Surgery is Coming Up!

Hello all! :) My surgery is scheduled for December 1st. I am getting a little nervous.

Wanted to know if there were any tips or tricks or things you were surprised by post-surgery that you can warn me about it (i.e. pain, appetite, physical activity, etc.)?

My first biggest surprise was how good I felt 1 week after surgery. 2 days in the hospital, 2 days of 'laying low' and then progressively better each day. 

Unexpected: If you eat too fast it will make you sick of give you pain. Never had heard of the 'foamies' ... If food is stuck your body produces this mucous and foam to try and unstuck it I guess... you kind of spit it up. 

Solution: Chew well, don't eat too fast and make sure your food is not dry. 

Unexpected: Thought I would never get hungry... I had heard people say this. I do get hungry, never ravenous but I do get hungry.

Unexpected: Plateaus come at any time including 1 week after surgery, and can last 3 1/2 weeks. Upside- lost more weight the second month than the first. Don't freak out, just do what you are supposed to do.

Overall very happy- Good Luck!

You will lose a lot of weight the first two weeks - then crash and burn in week three. Beware the dreaded three week stall.

I was exhausted until week 5.

Don't compare your experience to others - it will steal your joy.

Slow losers can get to goal too.

Walking is your friend for many reasons, lots of walking really helps.  Losing weight is amazing, lose the scale if you dont want to drive yourself insane.

As others have said,  walk, walk, walk, sip, sip, sip. For the first few days at home, I walked a circle around the inside of my house. Started at 10 times around, and every time I passed through the kitchen I took a sip of water ****pt it in a 2 oz measuring cup). After a few days, I increased it to 15 times around, and kept sipping. I did this every hour or so. My husband said I was like a shark circling. I got Isopure (like the blue raspberry the best) and sipped that instead of water, to help get protein in.

Also, I found it very helpful to always have a pillow on my stomach when I was sitting or lying down, and one under my knees when I went to bed.

Best of luck to you! You'll do fine!