Ok Post Op's - advise us Pre Op's

Hey Pretty Gal! 1) Arm yourself with knowledge 2) Ask questions 3) Take notes 4) Start a journal to include an eating/exercise section and for me I have one that asks specifics (I'll send it to you this am) about my moods, what makes me choose the foods I choose etc 5) Start walking NOW work up to what you can and keep in mind it WILL prepare you for daily walking afterwards 6) Change food habits NOW you CAN do this...simple things like going from regular bacon to turkey bacon, whole milk down to 2% then skim That's just a lil' start...keep coming back to us for other pointers! Hugs, Kitty Kat

G'morning Nicole - I hope I NEVER forget all the wonderful roller-coaster emotions I experienced right before my surgery and every day since. Make sure you document your journey as best as you can. Not only does it HELP you as a reference point, but you have no idea how many lives you might touch along the way. Before I start replying to your question, let me start off by saying, this is strictly what works for "LEI" it does NOT mean that it's the only way, or the right way. We are ALL so individual, what works for 2 people might not work for the 3rd. Hmmmm...okay, now on to some of things *I* did to get 'ready' for my special day. One thing I did NOT do? I did NOT write any letters to my loved ones - although Ive heard where many have and it's brought them a wonderful sense of peace. I guess I just believe in SHOWING and communicating my love, thoughts and concerns, in person. I make it a point to live my love for others on a daily basis, there was nothing I could tell any of them in text that I didn't already SHOW them. That and the truth be known, the last thing I wanted was to go into surgery with ANY thoughts of not making it out okay. I am a strong believer on positive thoughts and to write my 'good-byes' to my loved ones, was not very positive thinking (for ME). Now, that being said. I made SURE to at least have my "Living Will" updated prior to my WLS. Granted, the surgery is what spawned me to get off my butt and get it updated, but it's something I should have handled YEARS ago. It's the correct and responsible thing to do, I was just behind the 8 ball on it. I did NOT stock up on a ton' a stuff for the food cabinets. Trust me on this, you will NOT eat it all, drink it all, try it all, before you grow tired of it. If I never see a can of $()*&){#$&#_(%&*$*^ chicken broth and sugar free pudding or jello again, I'm okay with that. I ended up bagging up the canned goods I over stocked on and sent it to a shelter. The stuff just never got used. The things we can stomach early postop, the tastes we used to like, the quantities are all a hit and miss. I can't give you too much advice on how to eat or drink early post op, because I have no idea how your body will react to the changes or what your doctors program requires. My doctor wanted us to keep it very SIMPLE and EASY the first few weeks home - lots of liquids and soft foods. I couldn't even THINK about eating anything that wasn't soft and squishy (cottage cheese, soups, pudding, scrambled eggs, potatoes, potted meats, vienna sausage, ravioli, corn beef hash, avocados, etc) for the first 60 days. That being said, more times then not, what I could handle one day, I threw up the next. A good friend of mine was able to have turkey, stuffing, taters, veggies - 2 weeks post-op, for Thanksgiving dinner. It doesn't mean that he was WRONG or bad, it just means that his system was able to cope with solid foods better then mine AND his doctors aftercare instructions were different. We ALSO had different types of surgery. I had the RNY-distal, he had the Lap Band. I have what is called a MICRO Pouch. 20 CC's - which is about the size of a flash cube. It stands to reason I can't eat what someone with a pouch the size of an egg or tennis ball can. Just another reason why comparing ourselves to others progress rate can hurt us in the long run. We can't all be the SAME when our anatomy is so different, ya know? My first three months after surgery, the ONLY thing I focused on was getting in all my vitamins and all my water (64 oz, minimum) ...I wasn't worried about eating a lot, or maximizing my protein intake. I was a LARGE woman, my body had enough stores to live off of for a while. Just focus on your vitamins, your water and your exercising, and you'll be blazing along in no time. I have always taken a prenatal vitamin (not a chewable) since day one. Its a great way to force yourself to keep drinking your water. Cut the pills up into tiny tiny pieces (ie, one prenatal would end up being 8 tiny pieces, about the size of a birth control pill) and it would require 8 sips of H20 to take them. On my CALCIUM citrate, I took a chewable in the beginning that I ordered from: http://www.bariatricadvantage.com/ It's a little pricey, but in the early stages (first 3 to 6 months) I didn't care. Now, I take calcium citrate horse pills, I still break them up (My doctor said no pills larger then a M&M for life) ...it's cheaper, I buy them at Sam's, and it forces me to get my H20 in. I take 1500 to 2,000 mg a day, which is 6 large pills. EXPECT Plateaus, even early out when you're still struggling with the discomfort and learning process of this surgery. Your body doesn't care that you "expect" to lose "X" amount of pounds in "X" amount of days. Realize this and accept it, or you will be one of the ones constantly griping about slow weight loss or plateaus and it makes for a miserable and long journey. Sorry, I never could wrap my brain around panicking over a slow loss. I guess it goes back to the POSITIVE THOUGHTS kinda thing? I know I'll lose, period. Why in hecks name would I waste energy on how fast? It'll happen. That's enough for me. Also, if you are the type that freaks over a 1,2, 3+ lb gain, then STAY off the scales!!!!!!!! Me? I didn't sweat it, I gained and lost on an ongoing basis through out the month and then, VIOLA, over night, I'd have a 5 to 10 lb loss. Yes, it's VERY normal to have our bodies slow down through out the entire weight loss journey - this is NOT a bad thing and unless it's over 6 weeks of no weight loss, it's not "technically" even considered a true plateau (in the medical world). Knowledge is power, if you're prepared and aware that stalls will happen, you don't panic so much when it does. Normally the body goes into shut down at 3 weeks Post-Op. One thing I found out about mine? After I was 3 months out, I STOPPED losing weight on a daily or even a weekly basis. I only lost TWO times a month. Period. I have no idea why, but once I saw and realized that pattern it helped a lot with the stress levels of WHY I'm not seeing the numbers drop on a daily basis. As an EARLY PostOp, this surgery is fool proof, there is very little you can do to mess it up, even BAD choices will not reflect on your weight loss. Your body just isn't absorbing things right now. That being said, you have to realize that your body is in complete charge, it will shut down when it wants to and it'll pick up at warp speed when you least expect it. Don't get upset over it, if you can honestly say you're not making the wrong food choices, you ARE getting in your H20, vitamins, and exercise then it's NOT something you're doing wrong. It's just that built in mechanism of ours. I can't tell you enough to MAXIMIZE your honey moon period (first 6 to 12 months) ...if you want black and white proof, go to my profile and click on the link that shows my weight loss chart. I lost 235 lbs. 185 of those pounds were in the first 12 months. The remaining 50 was over the second 12 month period. Big difference, huh? MAXIMIZE MAXIMIZE MAXIMIZE - if there was ever a time that you were going to follow your doctors program to a "T" it should be during the first 12 months. I was very faithful to my program during the first year and I think it paid off. Make SURE you take lots and lots of pictures before surgery. Nope, more then that even. It's amazing how many times we AVOID the camera when we're large. Take some pictures, be proud of the woman who's smiling back at you. Im not sure why people think that just because they're "large" they're not worthy. Ive always been proud of WHO I AM, regardless of the packaging. I'm so glad I have a ton'a pictures to document every stage of my life. One thing I wish I'd done prior to surgery was to take ALL my body measurements - never took even one. I kept putting that off, telling myself to do it, next thing I know, it's 3 months later, Im already down 80 lbs and it's too late to get true numbers. Also, I did NOT stock up on proteins prior to surgery. Trust me. It's a waste of money, and it'll probably be 60 to 90 days before you can truly incorporate much if any of it into your daily routine. There are a few sites where you can get FREE protein. Ive posted them from time to time on the message board, if you missed that info, let me know and I'll cut and paste it back over to you. I personally wouldn't spend one hot dime on protein shakes, early Post-Op. IF I can't get free samples, I didn't bother. Oh, and one more thing, then I'll shut up. DO NOT GET CAUGHT UP ON THE HYPE OF "buy from his/her site, she's a great asset to the AMOS community" ....uh, one word? Whatever! Shop around. When you finally start incorporating vitamins and protein into your new lifestyle, it's gonna be a FOREVER thing. None of this is temporary. Im a frugal kinda gal, Im not going to spend twice as much money on a persons website, just because they're a member pushing their products. Ive found some fantastic deals by comparison (and bulk) shopping. Best advice I can give you on protein supplements? Shop around. Whew. Okay, Im done rambling. LOL - can you tell I had way too much coffee this morning? Fair warning - I'm NOT gonna proof read this beast. - Lei

I have to also say that I wish I would have measured myself pre surgery. I did the pre op picture, but I did not do the measurements and now I regret it. I did not get measurements until I started at CURVES which was 4 months post op. I really wish now that I knew what my pre-op measurements were so I could compare them to now (especially when I'm feeling down and blue). Sandy 357/221/155

Hi Nicole You have received some wonderful advice from everyone, and one thing I did not see (I could have missed it, though!) is to be prepared for..... MAJOR SURGERY I have been through surgery before (To include appendex removal and a c-section) and I know how much it can hurt. But with this one, I was so in love with the idea that I was finally going to get healthy, I totally ignored the pain factor, till I woke up. It kinda shocked me how much pain I was in. It felt like my surgeon spent the entire time jumping up and down on me (And if that is what actually happened, I wish I could remember it ) Anyways, just be prepared for the pain factor. It just never occured to me while preparing for everything else to be prepared to be down for awhile with pain. And I am a baby with pain, but I gave this advice to another and she thanked me for it later.... So, thats all I have to add Hugs! Dianna

Hey Nicole! I am pre-op too, but one thing that I have done is asked for my surgery date to be scheduled during a time that I am NOT dealing with my menstrual cycle! I really go through the mood swings, heavy cramping and bleeding, and that's the last thing I want to deal with after surgery. Besides, hygiene is tough enough post-op! My apologies to any of the guys reading this! Happy Momma

You've gotten all the good pain advice. You won't be able to roll over on your sides to sleep for a while and an extra "huggy" pillow works wonders. Also remember to measure and take lots of pictures through post-op and date the pictures. I didn't and sure wish I had. The pics mean a lot later on. You will lose so fast and your appearance will change so fast, it's hard to remember how you looked and when. And keep one really good "before" pic. After I lost most of my weight, my "mind's eye" still saw me the size I was before, eventhough I knew I wasn't. My hubby took my before pic and a then-current picture and put them side by side on the fridge.....there was a note that said "the new improved you, but I love both". That helped me realize I didn't look the same as before but he loved me anyway......good luck with your "trip"!