I have surgery scheduled on Thursday at 7:30am and I'm freaking out a bit.  I'm on a pre-op diet right now.  I have been since 7/7.  I was down 12 lbs but now I'm back up 5lbs from that. That's right, I'm GAINING weight on the pre-op diet..... who does that? UGH!!  I'm nervous I'll put my body through all of this and not lose any weight .... nervous I'll just stay the same weight I am now since I'm gaining weight on the pre-op diet.  Blah! I'm just nervous.  I know I've heard a lot of you mention that you thought you'd be the only one that this didn't work for.  I always thought "It will work, it just takes time" when I read those posts and here I am, thinking the same thing!!

What I'm most concerned with from the actual surgery are the drains.  Ok, someone give it to me straight.  Does everyone have them? What exactly are they doing, what do you have to do to take care of them, how long do they stay in and do they hurt like hell to take out?

In all my visits to the surgeon, I never even thought to ask about the darn drains!! 

Ginger

i had surgery on july 7th..... my drains were removed the day i was released from the hospital. i never knew they were there except when the nurse had to empty them. as for having them removed... it wasn't pain  just a very very strange feeling with lots of pressure.

My drains were removed the day I was discharged. I was told to hold my breath and I felt strange, No pain. It was fine.

All your nervousness is NORMAL.  We all had the same concerns.  Just take a deep breath and take one day at a time.  Your body is going to go through all sorts of changes. You will gain weight and lose weight.  Your body is adjusting.  The numbers on my scale go up and down all the time. So I put the scale away and just made sure I was following my plan. Easier said than done. :)

As for the drains....I one drain in when I woke up from surgery.  Mine drained a lot so I had to go home with it.  The urse emptied it in the hospital, which is no big deal and then I had to do it everyday when i got home...kinda gross but i survived it. I got it removed when I went for my one week post op visit.  It felt a little weird but absolutely no pain.  It seems alot of people get it taken out before they go home. but it really wasnt a big deal in the grand scheme of things!

 Everyone has had those fears. Heck I am almost 4 months out and I have them still sometimes. The problem is I think that we have all tried so many ways to get the weight off that we expect them all to fail cause they always did. Ya know.

As for the drains I never had one. So not everyone gets one. Check with your doc and see what they do.

No, not everyone has drains.  Ask your surgeon if you'll have one.  I didn't.

You're going to lose weight after surgery.  It would really be impossible not to.

The truth is everyone loses weight after the surgery...but at different paces. My surgeon reminds me that women seem to lose slower and longer than men. Also, women like myself with PCOS tend to lose slower as well. 

I had 2 drains and they were no big deal at all! I was scared they would be. I felt no pain when they were removed and those incisions healed the fastest for me. 

Good luck with your surgery. We're here for you! :)

Down 12 and then up 5- means you're still down 7. Down is down and you will loose more. Some people gain weight pre-op or in the hospital due to all the fluids. You are doing fine-

I had a drain. You don't feel it or anything.The nurse emptied it when I was in the hospital. No big deal. Mine was taken out when I was discharged. Didn't hurt being removed just felt funny.

Valerie

 If you end up with drains and are apprehensive about having them removed, request a dose of pain medicine about 30 minutes prior to removal.   I have always premedicated my patients before removing them.  It helps tremendously with the anxiety.  :-)   
When mine were removed, it hurt for just a second and then it was all over.   It is not nearly as big a deal as we tend to make it out in our heads!!!
Best of luck with your surgery!!!!
Kat

 Thank you for the medication advice.  I have to have my gastric tube removed on Tuesday and have been nervous about if it's going to hurt.  It hurts now as move the tube, so I know there will be some pain, but the meds should help ease that.