Pre-surgical liquid diet

[Nancy W 14]

I have been on my liquid diet for 8 days. I have headaches everyday, I feel fatigue and sluggish, is this normal? I am down 8 1/2 pounds but I feel so weak. I drink 60 oz of Water or more each day, plus my 4 powders? utm_source=BariatricPal&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_campaign=CommentLink" target="_ad" data-id="1" >unjury shakes and eat Jello or pudding with added Protein so I am getting enough protein. Does anyone else have this problem?

[JamieLogical 8,727]

Very normal. I got so fatigued by the end of my pre-op liquid diet that I could barely lift my arms to wash my hair in the shower! I was basically eating 450 calories a day which trying to live a normal life and with 100% of my stomach still. So of course I felt like crap!

[ShrinkingPeach 1,291]

Agree with @JamieLogical. By the end of my 2 week pre-op diet I didn't even want to drink or eat the sf Jello. I was pretty tired and weak. Makes sense with drastically reduced intake and calories. The end result will be worth it. Hang in there!!

[ThreeFifty 166]

I haven't done my Pre-op diet yet.. but I have been doing a lot of Protein shakes (basically because its easer to grab a Protein shake than it is to try to cook breakfast/lunch lol)

but I've done juice fast in the past. the very first time I did it, I felt horrible the first 7-10 day headaches, tired, irritable. The thing that seems to help me is drinking more Water. I know a lot of times people will follow the Water guidelines and I was too but I just found that whenever I feel any type of hunger or headache I just drink more water, whether I'm going over the recommended ounces or not. that was a big help and seem to solve my headache problem.

I think that first juice fast did something to my body because I haven't had those issues since and I've done several juice fast and I've been loosely doing the Protein Shake liquid diet for a few weeks now.

[_Kate_ 2,224]

@ I would agree with what you say - I did a 40 day cleanse (fast) once and the first 7-10 days were awful but I felt great from 10 - 40 days. I had to drink double my daily dose and I drink a lot of Water (in fact thats the one thing I am not looking forward to after the sleeve... from others here, it's difficult getting down the amount of Fluid they recommend, especially in the beginning.

Drink drink drink Water and I am sure it will really help @@Nancy W

Kate

[JamieLogical 8,727]

in fact thats the one thing I am not looking forward to after the sleeve... from others here, it's difficult getting down the amount of Fluid they recommend, especially in the beginning.

I was really really worried about this too. I LOVE Water. It's all I ever drank even before surgery. So, I was terrified that I wouldn't be able to drink it post-op or that I wouldn't like it anymore. I won't lie. It was SUPER rough getting in my Water in the beginning. My post-op internal swelling made even the tiniest sip of water a huge ordeal for the first two weeks or so. Once the swelling was down, it was a lot easier, but I still wasn't able to get ALL of my water in, until I realized that it was much easier for me to drink SUPER cold water. Once I discovered that, I got a double-walled thermos-style water bottle, filled it with ice, and drank super cold water all day. Now I have no issues getting my water in. It's only ever a problem if I'm in an environment where I can't get ice water. Like somewhere that only has "cold" bottles of water. I need ICE in there. It has to be near freezing.

So my advice to you is, if you are having issues getting your water in post-op, experiment with different temperatures. I know some people do a lot better with hot beverages post-op. And some people do better with room temperature water.

[_Kate_ 2,224]

Great advice Jamie logical .. Thank you

[Michelle Tarver 62]

no advice here.. Just my sympathy Good luck!

[Nancy W 14]

Thanks for the advice everyone. This site is a blessing.

[JamieLogical 8,727]

Thanks for the advice everyone. This site is a blessing.

I could not agree more! I do not know how I would have gotten through my pre-op or post-op journeys without it!

[rnsamantha 352]

I'm on day 8 of my pre-op liquid diet. My surgeon allows 4 Protein shakes (Bariatric Advantage) made with low fat 1% milk per day, plus sugar free Clear liquids. I'm not hungry all the time any more, but I am utterly exhausted. It surprises me how tired I feel because with the shakes I am getting 1000-1100 calories per day. I guess my body is ticked that it's not getting the larger amount of calories it's used to. Does this fatigue get better after surgery??

[JamieLogical 8,727]

I'm on day 8 of my pre-op liquid diet. My surgeon allows 4 Protein shakes (Bariatric Advantage) made with low fat 1% milk per day, plus sugar free Clear Liquids. I'm not hungry all the time any more, but I am utterly exhausted. It surprises me how tired I feel because with the shakes I am getting 1000-1100 calories per day. I guess my body is ticked that it's not getting the larger amount of calories it's used to. Does this fatigue get better after surgery??

It won't get better until you are on at least soft foods (eggs, tuna, cheese) and can start getting more calories in. If anything the fatigue gets worse in the first couple of weeks post-op, because then not only are you not eating much, your body is also expending a lot of energy to heal. I would say I really turned a corner at 18 days post-op, once I was allowed soft foods. And then my energy levels were pretty much back to "normal" by the time I was on solids.