Pre-surgery question

biggun · October 28, 2004

Ok, so my husband scared me. He told me that his boss knew a woman that cheated on her pre-surgery diet and before the surgery they did some sort of test that showed she had stuff in her bowels. He said they wouldn't do the surgery after that. Has anyone ever heard of this? I am scared because I cheated a little with some pecans and I am scared they won't do my surgery now. Did anyone have a test like this before their surgery?

Kim

La_madam · October 28, 2004

Maybe your husband is trying to scare you to not falter from your pre op diet:) I never had a pre op diet and I ate like it was my last meal carnitas, Beans, rice, tortillas the night before surgery up intil my cut off time of midnight and had my surgery the next morning with no problems and have had no problems since... Every doctor has different pre op diets some have none at all. My doc only requires one if your BMI is over 50 which mine was not..I'm sure a few pecans are not going to prevent you from having surgery

QueenMichelle · October 29, 2004

hey no fear- my pre op went fine and i cheated a little too-mostly veggies and cheese- but my surgery last tues the 26th went fine-here i am 2 days later feeling great-good luck i think your husband might be worried how BEEEUUUTIFUL you will become--good luck

PamRN · October 29, 2004

I didn't have a preop diet either except nothing after midnight the night before. Doctors seem to vary on their recommendations, but really you should be ok. When is your surgery? As long as you're going to the bathroom normally, and stick as close as you can to your dr's recommendations you shouldn't have any problems. Maybe the person you were told about was having bypass? That would certainly account for a need to have it completely empty and rested. No bowel checking or testing was done on me presurgery. I know we cancel endoscopes if the patient has bowel residual, the cameras can't see if it isn't cleaned out, but I don't know about other surgeries, are we comparing apples and oranges here?

MeganA · October 29, 2004

Sounds to me like the doctor wouldn't do surgery because the bowel wasn't cleaned out. I can imagine that they want you as clean as possible so if there are any complications there is no icky stuff that gets into the body cavity. I'm sure the doctor can't tell if you've had a steak dinner for two or whatever the pre-surg diet called for- he can just tell that you didn't clean yourself out enough. I had to do a nasty explosive diareha regimine before surgery to make sure I was nice and clean. And to tell you the truth- I'm really glad I didn't have to go #2 for a long time after surgery.

Megan

biggun · October 29, 2004

That does make me feel better. I figured they would tell me if they were going to do any test to scare me away from cheating. I have lost some weight already and that is a good start. My surgery is November 1st at 6:30 in the morn. That means no Halloween candy for me. But it is worth it to have this surgery. I'm getting so excited. To hear that others had no pre-op meal plan makes me feel better. My BMI is 45 now and realistically I just want to get under 200 pounds. But hopefully I can get down to 130 one day. I can't wait to start my band journey! Thanks for replying!

New Hope · October 29, 2004

O.K., Kim, no more pecans before your surgery. O.K.? You can have some later on down the road (after you heal from your banding). You're on your way to a brand new healthier, happier life. Best of luck to you!