Nervous, Excited and in Disbelief! - New Brunswick, NJ

I've always struggled with my weight going up and down as much as 100lbs at times. This of course has left my tummy and surrounding areas with alot of stretched out skin. I'm currently 5ft 10 inches and 212lbs. I'm not at the weight I wanted to be prior to having the surgery; however, if I wait for the perfect weight and perfect time to coincide I'll never get it done!

I'm quite excited about the upcoming surgery but find myself in a little bit of disbelief like it really isn't going to happen. I also feel a little guilty for doing it putting myself out of commission for work and my children. I have arrangements all made for both but still find myself feeling guilt...must be a woman thing!
I would love feedback from others as to what things I should ensure I have on hand, things to expect etc. I have been reading other reviews and seem to have discovered that almost everyone feels discouraged at some point afterwards mostly due to swelling. I'm hoping keeping this in mind prepares me better for it.
My spouse will be off the same time I am to help me out with my care and my children so that will be a big help. Apart from that I guess the countdown is on :)

Wow....I'm going for my surgery in 4 days!...6am Thursday!...I'm starting .to think more about it, it no longer seems so far away. The guilt is starting to come back. I just try to read some other comments where ppl are doing so well. I feel like I should have lost weight but I didn't. Eeeek!

Day 4 post op and doing well. I have backed off on the perscription pain meds (Oxycodine) to see how long I can go before I need them. Before this I was taking them exactly every 4 hours. I only seem to take a couple per day now. I finally was able to have a BM for the first time since surgery which felt so much better. I seem to be really swollen today and have a muffin top over top my compression garment....I believe that is due to the lipo he did there. I am getting up for about 15 mins at a time and was even able to stand at the sink and wash a few dishes today. I don't have much of an appetite and nothing sounds good to me that usually would...not sure why. All in all I don't find the recovery has been that bad at all and is totally worth it! :)

Day 6 Post op...Today I woke up feeling the worst yet....not good at all. I think the reason is that my pain pump has finally emptied. I'm really low on my Oxycodone pills too and have cut the remainder in 1/2 taking them sparingly. I contacted the Dr office and got an appt for tomorrow afternoon rather than Friday. I'll see what he says about pain whether I get a refill of Oxy's or if he has a different suggestion. I still have next to no appetite and when I do eat something I feel like I over ate no matter how little it is. Today I believe I will put my feet up and relax think I overdid it yesterday.