Surgery is Oct 15, and still so clueless!

Ok, wanted to see what others have experienced with their surgery.  I got a call yesterday from the bariatric nurse to go over my health history and instructions.

She said nothing to eat after midnight before the surgery, but that I can take my regular medications with as small of an amount of water as possible.  Then she told me where to go in the hospital and what time to be there.

That was it.

Since then I've talked to other people coming up on their surgery dates and they were told they could only have clear liquids for a day or more before surgery!!  The nurse (nor the doctor when I saw him in August) said anything about changing to clear liquids before surgery.

Also, they didn't say anything about any bowel prep.  My son was scheduled for surgery involving his bowel twice and had to do the bowel prep (drink that nasty stuff) both times.

Do they not need to do that for this surgery?

It seems that the more people I talk to, the more I feel that instructions have been "forgotten" about!  I will be calling the surgeon's office later today, but I'm just starting to get a bad feeling that these people might not really know what they are doing or something!!

HELP???

WITH MY EXPERIENCE THEY SAID CLEAR LIQUIDS 24HRS PROIR TO SURGERY SO BASICALLY THE DAY BEFORE.  i WOULD DO THIS BECAUSE YOU DONT WANT ANYTHING THAT MIGHT UPSET YOUR STOMACH OR INTERFERE WITH THE SURGERY.  DEF STOP ANY LIQUIDS AT MIDNIGHT THOUGH.  I PERSONNALY WAS ON BP MEDS, DIABETIC MEDS AND THYROID.  THEY DID HAVE ME TAKE THE THYROID BUT THAT WAS IT.  AND IM HAPPY TO SAY THAT I HAVENT HAD TO START THEM AGAIN :) HOPE THIS HELPS AND GOOD LUCK!

Ok, CALL THEM BACK.  You have to be your own advocate and if they didn't tell you and you want to make sure, CALL THEM BACK.   That is what they get paid for.  Some surgeons don't require a bowel prep or clear liguids only the day before.  She should have said your surgeon doesn't require these things, but here again, you have to be your own advocate.  Doesn't matter what you read here. Call them back.  Good luck, Jane

 All surgeons have different requirements, but if I were you personally I would do a two day clear liquid diet and on the day before surgery, milk of magnesia once in the morning and once in the evening. However I am not a doctor!!! So please please call your surgeons office!! I was able to do the milk of magnesia twice and barely had anything to clean out because I had been on full liquid diet for a week, if you are eating normally, it might cause diarrhea which would not be good at all! So please give them a call :) and good luck!

RNY doesn't involved your bowel.  It involves your stomach and the upper portion of your small intestine.  Your small intestine is about 23 feet long and RNY only involves about the first three feet of it (maybe a little more, depending on how much your surgeon is bypassing).  So there is still about 20 feet of small intestine that's not being operated on between the area that is being operated on and your bowel (large intestine, or colon).

I don't know why some surgeons recommend a bowel prep before RNY since they aren't doing anything to your bowel.

Do call your surgeon to make sure you understand all the pre op instructions you need to follow.  But also, you might want to do a little reading on how this surgery is actually done and what parts of your body are affected.

Thanks all.  I will call them in a little bit (waiting from a call back from another of my doctors).  I looked through my book again (they gave me this 3 ring binder with lots of info in it).

It DOES say to do a clear liquid diet the day before surgery.  Just the one day.  I'll ask about it though.  I have to ask about some other questions that have not been answered yet as well.

I've had a lot of experience dealing with doctors and such.  My son was born with kidney failure, so I've done this for 20 years, but I cannot seem to advocate for myself very well.  My son's docs see me and run the other way....haha....

Ok....deep breath.  There is some issue with my anti-depressant as well (I have pills until Sunday morning and the pharmacy says it cannot be filled until the 21st!  So I would be without for over a week!!!)  I hate it that everything seems to happen at once!

 I've emailed you on here.  I believe we may have the same surgeon.  I had surgery almost 4 months ago and I'd be happy to answer questions if you'd like.  

I was on a pre-op diet for 2 weeks before surgery; I had clear liquids, with 2 protein shakes and a very light meal in the evening.  The day before surgery wasn't any different, but just because I was a little paranoid (and nervous!), I just did the shakes without real food.  No need for bowel prep, as Kelly said.  I was told to take my blood pressure and thyroid meds on day of surgery with a tiny sip of water.

By the way, the nurse who called me the day before surgery was from the hospital, not my doctor's office.  If I were you, I'd call my doctor's office (rather than the hospital nurse) about your pre-op diet instructions.

As for your anti-depressant, can you talk with the doctor who prescribes that for you?  They may be able to give you a few samples to get you through to the 21st.  Also, you will probably want to check on what you need to take after your surgery, if you're on a sustained- or extended-release med.  I was taking Wellbutrin XL (one 300 mg. tablet a day) before surgery, but had to switch to the regular version of three 100-mg. tablets a day afterwards. 

Wish you the best of luck on your surgery!

Beth

I only had to do clear liquids the day before, and nothing past midnight.  The day of clear liquids cleans out everything they need cleaned out.  Beyond that, you should be all good!

Good luck!!!

I had no diet requirement prior to surgery.. Nothing by mouth after 9pm..the night before. That's all.