A Question

I was reading on the update on Jeremy that he was given no laxatives before surgery. For 2 days before my surgery, I have to take a laxative and be on a liquid only diet. Didn't Jeremy also have to do this? Doesn't EVERYONE have to do this before surgery?

Nope, it's doctors choice. One Doc I had made me drink 1 gal laxitive 2 days before, no solids, only clear liquids, antibiotics, and pills (also laxitives). I spent the last day on the toilet - I thought to myself, if I don't make it, my last day will have been wasted on the can. - That surgery got canceled the morning of, and I switched doctors. 2nd Doctor didn't have any pre-surgery demands, except nothing after midnight, and no big meal the night before. I went on the Post-surgery diet (liquids only) for the week before to help clean out my system to be safe. The more you loose before surgery the better. Your liver will shrink when you start loosing weight, and that makes it easier for the doctor to see inside you, so the more you loose prior to surgery, the better it is for you and your doctor. Since my surgery, and because of peoples eating habbits, my doctor now required a liquid diet 2 weeks prior to surgery. Hope that helps! Darrell

One gallon!!!! OMG!!!! I didn't have to take anything before surgery. The only requirement was to not eat or drink after midnight the night before. I was not required to lose weight before either, but I did. I put myself on the same food restrictions that I would be on after surgery for about seven months. I wanted to see if I could do it. I figured if I could not do it before surgery than I could not do it after. Cheryl

Hi Pauletta, It surprised me that your Barix doctor is asking this only because I did have a consultation with a surgeon there and he told me he didn't require anything other than no food or drink after midnight and no huge meal the day before. But, no laxatives or anything. So maybe it is just specific to the doctor you pick. I'll be having it done lap with Dr. C in Cincy, he requires a 10-day liquid diet prior to the surgery to help shrink the liver. Denise

I only had to do clear liquids for one day prior to my lap RNY (nothing red, purple or pink). No laxatives. The idea is that they are only working on the upper GI tract, not the lower. No matter how many laxatives and whatnot you take, it is impossible to completely clean out the entire GI tract. Even if the stool is gone, bacteria remains. It may have been riskier to have given Jeremy lots of laxatives before surgery due to his cardiac status and being super morbidly obese. I hope he keeps fighting and makes it thorough this. Sue

i didn't have to take any laxatives. all i had to do was follow a clear liquid diet for 7-10 days pre-op. every surgeon has their own protocol they follow. different things work for different people.

There is only one study that came out in the last two months about a liquid diet before surgery shrinking your liver there otherwise is not data prior to this anywhere. It was from Australia and only studied thirty people. Ultrasound was used to measure the change in liver size and it was said to be "significant". That means given the statistical difference between the two it was a measurable difference which may only mean a cm or an inch in size. This is very weak evidence that a clear liquid diet makes any difference at all. Laxatives only soften stool they do not remove it from the system. A bowel prep either GoLytely yeah I know ironic name or Fleets Phospha Soda are preps that will "clean" out the stool from your small bowel and colon which will significantly decrease the amount of bacteria in it. This is only helpful if your surgeon unintentionally enters your colon and can repair it and keep going with your surgery. It also signficantly reduces your chance of wound infection only if your colon is opened accidently. It will not prevent leaks from the upper GI system surgery in gastric bypass. You are correct in saying that each surgeon is different. It depends on if your surgeon is worried about getting into the colon accidently or if your surgeon believe anecdotal information on preoperative liquid diets "shrinking your liver". Using it to help you get used to a postoperative liquid diet makes more sense. Hope this information helps. Sincerely, Calvin Selwyn, M.D. Assistant Prof of Surgery UC Center for Surgical Weighloss

Ah, what a relief, words of wisdom...I never got the whole liver shrinking thing anyway, especially when they're doing open RNY. I was lucky enough to have a doc who didn't require any extensive pre-op prep.

I do not personally use a bowel prep or a preoperative liquid diet. Having said that I do not think that there is anything wrong with any program that does. Each surgeon has to do what they think is safest for their patients. Sincerely, Calvin Selwyn, M.D. Assistant Prof of Surgery UC Center for Surgical Weightloss.

My doctor did a low fat/low calorie diet before my surgery. believe me it does help. i was a 8-10 diet pepsi guy a day. i had a caffeine headache for 2 days. i did however lose 17 lb.s in 9 days prior to my surgery. if you are having it lap. it is very important i was told by my doc to shrink the liver. they extract it to get to your stomach and it makes visibility much easier. i am down 153 lbs. since the first of june. i haven't posted since then and just ecstatic over the whole ordeal. i have a 5 yr. old that i can play with so much more. i can walk in old navy and buy a pair of jeans off the rack. and i can play basketball for 2 hrs. with my buddies and never run out of gas. i will lift jeremy up in my prayers as well. those of us whose surgeries went off without a hitch are so fortunate. it was hard enough having a normal surgery and hospital stay let alone all these complications. rusty blankenship lap gastric bypass 6/25/04 413/260