Hospitals are so different...I'm just so surprised!

I read all these posts with different diet plans, when they can take pills, when they can have solids, when they can have beef...it just surprises me that hospitals are so different in their opinions of how to treat people after they have this surgery!

They had me swallowing big ole horse pills the last day I was in the hospital!  2 months out and I was cleared to eat whatever!  And pre-op, I only had to do the liquid diet 24 hours before surgery (thank GOD!).

I consider myself one of the forunate ones.  3.5 months out, I'm down 55 pounds, in a size 18, exercising 1 to 2 hours a day 5 to 6 days a week (7 days was killing me), and feeling pretty good! 

That is interesting. As long as you're doing well and the surgeon is fine with it, I say good for you! Congrats on your progress. I'm on my last month of the six month requirement for the insurance company and getting a bit nervous about it all. I see the surgeon next Monday. Eek!

it does amaze me how different every dr seems to be about this srgery.

I had NO presurgery diet I could eat what I wanted up till 7pm the night before surgery.

I am almost two weeks out and can eat the liquid diet plus scrambled eggs, yogurt and cottage cheese. 

this comig saturday (17 days out)  I can start chicken, lean gorund meat, tortilla shells, soft veggies, fruits and some other things too.

one of my biggest saddness is my doctor says NO strawberries until 6 months out.  I LOVE strawberries and itis prime strawberry season here.

It is amazing how different everyone is with the diet.  It made me sick to read bout people actually eating 2 weeks after surgery and I was still eating SF jello pudding.  BTW...I hate pudding and if I never see another pack of that stuff again, I will be happy!  Off topic I know but had to get it out! LOL

I noticed that while doing some of my research for rny on OH.
My insurance requires a 6 month supervised weight management appointments with my pcp. The sppointments were to check my blood pressure,weight and my exercise which was physical therapy from a recent surgery.
My surgeon did'nt require me to lose any weight during this time since her goal for me is to lose 70-75 pounds. She does require me to be on a 2 week pre-surgery diet which is 3-4 protein shakes and 1 marie frozen dinner or lean chicken and veggies along with other sugar free drinks.(I fast often so it won't bother me).
She requires that all of her patients have private rooms.

Those recommendations, like when to swallow pills or what kind of pre-op diet to do, are generally made by individual physicians, not hospitals.

As to why different docs have different recommendations, in many cases it's because they are not basing their advice on science but just on personal opinion or preference or who knows what.  For instance, that's why many docs give different advice about vitamins.  Some base their advice on studies and the ASMBS guidelines.  Others don't base their advice on anything scientific, which is why they recommend things like Flintstones.

My post-op regimen was more like yours... could swallow all but large pills the first week, had soft foods before I even left the hospital (had open surgery, so was there a few days), etc... I would have been REALLY cranky if I had been required to do weeks of liquids and purees.  Well, actually, I probably would ahve just chosen a different surgeon, LOL.

Lora