Day #1 - PreOp Diet (Caffeine Issues)

Firstly, surprisingly I am feeling full"ish" however my biggest problem is headache from what I can only assume is wicked caffeine withdrawal.  

Questions:

1. Any ideas on how to help the caffeine withdrawal go a bit smoother? 

2. If your sugar dropped too low what did you do to counter react it while on this diet? I am on the Bariatric Advantage Meal Replacements for 15 days.

3. Any tips and tricks to help get through this diet a bit more comfortably? 

4. Did any one cheat on the diet and what happened?

Thank you!

Congrats on beginning the last steps before surgery! It will be here before you know it and you'll be losin' and groovin'. 

I had some headaches and difficulty with caffeine withdraw as well in the beginning but I just chugged along until they went away. If it is really awful, reach out to your NUT and see if they have any suggestions that can help you without hurting your diet pre op. 

I am not sure what to advise regarding sugar because I never ran into that problem while on my liquid diet. I just drank the shakes and was allowed carrots and some other veggies plain.

Unfortunately, this diet does really stink but you can totally do it. This isn't like diets before where you suffered and then purged and fell off the wagon, at the end of this diet, you are going to be healthier for surgery and better prepared for post op. I am a visual person so it really helped me to count down the days on the liquid diet until surgery. I bought little cutouts from Michaels and put velcro on the back of each one and stuck them on the wall and each day I would rip one off and be that much closer to the big surgery day. I also wrote on big pieces of poster board the things that I was allowed to drink or the veggies that I could eat and also my goals for WLS. Why am I doing this? What is the long term goal? etc. This really helped a lot. My fiance would cheer me on and when I was down (it happens, you get cranky and mildly depressed sometimes when you can't eat  ) I was very vocal about it and talked it through. For me, this was a chance to start facing some of the emotional reasons that I eat and my relationship with food. I kept telling myself that this is a life change and post op, I am going to have to make loads of changes and learn new eating, if I can't get through this, surgery may not be for me! 

I did cheat… totally not worth it. One night I totally broke down and had a few bites of stuffing and chicken and I was so disappointed in myself. It was only a few bites and did not affect me in any way negatively for surgery but it was more that I let myself down. I would watch videos or read stories online about why the preop diet is important and how it makes my surgery safer etc and that helped scare me a bit into wanting to stay on track. "better safe than sorry". Again, in the end we are human and that small slip up didn't blow all of my hard work but in my opinion, looking back, it is 2 weeks and it leads to so much more if you stick with it. You can totally do it! 

Congratulations on getting this far in your journey, I am so excited for you and can't wait to see your posts about how the weight is melting off and you are experiencing a whole new life :) Welcome to the losers bench! 

-Ashley

Thank you so much for the advice, ideas, and kind words.  I nearly started to tear up when you welcomed me to the "Losers Bench" I thought... "Who me? On the losers bench?" Those words were powerful and really got me through this first day.  Also, I think I will be working on something crafty for my calendar to help the days fritter away.  Great idea! 

Absolutely! I am always around if you need anything! I understand the "who me?" feeling but it is SO possible and you are going to be well on your way to new clothes and more energy before you know it :) You are on the cusp of a wonderful journey and I am SO EXCITED for you. I am so happy and I can't wait for you to be in the same boat! 

1.  Cut down on the caffeine each day rather than cutting it all out at once.  Drink a TON of water.  And take some Tylenol.

2.  Try dividing your shakes up so you have something every few hours instead of just three or four times a day.  And if it still drops too much, call your doc and ask for advice.

3.  Realize this is just temporary and it's going to be hard.  You are going to be hungry sometimes.  It might make you irritable or angry or anxious or depressed or all of the above.  And that's OK.  Hunger is not an emergency.  And those are just feelings.  You can feel them and not feed them and they will pass.  Many people have done this before you and if they could do it, so can you.

Thank you poet_kelly and you are so right but seems it is too late for me to ween off now since I started today and was told not to have any caffeine as of today.  I made a bad choice and went cold turkey.  I think the Tylenol idea is great and will probably start tomorrow afternoon.  Figured better stay off of it until after my PreOp Testing tomorrow.  Also, great idea spacing out the shakes.  I will start tomorrow.  

I appreciate ate all your feedback. 

About the blood sugar--I am diabetic and before I was diagnosed I got so used to what I felt like with abnormally high sugar that when I got treatment and it started to go normal I'd actually feel like it was getting too low. I have since learned the difference between a true hypoglycemic episode (for which I carry glucose tablets--only had to use them 2x) and a normal low as opposed to wheeeee! flying high on too much sugar. 

For me, it starts with nausea, followed by shaking and dizziness, sometimes with intense hunger. Other symptoms include:

• blurry vision
• rapid heartbeat
• sudden mood changes
• sudden nervousness
• unexplained fatigue
• pale skin
• headache
• hunger
• shaking
• sweating
• difficulty sleeping
• skin tingling
• trouble thinking clearly or concentrating
• loss of consciousness

Definitely call your doc's office if you're having bad symptoms like that. :)

Major coffee nut here:

1. Tylenol + fluids + electrolytes. Just because you are pounding water and shakes doesn't mean your electrolytes are necessarily in order. I believe they have powerade-zero or other sugar-free electrolyte solutions. If not, alternate with chicken broth which will usually have plenty of sodium and some potassium. Check the composition of your shakes and ensure that they contain good amounts of sodium and Potassium and other nutrients. This should be a meal replacement shake NOT a protein supplement shake. You may be washing them out unknowingly. As your body metabolizes the fat, you tend to lose a lot of fluid during the first few days of the process.  Your body needs the electrolytes for biochemical processes: breaking down fat and turning it into energy being a big one.

Additionally, hydration pumps up the volume of your veins/arteries/blood vessels. This increases your blood pressure a bit. Caffeine acts to restrict blood vessels (in the brain as well), so when caffeine isn't there, the change in your vessel pressure can cause some unpleasant side effects. If you pump yourself with some fluids, theoretically it may help you as you allow your vessels to get a bit higher in pressure. Try it and hopefully it helps you.  Tylenol may only take away most of your headache, not all, but better than no help at all. Note that there are superior headache medicines, but once you're on the RNY train, those OTC headache meds are out: Excedrin and any and all NSAIDS(Excedrin included). 

I quit caffein 3 weeks ago. It was very difficult. I had no idea that caffein had taken over my body like that. The headaches lasted about 2 weeks. I drank lots of water and took Tylenol. I'm over it now. While I do miss the pick-me-up in the mornings, I never want to go through that again. This journey is going to change my life in many ways, and it looks like coffee will be one of the things that end up on the list of things that changed. I know the trade offs are going to be worth it. You can do it!

I started cutting caffine out when I started this journey in April! Was totally finished with caffine by May. I knew it would be hard so I wanted to be ready. My surgery is August 21st  and I couldn't imagine cutting caffine out last minute! Best of luck to you. Id do as others said and cut it gradually. You don't have much time. You can do it!