im 5 days away from surgery and been on pre op diet for a week, i have good days and ive had a few bad ones, but not the whole day though,,,i feel so guilty and scared that my liver hasnt shrunk and the surgeon might not be able to operate key hole,,

anyone else stuff up on pre op?,,, please there has to be , make me feel better guys!

have i already failed?

I didnt have to do one because my liver was OK, purely by chance I'd had a liver ultrasound for other reasons right before I saw my surgeon.

I thought I'd try anyway for the headstart but I only made it 3 days. I can say without a doubt if I'd had to have done 2 weeks on that Optifast, I would have cheated.

Thanx for the response Jacqui, i had bloodtest done a month ago and according to them my liver is in excellent condition, everything to do with the liver is below the normal range, heaps below,,, i just hope my little stuff ups dont lead to complications,,in 5 days we shall know!

I did not have to do a pre-op diet and i am so glad. I think it would be hard to stay on track without the band. Donna

I cheated a couple of times. I was on the lovely skim milk only diet. I had just lost 10 lbs prior to going on the pre-op diet and ended up losing 10 more even though I cheated.

My doctor said he wasn't too worried about me shrinking my liver since my BMI is low so the nutritionist put me on a low-carb diet. Instead of what, I don't know. Anyway, it's been a little hard to stick to because it kind of feels like I don't *really* have to do this. But I'm trying.

I do fine all day long but I must not be eating enough because then I'm starving in the evening. But I don't think I've exceeded the 30-gram carb limit by much and it's been good food like whole grain crackers and low-carb wraps.

I got a snack suggestion doing a search for low-carb foods: slice cucumbers, spread with cream cheese, and top with salmon. Yummy!

I drive 45 miles to teach a class on Tuesdays and Thursdays and it's my only opportunity to eat in the evening until late. I used to get a grilled chicken sandwich on whole wheat bun, bag of Sun chips, and a huge diet coke. Tuesday, I got just the sandwich, no chips, and a Propel. I was eating while driving but I managed to eat the sandwich without eating most of the bun! Today I'm going to bring my own low-carb bread and ask them to make my sandwich with it. I'm sure the couple that runs the snack bar on my campus will be glad to but if they can't for some reason, I'll ask for it without the bun and do it myself.

I was wondering if anyone could explain Optifast? I'm not sure about this, where do you buy it? Is it like Slimfast? I have to be on a 10 day liquid diet before surgery. I'm still waiting for my insurance to say yes, then we will set the date.

Hi Debbie,

Is Optifast a protien shake. I am also waiting for my insurance approval and have to lose 13 pounds. If my insurance approves me then I will have surgery on November 14 (fingers crossed).

I am on: Protein shake for Breakfast, fruit for snack, Protein Shake for lunch and chicken or fish for dinner with veggies and salad. I'm hungry but it seems to be working. I am just really afraid of what will happen to me if I am denied for some reason. My BMI is 39 and I have moderate sleep apnea with asthma with painful joint pain in my hips and legs.

I guess I should know in a couple of days.

Anyway, a really good protein shake is the EAS AdvantEdge Carb Control. The strawberry taste like strawberry milk and the chocolate taste like Yahoo.

What does the liver have to do with the lapband? I've never heard of that.

What does the liver have to do with the lapband? I've never heard of that.

The liver lays across the stomach and the bigger it is, the more it gets in the way of the surgery. So several surgeons require a pre-op diet to shrink it.

Susan, the way it was explained to me was like this:

If you have two frozen chicken cutlets and you try to pry them apart you are going to damage the one that you are trying to pry (liver).

If you lose the % of weight it's as if you have more than half way defrosted the one that was on top and it pry's up easier from the bottom (the stomach).

I had done Optifast before as one of my failed diets...

I actually lost almost 50 lbs in 4 months on it, but of course gained back 70. So when they told me I had to do it for 2 weeks pre-op, I was familiar with it. I am so ready to get this done that I opted to do it for 3 weeks instead. I have just finished week 2 with one more to go. It has been no problem for me. I have one every 3 hours and not hungry at all. Drinking a lot of fluids in between, and a no sugar added popsicle if needed. I figured I have to change my habits, may as well just start it and do it. It works for me because I am in that frame of mind right now. It's all a head game and if your head really isn't in it, it won't work. I like the powder, mixed with 6 ounces of water and sometimes some ice chips to make it nice and thick. Tastes really good, I don't like the premixed ones, I prefer the powder. So I am actually glad that I did the pre-op diet. I was so tired of bingeing and overeating. It has been a welcome change for me.

I was supposed to have surgery on October 17 and start on liquid diet on October 1st. But the nurse called the next day and said they had an opening on October 9th and needless to say, I took it!

So I was actually only able to be on the liquid diet 8 days and was afraid, too, that they wouldn't be able to do the surgery. But whalaa! (I did ask the surgeon if it was 'hard' and he said "They're all 'hard'.")

My point is: get on board with the liquid diet right now--you just have five days until surgery--if I did it, you can too!

What is the general rule of thumb with the liquid diet. Shake for lunch and breakfast, broth for dinner?

I did a 2 week liquid diet, 5 slimfasts per day, chicken or beef broth, 2 cups veggies and 3 oz lean protein. I didn't cheat once, because I was scared that if I did, the doctor wouldn't do the surgery, and there was NO WAY I was going to do that liquid diet again.

My Post-Op liquid diet says to sip continually, trying to aim for 6-8 cups of Fluid. (no carbonated, no straws, diluted juices)

Allowed are juices, broths, coffee & tee (no sugar), sugar free Jello, s/f popsicles, s/f juice bars, s/f Crystal lite, and skim milk.

A must is low carb Protein drinks, or Protein Powder added to Water (or unflavored added to jello or broths) to keep up the protein intake. (My preference is for whey protein isolate, which mixes instantly with a spoon).