Liquid Diet Day 2 - I'm a Big, Whiny Baby

 Ok, so I made it through yesterday (Day 1) of the liquid diet. Overall, I would say that I spent the majority of last night feeling sorry for myself and going through what had to be carb withdrawal and mood swings. About 9pm I just said “Screw this, I’m going to bed."  

Even worse, throughout the night, I kept waking up from dreams (nightmares?) that I was eating something and had therefore, ruined my pre-op process and would be summarily dismissed from the surgical center for failing.  

On one of those wake ups, I remembered at about Midnight that I was supposed to have 5 shakes (not 4!!) since I am mixing my Bari Essentials with water as opposed to skim milk. I felt cheated, but didn't bother getting the other shake.  

Today, I’m at work oscillating (or, is that vacillating?) between feeling almost ‘high’ to feeling like I could faint. Not sure what this next few days will be like but I am really trying to force myself to believe that it HAS to get better.  

Here’s what I am wondering, though:   The “Bari Essentials Chocolate Protein Powder “ seems to only have 116 calories per rounded scoop and I’m supposed to have 5 shakes a day, which is only 580 calories.  

Something just seems wrong with that.  I left a message for the nurse to check.  

For anyone else – approx. how many calories did you have per day during your pre-op liquid diet?

Bless your heart ! It is a tough time and I cannot honestly from my heart tell you it gets any better but you will do some adjusting and make it thru.LOL It was by far the hardest part of the WHOLE deal for me.LOL   That might just be me though. 580 cals plus whatever cals are in the milk does seem a little low but do what your Dr says!  Hang in there chickie it is all worth it in the end !!!!

Thanks - I was thinking that this might be the hardest part, too!  I may switch to using the skim milk and see if that helps any.

Oh yes, the dreaded pre-op diet. Day 2 I think is the worst because you're starving all day. And cranky isn't the word, I didn't want ANYONE around me. During my pre-op I was able to eat strained cream soups up to three times daily. I was allowed crystal lite, coffee, tea, sugar free Popsicles and clear broth unlimited throughout the day. I know it's a hard diet to follow, but it has it's benefits. It shrinks the liver for a safer surgery and you loose weight too. I'm a bit skeptical about such a low daily caloric intake. Ask your doctor for clarity on what you can and cannot eat pre-op. Trust me, its worth the sacrifice.

Hi -

You reminded me that they did give me a sheet with additional liquids I could consume, but I don't remember seeing anything about cream soups...  I did see broth, but it said once a day.

Ok, basically, instead of trying to soldier it out with just the shakes, I'd better actually look at some of those other items.  I've never been a Jello fan, but right now SF Jello sounds pretty good.

Thanks!

I am having surgery on  May 6th, so today was my class with the Dr and nutritionist. One of the ladies there has already been doing her liquid diet and is having surgery next wed.  Anyway we asked her how it was going, she said the first couple days was really hard but it has gotten easier for her.

I would check and see what your dr has listed, because my dr say NO to any type of cream soups and NO to any type of milk.

I'm on day 3....the skim milk will increase your calories...you should be in the 800-1000 range with shakes being 200 calories or less x 5 putting you at max 1000 along with the broth, jello, popsicles...etc,

It's been 3 years and I still remember those first 3 or 4 days!!! It does get better, hang in there. I made lots of scheduled activities to keep myself busy to keep my mind away from food. That helped a lot. Cram in as much in a day as you can. I have 3 kids and a husband...when they ate meals, I went for walks to get away from the food.