Hi All,

I'm very excited to have found a forum to receive tips and support. I have my VSG scheduled three weeks from now. I will be starting my 2 week liquid diet next Thursday. (More nervous of that than I am the surgery)  I made the important decision to have this surgery after a lot of thought and consideration.

Over the last few months I have been diagnosed with sleep apnea, on several medications for hypertension, and medicine for pre-diabetes. Because of my weight, I have developed chronic neck, back, and knee pain. I also had cervical fusion surgery on my neck earlier this year. 

I am the father of three beautiful kids with a very supportive wife. I decided enough was enough. After years of yo-yo dieting, I made the choice to change my life. I want to be able to enjoy my kids as the grow up. I am aware that the surgery is a tool to use for weight loss and not a miracle cure. I am so excited for the opportunity to meet and talk with others that have and/or going through the same things. I am nervous but at the same time excited to become the new me! So please drop me a line of encouragement as I embark on this journey!!!!

Welcome and good luck.  You are so right the pre-op liquid diet is the hardest part, but once you get through that it is all cake...opps maybe I should say gravy in honor of liquid diets.  You will be just fine!  Good Luck!  Keep us posted on how you are!

Congratulations on getting your date and good luck on your journey. My surgery is July 15th and I start my liquid diet on Monday. I'm not nervous at all about the surgery, like you it's the liquid diet I hope I will get through.

Hi Todd

Welcome to OH.  This is a GREAT community filled with wonderful people who will give you lots of support and encouragement as you travel down the road on this journey.

I'm a year out and am delighted to have my sleeve.  Her name is Myrtle and she's a powerful weapon against obesity.  All of my comorbs are either stabilized or in remission.  I take only 2 pills a day now instead of over a dozen!  You'll find that your sleeve has a bit of a personality.........seems they all do LOL  Mine gives a hiccup to tell me to stop eating.........I obey her!!!   So far, with her help and diligent compliance with my plan, I've lost 100 pounds.  That's pretty slow, but I'm one of the older folks on here and we tend to lose a little slower.  Men generally lose a little faster because you generally have more muscle mass to start with.  What truly matters is losing weight so you can gain your health and live a better life!  It's working for me and if you do as you should, it will work for you, too!!!

A couple of suggestions, if I may?  Get yourself a good set of measuring cups and spoons and a decent food scale.  Weighing and measuring your food is extremely important.  It keeps you real and on track.  Your plan will be different from everyone else's plan..........follow what you've been given from your Surgeon and/or Nutritionist.  Post often -- do your research.  If there's something you want to know, use the search feature at the top right of this page.  If you can't find what you're looking for, ASK ASK ASK.  This community has a vast knowledge base and people are more than willing to give advice, suggestions, answer questions, etc.  As with all things, read the posts, take from them what works for you and leave the rest behind. 

One thing that I found to be an almost absolute:  people are just as interested in helping the next guy/gal get to goal almost as much as they want to get to goal themselves.  I love my OH family!

Good luck to you........and keep posting!!!

Ree

 

Welcome!  The sleeve is a great tool - it levels the playing field so eating less is easier and more satisfying.  I'm only a month out, but I'm so happy I did this.

 

Kim

Congratulations! I had my sleeve done on 6/12/13 and am loving it along with life...let me tell you a very positive thing about the liquid diet, which I didn't have any trouble with because I kept telling myself I was detoxing the garbage from my body (sugar, caffeine, processed foods with ingredients I can't pronounce) and shrinking my liver to make surgery all the more successful, BUT...when you are allowed to add cream soups to your diet...O...M....G....best thing ever.  Then when you get to have that scrambled egg...absolutely amazing....most people do not spend 20-30 min eating a scrambled egg and appreciating and chewing their food properly...as I didn't either before...which is part of why I am where I am...but no more...I am getting my life back...and you can too! Attitude is half the battle...part of the battle is making the decision to do something about it and you are definitely on your way! 

 

 

 

Welcome! You are among friends here. It sounds like you have your head in the right space, so you are maximizing your chances for success! The liquids diet will be tough, but if you are prepped for the first few days, you can do this.

Be strong, post often!

Welcome to the forum!  You are right, the pre-op diet is the toughest part of the journey.  I am concluding week 3 of 3 on it, and feel pretty freaking awesome.  Losing 25 pounds doesn't hurt either!  But you can do it! 

I think you have made a wise choice to take control of your health, especially since you are not just doing this for yourself, but for your wife and kids.  Congratulations for making this choice for you and your family. 

This forum has been full of valuable advice and help for me and I am sure you will find plenty of good advice and encouragement here as well. 

I'll be able to tell you more after Monday...I will be on the loser's bench then.  We'll save you a seat! 

Hello Todd

Seems we have a lot in common. I too start my liquid diet this Thursday and have a July 25 surgery date. I have put almost two years of research behind my decision. I have two friends that have been sleeved and they both are very supportive and make it seem like it's no big deal. I am 59 and have a BMI of 36 and my present weight is 250. I am doing this solely because of the same medical conditions you have mentioned. I have already had one knee replaced and will start cortisone shots in the other very soon if I don't lose some weight. I have restrictive sleep apnea that I do not take seriously enough and was just told in one of my pre tests that my blood oxygen level is scary low. I have type two diabetes that have to take medicine  for every day along with the high blood pressure ect . ect ect ( you get my point by now). My doctor tells me it will all go away and put the arthritic knee on hold for awhile. After all the time. money and effort I have put into finally making a decision I find myself needing reassurance that I am doing the right thing as the surgery date draws closer. I haven't  got that much to lose, but the thought of being in the 180 range is very appealing. My wife supports me, but is as nervous as I am about the upcoming changes we will go thru.

If you like we can try to stay in touch on how the pre-op diet is going and even after surgery. There are some good protein shake  recipes on this site . I am sure we will both look back in a couple of months and say we made the right decision

Good luck

Shorty

 

Hi Shorty,

We do have quite a bit in common. My surgery is scheduled for July 25th as well. I had my left knee scoped 2.5 years ago and he said that the surgery should delay my knee replacement for a few years. By the way, I am 35!! I was scared to death when he mentioned knee replacement at such a young age. My knee feels worse today than it did before I had my surgery. I did a sleep study a couple of months ago and my doctor said I almost gave the sleep tech a heart attack! 45 minutes into the study they had already recorded 120+ times where I quit breathing or was breathing so shallow it was too faint to recognize.  That scared me into pulling the trigger on this surgery. But that is the past, I am looking very forward to the future! I am also shooting for the 180 range. I will definitely keep in touch so we can monitor each others progress. Best of luck on the liquid diet, from everything I have read, if we can get through that everything else is easier. I plan to visit this site quite frequently for tips and encouragement.

Good luck to you,

Todd