Opti Question- I've forgotten the answer.....

I have my meeting this week with Dr Jackson at TWH. My daughter & I are taking the train to Toronto on Thursday afternoon, will stay in a hotel overnight and take the train home again on Friday afternoon. I just have a quick question regarding Optifast.

If I get the green light for my surgery, I believe that I'll need to order my Optifast before I leave TWH, right?
 
I was given two boxes of Opti from someone who didn't use theirs last summer (exp date is still good til July 2012) so I'm trying to determine how much I'll still need to buy.

How many Opti shakes do you drink each day - is it 3 or 4?  I'm trying to see how long my supply will last me so I know how much I still need to buy. I'm guessing that I will likely have to be on Opti for 3 weeks as my weight is in the 300 range.

Thanks for your help!

Deb

4 a day, but some can't manage to consume all 4.

good luck to you.

For a two week period, you'll need 4 boxes as it is recommended to have 4 a day  in order to keep up protein levels (and not lose muscle mass).

Dawn :) 

I agree with Dawn. Initially I found it hard to get in three but after day four I took the required amount. Started to do much better then and felt no hunger.

I was prescribed 3 weeks of opti-crap .. I mean opti-fast. i only used 3 a day and was told to drink 3 or 4 a day. They were not concerned that I only ever drank three. Consequently I had 21 packets left over which will last 5 -7 days.

I saved those for my daughter as she will be starting optifast soon. When she saw the surgeon on Friday he prescribed two weeks for her and the nurse was fine with only ordering a 1 week supply. That of course means my daughter has enough for 3.5 shakes a day.

So I would say if you have two full boxes (28 packets) you have a full weeks supply and saved yourself $78.

Cheers and good luck!!

edited to add: They sometimes give you an extra week of optifast if you have had previous abdominal surgery but it is mostly based on weight. My daughter weighs only slightly less than I did going into optifast but because of previous abdominal surgery I got the delightful three week plan. LOL


Chris

Hi Deb,
You will order your Opti before you leave. Don't forget to bring a credit card. you need 2 boxes per week or 4 per day. You can order a mix of vanilla and chocolate. Medicalmart wil deliver it too you  so no need to carry it on the plane.

Cant wait to hear when your date is!

Thanks so much for your responses everyone - that's exactly what I needed to know. I hope that TWH allows us to also drink broth for the sake of variety.

I actually have 2 full boxes & an almost full box (10 packets, instead of 14). I'm sure that they won't let me order a half-box, so I guess I'll have to buy an extra box to make up for the one with only 10 packets. So, if I end up having to do 3 weeks of Optifast, I guess I'll need to buy 4 more boxes - yikes, thank goodness for credit cards! If I have any left over, or if I'm not approved for surgery, I'll just offer it to someone in my local support group who is getting close to their surgery date.  Gotta pay it forward whenever possible, right?

As others have said repeatedly, thank goodness for this forum and for all of you who are always so quick to answer questions and offer suggestions - you are the best!!!!  

Deb