OPTIFAST DIET

I NEED SOME INFO ON THIS DIET AND HAS ANYONE BEEN ON IT FOR A MONTH, HOW DID YOU DO AND WHAT DID YOU DO TO MAKE IT TO THE END OF THE MONTH? HOW MUCH WEIGHT DID YOU LOSE? DID ANYONE HAVE A TEST OR SOMETHING TO DO WITH A TEMPORAY VEMA CAVA FILTER? OR DO YOU KNOW WHAT IT MEANS ?:-l

I could be wrong but I think the vena cava filter is a check or precaution against blood clots etc..... Did a fasting diet back in the day..medifast...same thing different name...was not hungry after about three days..drank 6 shakes a day plus water...lost 80 pounds fast and also a bit later..my gallbladder....I took one day at a time...and they had soups and "snacks"...all tasted like vitamin pills to me...oh also had to take a vitamin...it was all fairly expensive and mostly out of pocket...was very tired and draggy at first and then got a big burst of energy and almost felt high. I took it one day at a time. Good luck! Sher'

Hi Lydia, I did the optifast diet years ago. I was on it for three months and lost 67#. I really found it to be easy. I do better when I have no choices. Just drank the drink and I was fine. The problem was when I began eating again. It didn't take long to gain it all back and more, but I don't think you'll have that problem after having the surgery. You'll do fine and the month will fly by. Best wishes, Mary Lou

Hi Lydia- I know nothing about the Optifast..but if you talking about a greenfield filter...its put in the IVC (Vena Cava) to prevent blood clots. If you are at high risk for blood clots, they usually do it. Its an in/out procedure sometime before surgery. Debby Marcus can better respond to this-as she just had the procedure done yesterday. Joanie

Hi, Lydia! An IVC filter (inferior vena caval filter -- sometimes also known as a Greenfield filter) is inserted as an outpatient, generally from the groin. They insert a catheter up to the vena cava (which I think is just below your heart or is a lower part of your heart -- biology class was several decades ago) and thread the filter through the catheter. When the filter is in place, they open it like a 2-3 inch umbrella and remove the catheter. The purpose of the filter is to catch any blood clots that might develop (usually in one's leg) and travel before the clot can enter the heart or lungs (where it's often fatal). I was sedated and didn't feel a thing except for a pinch when the drugs started going through my IV. The whole experience was supposed to take about 4 hours, but turned into a full day. The biggest delay was that Middlesex Hospital has only one room in Radiology with the equipment they needed for the procedure and there was a man in there ahead of me (an emergency procedure) who developed some unexpected complications and ended up taking hours longer than expected. So instead of my procedure starting at 10 a.m., it began at 2 p.m.! A small part of the delay came when the radiologist talked to me about the risks and possible complications and mentioned that there is a very small chance that the filter can come loose and migrate to the lung where it's difficult to retrieve. I then asked if it's more difficult than it'll be when they retrieve my filter at some point after my surgery. He looked at me as though I had no idea what I was talking about. Some additional discussion revealed that his patients have permanent filters installed because of ongoing risks of blood clots. He didn't have any idea of why I was having the filter inserted, so I explained that I'm having WLS on 12/27 and that in addition to the usual risks of blood clots after surgery, I had phlebitis 28 years ago, so I have a higher risk of developing a blood clot. Therefore Dr. Aranow told me that I would have the filter inserted and have it removed after about 2 months. The radiologist wasn't aware of any retrievable filters with FDA approval and went to call Dr. A's office. He returned shortly and told me that he'd spoken with his partner who's treated a number of Dr. A's patients and was aware that Dr. A requests a retrievable filter, not a permanent one, and that there IS a retrievable filter approved by the FDA and that the hospital had one left. He also told me that his partner would do the procedure and would see me shortly. After a little while, his partner showed up. During our discussion, he indicated surprise that I was having the filter inserted on the 10th, 17 days before surgery, since it should be removed within 30 days of insertion, which would be only 13 days after surgery. I told him that Dr. A had said something about 2 months and he excused himself to go check something. He came back and told me that he'd just called the manufacturer who informed him that the FDA recently extended the period of time for safe and easy retrieval of the filter from 30 days to 60 days, but his recommendation was 30-45 days. That gives me 2-4 weeks after surgery -- much better than just 13 days. Then we were finally able to get started. The procedure took about 30-40 minutes, then I was in recovery for 3 hours. They told me that I might feel some soreness in my groin, but I don't. My arm is sore where the IV was, and I slept on and off for about a day and a half, mostly waking up to go to the bathroom. (I guess I got a lot of fluids through the IV and had to get rid of them.) I'd be awake for a little while and would drink whenever I woke and sometimes eat something, then it was back to bed where I'd watch a little TV and would fall asleep again after a few minutes. All in all, it was an easy procedure with an easy (but sleepy) recovery, but make sure that you know what type of filter you're supposed to get (permanent or retrievable) and make sure that the radiologist knows! In my case, there apparently was a breakdown in communication between Dr. A's office and the Radiology Dept. at the hospital and I'm going to talk to Dr. A about it to make sure that the word "retrievable" is stressed for all future patients. If I hadn't said something, I would now have a permanent foreign body in my body that wasn't supposed to be there.

I was on the optifast diet years ago. That was the 1st "Oprah Winfrey Diet" back in the 1990, but back when I was on it you had to drink the shakes for 3 months. No food whatsoever. I made it the entire 12 weeks, but my hair fell out and my teeth got loose. I lost probably about 50 lbs. I was not that impressed with the diet. When i was able to eat again i gained the weight back and thensome. When you are deprived for that long you eat everything in sight afterwards. It was not a good diet to be on. Out of all the diets I tried, this one was the worst I think and the least healthy. They did nothing with you to help you work out your issues with food. They just had you stop eating.