Pre-Op was hilarious. I'm yo-yo on my weight, 3 months behind on my menstrual because of the major changes I've made for my health (food & exercise), & job issue where I didn't have time off for surgery. My last nutritionist visit before surgery on 12/24/2013 Christmas eve, I weighed 398 lbs. When I first came to my doctor in September, I was 411. My personal diet started just over a month before when at my highest weight this year of 427. So after huge issues from my job about having surgery, get to surgery day. My fiancee & I came to the hospital with directions on how to get to the registration area & we STILL GOT LOST. The hospital is super huge. We arrived at 12:05 pm & couldn't find this place in the hospital compound until 12:40 pm! LoL Registration was quick & painless. Afterwards, it was prep & sleep. Once I started to come to, I was in pain. The nurses said I needed to wake up fully & sit up on my own before they gave me my first round of pain med outside of anesthesia. That was tough (I don't do well on anesthesia). So, the next requirement after waking up is to stand up & walk. After that is urinating & passing of the surgical gas. Once you get past all of that, there's food & meds coming your way. Broth diet will be the staple for a lot of people for the first week or so. Luckily I got to go home Christmas day. Aside from the pain, everything was ok. I tried not to take any pain meds, but I couldn't get comfortable & the pain would wake me up from my largest incision. (Please know that everyone handles pain differently; don't let my experience speak for you.) I wasn't hungry until day 3/4. I drank Crystal light & ate sugar free jello. And let me just say that surgery changed my tastebuds. My fiancee ordered himself a burger to have after he took care of me... I could've died over the smell. (I used to love burgers!) I liked Crystal light before surgery & couldn't stand it afterwards. (Again, everyone is different.) So, I'm just getting the hang of the stage 1 (clear liquids) & I tried to introduce broth (major no-no for my tastebuds). I dunno, I guess I'm weird. Moving on to post opinion visit. The first thing is the weigh in... 380 LBS! 18 lbs lost in 1 week & I didn't have vomiting (nausea, YES!). Wherever those 18 lbs went, they can STAY lost! LoL I'm now on stage 2: FULL LIQUIDS.
☆★☆★☆ Just a couple of helpful things:
1. Try out different protein shakes & sugar free/lo-cal food & drinks before surgery. This will be a major help before AND after.
2. Pick up a wash from a pharmacy called Hibicleanse (spelling? It comes in a turquoise bottle with a white top.) This is a great wash to shower with the day of surgery & to clean your operated belly once you're home.
3. Have someone help you out surgery day to at the very least, end of week one. Picking things up, especially off the floor is super difficult.
4. Make your jello the night before surgery. This just cuts time, That's all.
5. FROM AFTER SURGERY FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE... SIP YOUR FLUIDS; DON'T GULP!
I hope this was not only entertaining, but helpful as well.
HAPPY LOSING (^-^) ♡★♡★♡