Newbie
I have been lurking in this forum for a while, but this is my first post. I am scheduled for Monday, June 8 and had my pre op visit today. Tomorrow I start clear liquids for 5 days. Any advice for getting through the clear liquids, what will I need at the hospital, and what should I have waiting at home. I'm not nervous, should I be?
Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened.
Welcome and congratulations.
Getting through the next few days means keeping your mind busy and try to stay relaxed. You can do this.
Hospital essentials:
* Chapstick
* A pillow to put on your tummy for the ride home
* Loose clothing for the ride home
* Slip on slippers, no backs because they are hard to put on your feet
* personal toiletries
At Home:
* protein drinks as recommended by your surgeon & Nut
* SF Jello, SF Popsicles, Crystal Light
We will save a seat on the losers bench
Getting through the next few days means keeping your mind busy and try to stay relaxed. You can do this.
Hospital essentials:
* Chapstick
* A pillow to put on your tummy for the ride home
* Loose clothing for the ride home
* Slip on slippers, no backs because they are hard to put on your feet
* personal toiletries
At Home:
* protein drinks as recommended by your surgeon & Nut
* SF Jello, SF Popsicles, Crystal Light
We will save a seat on the losers bench
Annette 
Welcome!
Sugar free popsicles and Unjury chicken soup flavor protein powder helped me through the clear liquid phases.
Here's a list of what to take to the hospital:
Good luck!
Jean
Sugar free popsicles and Unjury chicken soup flavor protein powder helped me through the clear liquid phases.
Here's a list of what to take to the hospital:
- Insurance ID card
- Photo ID
- A copy of your advance health care directive
- CPAP machine (if you have one)
- A list of your medications (you may be instructed to bring the actual meds with you)
- Lip gloss
- Toothbrush, toothpaste and essential toiletries
- Cosmetics (if you must)
- Cell phone (but hospitals don't allow use of cell phones)
- IPod or MP3 player
- Laptop computer (if you must)
- Something to read
- Loose-fitting clothing (elastic waist)
- A change of underwear
- Slip-on shoes or sandals
- Pillow(s) for the ride home
- A water bottle for the ride home
Good luck!
Jean
Jean McMillan c.2009-2013 - Always a bandster at heart
author of Bandwagon (TM), Strategies for Success with the Adjustable Gastric Band & Bandwagon Cookery. Bandwagon for Kindle now available on Amazon. Read my blog at: jean-onthebandwagon.blogspot.com
Welcome to OFF, which in my opinion is the best. It is so good to see you here and posting so we can get to know you better.
Congratulations on the upcoming change in your life......a change for the better and you will soon see that firsthand. Things will change so much for you and you will just not even believe it...but boy will you love it! It is quite a ride so get ready and don't forget to buckle your seat belt!! We will be saving a spot on the losers bench for you. There is always room for one more!
As for the list of what to bring.....I brought a lot of stuff with me and used very little. So my advice is to pack light. Some reading material would be good and definitely the chap stick too. That is very much a must! As for nightgowns and such.....I wouldn't bother since you have the gowns and those are going to be the most comfortable......at least they were for me. I would just wear to the hospital the most comfortable things and wear them home. You will be surprised what you won't use.
I think it is great that you are not worried but don't be surprised if that changes. You are not alone....we are here for you and just jump on here and share if you need to..that is the good thing about OFF...we are always here day and night.
Again....congratulations on the upcoming change and welcome to our little family.
Congratulations on the upcoming change in your life......a change for the better and you will soon see that firsthand. Things will change so much for you and you will just not even believe it...but boy will you love it! It is quite a ride so get ready and don't forget to buckle your seat belt!! We will be saving a spot on the losers bench for you. There is always room for one more!
As for the list of what to bring.....I brought a lot of stuff with me and used very little. So my advice is to pack light. Some reading material would be good and definitely the chap stick too. That is very much a must! As for nightgowns and such.....I wouldn't bother since you have the gowns and those are going to be the most comfortable......at least they were for me. I would just wear to the hospital the most comfortable things and wear them home. You will be surprised what you won't use.
I think it is great that you are not worried but don't be surprised if that changes. You are not alone....we are here for you and just jump on here and share if you need to..that is the good thing about OFF...we are always here day and night.
Again....congratulations on the upcoming change and welcome to our little family.
It's not what you gather, but what you scatter
that tells what kind of life you have lived.
WELCOME & CONGRATS!!!!
i wasn't nervous either not at all!!! the angel i had was so shocked at how cool calm and collected i was the morning of surgery...LOL i just wanted to be smaller and healthier again!!! and guess what...i am smaller and healthier now!!! i lost almost 150 pounds and off all meds except the vitamins i need to keep myself healthy!!! i am not really thin but i am happy where i ended up. my goal was to be under 200 pounds and i am there...i stay right between 185-189 all the time. i wear a size 14 and am happy.
ok enough about me...again welcome and hope to hear from you often and remember the chap stick for the hospital stay. trust me its the most important item you need to take. ;)
hugs
Thank you for your responses. It is so great to hear from "losers" and I will enjoy my seat on the "losers bench". I live in Florida on a small acreage where we have chickens, a horse and dogs and cats. I am retired from the University of Florida where I worked as a behavior analyst. I still do some consulting work and do contract children's therapy. My current project is helping my church start a day care. I look forward to having more energy, being able to walk more and regaining most of my health. My family...husband, two sons, two daughters-in-law, three grandchildren, and extended family.....are very supportive of me, so I am anticipating a successful, but maybe bumpy, ride.
Marilyn
Marilyn
I also was not nervous, I did my homework so there were no surprises. I did clear liguids for 10 days and it was the hardest part, I was hungry all the time!! But Ijust kept picturing my liver and if I didnt get it shrunk, I would have to have open surgery and I did not want that. It worked and it was worth it. Woke up not hungry for the first time in 30 years. I am excited for you, the first year or 2 is so much fun with all the changes.Congratulations & Blessings
JeanB
WELCOME and best wishes! I was mentally and emotionally prepared and not nervous because I wanted WLS sooooo badly! I took way too much stuff along and found out I didn't need anything (Barix provided toothbrush and toothpaste even!!!) ... including these great slipper socks that I still wear! I wore the same clothes leaving that I wore in (clean panties and socks though). I did have to bring my meds (which they immediately confiscated) and my C-Pap machine. I got my meds back when I left. So it all depends upon your facility/hospital and surgeon. I was in the center for 2 nights. I would check with your hospital as to what they provide in your "goodie toiletrie tub". The tv sucked at Barix though ... teeeeeeeny tiny and a neck breaker!
Oh and I did a couple years of MAJOR research as well as hanging out on here so I knew what to expect.
Oh and I did a couple years of MAJOR research as well as hanging out on here so I knew what to expect.
I'M AT GOAL! 
Hi and welcome to OFF. It's a great support group. I wasn't nervous either, and I went into the hospital alone (someone drove me, dropped me off at the door ... I'm single and have no family here, but a coworker drove me). I think everyone gave you good advice on what to bring. I brought a lot of stuff with me and used very little. I'm very fussy on soaps and shampoos etc., so if you are, bring those, otherwise you can use the hospital's stuff. They will provide you with most everything. I brought a robe and sandals ... they will make you walk every couple of hours (this is good for you ... it will move the gas around). I brought reading material, but was so doped up and unfocused I couldn't read, so I watched TV most of the time. Just bring whatever will make you comfortable.
Every hospital/doctor has a certain amount of time they will make you stay if all goes well ... my hospital was one day, but I wound up staying two.
As for what you need at home, your doc/nutritionist should tell you. Others have given good advice, too. I didn't have to do clear liquids pre-op, so don't know what to tell you there. We had to do a 2-week pre-op supplemented fast (their products) to lose weight (lost 23 pounds in two weeks). That shrunk the liver and made it easier to operate, plus made the bowels clean, so you didn't have to do the clear liquids. But every surgeon has his/her own routine.
This was the best decision I've ever made in my life. I have lost 170 pounds, kept it off and am approaching my 5-year anniversary. It has been the only way I have ever been able to lose and maintain weight loss. Because of this, the compression of discs on my back has stopped and amazingly, I have regained the half inch I lost five years ago (I was 5-3 1/2 when I was measured pre-op; now I'm 5-4 ... go figure! Has to be because of end of disc compression). I'm still on a bunch of meds, but nothing for blood pressure (still on Nexium, which is a step up for my Barrett's esophagus, which I was told would heal after RNY; it didn't). I still have arthritic knees, but was able to have a knee replacement on one (twice ... jury's out on that surgery yet).
I hope this goes as well for you as it has for the rest of us.
Every hospital/doctor has a certain amount of time they will make you stay if all goes well ... my hospital was one day, but I wound up staying two.
As for what you need at home, your doc/nutritionist should tell you. Others have given good advice, too. I didn't have to do clear liquids pre-op, so don't know what to tell you there. We had to do a 2-week pre-op supplemented fast (their products) to lose weight (lost 23 pounds in two weeks). That shrunk the liver and made it easier to operate, plus made the bowels clean, so you didn't have to do the clear liquids. But every surgeon has his/her own routine.
This was the best decision I've ever made in my life. I have lost 170 pounds, kept it off and am approaching my 5-year anniversary. It has been the only way I have ever been able to lose and maintain weight loss. Because of this, the compression of discs on my back has stopped and amazingly, I have regained the half inch I lost five years ago (I was 5-3 1/2 when I was measured pre-op; now I'm 5-4 ... go figure! Has to be because of end of disc compression). I'm still on a bunch of meds, but nothing for blood pressure (still on Nexium, which is a step up for my Barrett's esophagus, which I was told would heal after RNY; it didn't). I still have arthritic knees, but was able to have a knee replacement on one (twice ... jury's out on that surgery yet).
I hope this goes as well for you as it has for the rest of us.
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