I’ve noticed that I have been getting a lot of visitors to the site that are preparing to have their surgeries, whether it gastric bypass or lapband. So I thought I would write a post that explained some of the things that I dealt with pre-surgery and talk to those that are going through this right now in hopes in sharing some of the things I encountered.
Weight
First off, let’s get it out…BLEH! I know you’re probably feeling pretty crappy right about now in regards to you weight, I mean…you signed up for this surgery for a reason, right? I remember a good month before the surgery I was wearing the baggiest, loosest stuff I could find. I had grown out of even my ‘fat clothes’ but was just dealing with being uncomfortable in my own clothes. It sucked! But, I’m hear to tell you, it gets better and the changes happen really fast. I’m already too small for my fat clothes and even some of my ‘not-so-fat’ clothes.
Food
Depending on how much weight the doctor wants you to lose you probably are on some sort of liquid-based diet. The food side wasn’t as hard for me because I was used to drinking the protein shakes. I honestly like them still. If I could give any advice to get through this tough time I would say make sure you ALWAYS have some form of water on you. It will keep you less hungry throughout the day, I promise you. Also, when you do eat make sure you are including some forms of protein into every meal, this will also keep the hunger pains down.
I do have a confession to make though. The weekend before my surgery I attended a rehearsal dinner and a wedding and I ate regular food. Now, let me qualify, not ‘woohoo-its-buffet-time’ food, just ate a normal serving and made sure I didn’t pig out. Also, I made sure to limit my calories throughout those days to keep the amount of calories down. This was a gamble for me because the doctor had threaten to not do the surgery if I didn’t lose the weight. So in that regard, I took a big chance and don’t recommend it. I wouldn’t think you could go wrong sticking to protein shakes, lots of water, and maybe a small serving of chicken or protein-rich food for dinner.
Mentally
Speaking about myself mentally, I have the good/bad ability to hide my feelings real well. I can generally represent a upbeat demeanor when in fact I’m down in the dumps. So the few weeks, or maybe even months, before the surgery I was definitely way down on myself. I felt horrible about myself, despite my successes, felt like I wasn’t giving my best to my family and company. My advice to those that are in the same position is to just stay the course. I know how you feel but try to think of the greater good here. In just a few short days/weeks/months you are going to be a new person. Feeling much better about yourself and your position in life. So things are guaranteed to improve fast!
I did want to talk a bit about how you need to begin shaping your mentality about eating. No longer will it be an emotional crutch for you. This is a big issue for some, I still find myself thinking about food when I don’t necessarily need it. You are going to have to re-program your mind to understand that the mechanism of eating is mainly for nourishment and not to solve your emotional problems. The good news is the body will now do some of the work for you, it will make you stop a lot sooner. My doctor says the first six months, for gastric bypass patients, you won’t feel hunger SO ABUSE THAT!
Exercise
As far as exercise I would just say if you could get to the gym or go walking outside or do anything active you’ll be better off for surgery. It helps your heart, your body and your spirit for the major surgery you are about to endure. Every little bit helps so get out there even a little bit and be ready to hit it even harder once you can after the surgery. I want to see six packs people! 
I’m by no means an expert in this field and we probably could include plenty more on this subject so if you post surgery people out there want to share, comment below! I hope the best for all of you with your upcoming surgeries and know that this is one of the best decisions of my life and I hope and pray that it is for you as well. Good luck to you!
UPDATE: I just posted this and began reading my feeds and saw my Mom post on a similiar topic. Check her’s out, too.
Technorati Tags: gastric bypass, WLS, lapband surgery, pre-surgery, liquid diet, weight loss
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connie
April 22nd, 2008
Hello, im am 3 months post opp as of the 23rd of April, tomarrow, I have lost 52 pounds to date. what lead me to have Gastric Bypass was years of weight problems, and family health history, I am 44 april 30th, female, I have been overweight scecne 16 years of age, my highest weight was 240 pounds, my weight day of Opperation was 232 pounds ( 105 Kg) ,I like everyone ealse tryed almost every diet known to man, and lost 30 pounds here 40 pounds there but could not maintaine the loose, and always gained that and more back , at age 30 was told I had Diabeties and was put on Oral meds for that, at age 40 was told I had high blood pressure and develop a heart arythemia and was put on beta blockers for that, by that time I was put on a second oral medication for the Dieabeties as well, I went thru a Heart Cathederiztion 2 years later cause of chest pain , it came out ok but was told there were signs that years down the road there could be blockages that would need fixed, oh I forgot to mention I was also at ager 35 put on Zoloft for depression and anxitey attacts, to which im still on.
my Father has had 2 triple Heart bypass opperations , the first one when he was 40 years old, he has congestive Heart Failuar now and an enlarged heart, he is insilin dependant Dieabetic, and suffers from kiddney Failuar, dose Dyallisis 3 times a week, is hoping to be put on a transplant list but his chances with his heart prob is slim and he knows this.
my Mother is insilin Dependant Dieabetic, and has stints put in her Heart , and has high blood pressure and migraine headaches, and both my parents weigh over 200 pounds and have always been heavy scecne I can remember.
my aunt on my dads side died at age 59 due to complication from a gallbladder opperation where they knicked her liver and because she was also Insillin dpendant Dieabtic and a heart Patient her Heart gave out from the stress of the complications. she too was in the 250 to 300 pound area.
my cousin who is 48 has had 2 kiddney transplants, due to Dieabeties , and has had a stroke, and is at his young age on disability and lives daily with the side effects of all the problems his body has been thru. I went to help him, the last transplant he had which was the end of last summer, and I had to help my cousin go to the toliet and clean himselfe, the anti rection drug had a bad side effect on him and he could not function for 3 days, of course that was changed, but it was just horrific to watch him go thru this. my sister had gastric by pass opperation 8 years agao, was over 300 pounds than and is now 140 pounds.
so that brings me to me and why , I dont think form reading all the above there really is needed any more explanation for why I choose to go Gastric bypass, I was terrified on a daily basis that I was going to die Early, I saw my selfe in my dad and my cousin, in 10 years, I felt helpless and depressed and frusrtated on a daily basis, so last march of 2007 I went to a clinic for over weight for a week, now mind you this is in a foregin country as I live in Norway but was born and raised in the USA, I know 50 % of the laungage here, but still going to one of those clincs in your own laungage can be tough emotionaly let alone in a laungage you only know 50 % of , but It went good for me , however I had problems with my feet and ankels from the walking that we did and was layed up for 2 days of the trip cause they swelled up double the size,so with that add to everything one day I went to the counsler and talked with a guy who had the GBP, and they set in the dirrection I needed to go in to get it done here, my BMI WAS 39 , IT HAD TO BE OVER 40 TO HAVE IT PAYED BY THE STATES OVER HERE, but it could be 35 or higher with family health history and healthe problems of the individual as well for the state to approve it, needless to say by Ocotber of last year 2007 I was meeting with the surgone and he told me I would have my Opperation with in the next 6 months, I was going to go home for a vistit, and had my ticket ordered and I was going to stay with family for 3 months , and one week after ordering tickets in dec I got notcie that my opperation was Jan 23rd 2008, so I had to pay a fee to have my ticket changed to come home sooner, and I borught the new year in with my first every resolution that I could finally follow thru with, and that was to loose weight and live a healthier life.
Befor the Opperation I was alsway on the internet looking fo rpeople to talk with , thrying to find someone that would answer any little question I had and I had many, I liked looking at beofre and after pictures as well so I knwo what it is like before the Opperation being full what ifs, and who dose this work, and jus tthousand of questions, and also at times second guessing your dessision. yes I did that too, but I was to the point that I could continue in the way I was going and 10 years from now be in my dad or cousins shoes, or I could take the risk’s of the opperation , I was in a corner with only 2 dirrections, the first dirrection to me had greater risks than the second, I saw my ealry death with the first one, but I also knew with the second one it would not alwasy be peaches and cream eaither, and there would be side effects as well, and up’s and down’s for a while but the long term outlook was brighter than the first opption, so here I am.
my opperation was great, getting put to sleep was my biggest fear at that point as I panic when they give the meds to send me loopy, and I did it seemd like forever of being dizzy in he head but the last thing I remeber is trying to take the mask off and than the antisestioligist was in my face talkign loudly to me telling me it was over, after that I remeber waking up in ICU yes I had some complications , my blood pressure and my sugar were thru the roof andI was very sick for 24 hours, I spent 6 hours off and that the night after dry heaving , I was so dizzy in the head from the blood pressure and surgar being so high, they told me because I went to sleep so stressed my body jsut went into that mood when I came too again.also that was how my body ahndle the stress of what was done to it as well, every oen is different however, now than the first 24 hours I asked my Husbang and <God , what the heck was I thinking , I thoguth I was going to die and be oen of those 2 % statitics I really did, that next mornign after many drugs to bring things to normal, they made get up and stand oh my God I tryed to talk them out of it, but hey insitsted , and Norwegian women can be stuborn mind you , lol , but im glade they forced me casue it helped to push my body to get on with it, ecah time I got up it got beter and better, by noon the second day I bought back down to my room, where my one room mate was already there , she had no problems at all .
may I make a big suggestion here, here in Norway they didint say to cut down your caffeen intake, but I wish I would of, cause I had a majior caffieen with draw headache that day, so before your opperation you may want to consider a few weeks befor to cut down greatly or even cut it out totaly .
I went Home 2 days after Opperation.
my 3 months recovery has been interesting, I didint notice a difference inmy weight for the first 2 months, im just now really seing a big difference.I have been on an emotional rollercoster, some days I love the changes I see, and others day’s I dont know who im looking at inthe mirror, my Husband is even a little stand offish wiht me as far as intimatsey , he siad im not just changing in weight and looks , but also in my actions, my personality and he is trying to get use to it, he said it is not bad but he needs time to adjust almost as much as I do, so there are day that I feel like a stranger in my own home. I dont feel there is much emotional support over here, they dont seem to want to help me get the mental help I need , they dont think I need it they say it will pass ill be ok , the operation adn the prepration before adn the hospital staff and the quality care was great but im not impress with the post opp care much, so I lean alot on my Husband , and God.and the internet .
some days I feel like I have the flue, and im tired and i get mirgranes, other days I just want to cry and wounder if I made a mistake, and feel lonley, I can eat certian things one day, and than not another, I find it eaiser to drink hot stuff than cold, I find sometimes when im emtional I want to turn to my old comforter food, and I know I can not and that frustrates me so mcuh, so the emotions are more intense but it forces me to find a new way to deal with them, I have to now go thru them and ride out the storm, and feel them , but on the other side the feeling of freedom is so mcuh more fullfilling than the feeling of beign stuffed and in a sugar induced coma to the point of puking. so now I go thru a different kind of pain , and that is feeling my pain of emtional things and all that is in my head and maybe past things, and dealling with all my changes, and any problems, instead of letting the food stuff it all , oh dont get me wrong ive gotten the snacks out a couple of times on the that ride of emotions, but I could only eat a few bites adn kenw that if I took one more I would be deathly sick , I would get hot flashes and my heart would beat fast and I would feel light headed so I put the snack down and went thru the feelign process, no it is not fun to go thru it is very hard to do , but the risk of undoing all the opperation has done for me would be harder to go thru than it would be worth eatting the feelings away, so I go thru them and like I said feeling free is so much better of a feeling in the end of it .free from not being in controll of what goes into the body.
being only 3 months post opp I know I have a way’s to go yet, and I find my selfe some day’s wanting to rush things, and being hard on my selfe saying oh my god get on with it , or being dissapointing because the scale is not moving which it has not now for 2 weeks, they say this is normal so I just try to belivie it waite , one thing I am learning is Paitients .smoedays I just have to accept that my body is still adjusting to this majior change or changes, and I have to be patient with the prosseces.
would I do it again? Diffently, I feel more Hope for my furture now than I ever did.
connie
April 22nd, 2008
one more thing, I jsut read my last post and sorry I did’int correct all the errors,
im am now from an XL in sweat paints to a M , from XL and 2XL in shirts , to L.
I am off all my Diabetic meds, and High Blood Pressure Meds.
Praise God. if you are interested in my mysapce page cjsjourney just e mail at cjsblueeyes@yahoo.com and let me know.
Tanya
August 22nd, 2008
I loved the details of your story it was eye opening I too have weight issues and health problems hearing your story made me feel things could change and needed to change. I was very interested in knowing the foods you were suppose to eat weeks before the operation. I heard they tell you to eat protein shakes is that true and what do they tell you to eat after the operation. How does the weight loss start with the amount of food you can eat or with the shakes? If you have time please e-mail me. stressless3@verizon.net
Thank you
Brad
August 23rd, 2008
@Connie - Wow, what a story! Thanks for sharing and I’ll definitely look you up on Myspace!
@Tanya,
Yes if you’re asking about before the operation I was limited to mainly protein shakes and a ‘reasonable dinner’. It wasn’t too bad.
After the operation they have a process that starts with sipping water out of medicine shot cup to slowing going from liquid to soft food to hard food over a matter of 6-8 weeks. All doctors are a bit different in what the recommend to eat afterwards but that was my progression. Hope that helps!