Susan Grasty
Member
I am having gastric sleeve surgery on September 22nd. Any pre-surgery advice????
Gastric Sleeve
- Thread starter Susan Grasty
- Start date
WazzuCoug
Member
Follow your doctor's directions for the pre-surgery diet. Start getting used to drinking a lot of liquid. Start walking if you haven't already. If you aren't a naturally slow eater, start trying to train yourself to eat very slowly and chew everything very well. Look at what life will be like after surgery and try to emulate that and start building habits before the surgery. Starting to make changes now will help you adjust post-surgery.
Make sure your pantry is stocked up with items suitable for each phase of the post-surgery diet, - liquids/protein shakes, purees, and soft foods. You don't need to get perishable items yet, but make a plan for what to have on hand to make those phases easier when you get to them.
If you drink a diet or regular soda frequently, start weaning off of it. If you drink coffee, convert to decaf ahead of time.
Make sure you have gotten all the information possible about your post-surgery diet and recommendations on exercise for the first weeks after surgery.
Make sure your pantry is stocked up with items suitable for each phase of the post-surgery diet, - liquids/protein shakes, purees, and soft foods. You don't need to get perishable items yet, but make a plan for what to have on hand to make those phases easier when you get to them.
If you drink a diet or regular soda frequently, start weaning off of it. If you drink coffee, convert to decaf ahead of time.
Make sure you have gotten all the information possible about your post-surgery diet and recommendations on exercise for the first weeks after surgery.
dianeseattle
Member
WazzuCoug pretty much nailed it there. I would add that you will not be allowed to drink carbonated beverages at all after surgery until you are completely healed and able to handle regular food. That gives you a great opportunity to break some really bad eating habits.
You might also want to think about your comfort after surgery. You might want to elevate your bed and get a riser for your toilet seat. I would advise taking a fiber laxative everyday as part of your routine. You will really appreciate it after surgery. And the psyllium in fiber laxative is a good thing for your body.
Make sure you have a heating pad and ask your team about an elastic binder to wrap around your stomach after surgery. When you have your consultations with your nutritionist, ask about necessary vitamins and minerals and mention all the medicines and supplements you take now. You don't want to have any kind of interactions that could cause problems. You will have to use chewables and liquids for a while after surgery, but you may be able to ingest capsules and tablets that are crushed or broken in pieces that will work for you later.
From everything I understand about gastric sleeve surgery, it isn't really that difficult to recover from. But the carbon dioxide gas pumped into your body to make enough space to operate will cause you a lot of pain for days after surgery. There are a lot of ways to deal with this.
Take measurements of your body now, including bust waist and hips as well as neck, upper arm, thigh and anywhere else you feel you're carrying a lot of extra size.
Buy a very good accurate scale, but stay off it. Weigh yourself now and up until surgery. After that, avoid the temptation of weighing daily because your weight may not be what you hope it will be.
Make sure you have good comfortable transition clothes that don't put pressure on your stomach or irritate your incisions. Stock up on some snug t-shirts and put your brassieres aside for a while. Men's Jockey briefs are a really comfortable way to deal with everything that's going to be going on downstairs. Even if you don't have a budget for clothes, you can probably find some really good ones at a thrift store.
Buy two journals or blank books. In one of them, write down your thoughts and feelings and questions that you will ask of your support group and of your doctor after surgery. It's also a really good way to keep track of your activities, and you can definitely make a page documenting your weight as it goes down.
You can also maximize the benefit of the journal by employing a technique advocated by Sondra Ray in "The Only Diet There Is." Divide a page with a line down the middle. On one side, list the failure messages you're getting in your mind or in your surroundings. On the other side, write the truth about what that lie is trying to do to you. So, on one side of mine, I wrote, "You're fat and ugly." On the other side I wrote, "You are beautiful, inside and out."
Your other journal is for your food intake. You will need to weigh and measure everything as you go through your post-op healing phases. You probably know you'll be on two or three liquid diet phases, then the pureed food phase and then a soft food stage and then on to a limited whole foods diet.
Find a reliable source that lists nutritional information for everything you might eat, including brand name restaurant food. I studied the USDA Food site.
It's really cool because all you have to do is enter in the food item you're curious about and it will take you to a listing of different brands and types and sizes that tell you the caloric and protein and nutrition content of that food. there are many other websites that offer you a breakdown of nutritional value of any food. But they weren't around when I had my surgery and I think the USDA site is fabulous.
This one is pretty educational: Eatright.org - Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
Having a blender and a food processor and an accurate food scale is an indispensable kitchen trio. On our discussion group site, in the post-op forum section, you will find many many recipes. Not all of them will work for you but you are probably going to want to study up on the smoothies section.
A lot of people will advise you to get a fitness tracker which I have no experience with. But it's like a watch you wear on your wrist that will keep track of your calories and activities.
That's a lot of information right there to go along with WazzuCoug's information. There are also other support groups online. I'm very happy with this one, but I think for most people having a lot of options is important.
I shared a lot of recipes and food information here a few days ago: Calories
Susan, welcome to the group. Please feel free to ask us anything. There are a lot of people here who can give you the exact right answer to your specific questions. We give you everything except medical advice. And to make sure that you ask your doctor any medical questions because your doctor knows best.
You might also want to think about your comfort after surgery. You might want to elevate your bed and get a riser for your toilet seat. I would advise taking a fiber laxative everyday as part of your routine. You will really appreciate it after surgery. And the psyllium in fiber laxative is a good thing for your body.
Make sure you have a heating pad and ask your team about an elastic binder to wrap around your stomach after surgery. When you have your consultations with your nutritionist, ask about necessary vitamins and minerals and mention all the medicines and supplements you take now. You don't want to have any kind of interactions that could cause problems. You will have to use chewables and liquids for a while after surgery, but you may be able to ingest capsules and tablets that are crushed or broken in pieces that will work for you later.
From everything I understand about gastric sleeve surgery, it isn't really that difficult to recover from. But the carbon dioxide gas pumped into your body to make enough space to operate will cause you a lot of pain for days after surgery. There are a lot of ways to deal with this.
Take measurements of your body now, including bust waist and hips as well as neck, upper arm, thigh and anywhere else you feel you're carrying a lot of extra size.
Buy a very good accurate scale, but stay off it. Weigh yourself now and up until surgery. After that, avoid the temptation of weighing daily because your weight may not be what you hope it will be.
Make sure you have good comfortable transition clothes that don't put pressure on your stomach or irritate your incisions. Stock up on some snug t-shirts and put your brassieres aside for a while. Men's Jockey briefs are a really comfortable way to deal with everything that's going to be going on downstairs. Even if you don't have a budget for clothes, you can probably find some really good ones at a thrift store.
Buy two journals or blank books. In one of them, write down your thoughts and feelings and questions that you will ask of your support group and of your doctor after surgery. It's also a really good way to keep track of your activities, and you can definitely make a page documenting your weight as it goes down.
You can also maximize the benefit of the journal by employing a technique advocated by Sondra Ray in "The Only Diet There Is." Divide a page with a line down the middle. On one side, list the failure messages you're getting in your mind or in your surroundings. On the other side, write the truth about what that lie is trying to do to you. So, on one side of mine, I wrote, "You're fat and ugly." On the other side I wrote, "You are beautiful, inside and out."
Your other journal is for your food intake. You will need to weigh and measure everything as you go through your post-op healing phases. You probably know you'll be on two or three liquid diet phases, then the pureed food phase and then a soft food stage and then on to a limited whole foods diet.
Find a reliable source that lists nutritional information for everything you might eat, including brand name restaurant food. I studied the USDA Food site.
It's really cool because all you have to do is enter in the food item you're curious about and it will take you to a listing of different brands and types and sizes that tell you the caloric and protein and nutrition content of that food. there are many other websites that offer you a breakdown of nutritional value of any food. But they weren't around when I had my surgery and I think the USDA site is fabulous.
This one is pretty educational: Eatright.org - Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
Having a blender and a food processor and an accurate food scale is an indispensable kitchen trio. On our discussion group site, in the post-op forum section, you will find many many recipes. Not all of them will work for you but you are probably going to want to study up on the smoothies section.
A lot of people will advise you to get a fitness tracker which I have no experience with. But it's like a watch you wear on your wrist that will keep track of your calories and activities.
That's a lot of information right there to go along with WazzuCoug's information. There are also other support groups online. I'm very happy with this one, but I think for most people having a lot of options is important.
I shared a lot of recipes and food information here a few days ago: Calories
Susan, welcome to the group. Please feel free to ask us anything. There are a lot of people here who can give you the exact right answer to your specific questions. We give you everything except medical advice. And to make sure that you ask your doctor any medical questions because your doctor knows best.
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