Dec 22 is the magic date!

Finally.... I have a date. Not real excited about it being four days before Christmas but I may be laid off at the beginning of the year and would lose my insurance. Cant take the chance. I am incredibly excited! If you have any advice for me, please feel free to post it. I am trying to compile all of the helpful info that I can.

Lisa, congratulations on receiving your confirmed sugery date! I can fully relate to your excitement as my own date is coming up on the 7th. I am breathing a sigh of relief with you about getting this done before there is a possibility of your being laid off. I know what it is like to be "under the wire" that way. As for advice, I will be back and post again after my surgery. That way, I may have some tips about what goes on in the hospital. Please know you will be in my thoughts and prayers as your day approaches. God bless you! Pat

Thank you! I hope that yours goes as smoothly as possible. I Can hardly wait to have the control taken away! Many people are freaked out about losing control but not me! Not this time.... I'm sure you know what I mean. I'll will keep you in my thought and prayers as well. If you get any helpful tips for pre-op, please share! Lisa

Hi again, Lisa, Thank you so much! About the most important tip I can think of pre-op is the 'last minute' diet that most surgeons are putting their patients on. If your surgeon has not specified this to you as yet, maybe you could ask if he requires it. The theory is that a last minute quick weight loss reduces the size of the liver and softens it. I think this mostly applies to those having the Lap procedure as there is not much room to maneuver inside while doing this. The way my surgeon's nurse explained it to me is that the portion of the stomach the doctor will be working on lies behind the liver and if the liver is smaller and softer, it will be much more accessible to him/her, and will cause much less discomfort and pain to the patient afterward, as well. My surgeon told me on the 5th of November during a consultation that I needed to lose 10 pounds prior to the surgery or he would postpone it. This is when I thought I was going to have the surgery on November 16th. As fate would have it, on the 11th, I received a call from the surgeon's office saying they were going to postpone it until December 7th. I had already been on my diet for almost a week, and just decided to stay on it, to see how much I could possibly lose before the 7th. This is mainly because I am willing to do whatever it takes to lessen the discomfort of the surgery. Other than this, which is the most important thing I feel I can pass along to you....please be sure to get lots of protein in prior to your surgery. Advant-Edge protein shakes are good. There are others too, I am sure. I have heard from the doctor and many others that this helps to promote the healing process after the surgery. Some have even said it will reduce the chance of hair loss that seems to stem from the use of anesthesia...that seems to show up months later, for some reason. If I can think of anything else, I will let you know. I hope this helps.