep a zip lock bag in the car and in my purse just in case I am out somewhere and something just doesn't agree with me. When you throw up, rest your pouch by going on liquids for the next day or so. Don't push yourself. 14. Red meat, steak, and dry foods won't agree with you for at least 7 months, neither will greasy foods. And don't drink till one hour has passed after eating. ************************************************ It's my 5th day post-op.. Wow. 64 ounces? The way I'm doing it is I figure that I'm awake for an average of 12 hours. If I divide, I need to sip only about 5 and 1/2 ounces of any fluid per hour. Today I reached ALL 64 ounces following that rule. Much easier now with my new perspective on 64 ounces. Also, I try to drink EXACTLY what seems good to my tongue right then, not what I haven't had in a while. Next, don't forget to pee and do your breathing exercises. Both make you fart and BOY does that help!!!! It does help to actually sit on the throne and do your breathing excercises at the same time. You move more gas sitting there. *************************************************** I really had no problems building up to 64 ounces per day of clear liquids the first week. I simply had many choices in the house and allowed myself something ANYTIME I wanted it. I also did not allow myself more than 30 minutes without something going "in". SIP! Don't gulp. Next, it is my experience that when starting full liquids like protein shakes, puddings and cloudy juices, I am TIRED immediatley following the food I have taken in and for a long time afterward. It helps to keep moving after eating, EVEN THOUGH YOU ARE TIRED!! Move slowly but with purpose. Take a shower, slowly fold small clothing that someone brought you from the dryer, walk around your car a few times, slowly walk the perimeter of your main floor. Your movement will help in the digestive process, allows for use of the calories, promotes cellular tissue healing and it makes you feel much better mentally. I'm still FAT and I still need to lose weight so exercise at ANY level HAS to be good! Lastly, if you haven't checked out www.Fitday.com, do it NOW! The site tracks your entire journey for you FOR FREE. You only need to enter what you eat, what exercise you do and your wiegh-in's. The site is packed with awesome and fun things to do that will allow you to watch yourself morph into who you know you can be. Remember, let nothing stand in your way. Sugar Alcohols Sugar alcohols are ingredients used as sweeteners and texturizing agents. They occur naturally in foods and come from plant products like fruits and berries. As a sugar substitute, they provide fewer calories (about a half to one-third less calories) than regular sugar. This is because they are converted to glucose more slowly, require little or no insulin to be metabolized and don't cause sudden increases in blood sugar. This makes them popular among individuals with diabetes; however, their use is becoming more common by just about everyone. You may be consuming them and not even know it. They are known to cause a laxative effect with resultant diarrhea in any average person. For many of us after WLS, a pronounced effect of diarrhea, nausea, abdominal pain or a feeling of "sourness" in your belly can occur after we eat something with sugar alcohols in it. It is a very individual thing as to whether sugar alcohols will effect you and at what level. I ate pudding today with 7 grams. I was ok. Tom eats no more than 8 grams, as he knows it makes him very sick. Another friend has absolutely no effect from them. Be careful. Try something with one gram and check for a reaction you don't care for. Then add one gram at a time at each additional occasion until you just don't feel right. Remember, sugar alcohols are listed in the ingredient list as; mannitol, xylitol, isomalt and sorbitol. Take care and go slow! It is interesting that a sugar alcohol is actually not a sugar or and alcohol! Plateaus What every PreOp/NewOp needs to know about weight loss. You will lose weight in cycles. For a period of time you'll lose pounds and this will be very satisfying as you see the scale move lower and lower. Then a period of time will come when you will not lose any weight. You will probably get some typical negative thoughts such as "The surgery failed", "I messed up my pouch", "I'm the only person this surgery will not work for" or a hundred other negative thoughts. This time is called a stall. The stall may last a couple of days, a week, or more than one week. Your body will stop losing weight to "catch up" with itself. You'll lose inches during the stall. Whether you lose inches or weight....it is still a loss. You'll feel your clothes get looser. You may even notice that during a stall that you've dropped a size (or two). If you will keep a daily record of your weight loss and a weekly record of your measurements -especially during your stall period - it will help confirm what I just said. The single best piece of advice I can give you is to not compare yourself with others. Every person loses weight at their own speed. The first 7 weeks post op for me: Week 1 and 2 I lost a pound per day. Week 3 I didn't lose anything Week 4 I averaged 2.5 lbs loss per day (with a total loss of 42lbs the first month). Then week **** It, along with weeks 6 and 7, I lost a total of 3 lbs (ONE lb per week avg). I FINALLY broke my stall. It lasted 3.5 weeks. Now I've lost 3lbs in the last two days! Stalls are only temporary even though they don't feel like it. One more thing to note: Before my stall I was disappointed because no one noticed I had lost weight. Then the day the stall broke I had two people tell me that they noticed! The scale will tell you that you've lost weight...the stall will allow your body to shrink which will tell others! When you hit a stall.... DON'T PANIC! This is normal and should be expected. If you're like me, and you probably are, your first reaction will be to get depressed, get stressed, and try to turn to food for comfort. This is the worst thing you can do. Someone stated on this message board recently "Most dreams are lost by giving up what we want MOST for what we want at the MOMENT". Don't succumb to this! You're stronger than you realize. Best wishes on your journey to health. Keep this one thought in the back of your mind............................Stalls Happen! Hair Loss Tips I know we all have the problem at some point in our journey where we lose our hair, it gets thin, we cry about etc. Then we buys lost of stuff to try and get it to grow, give it some body and so on. At 6 1/2mos post of here is what I do for my hair.....First I take liquid Centrum twice a day. Then I take Silica Complex, twice a day. Wash my hair like I always do, which is generally daily. BUT, what I have found that seems to REALLY work for the no body limp hair is AVON has come out with Advance Techniques Age Defying "Leave-in Treatment with Biotin" (For fine, fragile, thinning hair). And it can make the hair appear 15% thicker. It's a lightweight leave in treatment. I know you all are probably thinking "She sells AVON she pushing for business on the board". Yes I do sell AVON and NO I'm NOT trying to sell it to you on here. What I AM doing is letting my fellow WLS buddies know that there is really something that works out that and it won't break the bank. It's currently on sale for $3.99 for a 5oz tube. It doesn't make you hair feel all dry and nasty, and when you go to wa**** again it actually makes you hair feel soft........So, that is all I wanted to say, that there is something not expensive that actually works. Soy Protein Soy Protein, because it has natural estrogen and being a woman of 50+ years, I need all I can get to combat the "hot flashes" or "power surges" that come with age. Whey Protein Whey protein is more readily available to the body. Every doc I have heard recommend a mainstream protein to his patients recommends a whey protein. Exercise Ideas and Tips Thoughts on exercise: Began working out with a trainer 3 times a week at the gym. Was told by my chiropractor (who is also a trainer) that my 3-4 times a week for 1 hour on cardio wasn't as effective as 30 agressive minutes on the weights followed by 20 minutes cardio 3 times a week. Said I would put on about 10 lbs of muscle, decrease my body fat and increase muscle mass. Increased muscle would burn about 500 calories a day AT REST! Exercise has to be a part of our life now. Not only to get the weight off, but to keep it off once we reach goal! I abhor exercise! I don't do it because I like it one bit. I do it because I have to. It is a funny feeling to be putting so much effort into keeping this body healthy, never did this before. It does give you a great feeling of ownership satisfaction! Found my pouch was sensitive when I did abdominals and chest exercises. Felt like it does after I've thrown up. Had a hard time eating, felt like things were getting stuck. After talking to the doc it appears that due to the muscles contracting, it does irritate the pouch, so I need to go light on the workout days and drink more protein, till my pouch and muscles adjust. My pouch irritation has subsided after 3 weeks working with a trainer. I have seen fantastic results physically. I belive that my seeing 50.25 lbs loss in 12 weeks is largely due to this exercise routine! Vitamin suggestions Thoughts on vitamins: I like the Building block vitamins www.bbvitamins.com. They come in pill and chewable. For me shortly after surgery, my taste changed and that was due to having a minor case of thrush after all the antibiotics and going into ketosis after surgery. (Both will give you a metal taste in your mouth.) Anyway, I stopped the chewable and went to the pill, then it seemed my pouch was sensative especially in the morning and at times I would hurl after the vitamin pills, so now I am going to liquid vitamins. Dame Tooter (www.baribytes.com )has lots of information on everything, including vitamins. I love www.bariatriceating.com. I've chosen to use their liquid vitamins and liquid calcium citrate. They are about $25 a bottle. Very tasty! I also love the strawberry and white chocolate smoothie protein drink, its similar in cost to the unjury protein powder, and a nice change. There is also another calcium magnesium citrate powder that you can mix with crystal lite (www.thorne.com -you have to register at their site. The price for 8 oz is $5.65)You need calcium citrate for optimal absorption. I've also found a liquid vitamin that is sugar free www.glacialmilk.com. It is comperable to the Building blocks and you take 1 oz a day. Costs $24 a bottle can order on line or at Sams club. www.Vitacost.com has 25 mg iron tablets for $9.39, and you will need to get a sublingual (under the tongue) or injectable Vit b-12 from your pharmacy (ask your doc for a prescription). I hope these give you some selections to use for vitamins!