I keep reading about the pre-op diet. My doctor doesn't require it. I know it is to shrink the liver.

Anyone else know the reason?

I have a lower BMI. Could that be why? Just confused.

My doctor requires it for everyone no matter what. He said it shrinks the liver 25% for easier retraction. I also have a lower BMI and do not have a fatty liver, but he said it just makes the surgery go smoother. I know a lot of doctors don't require it though.

The rationale behind the low-carb, higher-Protein preop diet is that it depletes the liver's glycogen stores, reducing its size to make access to the stomach safer and easier.

I don't know why some doctors recommend it and others do not. I am glad mine did--better safe than sorry!

My surgeon did not require it and she is one of the best. I think it may depend on how much experience the surgeon has w/laparascopic surgery. The more experienced, the more capable they are of working around anything that could be a problem. My surgeon also does RNY and the sleeve and surgery on the super obese (70+ BMI).

I was instructed to eat light the morning before, Soup for lunch, Clear liquids for the rest of the day, then nothing after midnight. But, I was not required to do a 2-4 week liquid diet in advance of surgery. For me, I'm so glad I did not have to do the liquid diet beforehand. I've already done so many diets and am so over starvation! LOL

My doc did require the 2 week pre-op, not completely liquid, diet. Shakes, sugar-free, no dairy, no fruit, no meat, no carbs (except non-starchy veggies). While it was what I feared most, I am so glad he required it because it helped get my mind wrapped around the changes I was going through, and the first 4 days were tough, and it got easier after that. If I had to start liquid diet after surgery I would have gone crazy - pain, and fatigue/light headedness and grumpiness?? No way. It really got me started in the right direction even before surgery.

I asked my doctor about this after I started reading this forum and heard about the pre-op liquids. He said that they used to do this at their practice years ago and through experience they determined that it really didn't matter. Their patients who admitted to cheating on the diet did as well as the ones who followed it to the letter, so they stopped requiring it. I do think it has to do with the amount of experience your group has with the procedure. Every time someone writes on here that the pre-op liquids are killing them, I'm tempted to tell them what my doctor said, but I don't. I do know that I had no pre-op diet whatsoever, given my weight, I'm sure I had a fatty liver and I did fine.

Cindy

My doc has been known to stop the procedure when he gets in there if he finds that the liver is too big - he's very conservative with safety AND with ensuring that everyone is fully committed mentally to success, which to him includes the willingness to follow the pre and post op diets. It does really give patients motivation, as they lose a good amount right from the start (ours doesn't allow any meat, dairy, fruit, etc. and 2 weeks pre- 2 weeks post and 2 weeks mushies). I lost 18 pounds and was thrilled despite how hard the first 3-4 days were, after that I was shocked that I didn't have cravings and was not really that hungry.

My doc required a diet but it was very liberal compared to what I have read on here. basically it was unlimited protein, meat or LF cheese, 4 veggies, 1 friut, and 3 starches (1 starch = 1/2 c mashed potatoes) NO added suger or Fat. I actually lost more on the preop diet than I did two weeks following the surgery!! The only time preop I was told to do liquids was the day before surgery.

My surgeon gave me 3 options for my preop diet, which he requires for at least 2 weeks prior to surgery. I ended up choosing the Medifast option. Been doing that since 26 January, and have lost 13 pounds...that's just a side benefit to the real purpose of getting rid of the glycogen deposits in my liver, but it's nice to watch those numbers go down nonetheless!

Waiting for insurance preauth in order to schedule my surgery. They have paid for EVERYTHING preop so far, except for 4 $10 office copays, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the rest of the path will be smooth.