Brand New and 2 weeks from Surgery!

I don't think y'all will understand just how happy I was stumbling on these forums today, but holy cow, the sense of community I just got enveloped in is unreal.

I'm 29 years old, and 2 weeks out from getting my surgery with Dr. Jules in Guelph. My mother in law will be coming down the day of surgery (husband wasn't able to get the day off, sadly) and helping us out for a few days to make sure everything is transitioning well after surgery, ect.

I'm 3 days into Optifast and was initially planning on taking back the Vanilla before I found these brand new sugar free/calorie free syrups at Sobey's. Ask about'em if you can, I grabbed the Strawberry and it totally made Vanilla stomachable! They had a chocolate option too, and a french vanilla. Haven't tried those yet, but they're a game changer, for sure. I almost squealed. Finding sugar free anything to mix with stuff is such a nightmare (BTW, does anyone know where to find sugar free freezies or popsicles? I'm at a loss where to find'em. Located in Kitchener, let me know if you know of any places!)

I guess overall I'm just looking for a place to vent. I'm originally from the states, and moved to Canada to be with my husband (born citizen) but because of my Intracranial Hypertension headaches (the reason for the surgery to begin with) I haven't worked since gaining my permanent residency and that's made getting to know people/find a group of friends super difficult.

Any advice, support, suggestions is greatly appreciated!

Welcome Synclair!

I totally get how important these boards are! I joined a few months ago when I started my journey, and the support and information has been incredible.

That's so exciting you are so close to surgery! It sounds like you have a great support system at home with your husband and mother in law. That's amazing. No doubt you'll find a wealth of information and support here as well.

That's great you found those syrups.

See you around these boards! :)

Welcome!

We just found sugar free freezies at Walmart (they are labelled as no sugar added, but when checking the nutrition information they are sweetened with Splenda and 0 sugar 2g of sorbitol)

I will also check once I get to work if there is a Loblaw/superstore that might have them

Welcome to the board! Thanks for the tip about sf syrup at Sobeys. I need some for my Greek yogurt. For sf popsicles you can make your own with water and mio or crystal light. I prefer the purple koolaid myself. A small bottle costs about 4.00 but I enjoy it and it helps me get my water in. Good luck with the next two weeks of opti. Surgery will be here before you know it.

Welcome Synclair

Congratulations are your upcoming surgery. I love OH, I was so glad when I found it as well in January. It provides a sense of community of others who truly understand obesity and WLS. Everyone is so helpful, whenever you have a question ask, there is so much knowledge that members share.

Welcome Synclair! This is a great place to share stories, get inspired, or just to vent. I'm sort of isolated in a small town where I know very few people who have had surgery so its so great to be able to chat to people who understand what you are going through! You will breeze through the Optifast quickly and be in surgery before you know it. So glad you found those syrups at Sobeys to help you through it.

Thanks so much to everyone for the warm welcome and suggestions! I'll definitely look into most of them!

Question though, for juices after surgery (mixing with water of course) do most use actual juice? Or do they swap to something diet? (Like Diet Cranberry by Oceansplash.) I used to make low carb/low calorie popsicles with that (+some of the other flavors still fall under the clear liquid category). And my dietitian approved of it the entire pre-order surgeon meet appointments (but she had never heard of it until I actually brought an empty bottle with me.)

Hi Synclair,

Welcome!

How exciting to be so close to surgery! Sounds like you have great supports in place too!

I found sugar free freezies at Walmart before surgery but didn't care for them. I'll have to try them again to see if I like them now that I've been off sugar for so long.

Take care!