liquid diet
It takes a lot more than people disagreeing with me on an online forum to make me angry. I really did want to know why everyone seems to be of the belief that if I ate vegetables, it would be bad. If it's just "you should do what your doctor tells you," then fine. I was looking for more than that.
Believe me, I'm not angry. I guess I wasn't aware that discussions of such a nature were discouraged on here. Some boards are more open to debate than others, I suppose.
I guess that's what I get for choosing surgery in Mexico, where I can't actually TALK to my doctor before the procedure. If I had a doctor that was more accessible, I wouldn't have to address my questions to a board like this.
I never said, "no one gave a crap" or anything of the sort. I did expect a bit more than "you can do it!" from everyone who I imagined had experienced food addiction before. I didn't feel I was doing anything too horrible and was just disappointed to get "don't do that!" more than the "It's ok, everyone struggles with that part and you're not gonna die if you cheat a little bit." that was I expecting.
I broke down and called a few people who I know had the surgery and every one of them who had to do liquids for more than 3 days cheated. I'm happy for everyone on here who was able to do it so perfectly.
Either way, I'm over worrying about it. I'm on day 7 and I've lost about 12 lbs. I can't allow something like this to distract me from what I'm doing. Maybe someone who comes along and is having a problem with the liquid diet in a month or two will find this thread helpful.
Ok, that's fine. I was trying to make you feel better with my last post, not upset you more. I'm glad you found peace with your decision.
I was not perfect with my pre-op diet, but I was never placed on a strict clear liquid diet like you have been.
And as a PS, I was in constant contact with my surgeon, his surgical assistant and his nutritionist from 2 weeks pre-op until now. I just spoke with Elsa, Dr Rumbaut's nutritionist last week. And I'm almost 9 months post-op. If your Mexico surgeon isn't giving you answers, maybe it's not the surgeon's location, but the surgeon himself.
Bridget
I don't know, maybe someone else who had surgery with Dr. Joya can comment? The only contact I've had with anyone from his office is Gerald and he isn't allowed to comment on the liquid diet because he can't give "medical advice."
Other people I've talked to who had surgery with Dr. Joya said they had a meeting with a nutritionist before surgery, but I don't think I spoke with anyone who talked with one while they were still in the states.
Well, I filled out an extensive medical history form, but no, I haven't spoken with anyone about anything. It may be because I'm not taking any prescription medications and I don't usually take any over the counter medications either.
I don't have any other health problems either. The only thing he may have needed to know was that I had my gall bladder out 6 yrs. ago, but I guess he didn't have any questions about it?
I did email when I got a cold last week and he said it was ok for me to take medicine to control the symptoms.
I emailed Gerald today and asked him if I could please talk to the doctor about the pre-op diet issue and he seemed to be of the opinion that all US doctors require a 2 week liquid diet, which I know isn't true.
He did say that the doctor would contact me, but it seemed more ominous and "God, I can't believe you're asking to talk to the doctor about something so small...why are you fighting this?" than "Of course, you can talk to the doctor anytime you want to."
I wonder if other patients of Dr. Joya could address this issue of communication before surgery about medical history and such?
I had surgery with Dr Joya in June .......I had a full work up with an Internal medicine Dr. before I had surgery blood and ekg etc....what impressed me was the Internal Medicine Dr. knew all about my medical history and knew who he was talking to when I was one of 4 having surgery that day........The liquid diet is for your benefit to shrink your liver......I do not know anyone who was able to do it 100%.... but it is to your benefit to shrink your liver....The liver rests on top of the top part of the stomach....just do the best you can......If your BMI is really high you risk with any dr the chance of a open surgery...If you don't get your liver shrunk....If your BMI is lower your liver is probably smaller......I felt I was in capable hands with Dr Joya and he is the Dr so he makes his own pre- op rules like any other Dr does......its your life why fight it? Honestly now with a good fill I was able to eat MORE on the pre op diet then I can right now........Obesity surgery is the start of a new life is has rules to follow beyond the pre op diet and surgery......and it is not easy all the time
Each doctor is different in their requirements for your diet pre-surgery and no, I personally don't believe that a little cauliflower is going to be a problem. But I'm not a doctor, so don't do what I say because I expressed an opinion.
You have your own journey to follow and you just do the best that you can muster. Once you are out of surgery, you will have to give it some more effort, but no, it won't be as hard as before surgery. You may not feel hungry for months. For me, I did have hunger right away, but I think the majority of people with the RNY get the benefit of not being hungry.
Good luck to you - see you on the other side!
Dina
Being blunt isn't a problem if you know exactly what you are talking about with no preconceived notions. The problem is that your statement is that "If you don't shrink your liver you will have to have your surgery open..." etc. That's not an accurate statement. It depends on the person, it depends on the doctor and his skill level and it depends on your anatomy.
Some doctors require a clear liquid diet, some require just a liquid diet (which doesn't make sense pureeing beef stew pre-op...you are still eating the same amount of calories and your body doesn't know any different), and some just want you to watch what you eat and eat light. My doctor (of course I was open) just told me to have a light meal the night before surgery. I had a chile poblano, half a serving.
Rather than make everything so black and white, my feeling is it's always to leave a little wiggle room for individual experiences. Not everyone will have the same experience and making absolute statements only serves to raise the ire of other people who want to make absolute statements.
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