Wiki-wls: Newbies guide to the galaxie - pre-op
Someone asked me to post this here. Over the past few months I've gathered a ton of information from here and other sources. I've just more or less edited (to a certain point) as a Word Document. If anyone is interested in it I'll turn it into a pdf so everyone can open it. It's 24 pages of information ranging from vitamins, to hair loss to proteins. It may prove helpful to someone.
Instead of everyong emailing me with an email address I've uploaded it to my web server. Just click on this link and it should download or copy and paste it into your browser. Let me know if you have anything to add or if you are having any issues.
http://www.arttina.com/WLS_Information.pdf
Instead of everyong emailing me with an email address I've uploaded it to my web server. Just click on this link and it should download or copy and paste it into your browser. Let me know if you have anything to add or if you are having any issues.
http://www.arttina.com/WLS_Information.pdf
completed not by strength, but by perseverance.
Laugh when you can, apologize when you should, let go of what you can't change.
Here's some great advice for pre-ops from Dimnishing Dawn who has been a wonderful resource on the forum:
Reading people's websites, going to your local support group and asking questions really is a good thing to help as other people suggested. Also WLS for Dummies is a good book to know basics as well.
Someone asked me for some suggestions so I'd printed this out for them but here ya go:
Follow your surgeon's protocol to a "T". Trying foods out too early will result in unpleasant nausea, the feeling of things being stuck and vomiting. There is a reason why you have to eat foods in a progressive manner.
-Stay away from junk food and needless carbs (cookies, cakes etc) as long as you can. You will still lose your first year out with eating them...but you won't lose as much as you could. The first year to year and a half is called your "Window of Opportunity" which means that after that, weight slows down considerably. The first year is about getting as much weight off as possible.
-Establish exercise habits from the moment you get home. You should be walking every day from now on whether in your house, around your yard, down a block or at the mall. By 2-3 weeks out you should be walking at least 30 minutes a day.
-Get lots of protein samples. Zehrs, Shoppers, Walmart etc are great for samples. Do not buy much protein until you know you like it after surgery. Some people find their tastes actually change after surgery and you might not be able to tolerate the protein that you had and liked before surgery. Lots of samples will be best. Stick to proteins that are around 150-200 calories, no more than 2 grams of carbs, and at least 20 grams of protein. Walmart has lots of great kinds of protein from milky whey type of drinks to isopure (like koolaid) and protein bullets (look like test tubes - you dilute them in water).
-Remember your water goals and protein goals are exactly that --- GOALS. You may not reach them early out. That is normal just keep pushing yourself, a little more each day.
-You may find after surgery that you are not hungry at all. It doesn't matter either way. You must make yourself eat and drink regularly. If you do not do this, your body will go into starvation mode and will refuse to burn off your fat. It is your job to provide your body with fuel. -Fuel your body with "unprocessed foods" as much as you can. Eat "clean" as much as you can. Protein is always first.
-Take your vitamins religiously as your surgeon prescribes.
-Take your measurements now and a TERRIBLE before picture. You will love seeing your body as it changes. A horrible before pictures is a laugh later on. Measurements are important - take them now around all your major parts - waist, hip, bust, top of leg, neck, tops of arms etc. When the scale doesn't move, it is a great time to see how many inches you have lost.
-Remember stalls are normal. ABSOLUTELY NORMAL. You WILL stall (not lose weight) sometime between the 3rd and 6th week. Expect it. Your body is figuring out that it is not getting regular nourishment as before. It needs to switch its source of fuel. It will slowly figure out that it's not getting the amount of food that it did before and that it will need to start pulling from your fat stores. Once it figures this out, it will move again. A stall can also be caused by not eating enough. Remember this! Expect it!
-Remember you will have lots of ups and downs doing your surgery. You will find out you have deficiencies and possible health problems may creep up. For me I was iron deficient for three months, developed osteopenia and now at 3 years plus out, i'm hypoglycemic. Expect that you will have possible long term issues due to rearranging your natural body parts. Deal with things as they come along. Despite these problems for me, it is a thousand times worth it!
-Don't be surprised if you mourn food for a while. We have to develop new "friends" and coping mechanisms. Resolve yourself to be a strong woman/man and to be a trooper!
-Realize that there are learning curves with this surgery. You will have times that frustrate you. Food might give you eating problems for a while. It DOES get better.
-Realize that many people do fail with this surgery if they do not do the work. If you expect surgery to do everything, you will fail. You must establish long term health habits like an exercise plan.
Remember, give yourself some grace - you will make mistakes!
Reading people's websites, going to your local support group and asking questions really is a good thing to help as other people suggested. Also WLS for Dummies is a good book to know basics as well.
Someone asked me for some suggestions so I'd printed this out for them but here ya go:
Follow your surgeon's protocol to a "T". Trying foods out too early will result in unpleasant nausea, the feeling of things being stuck and vomiting. There is a reason why you have to eat foods in a progressive manner.
-Stay away from junk food and needless carbs (cookies, cakes etc) as long as you can. You will still lose your first year out with eating them...but you won't lose as much as you could. The first year to year and a half is called your "Window of Opportunity" which means that after that, weight slows down considerably. The first year is about getting as much weight off as possible.
-Establish exercise habits from the moment you get home. You should be walking every day from now on whether in your house, around your yard, down a block or at the mall. By 2-3 weeks out you should be walking at least 30 minutes a day.
-Get lots of protein samples. Zehrs, Shoppers, Walmart etc are great for samples. Do not buy much protein until you know you like it after surgery. Some people find their tastes actually change after surgery and you might not be able to tolerate the protein that you had and liked before surgery. Lots of samples will be best. Stick to proteins that are around 150-200 calories, no more than 2 grams of carbs, and at least 20 grams of protein. Walmart has lots of great kinds of protein from milky whey type of drinks to isopure (like koolaid) and protein bullets (look like test tubes - you dilute them in water).
-Remember your water goals and protein goals are exactly that --- GOALS. You may not reach them early out. That is normal just keep pushing yourself, a little more each day.
-You may find after surgery that you are not hungry at all. It doesn't matter either way. You must make yourself eat and drink regularly. If you do not do this, your body will go into starvation mode and will refuse to burn off your fat. It is your job to provide your body with fuel. -Fuel your body with "unprocessed foods" as much as you can. Eat "clean" as much as you can. Protein is always first.
-Take your vitamins religiously as your surgeon prescribes.
-Take your measurements now and a TERRIBLE before picture. You will love seeing your body as it changes. A horrible before pictures is a laugh later on. Measurements are important - take them now around all your major parts - waist, hip, bust, top of leg, neck, tops of arms etc. When the scale doesn't move, it is a great time to see how many inches you have lost.
-Remember stalls are normal. ABSOLUTELY NORMAL. You WILL stall (not lose weight) sometime between the 3rd and 6th week. Expect it. Your body is figuring out that it is not getting regular nourishment as before. It needs to switch its source of fuel. It will slowly figure out that it's not getting the amount of food that it did before and that it will need to start pulling from your fat stores. Once it figures this out, it will move again. A stall can also be caused by not eating enough. Remember this! Expect it!
-Remember you will have lots of ups and downs doing your surgery. You will find out you have deficiencies and possible health problems may creep up. For me I was iron deficient for three months, developed osteopenia and now at 3 years plus out, i'm hypoglycemic. Expect that you will have possible long term issues due to rearranging your natural body parts. Deal with things as they come along. Despite these problems for me, it is a thousand times worth it!
-Don't be surprised if you mourn food for a while. We have to develop new "friends" and coping mechanisms. Resolve yourself to be a strong woman/man and to be a trooper!
-Realize that there are learning curves with this surgery. You will have times that frustrate you. Food might give you eating problems for a while. It DOES get better.
-Realize that many people do fail with this surgery if they do not do the work. If you expect surgery to do everything, you will fail. You must establish long term health habits like an exercise plan.
Remember, give yourself some grace - you will make mistakes!
Pre Op Testing (courtesy of Carrie)
Psychological Evaluation:
This test is done to find the following out:
- are you depressed, if so, how seriously?
- are you suicidal?
- how well you will cope after the surgery?
- will you be able to comply with postoperative restrictions and instructions?
- do you have psychiatric disorder or addiction that may impar your judgement?
- are you competent to make the decision to have surgery?
- what kind of support system do you have for after the surgery?
Nutritional Evaluation
They help to identify the type of eating habits you have.
Identifies the major changes you will need to make the surgery sucessful.
Give helpful tips
Bloodwork
- Complete blood count (CBC)
- Metabolic panel
- test shows how well your body is absorbing nutrients.
- kidney functions
- how well your liver is working
- Liver function test
- looks at liver abnormalities (i.e. fatty liver)
- Prothrombin time (PT)
- tests how well your blood clots
- Hemoglobin A1C
- measures how well controlled your diabeties is
- Free T4 thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH)
- tests your thyrod function
Urinalysis
- pee in a cup
- determines:
- pregnancy, infections, complications of infections, and nicotine
Cardiac Test
- Electrocardiogram
- how fast your heart beats
- whether your rhythme is normal
- whether your heart muscle is working normal
- whether your heart muscle has been damaged by a heart attack
- whether your heart muscle has been working too hard
- if there are any changes since your last study
Stress Test
- to see how well your heart holds up to stress....the surgery can be stressful on your heart...they want to make sure your heart can handle it
Sleep studies
- looking to see if there are anytimes during your sleep that you stop breathing, or when the percentage of oxygen in your blood drops below the normal level
Gallbladder tests
- they do this test to see if you have gallstones.
Upper Gastrointestinal Tests
- to see how well your esophagus functions
- to see if you have a hiatal hernia (where part of your stomach slips into the chest)
- to see if you have ulcers and growths in the stomach and intestines
Psychological Evaluation:
This test is done to find the following out:
- are you depressed, if so, how seriously?
- are you suicidal?
- how well you will cope after the surgery?
- will you be able to comply with postoperative restrictions and instructions?
- do you have psychiatric disorder or addiction that may impar your judgement?
- are you competent to make the decision to have surgery?
- what kind of support system do you have for after the surgery?
Nutritional Evaluation
They help to identify the type of eating habits you have.
Identifies the major changes you will need to make the surgery sucessful.
Give helpful tips
Bloodwork
- Complete blood count (CBC)
- Metabolic panel
- test shows how well your body is absorbing nutrients.
- kidney functions
- how well your liver is working
- Liver function test
- looks at liver abnormalities (i.e. fatty liver)
- Prothrombin time (PT)
- tests how well your blood clots
- Hemoglobin A1C
- measures how well controlled your diabeties is
- Free T4 thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH)
- tests your thyrod function
Urinalysis
- pee in a cup
- determines:
- pregnancy, infections, complications of infections, and nicotine
Cardiac Test
- Electrocardiogram
- how fast your heart beats
- whether your rhythme is normal
- whether your heart muscle is working normal
- whether your heart muscle has been damaged by a heart attack
- whether your heart muscle has been working too hard
- if there are any changes since your last study
Stress Test
- to see how well your heart holds up to stress....the surgery can be stressful on your heart...they want to make sure your heart can handle it
Sleep studies
- looking to see if there are anytimes during your sleep that you stop breathing, or when the percentage of oxygen in your blood drops below the normal level
Gallbladder tests
- they do this test to see if you have gallstones.
Upper Gastrointestinal Tests
- to see how well your esophagus functions
- to see if you have a hiatal hernia (where part of your stomach slips into the chest)
- to see if you have ulcers and growths in the stomach and intestines
Sandy
"The best way to cheer yourself up is to try to cheer somebody else up"
Mark Twain 
Just bumping this up for the newbies...
Judy
Surgeon's goal 155 - 160
NUT goal 140
My own personal goal 125.
HW 237(Optifast weight) SW 214 CW 111
Yummy recipies to try..... http://www.obesityhelp.com/group/ontario_recipes/welcome/
Surgeon's goal 155 - 160
NUT goal 140
My own personal goal 125.
HW 237(Optifast weight) SW 214 CW 111
Yummy recipies to try..... http://www.obesityhelp.com/group/ontario_recipes/welcome/
Hijack: Nice to finally "see" you!
Karen
Ontario Recipes Forum - http://www.obesityhelp.com/group/ontario_recipes/ 
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