Yet another pre-surgery liquid diet rant... I got FOUR weeks!

Apparently 3 weeks is the required norm here. It's two weeks in Canada. It's standardized because of the national healthcare. And since I started this process in December, I have gained 4 kilos or about 9 pounds. WELL, I had just lost about 35 since moving to Sweden and I think it was bounce back. Regardless, the coordinator sounded annoyed and next thing I know, I had a letter in the mail saying I would be required to do 4 weeks. Yes, I am over 300 pounds, but I am also tall and solid. Oh well. I can do anything to get to this goal.

Hi Amber,
The liquid pre-surgery diet is common in Canada (Opti-fast).  I believe the main goal is to shrink the liver prior to surgery.  From what I understand the liver in overweight people can be quite fatty and they like to try to "clean" this up before surgery so that the liver doesn't physically get in the way of the surgeon, who has to move quite a few things around to access the stomach.  A bit of a safety precaution if you will. 

I also understand that the high protein shakes they recommend (which we can only get in Canada by prescription from a medical doctor) have all of the nutritional requirements that we need and are properly balanced to ensure that our bodies are ready to go into this surgery.  Some of the literature I have read suggests that a very large percentage of people who have weight loss surgery are actually living at a nutritional deficit so the balanced shakes are actually benefiting us.

From what I gather from one of our boards, the length of time a person is on the pre-op preparation is loosely based on their weight going into the surgery i.e. over 200lbs - 2 weeks shakes, over 300lbs - 3 weeks shakes.  That being said, there are also cases where a 250lb person may be on 4 weeks because of a concern that a previous abdominal surgery may have left scar tissue and the surgeon may want to utilize the side benefit of weight loss with the pre-surgery shakes to reduce some of the stomach fat so that the chances of having to do an open procedure instead of a laparoscopic one is greatly reduced.

Just thought I would share some of the info I have learned while I have been waiting for my surgery (RNY).  4 weeks seems like a long time but I've heard a lot of others say it was helpful to have a clean break from food/eating habits before surgery and loosing some weight and the positive reinforcement that comes with that was an added perk.

All the best to you.

I do know all the reasons why, but there is also no research to back up that this actually helps. The shakes we do here are not prescription, as far as I know. I think they suggest the NutriShakes you can buy at the pharmacy and grocery stores. I will do what I have to do, but without any published studies to back it up, it's more difficult to accept.

3 weeks is apparently the norm here, but I got an extra week, possibly because I have gained 4 kilos in the past year. I don't think they are taking into account that I had just lost 16 kilos on my own before the initial appointment and a little of this might be bounce back. Regardless, it is what it is.

I definitely see your point.  I wish you the best of luck on your journey.
Take care.