New Member

melclaws

Hi. I am a new member, and just wanted to introduce myself

I had the Gastric Sleeve procedure in August of last year (2014). I am very happy with my decision, and couldn't recommend it to anyone more. I am 5'1" and am now about 150 pounds. My pre-surgery weight was 290.

I am so happy that I have found everyone !! I'm looking forward to meeting each and every one of you !!

NicoleL874

Welcome! My date is set for October 15, so still pre-surgery, but getting excited and nervous as the day gets closer. I start my 10 day liquid diet starts Monday, so I'm trying to get myself all organized before then!

GoDasher

I am scheduled for October 14th! And I got my Vivosmart in the mail yesterday. Surgery was delayed for several reasons beyond my control. I'm going to tell me story, just to vent.

My mother fell ill (out of town) the week I had my final dietary appointment. After a three week hospital/funeral delay, I was able to reschedule my appointment another six weeks out. Because I had not been doing well, and admitted that while out of town I did not care. I did not care because I was not post-op and did not HAVE to care. I was HAVING to care about too many other things and other people I did not care about what I ate. In fact I probably ate too little I was running around so much. BUT anyway . . .

After two weeks of serious "on-the-wagon" food intake and 7 pound loss, including planning, tracking and reporting both the plan and results to my dietitian, she approved me for surgery. Several weeks later I call them to see if they have the insurance company's approval (I was pre-approved so I wasn't worried), and they had not heard back yet. I call again the next week, now 4 weeks after I was told she would recommend the surgery. They called me back the next morning. . . .oops, that side of the office had not got the message! So no, they had not even called the insurance company. I felt like I had been punched in the gut. I was "professional" on the phone, but I know my voice cracked. Oh, I was driving to work and talking on my bluetooth! I just started crying. Not bawling, but the kind of cry you really can't control. I was depressed for 2 days, including my birthday.

Luckily the insurance approved me in 2 weeks and I was scheduled for a meeting with the PA, a pre-op class and pre-op at the hospital. I actually had to push the doctor out a week from their first surgery date because of my work.

But SO freaking excited to get this done. Three months later than I was originally hoping. It has been nearly year since I made the decision that I wanted this done. It took some time for me to figure out the insurance side, choose a surgeon and then get my first appointment. Insurance required a six month supervised diet, and then the above delays at the end of it. Oh and did I mention, despite living in a nice, medium sized city with a hospital known for gastric surgery, I have to travel to a "Center of Excellence" two hours away. So, yes, all of my appointments have been two hours away. FRUSTRATING!

I start a two-week pre-op diet tomorrow. What should I have for dinner tonight?

NicoleL874

@SusanBartonSmith , well I'm glad everything finally came through for you! So sorry about the personal crap going on. I know what that's like.

What's your pre-op diet like? I know you said 2-weeks, mine is 10 days, but I'm thinking of starting it a little early. I'm supposed to start it on Monday, but I hear the first few days can be rough adjusting and I work on Monday. I will be doing Carnation Essential, No Sugar added with skim milk, five times a day. Then we have a limited list of fruits and vegetables, up to 250 cal worth per day. The nutritionist recommends just doing the Carnation (I could have picked OptiFast, but it was too expensive) and lots of water, Crystal Lite, etc, but says the other foods are there if needed. I figure I'll need them on work days.

And your post-op? I've been all over the internet and the diets vary so much it's crazy. My Center has it set as: Week 1 - Clear liquids only, Weeks 2-3 - All liquid, Weeks 4-5 - Pureed food, Weeks 6-7 - soft foods, and finally in Week 8...regular foods!

melissanicole89

Hello everyone, I'm a new member as well.

My surgery date is November 12, 2015. I'm trying to mentally prepare myself for this major lifestyle change. I'm going to try and make small changes over the next 6 weeks in hopes it makes the adjustment a little bit easier...

Looking forward to going through this journey with you all

GoDasher

@NicoleL874 - Sorry, I already forgot my log on so it took me a couple of days to get back on here.

My diet is 10 days of meal replacement shakes, 2 per day with the 2nd one split over lunch and dinner, lunch and dinner is 2-4 ounces of lean protein (can you say Chik-fil-a grilled nuggets! LOL) and 1/2 cup steamed or 1 cup raw veggies. High protein snacks are allowed - greek yogurt, eggs, protein bar or powder, etc. My goal is 70 grams of protein a day.

The last 3 days is liquid only. 3 meal replacement shakes and for snacks I can put protein powder in a sugar free drink (Crystal Light).

I will say that last night and until a couple of hours ago I have felt pretty bad, just a total lack of energy. Last night I was hungry. But not that kind of hungry that I couldn't control. I think my blood sugar was low. To be honest I don't think I was getting enough calories because I wasn't really getting any snacks in except yogurt. Also, I'm a "desk jockey" at my job and it is pretty boring. A couple of months ago I started eating sunflower seeds to keep me awake. It's not really a food thing so much as a do something with my hands and mouth thing. Hopefully weight loss will help with that (weight off, get off some meds, ENERGY, etc).

Throughout my "supervised diet" I have been drinking the Premier Protein ready-made shakes. I did not do very well mixing up the powders and I could not deal with the foam and texture. That being said, I'm sure that when I am post-op I will give them another try just for a variety of flavors. We don't shop at Walmart or Sam's, but I found the cheapest mail order on the shakes to be Costco. (Our Costco will open in March!!) The Premier comes in vanilla, chocolate & strawberry. I'm not a fan of strawberry, but I'm still on the first case. Mine has some clumps in it. In fact, the other day I finally ran one through the strainer. Eaww! I am hoping this is because we ordered it in July and it sat out in the heat. I'll open the other case this weekend and see. And of course once the Costco opens I will probably buy it in store.

My Post-Op schedule is like yours. The only difference might be that I think I can do full liquids once I go home, so only 2 days clear liquid. I think - but I might have remembered wrong! I'm most worried about the pureed food. I was trying to look up some recipes on-line last night.

GoDasher

I'm starting to feel a little stressed less than two weeks out now. Or most importantly - two weekends. I have a lot to do before surgery day. I'm an accountant and this is "quarter-end", then the Director asked to have a project done Oct 30. Oops, I will be out the last two weeks of the month. But I explained and he gave me another two weeks. And get the house clean. (I'm having the cleaning ladies come the morning I come home from the hospital for the nitty gritty stuff! I am leaving my husband alone for two days after all!) Oh, and I am in charge of a charity fundraiser event 3 days after my surgery! I need to get everything ready for that so all I have to do is tell people what to do!

Then, add to it that the inevitability is finally here. I'm getting on forums like this, found some interesting YouTube vloggers, etc.

Have a great weekend everyone!

coljorally

Hi I am a new member. I was sleeved August 10, 2015 here in Newfoundland Canada. Before I was sleeved I was 230 lbs. Today I am 198.8 lbs. So far this journey has had it's ups and downs. I don't regret my decision though.

NicoleL874

Welcome to the new members! So glad to meet people on the same journey!

There are some great groups on FB as well.

Susan, I do like the premiere protein, but that was when I was drinking one a day. For post-op I will have to drink 2 a day for several weeks, so I took advantage of my gnc membership and a bogo 50% sale and bought their protein in chocolate and vanilla and quest in unflavored.

We'll see. Major headache today. Day two of my pre-op diet. It was supposed to start on Monday, but I work on Monday and I've heard that the first day is the worst. So here's to hoping my headache goes away tomorrow!

Enjoy your Sunday all!

Coljorally...congrats on your loss! Can't wait to be post-op with you!