Important things to know before going into surgery

I've been on my post op opti fast diet for my 5th day now (I have lost 5.1 pounds so far), it was really hard at first but I feel like it gets easier and easier with everyday passing.

I was wondering if people out there could tell me things you feel would be important to know before going into surgery.

- things to buy

- aches and pains

- things that help

- things to watch out for 

- things you wish you knew before going into surgery 

anything really that would help!

I wrote these promises to myself initially pre-op, but have updated them based on what I've learned since then.  

1. I will not panic if I stop losing weight for a few weeks. Instead, I will re-evaluate that my eating is on plan and wait until the stall has lasted 4 weeks before I start to panic.

2. I will not ask OH what I need to take to the hospital, I know these things. Lip balm and a pillow. And the pillow really just needs to be in the car for the trip home.  (I also took my iPhone and Kindle, plus their charging cables.  I didn't use the Kindle.  I wore a loose, comfy dress to the hospital and wore it back home.  I didn't need a robe or socks, those were all provided for me.) 

3. I will not lie when people ask me how I’ve lost the weight. I will either be honest and tell them “surgery, diet and exercise” or I will tell them “I’m not comfortable talking about this with you.” These are the options, lying by omission is not one of them.

4. If I fail, and I will fail, I will forgive myself and return immediately to plan. It’s okay to screw up, it’s not okay to beat myself up for it or let it become the start of a downward spiral.  (I'm not good at not beating myself up, but I try!)

5. If I don’t start losing sizes right away, I won’t freak out. Chances are the clothes I wear now are too small and tight, and I just deal with it. It might take awhile for my current clothes to fit correctly and that will happen before I can get into smaller sizes.  (It took me over 50 pounds to start losing sizes!)

6. I will own my mistakes. They’re mine and result of my own choices, no one is ever going to hold a gun to my head and make me eat crap, I control what goes into my own body.

7. I will not compare my weight loss to that of anyone else. I’m me.

8. I will do everything I can to find a therapist I can work with. This will help me out in the long run.

9. I will be hyper aware of potential addiction transfer issues and especially aware of getting too caught up in numbers as I already know I am want to do.

10. Extra skin is a fact of life, get the **** over it. If I really hate the way my body looks, I can save my pennies and nickels for plastic surgery once I’ve maintained for a year or two. People will still have sex with me if I have weird skin, and Under Armour sells compression gear. I will, however, have every issue with my skin documented.

11. I will be kind to myself. I will keep getting to my monthly massages, I will keep engaged in my hobbies, and I will spend time with my friends.

12. I already know that being a “hero” about medication is stupid so I’ll work on remembering that when the time comes. Pain keeps us from healing, it’s not noble.

13. I will only weigh myself once a week. I will not let myself get obsessed with the scale. See #9.  (I found TrendWeight.com and I weigh myself daily and it's awesome.  I now just see my daily weight as data, not something that makes or breaks me.) 

14. My stomach will probably gurgle after surgery, this is normal. Just don’t go to silent Meeting anytime soon.

15. I will not worry if people don’t comment on my weight loss. I will assume that they’re being polite and not commenting on another person’s body, which is what they should do.  

16. I will work to break the compulsions to “clean my plate” and to “not let food go to waste.” Sure, there are starving kids in Africa, but throwing away food will not change the situation.

17. There is nothing to be done for hair loss, assuming that I’m eating on plan. It will happen, or it won’t, but I will remember that it will grow back eventually. I will be a shavee with St. Baldricks six weeks post-op.

18. I understand that my hormones will be all messed up after surgery. I will do my best to remove myself from the company of others instead of taking my hormonal changes out on them.

19. I won’t weigh myself for the first two weeks post-op because I know that I’ll gain weight from all of the fluids and swelling that surgery entail. I’ll wait to weigh until I’m off liquids.  (I made it one week, lol.) 

20. I will not panic if I don’t feel restriction immediately post-op. Chances are restriction won’t kick in fully until I’m eating dense proteins and that will take 4-6 weeks on my plan.

^^^  Everything that Gwen said.  Take mushy lip balm to the hospital with you as your lips will dry out and feel awful.

These are all awesome and I'm stealing them for myself. =)

I'm not sure it can be said any better than this...

I will have surgery on June 17th and I can't thank you enough for these words of wisdom!

all that and don't over prepare , don't buy to much of anything yet , tastse change after surgery and a shake you love now might taste like sewage after the surgery

 don't buy to much cloths t one time you might out grow them before you wear them

 goodwill is you friend, they will be happy to take your over sized cloth and sell you smaller ones a lot cheaper than new 

Don't go mistaking paradise

For that home across the road.

I agree with everything Gwen said!

I'm a huge advocate of drinking your fluids. I've had a huge issue with constipation and ended up back in the hospital because of it. So drink at least 64 ounces of fluids daily. You can talk with your doctor about anything. He's probably heard it before. So be honest. :)

Insightful and a great read!