Cia2020

I made all my sons baby food by steaming/baking his veg, fruit, and meat and using a $10 mini chopper (1 cup size) from a local home store way back in 2006. With a little broth mixed in, it was perfect. So I bought one for me, since I will essentially be going through the same process for a few months. Nothing fancy needed. I do have a nutribullet for my smoothies and protein drinks, but that was given to me 3 years ago for Christmas. Love it to death, use it pretty much daily. Still going strong.

Good for you for looking for a silver lining! Not sure where you are, but Memorial Day weekend in the US is the weekend before, Monday the 25th. I'm having surgery the 28th, so I am happy to have a 3 day weekend before to prep for my family, since I am working from home but have 7 solid hours of educating each day to do. My original date was March 26th, so I was pushed back 2 months. That really sucked so I am hoping nothing happens to create a new delay.

Yes. So when my disc bulged originally, it tore, but they couldn't see that. Then I'd recover for the most part and all of a sudden the pain would come back and be down the other side without a visible disc bulge. That was because the tear would open up and irritate the nerves on the other side. They were puzzled because it wasn't predictable or staying the same each time, like a bulged disc would. My disc wasn't repeatedly bulging and impinging on the nerves, it was opening up and releasing the fluid and that was irritating different nerves. As far as the TENS unit, mine isn't an over-the-counter version, it is a medical grade one that was ordered by my physical therapist. I had an older one previously in 2000 after I shattered my right femur and had a hip and knee joint repair from a car accident so I could get off oxy (also prescribed by a PT) so I knew I wanted one for my back pain as well. It's by RS Medical, which just so happens to be local to me anyway. However, the $40-50 ones with different types of digital programs that connect with leads to electrical patches on Amazon are basically comparable. Inversion tables SEEM scary. However, most of them are not. You don't have to go all the way upside down, either. I have a $150 Ironman Inversion Table and it has a strap so you can keep inverting from going too far. It's also variable in height, from 5'2 to 6'6 and up to 350 pounds, so my whole family uses it when our backs hurt. The hardest part is just stepping up onto the foot rests when my back hurts, honestly. Inverting and getting back up is easy. I spent THOUSANDS of dollars diagnosing my back issues all for a surgeon tell me I wasn't a good candidate for any surgery and get the table, which I thought was a total cop out and wouldn't help. But within 2 weeks of actually trying it, my back stopped hurting, my leg stopped hurting (not my arthritis issues, that's lifelong, but the nerve pain), and I wasn't living in excruciating pain anymore. I won't say this will solve your pain or back issues, but I know that any options that are economically and physically feasible when you are living with unrelenting agony and limited mobility are usually worth trying.

Did they verify your disc issue wasn't also a tear? I had horrid nerve issues when a disc bulged and tore at L4/L5. Took a year to diagnose (finally with a discogram and follow up scan) after I kept complaining of repeated series of pain that didn't follow a pattern they expected. It still opens up and releases tissues into my spinal column occasionally and I'm crippled a few days to weeks. The only thing that works is my inversion table 2x a day to release the pressure on my disc and the tear. I also can not live without my TENS unit. I'm sorry you are living in chronic pain with mobility issues. I know how frustrating it is. Keep pushing for an answer, though, because you deserve a better life.

I'm May 28th too! I start my milk diet (again) on this Thursday the 14th.

Isn't that the hardest part? "Don't focus on the scale!" is a mantra for after surgery but prior to it, we are all its slave and live in fear of its judgement and retribution. Evil sadists, the lot of them, stringing you up for every mistake you enjoy. Oh, popcorn, how I long for you! Okay, I kid, but it is hard to know what your weight will mean for you. You need to ask your insurance and office plainly "If I can't lose this weight but show I am doing this to try (diet, food tracking, exercise) per the program... what is the program policy?". My surgeon emphasized I could "not" gain weight between my pre-surgical consult and surgery, but neither of my insurances have weight or program requirements that way. What they do require is that I follow the clinic program, so my surgeon could choose to postpone if I was not in compliance. I was 100% on board... before my surgery got canceled 1 week into my liquid diet. After that torture, and working from home for 8 weeks, of course I ballooned. Ughs! I kicked my butt and started back on my program a few weeks ago, then got my reschedule last week. I am back to my weight in January when I saw him, but 10 pounds over where I was the last time I started the liquid diet in March, which is frustrating. I will do it though and not cheat! I make it a competition to get through each day and I love to win. I had to find my motivation again with this whole situation derailing it, but it IS hard when you don't know about surgery. It is so easier to stay motivated with a deadline, at least for me. So I guess my advice is to 1) get an answer from your program about the weight and 2) find that motivation. You might not lose the pounds but find a way to prove you are on the program (journal food, fitness tracker?) to let them know you are a proactive part of your own success, if they will just work with you.

A lot of people have given great advice. Another left to say, bariatric surgery is not just "cutting away your stomach". This is a metabolic reset. As you diet, your body actually sends out hormones to get you back to your "set point" which is generally a heavier weight. It increases hunger, decreases your metabolism, etc.. making it harder to lose weight or stay at a healthy weight. This hormone reset is why some diabetics can go off medication so quickly after surgery. These surgeries really do change more than just your portion size. You SHOULD be able to eat more than chicken and vegetables and still be healthy. Your diet should not rule your life to that extent. And trust me, if you keep piling it on and taking most of it off, but not all, your weight will continue to become a bigger problem over your lifetime and you will NEED that metabolic assist. Take the chance, even if its scary. Get healthy. Use the tool of a smaller stomach, and the disconnection in that chemical signal chain, to give your body a new reset point. Break the cycle of putting weight on and taking (most) of it off. You can do it!!

Good luck!!

Probably the crappiest of all pre-surgery diets. Three 20 ounce servings of skim milk or milk alternative (Fairlife), 1 serving of low sodium broth, and at least 50 ounces of water (flavored drinks of low/no calorie under 10 only) per day. I am a wateraholic, so I down 120 ounces a day, minimum, so that part isn't hard. Depending on BMI, the clinic has patients do it for 2-3 weeks. Fortunately, I only have to do 2 weeks, but I did 1 week in March. At about 550 liquid calories per day and 160-170 ounces of fluids, I got dizzy and peed A LOT, but I dropped a pound a day. One of the best ways to get through it was blending with ice to thicken and adding sugar-free syrups to change up the flavor each time. The sweetness made me crave savory though. I'd pump up my evening "dinner broth" with paprika, a few drops of Cholula, or add some peppercorns as I heated it. And sometimes I'd freeze a portion of my daily 60 ounces in these mini silicone popsicle molds to make something I could nibble on.

Yay! My gastric sleeve surgery is rescheduled for May 28th. Nervous about my liquid diet starting in a week, since last time I built up to no food by taking away meals and replacing them with shakes, plus had all day school running around to keep me busy. Now I work from home on my computer on the couch ALL day, ughs, and I've only been having breakfast shakes... and far too many carbs. I'm not concerned about what my weight will be at my pre-op appointment, but I know the first few days of the milk diet are going to SUCK hardcore this time instead of just being mildly annoying.

I was rescheduled yesterday for gastric sleeve surgery here in SW Washington. My original date was March 26th, and I was canceled 1 week into my milk diet. SUCKY!! I hadn't cheated once, but I'd built up to it for weeks. My new date is May 28th, since hospitals are allowed to start electives again on May 18th here, and I start my diet next Thursday. Little nervous about that, especially since I work in the education system from home on my computer all day now. I hope to get in and out of all the appointments and surgery before all the restrictions ease (shouldn't happen until mid-June) and people freak out about a new wave and cause a possible second postponement. *fingers crossed*

Yes, it does. I was scheduled for Thursday of this week. There's a *small* chance of the order being rescinded if case numbers had a complete turnaround, but odds are surgeries will not be restarted until at least then. So anyone scheduled for before that May 18th will go in order after that. I, unfortunately, may have to postpone mine further until the end of the school year on June 19th anyway.

My biggest frustration is the lack of control over my surgical plan. The thing is that some of us can't just "move our dates" randomly by however many weeks we have to wait to see if our hospitals become overrun or if this was just extreme caution. I was assured surgeries would "stay in the same order" but that doesn't change the demands on my time. I had 1 week to go, but I may not be able to have surgery at 1 weeks notice. Even if I am not working at school until the end of April, after April 5th, I will be working at home every day. The timing of surgeries was chosen for different reasons--mine because I have student needs/sub plans to consider, for example. I can't use a sub during this shut down, I HAVE to be available. It's frustrating to have your choices yanked away. Venting is healthy, imo, even if there is logic saying the cancellations are reasonable. Locking in that resentment or frustration because people say things that are dismissive of your feelings or make you feel like you shouldn't have them at all because other people "might need hospital care more" can lead to self- destructive or diet destructive behavior; it certainly has for me. I'm glad this topic is here and I'm not the only one who seems resentful that the world lost its mind right when it would derail my plan to finally start the steps to a more pain-free life. Now I just have to get off my pity party and remember carbs are the true enemy!

My surgery was canceled on Wednesday after a week on the all liquid diet. So frustrating! But those soft scrambled eggs and keto toast as a first meal? Sooo good. It's frustrating when there are so few cases in my county but I know it's more about the supplies and concern of a future surge than the current situation. I'm hoping the hospital will reassess on Apr. 1 like the other hospital system in my area, but for now Peacehealth's stance is "indefinitely". This is hard as I work with special education students as a paraeducator and I am trying to also work with my teacher to figure out how we can support our 26 kids from a distance in April... when I would also hope to have surgery instead. This would have been so much easier if life had not gone insane for us all! Upside, I am very techy and she is very supportive. We collaborate well on curriculum and a lot of what we use I've put online or in our Google drives. Downside, I have 15 kids from multiple classes who need reading/writing support alone through 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades and 5 more who need early literacy and math supports at all different skill levels between K and 2nd. And I have an 8th grader and 10th grader of my own at home to support. I worry so much for our most vulnerable kids and am really having to consider putting off my surgery until the end of June.

Are you using lovenox injections? It could be an allergic response to that.

My surgeons scheduler called me back and said they have no news about cancellations at this time, but they will let me know as soon/if they do.

@Mello1 Or vice versa. Major medical advisory boards all tend to collaborate in events like these. I left a message for my surgeon's office scheduler, but since it's the weekend... UGH! I hate not knowing.

This is one of the many articles about his recommendation as well as one from the College of Surgeons. https://www.politico.com/amp/news/2020/03/14/surgeon-general-elective-surgeries-coronavirus-129405?PC=EMMX20&refcv=pTnoAAgMfQreIdKn.0.0.48735.714

Your body is doing all it can to still heal. All your food is basically going for that. Even if you meet your protein and water goals, your body is basically living off itself and you will be exhausted. In just a few short weeks, you have drastically changed your entire system. AND you have hormone fluctuations all through your cycle, PMS prior to it isn't the only shift your body experiences. Plus fat cells release estrogen, further messing with your hormones. In short, expect to feel like crap for weeks. Some people for months. Remember, weight loss is a marathon, not a sprint. And if you are going to weigh yourself daily, track it all but average it per week to get a better count of your true weight and the loss you experience. You are going to do great, just be patient!

The surgeon general is echoing the CDC recommendation that all elective surgeries be canceled. GAH! This is so crazy and overblown!!

I would much rather have my issue, lol!! Do you take magnesium citrate? I do a daily 5k and have horrible leg cramps so the WLC nurse put me on that vitamin supplement. Trust me when I say the next morning I can tell when I took my 2 pre-bedtime pills!! No one better get between my treadmill and the bathroom when I kickstart my digestive system. Vitamins, water, food, protein, fiber... it's all part and parcel with this process. I also made sure to get imodium and MoM so I have all bases covered.

Biopsy came back just mild gastritis, yay! Day 4 of liquid diet starts today. Meh, it's been fine... BUT I've been busy working the first 3 days. Thought I just had to get through 2 days off home with a well-stocked house while also making dinner each night, but now school is canceled due to the coronavirus concern and I stocked up even more since I have 2 teenagers here. And I'm here. With them. All day. And the food. Until April 27th. 😧 I'm fiercely competitive, so I am making it a game with strategies not to cheat, and damn it, I WILL WIN!

@Mello1 Right? 3 protein shakes a day and a cup of bone broth. Living the dietary dream... of staying close to the toilet! Well, looking for a silver lining, with school canceled until April 27th, at least, if my surgery goes forward I have A LOT more recovery time than my original go back of the 9th. Good luck on Wednesday!!

I planned 13 days, but the school district has now given me a month with the mandatory closure off if my surgery happens as scheduled.

Covid-19 is the illness causes by the coronavirus. Yes, it spreads just like the flu. Odds are the mortality rate isn't as high as it seems compared to the flu because millions more people get flu tests than are tested for Covid-19. People are panicking because there is little medical response available other than respite care because there is no "vaccine" available like for the flu--yet. Most people who get this are fine. I'm scheduled at a facility with 3 cases in Washington, I have heart disease and asthma which triggers to respiratory illnesses and before yesterday I worked in an elementary school: a hotbed of germs. Am I freaked out? Hell no. I'm not gross, and I wash my hands!! Now, there is a possibilty of elective surgeries being canceled. Some Seattle area hospitals have done so. Other smaller hospitals in the region have also done so. My hospital has said no visitors so even if I have surgery I will have to go it alone until discharge. I plan to contact my surgeon's office on Monday after my nutrition class if they don't have info because I am on Day 4 of the evil liquid diet, and I don't want to keep doing this if I have to do it again this summer. But am I freaking out about any of this other than a 500-700 all liquid diet torture being unnecessary? Nope!