just found out that my surgeons office doesnt require patients to do pre-op diet?

i think i may do it the week before the surgery just to prepare my body.

What do you think?:redface:

I would suggest still doing a pre op diet.

I was informed that if your BMI is over 42 or 43 (can't remember) that you will need to do a pre op diet for 2 weeks. This is required by my doctor and suggested by the nutritionist. If your BMI is 39-41 you will need one week of pre op dieting.

The pre op diet helps to shrink the liver. The surgeoon needs the room to work around/ move around inside you. If the liver is too big or swollen it makes it hard for the surgeon to see and move about while attaching the band to your stomach. I watched a video on this at the doctors office and the nutrition explained this much.

If it is not a requirement for your surgeon maybe it will be ok other wise what would be the harm in dieting as a precaution.

Hope this helps. Good luck!

my bmi is 44. im going to do it

In my packet that I got from the seminar it says we only have to do a one week preop diet. I think 4 days of liquids and 3 days of clear liquids.

I did 2 weeks of a low carb/high protein diet- no more than 30 gms of carbs per day and at least 70 gms of protein. Day before surgery I was on clear liquids.

I have been doing 2 Protein shakes, small meal, Snacks (yogurt, string cheese) for a while. My surgeon said I could continue until the surgery. I'm trying to stay low carb (ie bread) though I do have fruit. I think I will do liquids only the day before surgery. At anastesia (sp) meeting I got a hand out that said if possible to do cardio exercise (30 minutes a day) to strenghthen the lungs.

I think part of the liquid diet is not only shrinking the liver but general weight loss. My Nurse Practioner that by loosing weight it's like unpacking a suitcase. The less fat in the belly area the more room the doctor has to move around.

A couple weeks ago I had the flu and tried different brands of chicken Stock (more flavorful than Broth). You could try those preband to see which ones you like.

I'm doing a less restrictive Pre-op diet. I went to pre-op nutrition class and started it today. I'll be happy to email it to you. Send me your email address.

It definitely can't hurt to do it.

My doctor is very strict about it - if you you don't do the two week liquid diet, he won't do the surgery.

The reason for the pre-op diet as mentioned above is in order to shrink your liver. The doctor needs to lift up your liver and go under it in order to place your band. If you have a big fatty liver (as many of us overweight people do) then he may not be able to perform the surgery properly.

My doctor also requires a 2 week pre-op diet. I could only have liquids. It was tough for the first few days but the whole time it was a reminder of what I was getting myself into and how hard the journey was going to be. Each day I made it closer to my surgery, I felt better about myself and confident that I was going to be successful.

I know it was to shrink my liver but it also helped me deal with eating WAY less food. I am now almost 2 weeks post-op and I am glad i had to do the liquid diet because I am use to it. The first week after surgery you can really only have liquids. Which was a piece of cake for me since that is all I had been having. My second week I'm having pureed food. When most people would cry over only having a 1/4 cup of cottage cheese, i am thrilled to eat it.

You aren't tight/restricted once you have surgery until your first fill so you have to watch what you eat. Doing the 2 week pre-op diet really helped prepare me for the 5 week post-op wait for a fill. I think you will be glad if you do it at least for a week.

Oh and the 23 lbs weight loss sure is nice too!

I had no pre op diet....and my BMI was over 40!! I lost 18# in 7 days post op on clear liquids!!

I have a pre-op diet it is a low carb/high protein diet and it is going very well for me i have not cheated in the past 5 days that i have been on it. aside from feeling a little tired and cranky i feel great i have not weighed myself to see if i have lost any lbs but i can feel the difference in the way my clothes fit me. so even if you doc doesn't require a pre-op i think it is a good thing just so you can shrink your liver and feel better over all...Good luck to everyone :redface:

I have been on the pre-op diet now for about 9 days and I can tell you that I suck at it. Seriously. One day I ate everything in sight...that was way back on Day 3. Then my brother came for a visit and we shared some wine with my high Protein dinner so that wasn't very liver friendly. Today I chose a high protein meal for lunch out with friends. However, I am supposed to be on liquids only.

I feel as if there are two things here that I am learning about myself. I am learning exactly why I am getting the band because I truly can't do this myself and I am learning that my social obligations are what get in the way of my eating correctly.

This is hard, so hard, for me.

My doc is very strict and requires a 10 day liquid diet pre-op...I'm on day 6 and lost 12lbs. Day 1&2 were bad I had horrible headaches and was super grouchy. Now I'm not even hungry anymore...I do 3 Protein shakes a day, plus all the broth, Jello and popsicles I want. Oh and lots of Water. I feel better and have more energy...I'm treating this as a system flush...I'm excited to start my journey fresh!

Good luck to all of u...I mean us...:party:

The purpose of a pre-surgery diet is to reduce body fat around the stomach and liver, as well as shrink the liver itself. If the liver is too large, the surgery may have to be postponed.

I didnt have to do one, but I thought the same as you, that I'd do it anyway to "prepare" and to lose some weight. I personally never wanted to go off on a last minute bender, once I made that surgery date, I considered my life changed. I ate sensibly for months before surgery - not little enough to lose weight, but I didnt gain any either. So I thought I'd do this pre op diet......

Well, like most people, days 1 to 3 were torture. I was hungry, felt sick, moody, shaky, it was awful. Then on day 4 I stood up and fainted. Fair enough, I'd not eaten for a few days. But I fainted EVERY time i stood up. I felt like death warmed up.

I called my doctor, he said to me "what on EARTH are you doing that to yourself for?". I had by pure chance had a liver ultrasound weeks before I saw him (my gp sent me off for all sorts of tests, he'd never referred anyone for a lapband before, until I came and asked). So I knew that I didnt have a very fatty liver than needed to be shrunk. My doctor explained that the ONLY true reason for the preop diet is to shrink the liver, and (as I well knew anyway) weight lost that way is not healthy weight loss, its Water, muscle and a bit of fat. It's just not good for you unless its a case of the end justifying the means. So I didnt need a lot of convincing, I took his advice and started eating again.

let me tell you, I have NOWHERE near enough willpower to do a diet like that and i"ve been very successful with the band. Its something you do if you absolutely HAVE to, if your surgery depends on it, and even then its probably one of the hardest things any of us will ever do.

In the end, I was quite pleased that I didnt do it because I lost TONS of weight after surgery, I hadnt exhausted the easy 10kgs that most of us have at the start of a diet. I have read SO many stories here of people being disappointed by post op weight loss and that's becuase they've already lost like 40lb from starving themselves for 4 weeks. It must be such a demoralising way to start, whereas I got that fast, gratifying drop since I hadnt dieted before.

If you dont have to do it and you CAN, then you're deserving of a medal! But you probably will use up all that fast easy weight loss, so be prepared for that fact and dont freak if you dont drop 50lb the week after your surgery.

I think it depends on your personal eating habits. If you are use to eating a lot of simple sugars and starches you might have sugar/ starch/ caffeine withdrawals. So you might want to "clean up" your eating before your surgery, maybe going on a "diet" of only eating complex carbs, meat and veggies, in other words, eliminate all sugar, high fructose corn syrup, sodas, white bread, white rice, and for now white potatoes.

Then if you have withdrawals from these things you wont have it at the same time you are doing your liquid diet. Good luck.