Thanksgiving surgery... holiday cooking solutions...

I am having my surgery on Nov. 21st... the day before Thanksgiving. So, I will have the "pleasure" of suffering through the smells of holiday cooking at my oldest daughter's house as I recover. In order to not be too tortured with all of the wonderful smells, I have purchased turkey broth, cranberry juice, and Dryer's Low Fat Pumpkin Ice Milk (it tastes JUST like Pumpkin Pie... my Dr. said it was ok to have a small amount) for my "liquid feast". Hopefully, this will make Thanksgiving more bearable. I also made my own popsicles out of the New Whey Liquid Protein Bullets (diluted half and half with water). My Dr. said Sugar-free popsicles were allowed, but I thought why not get a little extra protein in there instead :)

If your surgery is the day before Thanksgiving, won't you still be in the hospital for T-Day dinner? So no torture. Unless you mean the leftovers. Your plan sounds very tasty. Be careful of the cranberry juice though -- if you didn't get the "diet" kind it will probably have a lot of sugar in it. For me, I'll be just over a week out at Thanksgiving dinner. I plan to sit at the table with everyone else and eat my own meal. I bought some Campbell's butternut squash soup and will probably make up a spoonful of high-protein mashed potatoes. I also found a fantastic recipe for Pumpkin Cheesecake Pudding -- which my mom is going to make for me. I personally am not too worried about cravings or not being strong enough to resist the normal food. I think the liquid pre-op diet really helped me overcome the mental part of dealing with food cravings --- maybe not completely, but it's definitely put me on the right track. I am totally fine with other people eating in front of me. I'm totally fine with food commercials. In fact, I've been watching Food Network for most of the day. This is my new life. I've worked hard to get to the point where I am right now and I don't plan to sabatoge myself this early in the game. And I really don't feel like I'm going to be deprived by not stuffing myself to misery at Thanksgiving. This holiday will have a new meaning for me this year. Good luck with surgery. It's right around the corner! Pam

I am going home the same day as my surgery. I do not have to stay overnight (provided there are no complications, of course). I do not expect food to be an issue for Thanksgiving... mostly because I will probably sleep most of the weekend. I only put together the "liquid feast" just in case the aromas become too overwhelming. I just thought I would share them in case anyone else needed some ideas on holiday food choices. My doctor did not require that we do a liquid pre-op diet... he suggested a 2 week low carb, high protein diet before surgery to shrink the liver. 48 more hours and I will officially be a "Bander" :)

Mine is the same day as yours!!!! Dont worry, we will suffer together, but we will be so doped up on pain medication, we wont be able to do anything else!!!