mdawncooper

The nice thing about anesthesia is they normally give you some feel good "cocktails" before you go to surgery and this helps with the anesthesia anxiety. I too worry but have done it several times and the "cocktail" always helps me relax. Good luck! We can do this.

Good luck! Let us know how you are when you feel like it.

March 3rd for me

I cleaned out things lol. I started a painting project, and old cabinet. Like you just kept busy.

I teach too and I chose to tell my principal. She was super supportive and told me that I wasn't coming back until my doctor cleared me so we will see what happens. She is an awesome boss and she wants me to truly be ready to come back.

I teach 7th grade. I had preop on Monday, and Tuesday surgery (12/8). I hopes to go back to work on that next Monday, as a colleague returned after 4 days. Wow! However, the not from my doc said I could not return for 8 days, so that was 12/16. I took 7 work days off, came back for three days and then was off for winter break. The three days were manageable, but I won't say they were fun or even good. I was droopy. My advice would be take Monday and Tuesday off at least, make the time you go back short, like a trial run.
Gah. 12-8 . stoopid emoticons.

I teach too and I chose to tell my principal. She was super supportive and told me that I wasn't coming back until my doctor cleared me so we will see what happens. She is an awesome boss and she wants me to truly be ready to come back.

Am a teacher so you know I have to be moving around etc... Uhhh I guess I just play it by ear and see when the time comes

The pre-op diet is required by surgeons, not insurance, as has been pointed out here.
The purpose is to shrink your liver. Your liver stores sugar in the form of glycogen. Whenever you diet or fast you actually burn this stored sugar in your liver first over a few days before you start to burn fat. Additionally, most morbidly obese people have what is called "fatty liver disease", in which fat begins to accumulate in the liver itself. The results are that the liver of a morbidly obese person are usually significantly larger than what is normal. The liver is extremely fragile and easily damaged. So for safety reasons and to minimize complications surgeons require pre-op diets designed to shrink the liver and make surgery easier for them. As an added plus it will give you a jump start on your weight loss and you will have the benefit of already being over your carb withdrawals prior to surgery. Additionally, those who do the pre-op diet tend to lose more weight than those who do not. It's not uncommon for a person to lose 20-25 lbs or more on a 2 week pre-op diet. I lost 25 lbs on mine.
My pre-op diet was:
Week 1
Water, sugar free Tea, Crystal Light, etc.
All the chicken broth I wanted
sugar free Jello, sugar free popsicles
2 Protein shakes a day (Breakfast and lunch)
dinner was lean, unbreaded meat on a bed of greens
Week 2
The same as week 1 except that dinner was replaced with
a Protein shake. So 3 Protein Shakes (breakfast, lunch and dinner).
I did not do one ounce of exercise and still lost 25 lbs.
Be warned though. The first 3-4 days of your pre-op diet are hell. You will go through carb withdrawals. You will have a headache and be irritable. You will likely feel dizzy and feel like you are going to faint. So take it slow. After about the 4th or 5th day you will find that you feel back to normal as your body has cleared out all the carbs.

The diet is to help reduce your liver since it is so close to your stomach also some may need to lose additional weight depending how much they weigh. I was on a 10day Protein liver reduction diet. 4 shakes a day and a 1/2 cup of non starchy veggies. Along with clear liquids!

I had my appointment with the nutritionist today and was happy to learn my pre-op liquid diet is not all liquid! Yay! I was so nervous! I will have 2 Protein Shakes a day, 2 Snacks and a Protein and veggie dinner. I can't say I'm excited to get started but I am relieved! I hope this helps for anyone who was freaking out like me ????

I did two weeks. Not insurance required...surgeon required for me.

Every surgeon has a different plan, so you won't know for sure what to expect until you find out more about your specific program. The purpose of the pre-op liquid diet is to shrink your liver, which sits on top of your stomach. Shrinking your liver makes it safer and easier to move out of the way to preform the surgery. My pre-op diet was 15 days and consisted of 3 Protein Shakes and one green salad with calorie-free dressing per day.

I had two weeks of high Protein, low carb, low calorie diet as per my surgeon's instructions, but it was not a liquid diet.< /p>

I will have a 2 week liquid diet prior to surgery as well. According to my required support group meetings and research I've done myself, this is required to help patients shrink their liver. With it being close to the stomach, the smaller it is, the easier it is for the surgeon to get in and do what they need without any interference.

I had ten days of pre-op liquids.< /p>

Every doctor you come across will have a different pre-op diet. You'll need to follow what is recommended by your doctor and nutritionist. Mine was three shakes a day, plus one meal with Protein and veggies. Depending on BMI, some patients only need three days of liquids. Lots of factors.