Having my surgery in May.. Advice Please

tbarnerfamily

Now that I have some time to prepare I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions or advice that I should be doing now to prepare for the Sleeve in May. I am excited and a little nervous. I actually have options between the gastric bypass and the sleeve. I am leaning more towards the sleeve.

emmerin78

Hi tbarner! I was sleeved last July, and am happy to share whatever info I have. A few of the things that I did before surgery that I found to be really helpful were:

1) Find a protein powder/shake that has at least 20 grams of protein and very little sugar in it that you like or at least find palatable. If you're hoping to start making your life changes prior to surgery, it couldn't hurt to start replacing some meals with shakes. You will be drinking a lot of shakes during your healing process, and it will really help if you already know roughly what you like/don't like ahead of time (although your tastes sometimes do change after surgery).

2) Start drinking at least 64 ounces of water per day, and if you need to infuse it with either a fruit or vegetable flavor (lemon, berry, cucumber, mint) go for it. I found it very hard to get my water in after surgery, but infusing it with other flavors (and occasionally adding a few squirts of Crystal Light drops to help with the viscosity) really helped.

3) Walk all you can before surgery. Walking regularly before surgery really helped me in recovery after surgery (when I was able to get out of bed and push myself to walk around the hospital floor). Plus it may help to get you back to walking more quickly after your surgery (which can also help to prevent blood clots).

4) Start purchasing/organizing your gummy or liquid vitamins (whatever your surgeon and NUT recommend). I tried a few different brands and settled on the GummyVites I could get for a fairly reasonable price at Costco.

5) Make sure you've got a working blender and some good recipes for pureed food for the weeks after surgery (once you're cleared to move to purees from liquids). It may sound gross, but you'll be shocked at how excited you'll be to try all sorts of pureed food.

6) Start logging your food (if you're not already) and make note of the amount of water you're drinking, your bathroom habits (I know, I know...but you'll want to keep track of these things post-surgery to make sure that everything's functioning the way it should), and noting when/how much you take of your vitamins, medications (if any), etc.

I'm sure there are other things I'm forgetting, but there are plenty of folks on these boards who are VSGers or bypass folks who I'm sure will chime in. Good luck, feel free to PM me anytime with more questions, and keep us posted on your progress!!!

JxAAA

My surgery will be in March, I've been prepping myself too. Trying shakes, gathering recipes, logging everything etc... The thing I am having the most difficult time with is waiting 30 minutes before or after meals to drink. I'm getting better, but it's been a challenge.

Some tips I've gotten from people on other forums is build muscle and exercise now because you will lose muscle immediately after surgery.

DJRonnieLINY

Many Sleeve patients experience changes in taste (some temporary) after surgey so I would advise you not to stock up too much on product. Don't stress too much over the 30 minute drinking rule, you will find that you simply cannot eat and drink at the same time and will learn to adjust. For the first two weeks after surgery your total diet will be liquid so it's a non-issue. As you introduce food you will learn how to time the drinking/eating to avoid difficulties.

I am a fan of Isopure Protein drinks (clear in the bottle and powder) and really believe that including the clear protein into my diet very early helped jump start my weight loss, kept me hydrated and promoted rapid healing. 20 oz bottle has 40g protein isolate, very pure and easy to process. 1/2 dozen flavors that taste, to me, like a Jolly Rancher. Some cannot handle sweet after surgery so you will need to experiment. I drank 2 bottles per day during my pre & post surgery liquid diet netting me 80g protein per day!

As for powders: I like the Isopure Dutch Chocolate and Bananna Cream. Adding cinimon or valilla extract, plus a bananna or apple provides variety. These shakes provide 50g protein per serving. I still add them into my regular diet before or after a workout.

BKA175

MOTIVATION FOR YOU!!

I was sleeved in December of 2012 and have lost 210 pounds. I am down from 377 to the high 160's. It is an amazing tool but that is all it is.....to have amazing success you need to work hard. I found that when I had all my weight I could come up with every excuse not to work hard. It becomes easier and easier as you use the "tool" of the sleeve and you see the results which catapults you further.

Just a warning.....after a year you can start to eat more and more. It will not always be as restrictive as it starts out. YOU NEED TO BE A CHAMPION EVERYDAY.....this is much a mental operation as it is a physical one.....you need to use the time in the beginning with the sleeve to fix between your ears and love the new lifestyle.

Good luck and I would be happy to answer any ones questions if they have them. I also just completed plastic surgery to remove the excess skin created from the weight loss......that was an amazing experience.

Good luck!

Sociologist2013

I was sleeved 2 1/2 months ago. I strongly recommend easing yourself off caffeine beverages. I had a 6-8 dr. pepper 10 addiction presurgery that I did not give up. Yikes! The caffeine withdrawal headache lasted three days! The no drinking 30 min before and after I still struggle with but I can tell you from experience, do not drink with or right after your meal or it will revisit you regardless if you are in a restaurant, at home, or driving your car:-) As others have said, do not stock up on protein mixes or drinks because your taste buds change. Loved them pre surgery, couldnt gag one down after. Just getting to where I can drink them now...syntrax nectar cappucino is my go to now since coffee tastes nasty now. Used to eat greek yogurt everyday, can barely gag one down now. Get in the habit of logging everything especially water.

As far as vitamins go, do what your dr or nutritionist tell you. I couldnt deal with the vile taste of chewables but now take 1 a day petite vitamins twice a day. Started that about 3 weeks out. I didnt swallow pills til then. If you have necessary meds you need to take, be sure to check with your doc to see if they can be crushed. I did that right after surgery and downed them in a tablespoon of applesauce.

The first week is rough. I was lucky I had no gas pains but take some gas x strips with you. I had no pain, I just felt like I had been jostled around on a rollercoaster. It does get better. Dont freak out if you cant get in all your protein and water in the first few weeks. I bought a 2oz shot glass and kept it filled.:-)Seeing a huge cup and knowing you have to somehow get that down can be daunting. Seeing a tiny shot glass was easier for me. Sugarfree popsicles are good, but. my guilty pleasure are full sugar banana popsicles at 50 cals each. I ate probably six a day...but hey, its 12 oz of fluid!

Just remember it isnt a race, its a marathon and you will have moments when you feel great, and moments when you ask yourself what the hell you did! This is normal. Work your plan, dont let the plateaus get you down. I had my first on two weeks out and it lasted 10 days. I have had two more since then. I cant weigh everyday because it makes me crazy. I do my "official " weigh in on Monday mornings. Keeps me in check on the weekends.

Best of luck on your journey:-)

ajfrench

Hi there! I had the sleeve last August and here are several things I learned post-surgery that would have helped me know prior to the surgery:

1. The protein shakes were simply too sweet for me and nearly unpalatable. I struggled to get half of one down, not to mention the two or three they recommend. If you have this problem, try Unjury's chicken broth/chicken soup protein mix and make your own unsweetened mocha (protein powder, decaf coffee, a little cocoa powder). Those got me through the first few months.

2. Get gummy vitamins. My doctor did not tell me I'd have to crush pills until three days before the surgery - and I had already bought a bunch of the vitamins in pill form. Gummies/liquid are the best way to go.

3. Get used to fewer calories - a lot less. I'm six months out and they tell me I still can only have 800 net calories a day, which makes me constantly tired.

4. After surgery, I didn't take up caffeine until three months after, but I wish I'd stayed off it for good! If you're able to, do it.

5. Since the surgery, I've actually gone into depression, and started to see someone. Recognize this is only me and most people don't have this issue. But lack of calories and of course the psychological "help" it provided has sent me into a tailspin. So be prepared this might be a problem.

Good luck!

JxAAA

Ajfrench, why would you have preferred to stay off caffeine? Does it cause you issues? I dont drink a lot of Caffeine, I gave up soda a couple of months ago and the only Caffeine I really have is just 1 cup of coffee in the morning. If I absolutely had to ditch caffeine I probably could, but I really enjoy that warm cup of coffee when it's cold out. My surgery is coming up next month.

ajfrench

JxAAA - I have half and half in my coffee so it's a few extra calories in addition to caffeine. I could use milk but it doesn't have the same flavor and then I don't enjoy it. Catch 22!!

pawoodhull

All good suggestions! I am 2.5 years out and still working on getting the rest of my weight off. I couldn't handle the Unjury they gave me in the hospital. It was too thick and too sweet. I'm more of a savory person, so once I got home I lived on the protein infused chicken and beef broth I got from my surgeon's office. I also reccommend you get an unflvored protein powder to add to anything that needs more protein. I use Syntrax and love it. It may change the texture a bit, but it is truly unflavored. It's also great to have for the pureed and soft food stages.

Sleeved tummys do not like dry food, so plan on adding a broth or gravy. Even this far out, I still get a stuck feeling if I eat something that's too dry (like baked chicken or well done steak). My husband laughs at me because I routinely have broth of some kind in the house just for this reason.

Decaffinate yourself before the surgery! I weaned myself onto decaf in the weeks prior to avoid the caffine withdrawls. I did go back to regular coffee, but I can no longer drink it black. Love the taste, but my tummy no longer likes it without some form of cream. One of the very few things I can't tolerate.

As for vitamins and suppliments, I went back to swallowing pills within 2 weeks per my surgeon. Every surgeon is different so you will see lots of different timelines on here for when you graduate to pureed food, soft food, and solids as well as when you can start swallowing pills again. Check with your surgeon and remember, you will have less issues with things like this if you get the sleeve. By-pass patients have a very difficult time with swallowing pills for a very long time and there are also major malabsorbtion issues for By-pass patients that those of us sleeved don't have. If you want to talk about the pros and cons of bypass vs sleeve, pm me. I researched all 5 surgeries before making my decision on the sleeve and am happy to share that with you if you are interested.

JxAAA

Thanks ajfrench, you're right I do have FF creamer with my coffee and it does add some extra calories. I've tried adding whey french vanilla protein powder to my coffee with less cream so I can at least add some nutritional value to my coffee and wont feel so guilty after surgery.

2mouse63

Where can I find Isopure Protein drinks at. I would live to know for I do have trouble getting in my protein.