LOOKS LIKE I WONT BE HAVING SURGERY DR CANCELLED.
I agree with Jazzycats. That a surgeon would even suggest trying to do that is stunning to me and I wouldn't let such a surgeon touch me.
I also echo the question as to whether you properly understood. Did you talk directly to the surgeon?
First of all, to do a crash diet with almost no calories may be dangerous, especially if you have an undiagnosed medical condition. Secondly, a crash diet right before surgery is going to weaken your body at a time when you actually need your body to be strong in order to heal after surgery (since you will be eating very little after surgery).
It is also almost certainly going to be impossible to lose 40 pounds in 2 weeks, even if you consume NO calories per day! It takes about 10 calories per pound to support your daily bodily functions, so if you are, say, 300 pounds, you would need 3000 calories per day so you would lose about a pound a day. Even if you add 10 pounds of loss in water weight (which is a pretty generous estimate, IMO), you are still only looking at 25 pounds, not 40.
Finally, it just doesn't make sense logistically.
If they cancelled your surgery already, then they have almost certainly already given that slot to someone else (unless your surgeon isn't very busy... In which case, that would be a second reason NOT to use him!) so even if you could lose 40 pounds in 2 weeks, you wouldn't be able to get on the schedule at the last minute.
If they have not already cancelled your surgery, and he truly will not do the surgery unless you lose that much weight, it doesn't make sense that they would keep your surgery spot reserved until the day before you are scheduled only to discover that you haven't lost enough (and then have to put someone else in that slot with only a single day's notice (if they require a bowel prep or period of liquids, all they could do would be move up someone else who is already on the schedule for a day or two later... and that would lead to a chain reaction of rescheduling which NO surgeon's office is going to do.
I suspect that they have not cancelled your surgery but are trying to scare you into getting serious about losing weight for these last 2 weeks. I don't utilize doctors who lie to, or otherwise manipulate, their patients, so no matter what the situation, I wouldn't let this doctor operate on me!
Lora
14 years out; 190 pounds lost, 165 pound loss maintained
You don't drown by falling in the water. You drown by staying there.
It's fairly common in a comprehensive program that they not only require a 2+ week pre op diet but a percentage loss as well. Mine for example required a 10% body weight loss at 50bmi or 5% if you are under 50bmi. a 2 week pre op diet and any gain from last pre op appointment to surgery day is considered being non compliant and is grounds for canceling surgery. It took me a couple months to lose the required 10%. I spent the other 4 months losing more because any loss makes surgery safer.
Not not to sound insensitive but change pre op is tied to success long term as well as making surgery much safer.
Viewing surgery as anything other than a tool....the whole "life changing/life saving" mentality implies that the surgery does the work and we are just along for the ride.
I don't know your program but the one I am in has been very clear on its requirements to qualify for surgery. It takes about 6 months to get through the pre op hurdles here of dietitian, social work and required classes. Support group attendance isn't really an option.
Edit
It sounds like your program wasn't comprehensive as your plan to lose weight over the next couple weeks is questionable in its efficacy or safety. I truly hope you have been shown and taught what you need to know about the tool and have been under the care of physicians who run vitamin labs and tests and you get support.
You should have been instructed in a pre op diet for the final couple weeks. Not every program does this but with a small amount of research it's pretty common to do.
I wish you luck
Why don't you postpone the surgery and get a new doctor. It sounds like you just need a little more time to get your body and brain ready. This operation will be life-changing and it seems like your present doctor suggesting that weight loss in two weeks is not that helpful. Maybe you had some to lose pre-op and didn't do anything to lose it? You may not be emotionally ready for this. Take your time and make sure you really really really want this so you can work hard after the op. Best of luck.
I had to lose 25-30 lbs, before my surgery or my doctor would not operate, because of my enlarged liver. He only did laprascopic and would not be able to unless my liver shrunk. I did have more time than you, but I did a juice fast. Lost 27lbs. My doctor said I would have lost more If I would have had some protein. I know of some that have went very strict on Atkins phase 1 and lost before surgery. Good luck!
on 6/19/14 10:06 am
What is your starting weight. How much do you weigh now?did he provide up with a preop diet?
"The first thing I do in the morning is brush my teeth and sharpen my tongue." --- Dorothy Parker
"You may not like what I say or how I say it, but it may be just exactly what you need to hear." ---Kathryn White
Ok, so is/was your surgery scheduled for ONE week out as you indicate here or TWO weeks out as you indicated in a response below??
Something is not right about this whole thing. (See my lengthy response below.)
Lora
14 years out; 190 pounds lost, 165 pound loss maintained
You don't drown by falling in the water. You drown by staying there.
