Less then a month to go.

So, its offically less then a month to my surgery! Monday, Jan. 5th is the big day at Ellis Hospital with Dr. Clarke. All the testing is done and so far i've lost 43lbs on Medifast! Im excited for this but I am still extremely nervous! Some nights I worry so much that I cant get to sleep. I'm mainly worrying about after surgery and the second I wake up. My biggest fear is that I will be in horrible pain! I know I'll be hooked up to a pian pump and what not but I'm still fearing that pain! I am set up to get an IVC filter placed on Jan.2nd but I've been reading on the internet that anyone who is allergic to nickel, shouldnt get it done since you can have a severe reaction to it. I guess I should mention that to the nurse when I go for weekly weigh in on Wed. Other then that... I'm doing great and trying to keep positive! Any suggestions about what I should get prior to surgery or while I am in the hospital?! ...

I hope you all have a great holiday season!!

~Heather

Hi Heather!  I'm so excited for you...I'm sure you are nervous but I'm sure you will do great.  I go in on Tuesday for my surgeon consult with Dr. Panemanglore who works with Dr. Clarke over at Ellis. I've heard a lot of great things about them.  

I'll be reading this thread to see what other people suggest you get prior to surgery but one thing I read one woman couldn't do without was a backscratcher!  I never would have thought about it but sounds great for when you don't want to move due to soreness/pain.  This is of course on top of all the usual things that people will suggest.

It will be interesting to hear how you do and what kind of experience you have at the hospital.  Good luck!

-Jennifer

You will do fine.  Dr. Clarke and everyone will be taking great care of you.  The majority of my pain was when I would get in/out of bed/chair.  It would last for about 20 or 30 seconds and get better.  My biggest complaint was the gas pains for the first couple of weeks and the pain medication did not really help that much for this pain (walking was the only thing that helped me).

Once I was home, I only took one dose of the pain pills, the first night before I went to bed.  My wife took her pain pills before bed for the first 3 or 4 nights.  We had planned on being very uncomfortable for the first week or so and were pleasantly surprised at the pain we experienced.  My suggestion would be to plan on being in a lot of pain for a week, since it is much easier to deal with less than more pain.

You are doing great with the weight loss, how long have you been on the Medifast?  It looks like you must be doing a good job following the diet, keep up the good work.  Any cheating will just make it harder on you in the long run.  If you can do well with the Medifast, life after surgery is exactly the same, you just keep following the rules.

If you have any questions, let me know.

Jim

Thanks you guys for the response! .. well, i've been on medifast since the middle of October. So, about 8-9 weeks. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be! Im glad for that! ... What about vitamins? I heard that alot of people buy from Bariatric Advantage but that is kinda expensive! Have any suggestions?

First of all CONGRATS on your weight loss so far. You are doing great.
To be honest i went into panic mode before my surgery. It was so much better then i imagined.. I dont remember waking up in pain at all. I remember waking up and thinking wow this is ok. The anticiaption is so much worse then the reality.
As for vitamins i take the Bariatric Fusion that Dr Panamenglore suggested. Im very happy with them. I did hear the office will be selling them soon. They are only 25/month.
good luck

Great job on the loss so far, Heather!  :-)

I have to say that I had to stop reading the forum 2 weeks prior to surgery because everyone was scaring the crap out of me!  LOL!

All I took with me to the hospital was:

bathrobe
slippers
clean bra and undies for when I left
chapstick
(My C-PAP)

The only thing I wish I had that I didn't was lotion.

I did not need anything else.

Are you having OPEN or Laparoscopic?

I was in a LOT of pain when I woke up but it was my neck and back.  They had me at a 45 degree angle on the table so that is why I was so sore.  It was fine after about 2 hours.

I was not in a lot of pain just discomfort.  It helps SO much to get up and walk, walk, walk!

Please feel free to ask me anything!  My surgery was the 25th and I am back to work on Wednesday (I had OPEN)!  I feel GREAT!

Best Wishes!  :-)