Advise

What are some things you have learned about post op that you wish you had known pre op? Also anything you suggest stocking up on pre op?

I wish my surgeon would have been more honest about the amount of pain I'd feel. It HURTS. It does get better over time, but then you bend a certain way, and OUCH! The pain is back. I am 11 days out and having such bad pain that it feels like day 2 again. I also wish we would have discussed complications more. I now feel like everything is wrong and am deeply concerned of an issue occurring.

As for stocking up, I'd say find a protein drink you can stomach, but don't purchase too many. Taste buds change and the shakes become kind of hard to take after the first week. Definitely get a few cans of chicken broth and tomato soup. Milk. I would also say stock up on decaf tea/coffee. I'm finding it easier to get warm fluids down rather than the cold. If you mix a little beneprotein into a mixture of milk/sugar free creamer and add that to your hot tea/coffee...double win! Also, get some G2 and Powerade Zero.

Good luck!

Sadly pain is always the Great Unknown with surgery since we all have such different post-op experiences with it. I'm finding that out with my current surgery recovery. I read so many accounts of people being fine after two weeks and I feel like I'm still so far away from normal.

I feel exactly the same way! Coming up on 2 weeks and feeling a major pain still. :-(

Pain can be so different with each person. I didn't feel much pain at all. My kidney stone a month later made surgery seem like a small paper cut!

Now all the gurgling and weird noises my stomach was going to be making and how it can at times be very loud an embarrassing (especially when I drink plain water) is something I would have liked to have known about!

Oh no, kidney stones! Something else to worry about! Are you going any better?

I don't think the stones were related to my surgery much as I wanted something to blame and curse, but staying well hydrated is always a good thing!

PS - I was fine after it passed! There's one more in my kidney, but I naively hope it'll just enjoy where it is and stay put.

Kidney stones aren't really related to surgery however people can do things to increase the chance of stones such as using calcium carbonate instead of CITRATE and not drinking enough fluids.

I've had a few stones post-op, but I've been getting them regularly since I was 12, so it's not related to WLS at all. The first one post-op was scarier because we tend to forget pain so my brain was doing the "is this a stone, or is this something horrible due to VSG?!" mental dance.

I feel like I did slot of research and was pretty prepared for what post o.o life would be like..I will say that even though I read it a million times and it was stressed over and over, until I actually got sleeved I did not understand how important it is to get reach your daily liquid and protein goals. It really does matter and affects your health and recovery-hydration, healing, weight loss, constipation, etc. It takes dedication and sometimes slowly sipping it all in, but it is crucial. I wouldn't recommend stocking heavily on anything. Your tastes may or may not change. I would pick up a few days worth of whatever your plan allows for the first phase..for me it was protein shakes, broth, strained soup, sugar free popsicles, and sugar free jello. I could also have decaf coffee and decaf tea. After the first couple days you will likely feel up to a short trip to the grocery store. If you have a spouse/family you may want to stock the fridge, pantry, and freezer with food for them while you are recovering. I was blessed with an easy recovery and was driving the day after I came home. I wish you the same experience.

I feel like I was fully informed going into surgery - primarily thanks to reading everything on OH. I actually made myself this list of promises pre-op, based on everything I'd read.

WLS Promises

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. Chapstick and a pillow. And the pillow really just needs to be in the car for the trip home.

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.

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. (Edit: I lost like 50 pounds before I needed to buy new clothes.)

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. (Edit: still true, no one has ever held a gun to my head and forced me to eat crap.)

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. (Edit: KEY factor in my success. I wish this had been emphasized by my team. The stomach surgery only fixes the stomach, not the brain.)

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. (Edit: Yeah, well.. waiting a year or two didn't end up fitting into my plan. But, for what it's worth, I've never for a moment hated the way my body looks. I wrote this originally pre-op and had no idea that my excess skin would be so limiting.)

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. (Edit: Lolz. I weigh myself daily, but Trendweight lets me focus on the trend instead of day to day fluctuations.)

14. My stomach will probably gurgle after surgery, this is normal. Just don't go to silent Meeting anytime soon. (Edit: it gurgles even more after my first round of reconstructive plastic surgery!!)

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. (Edit: I wish more people didn't comment on my weight loss....)

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. (Edit: I made it a week....)

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.