Last minute advice???

I am having my gastric sleeve surgery tomorrow at 11:30 at Ellis Bariatric with Dr. Pai. This has been a long journey and I know that this is what I need to do, but I am suddenly very nervous with a million questions/concerns going through my head. Any last minute advice, tips, suggestions is welcomed, needed and very much appreciated. Thanks!

I am pre-op so cannot really offer any advise.

However, from reading the boards it appears most everyone is on edge right before surgery. It is natural & to be expected.

No doubt you will do fine.

Best of luck!

I'm three weeks out.  If you're like I was, you'll be a bit scared before surgery, but then suddenly feel calm.

As for advice, I have a mix of advice and observations:

1) Ask for nausea meds as early as you feel you'll need them.  Don't wait to see if it passes.  It probably won't, and why be miserable?

2) I didn't have much pain, but the nurses encouraged me to continue taking my pain meds just to make sure I was absolutely comfortable getting up and walking to speed the passage of gas.  I'm so glad they did.  I learned there are no heroes.  Not even me :(

3) You will probably receive something called an incentive spirometer which is a little apparatus that you breath through to challenge your lungs.  Use it.  After anesthesia your lungs get a bit lazy, and you are at risk for pneumonia.  Use the incentive spirometer as often as you feel up to it.  (I was told 5 times an hour I was awake, but basically used it ten times a day.)

4) You may come down with a low-grade fever in the immediate days following surgery.  Don't panic.  I completely freaked and thought something was wrong. Nobody ever told me (but in hindsight it makes sense) that your body temperature may spike as a precautionary measure to fight off infection.  My temperature got all the way up to 100.5 and nobody seemed worried but me.  They never explained why.  If this happens to you, I hope you don't go through the stress I did!  (BTW-- using your incentive spirometer and walking around can make your temperature drop close to normal.)

5) You will probably be given four little plastic shot glasses once you're able to drink, and told to slowly work your way through four ever hour.  I was told I couldn't be released until I made my way through all four.  I had a really tough time getting through a single one at first.  Finally I made it through just before I was discharged from the hospital late the afternoon of the second day.  I was freaked out I'd be dehydrated.  What I didn't realize is how quickly the swelling goes down to allow you to sip, sip, sip to stay hydrated.  I tell you this so you don't stress.

6) You probably won't get all of your protein in right away but that's ok.  And I couldn't even stomach the bariatric protein-enhanced liquids in the hospital.  It happens to many, I understand.  My nurse told me not to worry and just concentrate on liquids first, then working my way up to the daily protein requirement over the first three weeks.  The important thing is to keep trying and don't give up.

7) Finally, you may regret your decision and think WTF have I done in the first few days.  I did.  It seems to be the norm on this board, and I didn't realize it before I went through my own personal sadness spiral.  If that happens to you, just tell yourself it's part of the process and work through it.  I feel better now that I'm on pureed foods.  Less pathetic anyway. :)

Best of luck to you.  I know you'll be fine, and I hope you have a comfortable recovery. 

I will tell you like my son said to me the morning of my surgery YOU GOT THIS!  The first few days home were sleepy and sore but it was nice to relax and let them take care of you.  I went to my 2 week follow up last week and told my DR how crazy easy this was I was down 20lbs to boot.  I will be 3 weeks on tues and you cant hardly see my scars.  I am working on under eating my sleeve. I'm on soft foods still and was feeling bad after eating thicker foods and I was eating to much.  This is a learning experience for us but I think you will be surprised at how easy and fast the time goes.

Best of luck to you and remember YOU GOT THIS!  See you on the losers bench!

Try to relax.  You'll do fine.  For me, the surgery was easy - no nausea because I requested anti-nausea drugs, very little pain.  Getting used to my new tummy was not fun, but it was always manageable.  And the results are phenomenal.  You are making an excellent decision for your health and quality of life.  You are going to be fine.

My only advice is to request anti-nausea drugs! they really work.

best of luck,

Carol

I wrote this initially pre-op, but I figure it's time for an update 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.

Thank you all so much for your great advice and kind words. 

Buckle your seat belt and get ready for a wild ride.  Commit to change.  Breath and follow your plan.  :)

I am just over 12 weeks out from VSG.  I have no regrets other than... I wish I had started a hand-written journal of every day from day one, what my feelings were, both good and bad, what I was able to eat and how much or too much and how I felt when I did, how each little "insignificant" NSV (none are insignificant to a WLS patient, each a stepping stone in emotions)... etc... Little things happen each day that as the days pass you will not remember but would be great to look back on.   Keep to the plan.. Don't rush things for each step has a purpose.  This new journey is just beginning.  It will be for life so no rush..  Good luck..Pam