I cant stress the importance of this preop diet. Please follow it to the letter. Unfortunately, I didnt do this and suffered from it.

The preop diet is giving for very important reasons....

shrinking the liver, to allow the surgeon to move it easily to get to the stomach.

also to get you used to the diet itself..

Since I didnt follow mine, my liver was really enlarged. Thankfully, Dr. Joya was skilled enough to continue with my Sleeve...however, in the process of trying to move it, my liver was lacerated...he repaired it with easy, thankfully and continued on with my Sleeve. As a result, I lost alot of blood and needed transfusions and he had to make a few more incisions. In the end, I had 8 incisions and 20 stitches. It didnt result in any more hospital stay, but I was in a bit more pain than usual. Plus, the cost was more too.

I really wish I had known all of this...I guess I did, but I ignored it, thinking I would be fine.....well, I was wrong.

So now, I really stress the importance of this diet. All surgeons preops are different and some dont require one...alot of that depends on the surgeon as well as you overall health and BMI at the time. My BMI was 73 at the time of surgery, so I really needed to do well on my preop, but I didnt.

Lisa,

It is so great of you to share your story, which I am sure will save many vsg'ers from repeating the mistake that you made...you might even save a life by sharing your story! I am so impressed by your courage.

Congratulations on your continued progress too!

Thanks for your post. I was just whining about having to do the pre-op diet. The dr doesn't require it for my BMI (31) but the patient coordinator recommends it just so the surgery will go smoother and help reduce the risk of nicking the liver. YOur post helped me to decide to definitely do it. THANKS Ladie!

Hi Anna, and welcome to VST! You will find everyone here to be very helpful. Anytime you need advice, let us know, we are happy to help.

Isn't it funny that we're talking about preop diets. . . I was just online with my PM friend and she said that it may be important to do this preop diet. . . I was griping away and saying how grouchy I get with diets. . . hungry all the time. . . but after ready ladie's post, I guess I have a choice right? Either be grouchy, do the dang diet and save my liver from injury or other things, or don't be grouchy, don't do the diet, and risk doctor saying no the liver is too big and we can't do the surgery! So I guess the choice is mine huh????

Hi Anna- Welcome to the "family." I did a pre-op diet for 10 days before surgery - it wasn't bad at all - high protein/low carb. You'll do fine with it and it won't hurt anything - it makes your liver less slimy and easier to move out of the way, in addition to shrinking it if needed.

Thin - you got it - all the control is in your hands right up until the surgeon determines whether he can do the surgery or not. I'd suggest doing the pre-op diet, but that's only my suggestion. You can still be not grouchy and do the pre-op -- you just make the choice and think positive that you'll do the pre-op and that you WON'T be grouchy -- keep your ulitmate goal in site - BEING HEALTHY AND THIN

Thanks Vegas, by the way YOU LOOK FANTASTIC. . . just seeing your photos is incentive enough! Keep up the good work!

Thank you Thin, it's the first time I've actually been able to see the loss for myself ... and can't even imagine what I'll look like when I reach goal - another 53 lbs.

I'm excited to find out though that's for sure!

Thankyou so much. I really appreciate it alot. I sure hope I can help someone avoid my mishap..

hugs..

Lisa

Lisa,

It is so great of you to share your story, which I am sure will save many vsg'ers from repeating the mistake that you made...you might even save a life by sharing your story! I am so impressed by your courage.

Congratulations on your continued progress too!

Beleive me, I get grouchy with diets too....which is why I didnt stick to mine like I should. I managed to lose 11 lbs on it, but starting at 396, that wasnt even a drop in the bucket, ya know? I kept telling myself it was only 2 wks and I could do it.....and I could have, I think, esp if I had known the consequences of my actions...or lack of actions.

So, even if the doctor doesnt say u need a pre-op, it certainly wont hurt anything to do it.....and if they recommend or require it...by all means, do it and follow it closely.

When I awoke and my husband told me what happened, my first thot was, OMG, did they give me my VSG or what? I was so scared when I finally talked to my doctor and he told me that he was able to perform the surgery. I was so relieved that I cried..

Good luck

Isn't it funny that we're talking about preop diets. . . I was just online with my PM friend and she said that it may be important to do this preop diet. . . I was griping away and saying how grouchy I get with diets. . . hungry all the time. . . but after ready ladie's post, I guess I have a choice right? Either be grouchy, do the dang diet and save my liver from injury or other things, or don't be grouchy, don't do the diet, and risk doctor saying no the liver is too big and we can't do the surgery! So I guess the choice is mine huh????

You are very welcome. Good luck with ur journey!

Thanks for your post. I was just whining about having to do the pre-op diet. The dr doesn't require it for my BMI (31) but the patient coordinator recommends it just so the surgery will go smoother and help reduce the risk of nicking the liver. YOur post helped me to decide to definitely do it. THANKS Ladie!

I agree to trust your doctor.

My doc had me do the pre-op diet for 10 days. I followed it faithfully as he said the operation goes easier with the liver having shrunk some of the fat out of it. The pre-op diet helps your liver metabolize some of its fat stores so it shrinks. The liver is large and covers the stomach in a floppy way. The shrinkage helps the surgeon reach the stomach without nicking it. The surgeon needs to concentrate on the stomach as it tends to twist or turn slightly making the removal its own challenge. The surgeon doesn't need to try and keep the liver out of the way while he is concentrating on all that, or partially worrying about nicking the liver.