Getting DS in two days

So I'm a newbie here and I'll be getting the DS in less than two days. The reality is starting to creep in. I've had open heart surgery and other procedures so the actual surgery doesn't worry me but I am already preparing for the depression and sense of loss that I am going to experience when I can no longer turn to food, my drug of choice. The lifestyle changes and mental part of this procedure is what scares me. I now that I need to do this because I could never do it on my own but I am scared. I just hope I'm doing the right thing.

Congrats on your upcoming surgery! Who is your surgeon and are you getting the standard of care DS (two anastomoses) or a one anastomosis procedure?

What sense of loss? Eventually you will be able to eat anything!

*But I am already preparing for the depression and sense of loss that I am going to experience when I can no longer turn to food, my drug of choice*

This is what you'll need to work on while you heal. Honestly, I'm just two years out on Friday and I can eat almost anything I want, I'm just very careful about what I do eat. I still hit protein first, then low carb veggies, and last I might have something like fruit or maybe even a small piece of some dessert but it's all in moderation now.

I thought that too when I was a fresh post-op and before. I found the first 6 to 9 months a welcome vacation from my thoughts on food and turning to food. Due to the limitations from the sleeve portion and the necessity to concentrate on hydration and protein I didn't often think back to the kinds of food I ate pre-op. Now that didn't last forever (I'm 5.5 years out) but it gave me time to think about how I had gotten used to eating and how different that was from the majority of people I knew (actually all of the people I knew :) )

The other thing, and many people go through this early on, I didn't have the urges I had before as often or as strong. In fact there was a period for a couple of months I had to set my eating on a schedule because I just didn't get the same "signals" that I was hungry. Scared me a little bit but I worked through it and it didn't really last. All part of learning your new plumbing.....

Take heart, if you want to lose the extra weight with the best chance of keeping it off you made the right choice. LOL. I was terrified but determined as they rolled me into surgery.

You may know this from your other surgeries. While I didn't regret having the surgery there was a time or two right after as I was healing and dealing with my drain that I wondered why I did this to myself but you reach a point where you feel a little bit better all the time and that makes all the difference.

Have a safe and quick surgery.

Pete

Congrats on your surgery. Please work with a therapist to help overcome your issues with food (using the expression that food is your drug of choice was a red flag for me).

I'm almost 16 years post-op from the DS. I love food. I eat food with gusto. It's how I look at food that is different. I was a "gorger" before my DS (my surgeon categorized patients by the "type" of eater they were). For me it was all about the amount of food I could eat. Now it's all about the quality of the food I eat.

Only you know whether this is right for you, but you have to have an open mind about change. It's a process that takes time to learn and embrace, but as long as you're open to change, you'll learn new ways to love food.

Happy surgery day! Let us know how you're doing!

First of all, you're not saying goodbye to anything. it's more of a "cya later" kind of thing. If you fear feeling deprived though, here's how I avoided that my first year.

Always eat protein forward. At every meal, make it a point to finish the protein portion on your plate, if nothing else.

Next eat a few bites of vegetables, holding back just a bite or two before you're too full.

For your final couple of bites, let it be WHATEVER you want. One bite or two isn't going to get you into trouble. At the same time, you will be full and satisfied with just a bite or two.

Next, in identifying your drug of choice, you need to work on that and learn to face your issues head-on instead of feeling the need to turn to any kind of crutch, for your food drug of choice might morph into something else.

Hello.....I'm scheduled for surgery 7/9/19, and wanted to get some feedback. The good, bad, and ugly. What kind of advice could you give me? How was your recovery? Where you able to go back to work within 2 weeks