Hi all,

I am going for my first pre op nutritionist appt on Friday. I will be taking a 3 day food diary as well as a list of meds. My NUT told me on the phone that she will be going over the pre and post op diets with me. I'm a total OCD planner and have my handy notebook with me..I have made a list of questions but I'm wondering if anyone can throw out some questions that I could ask her or info that may be helpful.

So far I have

1. How much protein/carbs pre/post surgery

2. Vitamins

3. Preventing hairloss or decreasing

Anything helps!

Xoxo

Based upon the common questions that I see on these forums, and how much variation there is between different surgeons' programs, beyond your basic questions, I would ask for::

Calories, carbs, fats, etc., if they specify (some docs give specific numbers while others don't want to get too wrapped up in numbers and prefer that patients concentrate of food types and quantities.) If you're a numbers type who needs such details and your doc isn't, try to get some ballpark figures, or at least try to understand the philosophy of their plan - establishing healthy long term eating habits, being ultra compliant with some specific diet plan like Atkins, figuring out what works best for you....

What is the intent of any specified pre-op diets - some docs do low carb (liquid or not) diets for "shrinking" or otherwise improving the condition of the liver prior to surgery, while others do a diet to get you used to the post-op regimen, while others want a certain amount of weight loss pre-op irrespective the method while yet others have no particular pre-op diets. I find it easier to stick to a plan when questions and variations arise if I know the intent of the plan, then if, for example, I can't get or run out of a doc's specified Protein drink (if he specifies) then I can find an equivalent product that will fit his requirements.

What specifically is included in the various post-op phases or stages? Docs have various phases they specify for different amounts of time - Clear liquids, full liquids, mushie/puree, soft Proteins, firm proteins, etc., and one of the most common questions in these forums is "can I have XYZ during puree stage?" where some docs may consider XYZ to be puree while others would put it into their soft protein stage. (My doc made it easy by lumping everything short of hard proteins together in one month long phase depending upon individual tolerance.) Your doc's guidebook should give you a good idea with suggestions of what is included where, so if you don't have his guide yet, try to go over a copy with the NUT so that you understand it.

I'll try to throw in more questions as I think of them.

Good luck tomorrow, and with the rest of your journey,