Ugh, questions about liquid diet --- I was supposed to start Tuesday, 12/15, and I didn't start until Friday, 12/28. On Thursday I had a lot of garbanzo beans and peanuts and raisins (chick peas in vinegar & lemon w/ some olive oil is like, my favorite thing), and even last night, after starting, I had some blue cheese (basically thinking "oh, it's melting in my mouth"), and nutella! The nutella was bad... because it is insanely high in fat and I had a lot of it... and I think the liquid diet is less about liquid and more about low fat/sugar. But I can't get the straight dope on it from my doc, and I was scheduled for surgery in October but I got an upper respiratory infection and couldn't, and I was doing fine on my liquid diet, so I know I can do this just fine, but my surgery is scheduled for JANUARY 8 and it's now the 29th and I had freakin' blue cheese and nutella in the middle of the night! If I am strict for the next 11 days, am I cool? It seems so many doctors give out so many different diets, and honestly I would be OK if it were solid but just low fat/sugar, I'm a vegetarian anyway, so what I crave is broccoli and carrots and peppers and beans and fruits (which can be high sugar). Usually I would admit what has gone on to my doctor, but they were very upset when I postponed before, and I am sure about the surgery, and I don't want them to be like, that's it, we're not doing it.... what do you guys think?? Thank you so much in advance, I'm glad I found this forum!

Oh wow, I missed the first set of people! I don't always reply to every person in such a specific way, but you've all had such individual things to say.

SueMagoo - thanks for your help... you're right, it's not long in the grand scheme of things... I don't know what I was thinking for the first few days of not doing it, and then I kept thinking oh one last this.. one last that...

Tarheel- Why werre the carbs such a big deal? Maybe that's what I was thinking of when I told the person above that I was going to peel the peppers...

LA - Wow, a week and a half early - haha you're brave!

Shortgal - yeah I guess that's what I had, the LFT, and it said I had a fatty liver.

Also - do any of you know what are the foods that they want you to stay away from the most? I know sugar and fat, but what about the carbs like tarheel was saying, or anything else?

Also - do any of you know what are the foods that they want you to stay away from the most? I know sugar and fat, but what about the carbs like tarheel was saying, or anything else?

I have been told to avoid things like breads, rice, pastas, potatoes corn, anything fried and mostly any empty calories, such as those found in drinks. I do around 128 ozs of liquids per day, Water or crystal light.

Veggies will be great for you once banded and off the liquid part. They puree up nice and as you know, have great flavor. I substitute mashed cauliflower for potatoes. Dont worry so much about not starting the pre-diet on time. A lot of people on here didnt and have done well.

Thanks Dave! I'm not big on pureeing vegetables, but the cauliflower idea sounds great!

We don't have to do a liquid diet, we have been taking a class that tries to get us to work on nutrition and exercising. I was a little worried when I went to my pre-op appt and heard all of you doing liquid diets! I have only lost 4 pounds and not the 5% of my body weight that they said they wanted me to lose. I asked about going on a liquid diet and they told me to just be sure to practice all the things I had learned (small bites, chewing, no drinking with meals) and I would be fine. If I wanted to do one or two meal replacement shakes a day I could, but that I would be on a liquid diet long enough and they didn't want me to burn out on it! It is important to shrink your liver because it is over on the right front side of your body and that is where they put the scope in to see what they are doing so it comes across your body to your stomach. Hope this helps someone!

I had my surgery on 12/31. I was told to do a 2 week liquid diet BUT the kids had vacation, nanny took off for the holiday's and my stress level was out here SO I did not do any diet up until 3 days before surgery. Naturally I was very nervous but because I read so many threads that said they did not have a liquid diet I hoped I would be OK since I only have a BMI of 9. Well the surgery is over and they said everything went great. I don't think I am alone in saying that most people eat when they are stressed and what is more stressing than having this surgery? I mean most people must eat. If they are able to control themselves at this stress level then they would not be in this situation to begin with NO?

Nope Never Said A Word To My Doctor About Any Of It The Morning Of My Surgery I Was 254, I Am Now 210.

As Fasr As Eating The Morning Before A Surgery I Have Always Done It Wwheter It Was That Or My Knee An I Have A Few Reasons. First Of All It Is Mostly A Convinience To The Staff, So Ya Dont Vomit And They Have To Clean It Up. Surgery Specially Emergency Ones Are Done All The Time With A Full Stomach. Second Most People Feel Nauseas Right After They Wake Up, Why ???? Because They Have Been Pumped Full Of Pain Meds On And Empty Stomach, And Most Pain Meds Will Tell You To Take With Food To Avaoid Nausea. Me I Have Never Been Sick After A Surgery, Again Its Not For Everyone But Having Been In The Medical Field For 11 Years You Get The Inside Scoop On Alot Of This

get ur self some dieters green tea it wil clean u out its wonderful i luv it

Here's what I think: this Lap Banding is FOREVER...do you realize that?? This isn't just a temporary surgery that you will "get over" and be able to go back to your ways!

Read everything you can on the band--there are a lot of vegetables you may not be able to do (you say you are a vegan)--and your lapse of judgment shows that you are not taking this surgery seriously. Perhaps you SHOULD reconsider this--it may not be your time yet.

Kellie - the reason you're supposed to have an empty stomach in surgery isn't so people don't have to clean up your vomit, it's so you don't aspirate.

make33 - first off, banding is not necessarily forever, 'cause it can be removed, but i do realize what a commitment it is, i have been eating fine and haven't been going back to any "ways" (i do overeat, but for the most part, i eat very healthfully anyway, i've never liked fast food, and i cook mainly Beans and vegetables -- i'm not a vegan, i'm a vegetarian) -- i've been eating like a normal person, no large portions, but the trouble is that's not a liquid diet.

ugh, i'm really nervous. i'm going to ask my cousin, who is a doctor. thank you all for your input, let me know ifd you have more.

kellie, i'm worried that you say you go in with a full stomach - in emergency surgery it cannot be helped, but if you are planning for a surgery, they tell you not to eat so you don't aspirate and choke on your own vomit... i know i'm one to talk, since it's totally contradictory to what i'm saying here, but you really should follow dr's instructions more, and ask them why, so you know ... you know?

Ugh, questions about liquid diet --- I was supposed to start Tuesday, 12/15, and I didn't start until Friday, 12/28. On Thursday I had a lot of garbanzo beans and peanuts and raisins (chick peas in vinegar & lemon w/ some olive oil is like, my favorite thing), and even last night, after starting, I had some blue cheese (basically thinking "oh, it's melting in my mouth"), and nutella! The nutella was bad... because it is insanely high in fat and I had a lot of it... and I think the liquid diet is less about liquid and more about low fat/sugar. But I can't get the straight dope on it from my doc, and I was scheduled for surgery in October but I got an upper respiratory infection and couldn't, and I was doing fine on my liquid diet, so I know I can do this just fine, but my surgery is scheduled for JANUARY 8 and it's now the 29th and I had freakin' blue cheese and nutella in the middle of the night! If I am strict for the next 11 days, am I cool? It seems so many doctors give out so many different diets, and honestly I would be OK if it were solid but just low fat/sugar, I'm a vegetarian anyway, so what I crave is broccoli and carrots and peppers and beans and fruits (which can be high sugar). Usually I would admit what has gone on to my doctor, but they were very upset when I postponed before, and I am sure about the surgery, and I don't want them to be like, that's it, we're not doing it.... what do you guys think?? Thank you so much in advance, I'm glad I found this forum!

Hi I am in Australia and scheduled for the 29th Feb. Scared to death about the liquid diet. No doctor seems to be able to tell me what I can and can't have

First Of All It Is Mostly A Convinience To The Staff, So Ya Dont Vomit And They Have To Clean It Up.

:omg:

You are kidding here right? If you are in the medical field you are well aware of NPO (nothing by mouth) procedures pre op. The reason is NOT to prevent a clean up it is to prevent the patient form aspiration.

Second Most People Feel Nauseas Right After They Wake Up,

I feel nauseas after every surgery I have had(3 in the last 18 months). Your anesthesiologist will give you meds for it.

, Again Its Not For Everyone But Having Been In The Medical Field For 11 Years You Get The Inside Scoop On Alot Of This

I think someone has tampered with your scoop.

We can only rely on what a patient tells us pre op. You'd be amazed how many surgeries are canceled because the patients admits to a "light" Breakfast, "only" coffee and milk, " a "small" bagel. CANCEL.

The ones who lie about it and HAVE aspirated are a trip. We start suctioning the stomach and see coffee grinds, and sometimes food.

Aspiration can lead to aspiration pneumonia and can lead to DEATH.

We have all choked on something that went doen the wrong way. You hacked and hacked until it came up. When you are under anesthesia you do not have those reflexes to rely on. That is why it is so important to not eat before surgery.

The only exception is patients (in our facility) are told they MAY have a SMALL SIP of Water to take necessary meds. I forgo my meds and take them post.

. Surgery Specially Emergency Ones Are Done All The Time With A Full Stomach.

True, if the patient has eaten. BUT, and this is a big but, the risk of not doing the emergency surgery outweigh the risks of having surgery on a full stomach.

Please, I implore you to not eat beforehand. Please.

I try REALLY hard here to not interject when I see lay person medical advice...even "my doctor says" info. A lot of it has been rubbish but not harmful(so far). When I saw this I had to jump in. Scared the $#@^%^ out of me. Please take it in the spirit I intended.

(Sorry but reading this and a couple other postings makes me want to give a reality check )You are asking someone to cut you open and install a foreign object around one of your major organs. Call me crazy but this is major surgery!!!! People have died from having a lap band put in. Why would you want to do anything to risk a bad outcome? You should follow whatever your doctor tells you to do to the T. No excuses.

My doctor scared me enough for me to respect the procedure and his requests. The only thing cheating does is increase your risk of complications. They don't give you restrictions just to be evil- they want you to have a good outcome. Yes every doctor is different but follow what YOUR doctor says as s/he is the one cutting you open.

If you can't/don't want to follow instructions, you should postpone the surgery and re-evaluate why you wanted to get it done in the first place.

I have been on only liquids for a month and just switched to mush foods a couple days ago and I can honestly say I haven't cheated once even with the holidays. Yes- it sucks and that doesn't make me perfect, it makes me dedicated to doing my part to ensure I limit my risk for complications as much as possible.

mary - you are very right, which is why i responded to kellie too...

shoegirl -- i did wind up talking to their office. however, when you say "to the T" i do agree, but we wouldn't be having this surgery in the first place if we could control what we eat all the time, so people slip up. i did more than the usual, and it is messed up... i am going to talk to a doctor in my family and make sure everything is ok before i go in, i do not want to risk my life.

With a surgery scheduled within 36 hours, maybe you should make that phone call now...