mwestcons

Yes, the pre-operative diet is intense and obviously feels like a starvation diet. The point is to remove all the sugar stores in your liver so that it shrinks and is out of the way for the actual surgery. Really, this can speed-up recovery time since they need fewer incisions. So if you feel hungry on the diet, drink more water or diet drinks rather than being tempted to eat more food. If you need to cheat - eat more protein not more carbs or fats! It will be worth it in the end!

Hey, I know the feeling! This was my first surgery too! I am now 1 week exactly post surgery and doing great! I was a bit nervous about the surgery (any sane person would be) but they treated me like a rock star at the hospital and (in my case anyway with a VSG) my recovery had been much less traumatic than I thought. I was doing stairs 2 days post-op and walking with no problems. Do follow the pre-operative diet carefully as shrinking your liver is huge. I only needed 4 holes because my liver didn't need to be resected, as opposed to 5 if it is still in the way.

Protein protein protein! Severely limit your carbs, sugars and fats! My hospital put me on a pre-operative diet of 3 Protein shakes a day (50-70g protein/day) and a small meal consisting of 4oz of meat, a 1/2 cup of a starch (potato, rice, etc.) 1 tsp fat, one small fruit, 1 dairy serving. 2 weeks of that and my liver didn't need to be resected allowing them 4 "holes" in my tummy instead of 5 - which I am sure greatly speeds up recovery time!

Hi Mike! My surgery was a week ago today and I also had some nausea in PACU that they controlled swiftly with drugs. Good luck with your esophagram - it is one of the worst parts of the surgery - waiting to be allowed to have a sip of Water after hours of putting up with the most horrible case of cotton mouth ever! Good luck!

Hey, I'm 1 week post-op too and they warned me at the hospital that I would gain weight since they were pushing fluids big-time. That was good - kept me hydrated through the long wait until they finished the fluoroscopy and let me drink again! It looks like I am about 12 lbs down since I started the pre-operative diet. Try not to obsess about your weight - concentrate on following the diet and the weight will come off inevitably.