Just had my initial assessment
Hooooooowwwwdy!!! (That's my Minnie Pearl impression),
I hope that this finds you all doing well and having a great day. I just had my initial assessment with my surgeon this past Friday. I was not surprised when he told me that I was a good candidate for the DS. At 480 lbs. I thought that I probably would be. My insurance doesn't cover WLS so I am having to foot the bill. However, the doctor did tell me that since he was able to diagnose me with sleep apnea, high blood pressure, etc. my insurance will cover a lot of my pre op doctor appointments. It turns out that I have to see a heart doctor, lung doctor, psychologist, have lab work, undergo a sleep study, plus attend a support group meeting. I hope that I can get all of those things done in the coming month and have my surgery some time in September if God is willing. I really don't know much about what to expect yet as I am really just getting into the process. I am hoping that some of y'all might be able/willing to share your thoughts with me. I am wondering what I need to do pre op wise in order to be as prepared as I can for surgery. Someone said that I would have to do a liquid diet for two weeks before surgery. Would I help myself out if I were to try and get started on that three weeks out? How long can I expect to be on liquids after the surgery? I was reading on a post somewhere earlier that you go from liquids to soft foods. I just haven't found yet how long you are on liquids, or how long on soft foods, etc. What do you do in the liquid post op stage, just sip on protein shakes all day every day? I use the word sip because I'm guessing that you can't really "drink" anything for a while after surgery? How long is it after surgery before you can really "drink" a beverage instead of just sipping? These may sound like crazy questions. I just really don't have a clue what to expect right now. I appreciate anything that you might be willing to share with me. Thanks,
Hello! Well just wanted to tell you congratulations on getting started on what will be a life changing journey! I saw you responded to my post earlier I was 476 pounds on February 24th about a month prior to my ds surgery so we were very close in size. I Think mentally you just have to be prepared that this surgery requires some effort in order to keep yourself healthy and losing weight at the same time. I had some fantasy that I would immediately feel perfect and eat what I wanted weight would fall off and everything would be all smiles My truth was finally learning, and continuing to learn ,is that I get out of this surgery what I put in with time and making good decisions with food choices. I have good days and bad days but EVERY day is better at 331 pounds instead of 476! Basically just try your best to slowly cut out carbs and increase protein pre-op. I lost around 23 pounds I think before surgery. Start now reading up on protein shakes, learning about your supplements and vitamins! Take this time to do all of your research! And of course ask all the questions you can on here, I have been so lucky having people here helping me through this journey.You can ask me any questions you may have, I will help you anyway I can. Last thing this is where this surgery is different from most. Some surgeons still don't understand how many vitamins and supplements we really need. My doc is very smart, wrote the hospital book on the ds here in Texas, but tried to tell me 3 multivitamins a day would be all I need to take. Luckily I read on here everyday, and when I started feeling bad I learned I needed much more vits than that.We all can help each other because so much about whats needed after surgery isnt exactly open knowledge with all the docs performing this surgery. My liquid diet was 2 weeks pre-op and consisted of jello suger free pudding, water,broth etc. Post surgery I had 2 more weeks clear liquids just broth then 2 weeks jellos, puddings and protein shakes, then 2 weeks soft foods, then slowly reg food to a point. I personally dont tolerate much suger at all, dont like breads or pasta anymore, basically stick to proteins, few veggies, an a little of anything I mentally think I can try w/o feeling ill. My tastes have changed so much since surgery. Any fast food makes me feel sick(used to live on it) so I try to cook almost every meal.Anyway I just wanted to welcome you, write me anytime- Mike
