Questions

Hi All, After reading all of your posts the past two days I have realized a couple of things. First of all, I am sorry to say that I fit right in here :. You guys are great! Secondly, I have a few questons. My doctor did not give me a special pre op diet to follow, only a clear liquid diet the day before surgery. Any ideas why? Also, he didn't say anything about breathing exercise or any other exercise before surgery, only the importance of it after surgery. Any thoughts? Last thing, I am going out in a little while to get somesupplements and protein shakes. Any suggestions?I have less than two weeks left and I'm beginning to feel not prepared. Roz

Hey, Roz... First off, glad to have another psychopath on board! Alrighty, now...I, too, have NO pre-op diet, just clear fluids day before surgery. Don't look at that as a bad thing...I feel a little extra blessed. I've had two surgeons (long story) and neither required it of me. Dunno why. Someone else will have to answer that for you. As for protein and shakes, it's really all a matter of your personal taste. I have Atkins pre-made (canned ) vanilla shakes for after surgery that are fine. I also have EAS AdvantEDGE "Carb Control" pre-made shakes in several flavors...they come in 4-packs, and are the SILVER colored EAS packaging. They're pretty good. I do, however, have something that's GREAT, and I'll be using it most: it's called BENEPROTEIN by Resource. You can only get it from Walgreen's website, it's $10.99 per canister, each scoop is ~6-7 g of protein, and you can put it in EVERYTHING...I do. It really IS tasteless and odorless. At first I was skeptical 'bout it 'cuz my nutritionist suggested it, but after I tried it, I was sold. I've had to up my protein since September, and I use MetRX Protein Plus shake powder, Vanilla Buttercream flavor. It's GREAT, but I won't be able to use it for awhile after surgery 'cuz it whips up so thick and "volumninous". But that stuff KICKS!!! When you open the canister it smells just like buttercream frosting......... Hope that helps a tad. Did your Dr. give you a list of what you need for surgery/after surgery? Kimmer Queen of the Niners, Instigator to All Marchers, High Priestess of Giggles Zero-minus-17 and counting!!

My dr did exactly the same routine. His reasoning: He did not see that longer liquids would reduce the size of your liver enough to make much difference and was more concerned that you get up to surgery with adequate nutrition. The liquids the day before is to make sure that you have lots of stomach acid. That protects you from infection. Mine did want me to start life changes (exercises, reduction of fat & sugar, elimination of caffeine) before to minimize the shock of so many changes at once and to get me into the best shape possible. I have been doing protein shakes for a while to try to minimize protein deficit. The only thing about Atkins shakes is that they are relatively high in fat. Start reading labels! I found a great tasting 0 fat 0 carb 22 gm protein powder called unjury. You can order from unjury.com. They have choc, vanilla, and unflavored. I also like Carb Solutions shake mix from Walmart which has some vitamins, etc added. You can cook with these--substituting them for flour. Good luck! Joy (3/1)

Joyful C, you slickster, you! Since I get an uncanny feeling that we have Lurkers that are being very, um, watchful of us (I think we may have "made a name" on OH already...cheez...), I was trying to figure out how NOT to embed a link, but wanted to refer Roz to walgreens.com for that Beneprotein if she wanted to try it. I see that unjury.com didn't link....heheh...gotta love it! Yer da bestest!! Kimmer Not Very Slick These Days Zero-minus-17 and counting!!

Hate to disappoint you, but I did not do it on purpose. I'm just a bit link-challenged! I told you I never colored inside the lines (on purpose). But accidents do happen... Joy (3/1)

Roz .. I think everyone has fit right in here !!! Hugs, Mo (confused fiend of Kimmer and dancin' my tootsies off here )

Thanks for all the great ideas. Today I bought EAS Advantage shakes, Dr Phil's shakes, and Slim Fast has a new low carb shake. I bought benefiber, Flinstone Complete Vitamins, a stick blender, strainers, a water jug, sippy cups, a baby spoon, ice cube trays (to freeze pureed food) Am I forgetting anything? Now I feel a little better. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Roz

Hey Roz, What's the sippy cup for -- I got lots of those around here??? Whitney

Roz, You forgot the dreaded tongs. Everybody knows about the tongs. What's tong with you, girl! The dietitian told us to get digital timers to keep up with our water drinking pace and I found dishwasher and microwave "condiment" dishes (holds 1.5 oz) at Walmart for heating, serving, and re-heating wls "meals." Just causing trouble, Jewell

WHat are the tongs for????