Hey all,
So I am confused.....I have a doctor who is very experienced and I feel very confident in.....but he told me that he does not need me to do a pre-op diet. My BMI is a little lower and I am Doing self pay, but I would still think this maybe would be necessary? Has anyone else had gastric sleeve without doing the pre-op liver shrinking diet?

12 hours ago, Creekimp13 said:

I will say that the two weeks of mind games giving up food and switching to shakes prepared me well for the shock of not being able to eat for weeks. I think maybe it's a good idea to give people an escape hatch if they're not truly committed.

Just for my own experience, I have to say that this would not have been true for me. I would have been miserable. I know from my dieting experience, I hate being hungry, it makes me disheartened and want to give up. That though is no indication that I lack commitment to WLS. It has not been reflected in my success to date.

My program was 13 weeks of classes prior to getting cleared for surgery starting with 1800 calories a day working down to 1200. After classes we were cleared to visit the surgeon. After the initial weigh in with the surgeon he warned if i weighed one ounce more on any visit (initial and pre-op) I would have to start all over. Once surgery date scheduled i had liquid diet 2 days before and nothing for 12 hours before surgery. I went through Kaiser Options program

Awesome! Thank you all for the good info and advice :) I am glad to know I am not the only one. I am on a vacation this week then i will have 5 weeks once I get home before surgery. I plan to eat very nutrient dense super healthy foods to prepare my body for surgery! And prepare my mind for what I will be eating after.

No pre op diet. Just clears 1 day before surgery

My doctor insisted on a two week liquid protein pre-op diet. His rational was that he wanted as much room as possible to operate in the abdominal cavity. The purpose of the pre-op diet was to shrink the liver (the biggest organ in the abdominal cavity) and thus make surgery easier.

Wanting my surgeon to have the easiest time possible I did a three week liquid protein diet and lost 26 pounds. I specifically asked him about my liver when he came to check on me post-op. He told me that my liver was normal with no observable fatty deposits and that he had lots of room to work.

My surgeon is highly recognized; he only requires Clear Liquids 24 hours before surgery. No other pre-op diet

Mine required a 2 week 1200 Calorie Diet, and fast after midnight before the surgery, said they find that adequate. I was happy to eat real food as I know I won’t have it for awhile post op.

I think this "all over the map" way of doing things just confuses bariatric patients. You'd think after millions of bariatric procedures, there would be a fairly standard practice of sorts. Not even close. I think the pre-op all-liquid diet was a challenging time that also included a primarily positive boost. It felt good to feel successful even before my surgery.

No pre-op diet required by my surgeon, and I've been successful with my weight loss.

Hey I had surgery 6/21, at my pre op 6/4 where I weighed in at 248 my surgeon also said no pre surgery diet was needed. My surgery was covered by my insurance. Not sure why i just had to stop eating and drinking by midnight before surgery and drink Gatorade night before and morning of.

I knew someone who had the same surgeon a few years ago who had to do a protein Shake diet before surgery, she started at a higher weight...maybe that’s why?

I really hope I don't have to be on only liquids for two weeks. I don't think I could do it. It seems to me that a person that has the will power to only have liquids for two weeks wouldn't need weight loss surgery. I salute those that have done it!

No pre-op diet here, just liquid diet 72 hours before surgery. I was told it’s bc I have a relatively low BMI (32).

On 6/26/2018 at 8:07 PM, Elle_Woods said:

Hey all,
So I am confused.....I have a doctor who is very experienced and I feel very confident in.....but he told me that he does not need me to do a pre-op diet. My BMI is a little lower and I am Doing self pay, but I would still think this maybe would be necessary? Has anyone else had gastric sleeve without doing the pre-op liver shrinking diet?

Yes, mine. Im in Dallas and my Surgeon has been doing this over 20 years, trained most of the other dr's. No pre op and a much faster pace post op diet too. I didnt spend the night in hospital either.

He said the preop shrink liver belief doesnt really work...

Edited June 28, 20188 yr by Gypsyvangirl
Added

Thank you all for the replies! This makes me feel better.
For those who did not do a pre-op diet, did you doctor tell you to eat in any specific way? Were you supposed to lose weight before surgery anyway?

Nope, no weight loss requirement. Just dont eat or drink past midnight night before surgery.