Sugery Date is set!
anghigdon
Posts: 24 Member
Hi All,
After almost 7 years, my surgery date is set for January 7th!! I'm so excited but also really nervous. It has taken me 7 years to get there because it took me THAT long to realize that WLS was the right choice for me. Honestly, I took me till now to honestly feel ready to give up my relationship with food.
Anyway, after jumping through all the hoops and losing a certain amount of weight on my own, I met with my Case Mgr. at Kaiser yesterday and she scheduled my surgery date.
Anyone have any suggestions on what to do over the next month to best prepare myself? I've got a whole day of pre-op appts. set where I'm sure I'll get lots of information but I'll take it all in.
Also, I'm wondering about how soon I can realistically return to work. I work part-time from home doing Customer Support so I'm on the phone quite a bit. Is it realistic to think if I have surgery on Monday and come home on Tuesday, that I could actually work on Wednesday?? What about the gym?
After almost 7 years, my surgery date is set for January 7th!! I'm so excited but also really nervous. It has taken me 7 years to get there because it took me THAT long to realize that WLS was the right choice for me. Honestly, I took me till now to honestly feel ready to give up my relationship with food.
Anyway, after jumping through all the hoops and losing a certain amount of weight on my own, I met with my Case Mgr. at Kaiser yesterday and she scheduled my surgery date.
Anyone have any suggestions on what to do over the next month to best prepare myself? I've got a whole day of pre-op appts. set where I'm sure I'll get lots of information but I'll take it all in.
Also, I'm wondering about how soon I can realistically return to work. I work part-time from home doing Customer Support so I'm on the phone quite a bit. Is it realistic to think if I have surgery on Monday and come home on Tuesday, that I could actually work on Wednesday?? What about the gym?
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It honestly depends on what surgery you are having. I had lap band. I had the surgery on Friday. I went back to work on Monday. But then called in sick on Tuesday. Mostly because I sleep a lot when I don't feel good and I did not feel good. I was fine by Wednesday. My doctor did not let me work out for 4 weeks. But then he told me I could start doing cardio and maybe a little light lifting. But only light weights because women shouldn't lift heavy. (WTH?) I actually started on the treadmill after a few weeks, but really slow. The walking made me feel better. But you have to be careful.
The sleeve takes longer to heal so all of that would be pushed back. Also depending on the doctor, you are going to be just concentrating on the liquid diet and getting all the required protein and water. That is difficult and you will not even think about food and exercise.
Congratulations on getting scheduled for surgery. I wish you luck.0 -
Yes, congratulations!! Which surgery are you going with? I'm still in the required waiting. Unsure which surgery myself at this point, either sleeve or bypass. I've heard some can return to work in a week and some a month, it just depends, we are all different. Good luck, excited to see your success/ .0
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Congrats! It is very exciting to be on that path. I remember it was nearly all consuming until I had the surgery.:bigsmile: In any case I had the RNY in May of this year. Because my insurance did not cover it I was a self pay patient here in Texas. I was able to move through as there were no pre-op requirements really quickly. I wish I had spent more time preparing mentally. I also wish I had spent more time experimenting with post-op recipes. For me, immediately following I was pretty lactose intolerant. Therefore no cream soups or broccoli and cheese soup as I had hoped. LOL. Also I have only in the last week been able to eat eggs. I thought surely I would be able to eat eggs when I got on soft foods. But they made me vomit horribly. I have just at 7 months out been able to eat just a little. My diet has been the hardest. I wish I had spent more time with the Nutritionist before surgery. Other than that the surgical part, the part that probably scares us the most, was a cake walk. I had surgery at 2 pm and was walking by 8 pm with some nausea from the anesthesia. I was pain med free by 4 am and that was it. I am down about 97lbs total. 22 of those are pre-surgery. 75 post surgery lbs is about 10 lbs a month. That is a little slow and am told that it is because I need more calories and more protein. I still only get about 600-900 cals a day. the average is 650-700, I have rarely hit 900 and I am told to be eating about 1200 cals. It is a work in progress. I love it though! I can run 2 miles without stopping. Do 30 min on an elliptical, and do about 100 sit-ups. All in one session at the gym. It feels good. Even better, I rode on a roller coaster with my four year old little girl and that is amazing!
Good Luck! Feel free to friend me.
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I had weight loss surgery on 10/10/12. My procedure was gastric bypass, I also had my gallbladder removed (which required widening the incision as I had a gallstone larger than a golfball) and a hernia repair. I think at about the 1 week part I would have been okay to go back to work. I don't work, but am a stay at home mom and that is when I was able to start doing laundry, dishes, dressing the kids, etc. It's also when I stopped napping.
As for exercise my surgeon had me walking 30 minutes a day starting with the day I was released from the hospital. When I looked at him like he was crazy for setting this requirement he told me exercise was my magic bullet and to get to it! At 2 weeks post op he cleared me for anything, but Zumba specifically because that is what I do for exercise. He also said if I am not sore 2 days a week at least I am not working hard enough. I both love and hate him!
Congratuations on your surgery date, I'm sure everything will go great for you!
Oh and feel free to friend me if you want more WLS pals!
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Congrats! I had the RNY and a hernia repair. I was out of work for 5 weeks total but I am a nurse and my job requires a lot of walking, lifting, etc. I would use this time to start learning the new habits that you will need for after surgery. For one thing, start concentrating on chewing. I know it sounds silly...but I always chewed and swallowed really fast, and was used to it. After surgery, you need to chew very very well. Trust me...if you dont...you wont make that mistake again! Start learning to eat without drinking anything at the same time also. That was hard for me to get used to but its normal for me now. My doctor also had me do a pre-op "liver shrinking" diet. Most surgeons do require this. For two weeks I had only protein shakes, one small serving of lean protein a day and all the sugar free popsicles and sugar free jello I wanted. Those SF popsicles will become your friend..just saying!
Its perfectly normal to feel scared and anxious. You are making a major life change. I can tell you though...almost 8 months and 93 pounds later...it was the best thing I have ever done and I would do it again in a heartbeat!0 -
I am enjoying reading everyone's posting so much! I am an old timer, had my open RNY in August of '98 and I forget how awesome the beginning/honeymoon phase is. It is both exciting and scary. It was the best thing I've ever done for myself. Only regrets is that I had no guidance for post op due to my surgeon retiring shortly after my surgery and I was too embarrassed (still am) to tell anyone which hurt me from having any support. I still lost 202 lbs initially but was eating all wrong and still drinking with my food, etc. I got anemic since I was still eating crap instead of protein. My hair fell out in globs, etc. I was so thrilled to find on-line support through another site and then another which gave me the guidelines I needed to lose the 70 lbs I regained and to learn the correct way to eat and drink. And then found MFP. I am addicted to journaling my food and exercise and love the support here! It is a life long learning experience. This tool is AMAZING but we still have to do a lot of work!
Congratulations on your surgery date! It is right around the corner!0 -
WooHoo My surgery Date is Set for March 4th 2013. After starting this journey 2 years ago and being diagnosed with Endometrial Cancer just after finishing weight loss classes in Oct.2010. I am finally getting to have my WLS done..Dr. would like me to loose another 15 pounds sooooo I need to get it done...:-) Im sooo excited I can't believe Ive finally made it threw the looong road..
Can Anyone tell me where in Southern California I can find suger free/low fat Yogurt, and clear protein shakes????:happy:0 -
A lot of people return to work days or 1 week after surgery. I was not one of them. I went back after 1.5 weeks and, honestly, I wish I had waited two whole weeks.0
