gastric sleeve vets----what do you wish you had known before vsg and what diet before pre-op...

So, I am anticipating having gastric sleeve surgery at the end of May.  I have all my pre-op paperwork completed and turned in to the doctor.   I would like to eat what is best to prepare me for the surgery and the pre-op diet (think that is only 3 days on liquid diet).  What would you suggest?  Also,  what do you wish you had known (that you didn't) before you had vsg?   Any other advice, tips to prepare me for the days just before and hospital, recovery, post-op?   thanks in advance

Surgeon Darin Minkin in St. Louis MO area   Des Peres Hospital

The one thing that I wish I had understood was what restriction was and that I would never have the same sensation for fullness that I had prior to VSG. First, I did not understand that I would not feel "restriction" right after surgery. (That's why it is so important to measure everything you eat when you are first sleeved. No working nerve endings there to help you feel anything!) It wasn't until I had my first soft food that I really understood what my new "full" feeling was going to be. I think I ate maybe 2 TBS (or 3 TBS at the most) of scrambled egg and felt this new feeling and knew I was done eating. It's hard to describe, but it is very different. I was expecting a Thanksgiving type of full feeling and it's not even close! It's higher for me and feels like a pressure on my esophageal sphincter.

I felt very prepared for surgery, so I haven't found anything that I wish I had known pre-op that I didn't.  I did, however, make this list of promises for myself before surgery, based on the research I'd done and reading all the posts here.  

1. I will not panic if I stop losing weight for a few weeks. Instead, I will re-evaluate that my eating is on plan and wait until the stall has lasted 4 weeks before I start to panic.

2. I will not ask OH what I need to take to the hospital, I know these things. Chapstick and a pillow. And the pillow really just needs to be in the car for the trip home.

3. I will not lie when people ask me how I’ve lost the weight. I will either be honest and tell them “surgery, diet and exercise” or I will tell them “I’m not comfortable talking about this with you.” These are the options, lying by omission is not one of them.

4. If I fail, and I will fail, I will forgive myself and return immediately to plan. It’s okay to screw up, it’s not okay to beat myself up for it or let it become the start of a downward spiral.

5. If I don’t start losing sizes right away, I won’t freak out. Chances are the clothes I wear now are too small and tight, and I just deal with it. It might take awhile for my current clothes to fit correctly and that will happen before I can get into smaller sizes.

6. I will own my mistakes. They’re mine and result of my own choices, no one is ever going to hold a gun to my head and make me eat crap, I control what goes into my own body.

7. I will not compare my weight loss to that of anyone else. I’m me.

8. I will do everything I can to find a therapist I can work with. This will help me out in the long run.

9. I will be hyper aware of potential addiction transfer issues and especially aware of getting too caught up in numbers as I already know I am want to do.

10. Extra skin is a fact of life, get the **** over it. If I really hate the way my body looks, I can save my pennies and nickels for plastic surgery once I’ve maintained for a year or two. People will still have sex with me if I have weird skin, and Under Armour sells compression gear. I will, however, have every issue with my skin documented.

11. I will be kind to myself. I will keep getting to my monthly massages, I will keep engaged in my hobbies, and I will spend time with my friends.

12. I already know that being a “hero” about medication is stupid so I’ll work on remembering that when the time comes. Pain keeps us from healing, it’s not noble.

13. I will only weigh myself once a week. I will not let myself get obsessed with the scale. See #9.

14. My stomach will probably gurgle after surgery, this is normal. Just don’t go to silent Meeting anytime soon.

15. I will not worry if people don’t comment on my weight loss. I will assume that they’re being polite and not commenting on another person’s body, which is what they should do.

16. I will work to break the compulsions to “clean my plate” and to “not let food go to waste.” Sure, there are starving kids in Africa, but throwing away food will not change the situation.

17. There is nothing to be done for hair loss, assuming that I’m eating on plan. It will happen, or it won’t, but I will remember that it will grow back eventually. I will be a shavee with St. Baldricks six weeks post-op.

18. I understand that my hormones will be all messed up after surgery. I will do my best to remove myself from the company of others instead of taking my hormonal changes out on them.

19. I won’t weigh myself for the first two weeks post-op because I know that I’ll gain weight from all of the fluids and swelling that surgery entail. I’ll wait to weigh until I’m off liquids.

20. I will not panic if I don’t feel restriction immediately post-op. Chances are restriction won’t kick in fully until I’m eating dense proteins and that will take 4-6 weeks on my plan.

AWESOME list Gwen!!! You are such an inspiration and really have this down.

One thing that came as a surprise that I never read about or heard anyone discuss was the bad breath. Supposedly part of the fat burning process. Get some listerine pocket packs .

I'm still pre-op (surgery on 4/13), but I can tell you what has helped me prepare.  For insurance purposes, I had to start a supervised weight loss plan in October.  Basically my dietitian put me on a 1,200 calorie diet and less than 30 net carbs each day.  I continued on this plan until February and then, in preparation for surgery, they reduced me to a 1,000 calorie diet with the same carb restriction.  As of today, I've lost over 50 lbs pre-op and am averaging a loss of around 2.3 lbs each week.  Typically my surgeon's office requires a 4 week liquid diet in the month before surgery.  I was really fortunate and didn't have to go that route because of my proven success on the calorie restriction/low carb plan.

Good luck finding something that works for you.  When the low calories gets challenging, I remind myself that the more I lose pre-op the less I need to lose post-op.  :) 

I understand why you said what you did about telling people about surgery, but I dont feel like it is their business, but I also dont feel comfortable saying that to them

I wish I had known that eggs and milk would make me nauseous after surgery.  In reading a lot of posts on here and other WLS blogs, I have discovered that this is quite common.  I also wish I had known that dehydration can cause constipation.  I had a bad problem with constipation at two months out but it seems that it turned out that I was not getting enough water in--this is hard in the beginning.  The pre-op diet and 1st month after surgery sucked for me but it is SO much better now.  Good luck to you!

How long ago was your surgery?   Pounds lost?   Regrets?

I had my surgery on October 6th, 2014, so I am about 5 1/2 months out.  I absolutely do NOT regret having the surgery.  It has not always been easy for sure, but it is definitely worth it.  I have lost a bit slower I think than others but I feel absolutely great and I have so much more energy.  The only drawback right now is that I am losing my hair but from what I have read on here and other blogs, this is also quite common and it will grow back.  I am down 68lbs so far.  Let me know if you have any other questions; I am happy to help with your decision.