New to lightweights

 Hi I just found this forum. I am having surgery this tues. I never thought I would get approved so feeling a little unprepared, even though I have been doing requirements for the past 12 months. I woulod love t hear any advice you have about day of surgery and shortly after.
Thank you
kathy

I'm still kind of a newbie myself. 5 weeks out. First let me say congratulations on getting your date. You should feel proud of your determination to get to this place!!!!!! Secondly, Keep your "why" close to you during this process. Then you will stay motivated the day of and many days after. The most important thing after is to keep sipping, walking,and get plenty of rest. Sip, Walk,Sip, rest, repeat!!! You're gonna do great!!!  Good luck in your journey!!! And keep us posted!!!                                             -Julie

Welcome aboard, Kathy.

Just a little tip on getting your fluids in...a squeeze of fresh lime juice in your water or herbal tea and sweetened to taste with Splenda or Truvia. Getting your fluids, especially early post-op, is priority number one. 

--gina

Hi Kathy
Welcome to the forum.  My note to you would be to be patient with yourself, and not to compare yourself to others.  Each person is different, and will feel different, and lose weight at a different pace.
Good luck!

Welcome and congrats!!!! Do you have your vitamins and protein samPles lined up??? If your hospital has a pharmacy fill your rx there before you leave. Lots of liquids and you might have to go to a couple big box stores before you get everything you need.

Oh and walk walk walk the minute tgey say it's ok. It helps with gas.

Meg

Welcome to the board, all I can say is take your pain meds!!! It truly makes things easier

Hi Kathy, I'm curious as to your surgery type. General advice would be:

1) Allow yourself sufficient time to recover. It's big surgery, and it takes time to get back to normal. Some people bounce back super quickly, but I think that's not the rule.

2) Avoid grazing. At first this is pretty easy, but as time goes on, this could be a problem.  Allow at least 2 or 3 hours between meals/snacks.

3) Don't over pack for the hospital. When not going to the bathroom or taking a stroll, you'll likely just be sleeping. You won't need lots of stuff.

4) Take your charged cell phone to the hospital, but turn it off until you want to use it. You need your rest.

5) Try to walk as much as possible after surgery. It'll help in your recovery.

6) Don't hesitate to call your surgeon's office if anything at all doesn't seem right.

Good luck to you. Welcome to the forum.

 Thank you for the advice. I am having RNY.

Congrats Kathy on getting your date!  It truly is an exciting time.  I'm 11 days post op and I guess the best advice I was given was to substitute water with Gatorade G2 (low in sugar/calorie type).  Of course, confirm this with your doctor.  I was having trouble getting my protein and liquids in...but another WLS graduate told me to get the Gatorade in for the electrolytes.  I did and immediately starting feeling a little better.

On thing that happened to me is I bought a bunch of the Protein powder that I thought I liked...immediately after coming home, everything that tasted good before surgery tasted terrible.  Stock up on a lot of sample or single serving packs.  When you have one you can tolerate, your hubby, BF or friends can get you what you feel like  you can drink.

I'm an eternal optimist. I really didn't think the surgery was going to 'hit' me quite as hard as it did....but each day you WILL feel a smidge better.  I plan to return to work on Wednesday (day 14 post op). 

GOOD LUCK! 

P.S. This "Honeymoon" stage of losing more than a pound a day is very cool...even though I know it will soon come to an end!! :)

Welcome to the lightweight board, Kathy...

1) Sip, walk, rest, not necessarily in that order.
2) Don't count on anything tasting the same post-op
3) Did I say SIP...fluids are the most critical for us after surgery.

Liz