[kristymgoodell]

Hello my name is Kristy and I am new here. About me....I am a sugical technologist and have assisted on plently of these surgeries, however when the patients surgery is over I never see them again.
I am 26, 218lbs., 5"5'. I am discusted with my weight and currently have my info going throught the insurance process.

Here's my problem...other than not knowing anything about the surgery before and after other than what I have read, and with the nature of my job I could tell you the technical part of the actual surgery but I am highly unaware of eating patterns, physical capabilities and mental status during and after the process.
I will not be telling my immediate family because of the lack of support, and my husband is not fully on board with this either.
I feel like after going to the group informational and seeing the people there, I felt guilty. The people there could have eaten me, yet I feel I have the same phycological issues and eventually will be in their shoes. I feel like the surgery is me giving up and a cop out although I want it desperetely.
My surgeon says I would be an excellent candidate and basically can schedule a date as soon as insurance clears. I have an upper GI scheduled in two weeks and the overall process so far has been effortless. He is not requiring I lose any weight pre-op and expects that he will be able to do my surgery in 4-6 weeks.
This is all happening so fast and I know it can take an eternity for others. I'm just not sure how to sort this all out.

I have some basic questions..
1. What is a realistic idea of how you are feeling physically in the days and weeks after surgery?
2. Could someone lists specific example on what foods they were able to eat in the early days and weeks following surgery.
3. Will I be able to live a normal life fairly quickly, (ie: not getting sick whenever I eat and having problems in public situations)
4. With a considerably smaller frame than most gastric patients could I expect to lose as much in a short amout of time, or eill my process take longer?
5. Any pointers with getting my husband on board?
6. What do I tell people when they begin to notice the weight loss (I am not revealing the fact that I am having the surgery)?


Thank you so much in advance, any comments will be helpful!
Kristy

[DocSanae]

Welcome to the board, thank you for joining us.
Pull up a chair, make yourself at home, and though it will take time, I suggest you take your time reading through this board.
A lot of the answers to your Qs are actually spread all over this board, and you may find what you want to know.
Take a look into the Stupid Questions forum, the Gastric Diet forum, among others. For family and support, there's the Family and Loved ones. These places are good places to start while you are waiting.

((((((HUGS)))))) May your journey go well.

[fr1endly2]

HERE are some answers based on my personal experience only:

I have some basic questions..
1. What is a realistic idea of how you are feeling physically in the days and weeks after surgery?
FOR me (we all experience different pain levels) it wasnt as nearly as painful as I thought it was going to be. EACH day got easier and i weened myself off pain meds quickly because i hated taken them. I did have trouble sleeping the first 2 nights home and slept sitting up but each day got easier and i got home. I returned to my work early being it was work were i could get a power nap in, i made sure i didnt left and bend to much...I found for many many weeks that if i over did it i tired easily. I was still healing inside even though i felt pretty well on the outside.
2. Could someone lists specific example on what foods they were able to eat in the early days and weeks following surgery.
FOR me i was put on two weeks clear liquids for my stage 1 eating. THEN a week on milk based liquids....then 2 weeks pureed then slowly went on to all foods chewing well and eatling slowly. (doctors vary here alot due what ur surgeon suggests)
3. Will I be able to live a normal life fairly quickly, (ie: not getting sick whenever I eat and having problems in public situations)IF you eat slowly, chew very well you may not ever vomit. We are all different and learn the patterns of our stomach. FOR me leftovers, pre made food and chinese takeout always make me sick.......and any protein if i dont chew chew chew....TOOK me 18 months to be able to hold salad down but this all varies person to person. IF i eat to big a portion i can barf as well so its usually my own doing...but i can go out and eat and be fine other times i may not be.


4. With a considerably smaller frame than most gastric patients could I expect to lose as much in a short amout of time, or eill my process take longer? WE all loose at different rates...but we all doo loose at the min 80 percent of our fat or more.

5. Any pointers with getting my husband on board? FOR me my husband had trouble adjusting being he lost his eating partner but as the months went on and i ate more and more its fine now. HE hated when i ate out of toddler sized bowls but it was the best way to keep my protions safe early out. HE will come around im sure in time.

6. What do I tell people when they begin to notice the weight loss (I am not revealing the fact that I am having the surgery)?
Well i only told my immediate family when i went for the surgery. BUT when people around me started noticeing i choose to tell the truth...but if you still feel you dont want to tell them the truth...you have learned to eat healthy and excerise which you will be doing !!!!!! YOU watch your portions and your looseing! DONT matter what you tell people....

ANYWAY there are many good threads of information on the board just poke around and read. THESE were some quick replies to your questions
all the best and i look forward to getting to know you thru your posts.

[Jessica]

Hi Kristy, and welcome! I thought I would respond back to your questions, because it sounds as if our situations are a bit similiar. Just to give you a little background on me, I'm 25 y/o and my surgery date was 4/24/07. At the begining of the process I weighed 253 lbs, and today I weigh 227 lbs. I can DEFINITELY relate to the experiences you have had so far. I only told my mother and my boyfriend about the surgery. Of course they were hestitant, but once I explained all of the research that I had done and how I was "really" feeling about myself they semi-understood and were supportive. 253 is the biggest that I have ever been, but I have ALWAYS had a problem with my weight. I guess my family and my boyfriend never realized how much this was bothering me, as I hid it. I guess that I thought if I didn't acknowledge that I was fat, they wouldn't either. Also, I went to my FIRST doctors appointment on 3/16/07 and my surgery was scheduled for 4/24/07. So, I know how you are feeling about the speed of the process. I still haven't received an answer as to why my surgery process and approval was so fast and some people wait years. The only conclusion that I can gather is that besides being miserable, I was really, really healthy-no problems at all.
On to your questions....
1. I was up and walking an hour after surgery. I felt kind of icky for the first 4 days. It wasn't pain, just mostly a bit of discomfort. I felt 100 times better when I got home, the hospital was DEPRESSING!!!
2. Three days prior to surgery, and 1 week after surgery I was on a clear liquid diet. (broths, water, sugar-free popcicles, jell-o) I also have to drink 2 oz of protein shake (my doc recommended Atkins) 3 times a day. This week (week 2) I am still drinking the shake 2 times a day, but I can also eat low-fat cottage cheese, yogurt, applesauce, mashed potatoes, oatmeal. Week 3- no more shakes (YAY-not so tasty!!!) and in addition to the the week 2 foods I can have scrambled eggs, tuna, toast and crackers. Week 4,5,6 I can begin eating soft fruits/veggies and some other soft foods.
3. I haven't gotten sick at all yet. So, the only issues I have had in public are just dealing with social situations. It's hard to go out with friends and family with out the idea of a restaurant coming up. I will admit this is depressing, but I know that I will be able to go to restaurants and eat a small, sensible meal in the next coming months.
4. As far as I know, everyone loses weight differently regardless of their frame.
5. My boyfriend really came around when I expalined to him that I was UNHAPPY. I told him that we don't go or do half of the things that we want to because of my weight issues. He had no idea of this, he thought that I was just moody or picky. I never wanted anyone to make any comments about my weight in front of him, and it was easier for me to have us "hide" in our apartment. He was great and spent both nights in the hospital with me!
6. Well, I finally told my family about what I have done when they noticed some changes. They were, suprisingly, very, very supportive. I haven't gone back to work yet, so I'm not sure about my co-workers.


Well, I'm sorry to be so long-winded I just wanted to answer as many of your questions as I could. However, I know that every surgeon and procedure is different, so any questions that you have-ASK your doc! I have asked my doc SO many ridiculous questions that he laughed at! So, don't feel bad about asking ANYTHING! LOL
Best of luck to you!

[kristymgoodell]

Jessica,

Thank you so much! I appreciate your detail to the questions I have and it sounds as if we are two peas in a pod. I am 26 and feel exactly the way you do. I just found out yesterday that I was pre-approved for the psych, nutrition , and upper GI...which I have all scheduled for this week and next week. My follow up with my surgeon is the 29th and I am expecting to get a surgery date at that point, which is exciting and scary all at the same time. The questions I had/have are detail oriented (ie: types of foods, etc.) If you don't mind I would love to keep in contact with you as sort of a diary. I am very eager to learn the process and I feel I can benefit greatly by having someone who is very similar to me and going through things just a couple weeks ahead of time. I am thrilled that you haven't gotten sick yet...hopefully that will continue!
I will keep you posted on a surgery date, my surgeon is going on vacation the first 2 weeks in June so most likely surgery will be after he returns toward the end of June or early July.
This is my email address... kristymgoodell@hotmail.com
Where are you from? And what do you do for a living? When are you planning to return to work?

Thank you tremendously!!
Kristy