Hello - I'm new here...

but not new to forums such as this.  I was a long time member of the 100+ Pounds To Lose Board on Weigh****chers online. I recently was approved for my VSG and have a surgery date of 2/2/2015 which happens to be Groundhog Day - which strikes me as hilarious!

I've worked very hard in terms of my pre-surgical fitness and am very much looking forward to my big day!

I've been poking around here for a bit, absorbing the posted questions and feedback and I thank you all for sharing :)

Question : What were your recovery must haves? Anything you wish you had thought of?

Welcome!! 

Hmmmmmmm.... Maybe have a few different protein shakes on hand. Post-op my taste buds changed and I could not stand the shakes i loved pre-op. I had to scramble and get different ones that did not make me nauseous. 

Hi Laura -

I'm already sick to death of Premiere Protein and am trying on others in hopes that having some options will help me feel less limited :) Good reminder!

One of the best things I did for myself pre-op was to find a therapist I really clicked with and start seeing her once a week.  She's been a really important part of my Obesity Recovery Team.  

I also made myself this list of promises and referred to it every so often.  It has helped me quite a bit too!  -- https://www.myvsg.net/index.php/2-uncategorised/87-wls-promi ses

Hi Gwen -

I love the idea of a list! I'm going to check yours out :)

Thankfully I have a fantastic CBTherapist whose focus is weight control :) I've been seeing her for 4 years and I cannot imagine this process without her.  There is only a 1x per month support group as part of the post surgical support with my program.  I think it's absolutely crucial to be hooked in with the right people before and after.

Welcome! I second both of the previous posters. Options for protein skakes and a great therapist. Congratulations on a start to a new journey. It has been a life saver for me.

Thank you mobailey68 :)

recovery must haves? morphine drip 

Other than having a variety of protein powders available, and having the soft foods that were on my plan for the first 2 weeks, I really didn't need anything special.

Some people buy things like baby spoons, special small plates, and/or tiny medicine cups or bathroom size Dixie cups, but I personally think those are all silly. There is absolutely no reason that you need to take bites as small as what goes on a baby spoon (it really isn't that hard to only put a small amount on a regular spoon, for heaven's sake, and if you use it for food tthat needs chewed, good luck chewing such a tiny bite of food).  You can just use a salad plate or saucer that you already have for your small portion "meals" (I still regularly use salad plates and rarely use my dinner plates), and IMO drinking from a 1-ounce medicine cup to be sure that excatly every 10 minutes you get one ounce of water is ridiculous.

As you may have already surmised, it makes me crazy when people have WLS and then act like their new pouch/sleeve is made out of Waterford crystal and that if they drink half an ounce too much, they are going to end up in the emergency room with severe pain or a stretched out pouch/sleeve! Yes, our bodies do need to heal, and we need to follow our surgeon's instructions post-op, but our aleered digestive system is not as fragile as many seem to be led to believe!  Ok, venting over, LOL!

If you have any questions, feel free to ask us!

Lora