male only first post

buxndux · May 16, 2008

Hey guys, long time listener first time caller. I just found out today that my insurance company is going to cover my surgery. My wife and I had already decided we would pay cash for the procedure so when we found out today that our insurance was going to cover it we where very excited to say the least. My surgery is scheduled for next friday the 23rd. My question to you all is this; My doctor does not have me on any kind of a pre surgery diet. It sounds like a lot of you had to, did anyone out there have the same experiance i am having, eat whatever you want up to the day of surgery?:thumbup:

BIG T · May 16, 2008

hey buxndux,,,i just had my nutrion stuff today,,well when i first went to see the doc i weighed in at 297 several monts ago today i went in and weighed 269,,the were impressed surgery is on 6-2 the just put me on kinda a high protrin low carb diet like tuna chicken yougurt 1 per cent milk with like Atkins, ,said i'll shoulkd be fine other people had to do the medfast but i'm not a high bmi guy so they say it's like 38 now but i still quailified under my insurance,,,the nurse told me since,, i had already lost alot of weight there shuold not be a prob but to still try to stick with some sort of liquid type diet and not to try and gain anymore,,but try to lose another 5-10 lbs by 6-2

mediummike · May 16, 2008

My doctor was very passive about it - no particular diet but he did mention it was a good idea to lose a few pounds via hi Protein - low fat eating - but nothing structured or formal.

Fenton · May 17, 2008

My doctors were very specific about this. When you overeat, fat gets stored not just under the skin and around the organs, but also in the liver. This is a problem because the liver sits on top of the stomach, and they need to be able to move it to get access to the stomach. For this reason, doctors advise diets to defat the liver - where I went, it's a two week pre-op liquid diet.

It's a great weight loss opportunity, as well as making the surgery easier and safer. I did six cans a day of the low carb SlimFast Optima.

But I think it's also good because it forces you to break off your old eating habits completely - it's what they call a Pattern Interrupt. I was fine on the liquid diet, my liver shrunk well, surgery was fine, liquid diet post-op was fine. It was all fine!

One thing I should add: I've heard of instances of patients being put to sleep to be banded only to be woken up to be told that the surgeon couldn't proceed because the liver was too fatty. That thought helped me stick to the straight and narrow!

Congrats on the approval!

Snowman · May 21, 2008

my doctor didnt say anything about pre-op diet, or restrictions.

EricCharbonneau · May 27, 2008

I recommend you lose as much weight as possible prior to surgery. The band will ensure that you don't gain back any weight you lose in advance. Think of it as the beginning of your journey. Your goal is to lose 100+ pounds, no need to wait for surgery to start that process.

There are advantages from the surgeons perspective if you reduce the fat deposits a bit prior to surgery. The point is to get to the benefits of weight loss as soon as you can get there - I lost 59 lbs between my intake date (the first visit to the bariatric center) and my surgery last October - it took 4 months to get insurance approval.

Look at presurgical weight loss as a strategy to optimize your results and get to your goal weight more quickly.

Good luck to you all!