Did you PRE-OP DIET before your pre-op diet?

Did you PRE-OP DIET before your pre-op diet? I have never done a liquid diet before. Are they all different? How did you do with it? Did you try to do it before you had to, just to make sure you could do it?

No I did not have to - nowadays my surgeon is making most people do the liver shrinking diet first but I was having Open surgery not Lap so I did not have to do anything.  But now they do most of the surgeries laprascopically nearly everyone has to do some kind of liver shrinking process.... Jackie

Wow!!  Ms Beautiful Lady.  I love the new avatar.  Didn't even recognize it from the other one until I read the post.   You truly are a gorgeous lady!!!

Thank you very much - wi**** was true but it was a glamor shot lol!! However I do feel so much healthier since surgery and you will too soon!  I haven't seen my sister-in -law for a year and when I sent her copies of these she said she knows me yet she would walk right past me in the street lol!! Wait until your turn comes - you are beautiful now - so you will be stunning in a few months! Jackie

Hey.  My pre op diet, which I have been on for about a week, isn't really that bad, even though I act like it's the devil.  I am to have 2 shakes, (slim fast, boost, carnation instant breakfast) and 1 sensible meal.  So I have Carnation Instant Breakfast for breakfast and lunch and then have my dinner, which are high protein, low carbs and unlimited non starch vegetables.  I am supposed to have 64 - 100 ounces of fluid a day with no sodas.  This can include the shakes, fat free broths, sugar free jellos and sugar free popsicles.  So I find that if I am wanting something with substance, between the shakes and dinner, I eat the jellos or popsicles.  At night, I am allowed 10 baby carrots or 3 celery stalks, because I am not a huge carrot fan.  Honestly, the first day or 2, when it was extremely hard and new, I did cheat.  I had a siden salad for lunch to tide me over for the meal but at least I did make it a healthy choice.  I do know that the pre op is paying off.  We had to go to the emergency room the other night because my mom got sick (totally different post) and after they weighed her, I weighed myself.  Down almost 5 lbs.  Let's just hope that their scale and my surgeons scale are both the same!  Don't freak yourself out about the liquid diets.  While they can be different, they really aren't that bad.  Good luck And nope, I didn't pre op before the pre op.  In fact I did the opposite.  I hit the Ci-Ci's with my son.  I hit the Golden Corral.  Even bought a 23lb turkey the weekend before the pre op started and had what I called my "last normal thanksgiving meal"  with all the fixings.  hahaha Theresa

Hi Ashley!

Every surgeon requires different things. I know I hear a lot of people talk about having a big "last meal" before they start the pre-op diet. I heard someone mention this in front of my surgeon one time and although he didn't endorse it, he didn't strictly forbid it either

For me, I planned my surgery about 3 months out because I'm a teacher and wanted to wait until summer. So I'm doing a whole pre-op program at a local center that does this for bariatric patients. I'm meeting with the doctor there, with a trainer every week, with a nutritionist every other week, and a "life coach"/counselor every other week. (My insurance is paying for a lot of it, even though they're not paying for my surgery, but it's still costing me about $1500) It's a lot- I'm there several times a week, it's overwhelming, and I complain about it a lot (see a post I made yesterday....), but really I know that it's a great thing to help me get ready for this big permanent change.

As for my pre-pre-op diet - I have been put on the liver shrinking diet (a very specific kind of shake for breakfast and lunch, a few select veggies for snack, and a very specific sandwich for dinner) now to kick off my nutritional program. So I have to do it 2 weeks now and again 2 weeks pre-op. In between (I got started a little late, so it's only about 6 weeks in between) I'm meeting with the nutritionist to plan a healthier eating program. They use a system called Nutripoints that terrifies me and I'm not sure I can do - but my nut and I are going to work that out next week after I finish this LSD. I wasn't given any warning about this,so no I didn't "practice".

I basically hate being on this LSD (I'm sorry - I don't want to discourage you, I'm just trying to be honest!), but I do it because I have to. I whine and complain and cry and curse and yell.....but I stick to it.

I would talk to your surgeon or nut about trying it first....I'm not a nut but it seems to me like it's something that should be supervised and done for only a certain amount of time. It doesn't seem to me like it would be healthy to do this long-term. I don't know how long you were thinking of trying it, but my guess is you'll do it because you have to.

I also am glad that I'm getting in exercise training and "head stuff" before hand. It's such a big thing - I figure anything I can do to help me prepare is a good thing.

That's been my experience - I hope it helps. Yours may end up being totally different!
Sarah

The only pre-op diet I had was the bowel prep.  I really don't envy you folks who have to do this liquid diet crap -- so not right!  And I did do a "last supper" pizza fest, knowing it would be MONTHS before I could eat even a single slice of pizza again.  

I did a 2 week dr prescribed "optifast" diet, by the 5th day i just wasn't hungry anymore and i lost about 13 lbs before surgery - goodluck - Lys

I did have to do a pre-op diet to rid myself of liver fat.  I almost didn't get to have my surgery because I hadn't lost the 18 lbs he was looking for.  I did manage to lose 10 lbs in 5 days though.  Is it an adjustment?  Oh yeah!  But it wasn't because I was hungry...it was having to wrap my brain around the idea that my portions were going to diminish substantially.  Being a lapbander, I don't have the restrictions that you bypassers have...I can pretty much eat anything I want.  But it's all about portions.  I think it's an excellent idea to "practice" beforehand, but always check with you doctor first just to be on the safe side.  Now one thing I highly recommend you practice with are the protein shakes.  Everyone's tastes are different but I have learned that this is a vital part of  your regiment.  So start taste testing to see which "formula" you can stand.  Good luck, Sweetie & keep coming here & asking questions.