Question:
Surgery date

I received a call yesterday from Fremont CA Kaiser and my surgery is scheduled for Sept. 3,08 can anyone tell me is there anything I should be doing differently before my surgery or do I stay on the same diet and exercise pplan?    — humper (posted on July 24, 2008)

July 24, 2008
Yes, there are a lot of things you will need to be doing before your surgery. You will need to start exercising, doing the pre-op diet, and beginning to deal with the emotional aspects of obesity... just for starters. The good news is you have a decent amount of time. Seriously, every pound you take off and every minute you walk on the treadmill (I began with 2 minutes at a time) will soooo help you in recovery. I would suggest you call your surgeon's office NOW and ask them what is your next step. They will tell you what to do and when to begin doing it. Good luck, Dawn Vickers, RN, BLC, CLC
   — DawnVic

July 24, 2008
Your WLS center should give you very specific instructions of what to do...what to eat, etc. Within a couiple week sof hte surgery your hospital should give you even more specific instructions regarding the days just before surgery and what you need to bring to the hospital, etc. Every surgeon/hospital/WLS center are a little different so make sure you follow THEIR instructions. I'd give them a call today and schedule an appointment to meet with their team to get your instructions. To be honest, I'm surprised they didn't already give you that infromation since I thought you generally go through most of that stuff before you get a surgery date. If you didn't have to do that, then it probably saved you some time however you need to have the information. Best of luck to you.
   — cjjordan

July 24, 2008
thre will be some things different....you should contact the doctors office that is going to do the surgery and they can send you information.
   — jan0859

July 24, 2008
pretty much what everyone else on here has told you. I also am surprised that you have not received instructions about pre-surgery requirements and what you need to do to get ready for your surgery day. But remember every pound you lose before surgery is going to make surgery recovery that much easier. I lost 40 lbs prior to surgery and I am so glad that I did. My recovery was a breeze and I was back to work in three weeks. Good Luck and congratulations on getting your date.
   — sunsetyellow

July 25, 2008
I would just like to add a tip that I was told. Try to wean yourself off the caffeine and sugars before surgery. The two reasons why I make this suggestion are to obviously reduce the craving after the surgery but I also believe that caffeine makes for an anesthesia hangover when waking after the procedure. Other pros make want to chime in here. I know that this was what I have been advised. Good Luck! Captain-Kirk
   — Captain-Kirk