Preop Gastric Surgery Diet Is Awful!

[luv-a-bull 7]

I am on day 3 of my liquid preop diet, and I feel awful! I am having splitting headaches and am nauseous. I am trying to get more Protein in to see if that helps. It seems like I am so hungry and when I do eat some broth or a Protein Shake I get nauseous right after. To top it all off I am in the middle of a sinus infection (which may be causing some of these symptoms). Anyone else experience anything like this...if so, what helped?

[Afro_Cyster 74]

My surgery date is the 12th and I am also having a tough time with the Pre-Op diet I started Monday. I have a high stress job, yet I'm having a hard time concentrating because I am starving and have had a headache. I am also having nagging back pain, kinda like the one you get when you have a kidney infection (and I know I don't). I haven't had any bad reactions from the shakes, but they are absolutely NOT my favorite things to drink.

My diet gets worse next week when I will be on liquids only (I eat a small tuna or chicken salad for lunch).

My only advise is to stay busy.....that's the only time I don't notice the hunger pains.

[Paola 62]

are both your liquid diets low in carbs?

[luv-a-bull 7]

My preop diet is low carb. sugar free jello/pudding/popsicles, light yogurt, low carb Protein Shakes, broth/pureed Soups, diet V8 splash, and Water. My surgeon has all patients follow this diet for 2 weeks preop and then 2 weeks postop. This is going to be a long month lol

[Paola 62]

In my experience, the first 3 days of low carb diets are the hardest. I don't know if yours is low enough to get you into ketosis, but a side effect of ketosis is nausea.

[Paola 62]

Here is a link that explains it really well:

http://www.livestrong.com/article/546412-do-you-get-nauseated-on-low-carb-diet/

[luv-a-bull 7]

Thanks! That was helpful!

[favoredone 590]

Stay hydrated!!! Drink plenty of Water to help w/ the aches and MADNESS!!! Best wishes... I'll be where you are in a few weeks!!!

[longer-life 139]

My surgeon has all patients follow this diet for 2 weeks preop and then 2 weeks postop. This is going to be a long month lol :smile1:

Luckily you won't be too hungry (or not hungry at all) the two weeks after surgery. Sorry about these two weeks though. I was a volume eater and I can't imagine what you are going through. You are very close to saying goodbye to obesity though, so keep going! You are nearly there! :ballchain:

[AndreaP 0]

I am on the 10th day of my pre-op diet. The first 3 to 4 days were the hardest (the 4th one being Thanksgiving). I also had a sinus infection and caffeine withdrawl headaches...but I can tell you it got better pretty quickly for me. I think it takes about 5 days to get the carbs and sugars out of your system. I was lucky though, that I tolerate the Protein well. Right now I'm at about 750 calories with 85 grams of Protein a day and no caffeine. Other than about 1 or 2 hours in the afternoon I feel great. I'm even having a hard time eating as much as I am supposed to.

One thing I would ask....are you drinking all of your other fluids and making sure at least half are Water? Being dehydrated will make you feel awful and give you terrible headaches!!!

Hang in there....this is such a small part of the big picture :) I'm thought it would take forever and now I only have 4 days left. My surgery is Monday already.

[Lissa 2,631]

Yeah, the pre-op diet is torture, for sure! If you were a caffeine addict (like me) and/or a sugar addict (also like me), then the initial cravings can be pretty intense. By day 4 or 5, though, you'll already be noticing weight loss and, for me, that gave me the motivation to keep going. Dropping 13 pounds in two weeks was a huge motivator.

As Longer Life said, after surgery, you won't be hungry and you'll be pushing yourself to get in your fluids and Protein. "Diet" is going to be your focus for a while to come, although this is really a life change. By the time I got back to solid foods I was definitely over wanting anything sweet, or fat, or slider consistency.

Try to find some Protein shakes you LOVE while you're pre-op, because post-op they might be barely tolerable. My tastes changed immediately after surgery AND I am now lactose intolerant. I can do cheese fairly well, but milk, cottage cheese and yogurt disagree with me.

If you're having a hard time with the diet because of all the sweet stuff, try some warm broth. After surgery, I found that warm went down better than cold for quite some time.

And, all in all, this is a VERY short time period compared to the rest of your life! Easy for me to say now that I'm past it, right? But, it is a short time and soon you'll be back to eating regular food, although not in the quantities you're used to eating. But, you'll be watching the scale zoom downwards, and that's worth a LOT, IMO.

Good luck with your journeys!!

[Zedsmummy 7]

Today is day 8 of my Pre-op diet. I no longer get my one meal a day I'm on all Protein shakes now.

Yesterday was rough, I nearly cried at supper time when my family was eating. I went an hid in the bath so I wouldn't have to smell/watch them eat.

Today, I'm not at all hungry. I had a mug of tea first this this morning, just started my first shake of the day at 10:30 and I'm only halfway through it. I feel completely Water logged from the Protein Shakes. I think I slosh when I walk.

I just keep reminding myself to keep my eyes on the prize!

[ChunkyAndFluffy75 9]

I am in my second week, but the first few days were hell. I have add more protien by eating hard boiled eggs and that has helped. I do sleep alot more and i am tired all day. It does get easier the second week just give it time, but it is NOT easy at all. After surgery you will have these same issues so this is preparing you for that.

[LoserMama 37]

reading this, makes me feel like our pre-op and post-op period is like our version of rehab....ouch. I start on 12/14, I only have a week preop, but I have 4 weeks of liquid only post op ;(

[Paola 62]

reading this, makes me feel like our pre-op and post-op period is like our version of rehab....ouch. I start on 12/14, I only have a week preop, but I have 4 weeks of liquid only post op ;(

It does kind of sound like rehab. I think the pre-op diet is preparing us for whats to come; plus its leading us away from carbs, since during our losing period we mostly need to focus on our Protein intake and have the carbs in the back burner.