This is all happening so fast...

Hi onefineday. I see you in Mt Lawley. Is that Perth? We are meeting this Saturday. Just go look at the sleeve get together for the details. It might be good to share stories.

I've had 2 c-sections and the pain of the sleeve was a walk in the park compared to those.

I had endone for the first 6 hours or so after the surgery then paracetamol only. No pain at all.

I had a Fentanyl PCA for the first half a day but it made me so nauseated I refused to push the button any more. The nausea made me feel wretched. The pain wasn't that bad, just shoulder pain which hot packs really helped more than anything. They just gave me IV Panadol. After the first day they tried to swap me to soluble Panadol but it made me gag  so I didn't bother with anything. And after the third day I didn't actually need anything anyway just the hot packs.

cheers Nini

Heck no, not just paracetamol, although if you have a dream run this maybe all you need. In hospital I had a self administered morphine drip for the first two days, and then oxycontin, panadol after that as needed. In my take home baggie I also had oxynorm to take, although this is still there untouched as it made me incredibly unwell in hospital.

Thanks everyone for your words of encouragement. I think i'm just feeling a bit lost because I still haven't met up with the dietician so i've gone into this pre-op diet blind! I have no idea what they want me to eat and if i'm allowed any other protein or what veggies i'm allowed to eat. 

I'm feeling more positive this week about the surgery in general because I keep thinking about my clothes that no longer fit and also my 9 month old son is almost walking and i'm already out of breath trying to catch him! I'm feeling a bit guilty about the operation because I know I won't be able to lift him for a while and my husband and mum are going to have to help out A LOT. I recovered pretty well from my c-section which was bloody painful but my surgeon tells me it won't be as painful as that. Although I did see in his paperwork that the only pain relief medication is paracetamol... Is that what is normally prescribed post-op?

youcandoit - my surgery is with Dr Ravi Rao at SJOG Mt Lawley :)

I found the first 3 days of opti to be hideous but then I quickly settled into a routine and I was surprised how easy I found it. I just kept reminding myself that this was a short term gig so my liver would be nice and healthy and they'd be able to do the surgery. I know it doesn't seem like it when you're going through it but the food restrictions pre and post op are for such a short period and before you know it, you're back eating regular food just teeny tiny portions!

Hi everyone. It took me two years to get around to making a decision about getting the sleeve. I wasted a whole year before I decided to get PHI and then had to wait another year for it to kick in. Im due to be sleeved on July 13th and currently Day 3 of Optifast. I have never been any good with really restrictive diets or meal replacements but Im finding that despite being ' head hungry' I am coping quite well so far. I also only had 4 weeks from my surgeons appointment to sleeve date and it has felt a bit surreal. I have even woken up in the middle of the night sobbing about what Im about to do and felt so anxious I wanted to call it all off but then I pulled myself together and just forged ahead. I know 4 people who have had the sleeve and every one of them say it is the best thing they have ever done for themselves and their children. I know of a lady who could barely walk and now runs marathons with her kids, who frolics at the beach like a teenager. I weigh up the  relatively minor discomfort of post op and pain and restrictions for a few weeks against a lifetime of utter misery and health problems that my weight issues have caused and I know it will be worth it. I think it is very important to go through the  doubts and fears and take a close look at what can go wrong and  then eventually come to a point of being at peace with your decision. The fact that I started reading this forum about 2 years ago and have gained anther 15 kilos in that time is proof enough that I need to just get on with it. I think I made my peace with my decision  the day I paid the surgeon - after that I have just let it go and planned for the next few weeks. This forum has been the best source of information and support. Thank you to everyone who has contributed on this site.

Hi onefineday,

I'm booked in to have my sleeve done on July 17th also. Dr jon Armstrong is doing mine at SJOG Subiaco. Where are you having yours?

I have actually been waiting for 12 months for mine as I had to upgrade my private health insurance. At the time it seemed like an eternity but it has flown by.

I had a face time call with the anesthetist today so it is really starting to sink in that it is only two weeks away. 

My surgeon asked me to do 3 weeks of opti but I will actually have done it for 5 weeks by the time I have surgery. I have found that if you make yummy vege recipes it makes it a lot easier. Also mixing in up with opti eg choc shake with ice and a teaspoon of coffee in the morning. Almost like a really bad iced mocha. Lol

  Just remember this is the last diet you will ever go on! 
Good luck!

I had a very similar lead up. Met someone with a sleeve, two or three weeks later had my first appointment with the surgeon and two weeks after that was sleeved!

I'm now just over three months sleeved and I so glad that I did it! It absolutely changed the way I handle food. It wasn't easy for me and I was very emotional going through optifast as I was basically trying to come to grips with how I was going to cope without food.

Try to look at it this way (I know how hard this is because I didn't fully believe it till I started on solids again post sleeve) but you aren't giving something up.

You are not LOSING! You are GAINING!

You are gaining a tool that will help you fulfill your goals. I don't feel like I'm missing out on food now. You won't lose all your favourite foods. The only thing I reall don't have at the moment is diet coke (and alcohol, but I'm choosing not to drink alcohol right now). Sometimes I will want some bread or cake or ice cream, but more often than not I will have a bite and stop. That's my treat. I could not have stopped at one bite or one chip before.

I'm not saying it isn't going to be tough, I probably found the two weeks before the hardest mentally and after the surgery I did feel a bit of Sleevers remorse early on but once you come out the other side it will be better! I spoke to a counselor over the phone a couple of times before and after my surgery to help work through some feelings both about the surgery and some work issues. That really helped me.

The next couple of months will be a tough time but you will have support here! It's ok to be scared, nervous, hopeful, anxious, excited, apprehensive and grieving the way you have been able to eat, all at once! At the end of the day I hope you get to come out the other side and hit the point where you realize - actually I'm so glad I did this

So I had my first appointment with the surgeon yesterday and he booked me in for surgery on July 17th, just over 2 weeks away. It's earlier than I anticipated but he is going away in August so I would have to wait until late September otherwise. 

I'm really starting to freak out now reading all the pre and post op requirements. He wants me to do Optifast for 2 weeks and i'm dreading it. Every time i've ever tried a shake diet I have failed miserably and I feel sick at the thought of having to drink that stuff. Everything is really starting to sink in now and knowing I won't be able to eat some of my favourite foods is making me feel a bit miserable. I'm even starting to doubt the surgery. Has anyone got any suggestions to how they are coping/have coped in the lead up to the surgery?