DO NOT SABOTAGE YOURSELVES!!!

I've been reading the Message Boards and I really and truly feel for everyone who is having those last minute panic attacks. DO NOT HEAD FOR THE REFRIGERATOR!!!!! I had the same reaction to my upcoming surgery and it the WORSE thing you can do to yourself!!! My doc reminded a bunch of us who were in for pre-op testing two weeks ago that he will be able to tell if we've been following his directions, regarding dieting, or not, as soon as he gets inside us. Apparently, and if this is too vague or inaccurate for those in the know, I apologize in advance, your liver swells up in size when you eat, especially rich or fatty foods. One the biggest dangers encountered in WLS is when the liver gets nicked by a scalpel, even though it has been retracted away from the stomach area. You do not want to enlarge your liver any more than it already is. If you follow your surgeons' instructions and FAST the day before surgery, you will have a much better outcome. If you indulge the day before, you are only hurting yourself. He/she is telling you this in order to help YOU make a better patient and also recover faster. My doc told me it was one of the easiest surgeries he's ever done, and that he completed it in 1.5 hours!!!!! Now, I am not telling you this to brag about my ability to follow instructions or anything like that. My sweet, fellow Marchers! You want to do EVERYTHING IN YOUR POWER to make your surgery a success!!! So, whatever it is you have to do to get away from the 'fridge, DO IT NOW!!! Please, please, please, be good to yourselves. I have you all in my prayers! Rita (Lap RNY, 03/01/04)

Hi Rita, Great words of advice there. I already understand about the liver thing and since I have fatty liver infiltration to begin with, but you did a great job of explaining it. Thanks a bunch Hugs, Mo doin' the 15 days and a wake up happy Mo dance

I have not had my surgery yet, but I agree 100% with you. My doctor puts us on a liquid (supervised) diet for 6 weeks before surgery in order to help with the surgery fill us up with vitamins and help us in the transition after surgery for we have already been on liquids for 6 weeks and our stomach has already come acustom to not having any heavy food or any food for a period of time. He says this helps with the healing and makes the change to liquids after surgery a little easier, for we just didn't get done eating before surgery. This way if you have sugar it goes down and your liver goes smaller and your filled with protien and vitiamins to help in the healing. Donna

Thanks for sharing, I am working on it, I am drinking liquid protien (carb solutions)2x a day and then having a small protien veggie dinner, no starch, no bread, nothing refined and i feel like i have so much more energy....also as much water as I possibly can to get my sugars stable.... Tomorrow is my birthday and i wont even be having a cake! But it is so worth it! Mary

Dear Mary: I know exactly how you feel, trust me: my birthday was Feb. 28th, my wedding anniversary was Feb. 27th. I usually even celebrate Feb. 29th as my "almost" birthday, but I did not get to celebrate ANY OF THEM WITH FOOD or drink this year!! Yet, going into surgery on March 1st, I felt great, knowing that I had beat the Monster that would have had me overeating during those few days, and that I was about to do some serious battle with It in the operating theater!!!! Look at it this way: now you will be enjoying many, many more happier birthdays for years to come, wearing some fabulous outfit, and shining with that inner glow that comes with knowing that you are as beautiful on the outside as you've always been on the inside! ps I also followed a Kashi program of protein drinks and smaller, lighter meals during the weeks leading up to surgery, and followed all my doc's orders to the letter. I am so very happy with myself that I did! God Bless! Rita (Lap RNY 03/01/04)

Thank you Rita for telling it like it is. You would make a great coach! Debbie The Shy One