PRE-SURGERY dietary restrictions for hard candy?

Can hard candy like lemon drops or peppermints be eaten during the pre-surgery 2 week diet?

I am currently on the shakes, water, and sugar free jello and grape crystal light.

I want to know about the hard candies, cause the jello disappears in about 3 bites for me cause the cups are so tiny!!

Unless the candy is sugar-free, it's not suitable for the pre-op diet. The surgeon needs to be able to move your liver aside to operate on your stomach. As I understand it, sugar causes your liver to absorb more water, and swell. The purpose of the pre-op diet is to shrink your liver to make surgery safer, so you have to say no to sugar.

I know the pre-op diet is difficult. It does get a little easier each day.

Oh and don't make the mistake of one person I know. She had followed the pre-op diet to the letter, but thought it would be OK to binge on chocolate the night before surgery. Her liver was so big that the surgeon almost had to cancel the surgery. It was a very difficult procedure.

Thank you for the information. Yes it?s definitely been difficult. First night was the hardest. But I am already not wanting to inhale half the house food supply. I have deliberately put the shakes and jello?s in another fridge that is outside and cause it?s getting pretty cold at night, I don?t want to make the trek out after anything!! Thanks to water and grape crystal light, I have already reduced my cravings. Not eliminated, but reduced.

thank you for responding.

If you use sugarfree hard candy, you can end up with terrible cramps and diarrhea. It is OK to use it, but be very careful if you do. Try one of two pieces and see what happens.

I found chicken and beef broth very helpful on the liquid diet. I was on clear liquids and not allowed shakes for two weeks before surgery. Just broth, crystal light and sugar-free juices and sugar-free jello.

Make your own sugar-free jello and have a large bowl, not those tiny cups. Since you are allowed protein shakes, get a blender and add a tablespoon of sugar-free pudding to make the shakes thicker and more filling.

This is a great learning opportunity for how to feed yourself after surgery.

What about diet sodas such as Diet Coke and diet Dr Pepper during pre-surgery diet? It is sugar free.

That is a very controversial topic on this forum. Many people would say that you should give them up now. A few people say that if they help you get through the pre-op diet, go for it.

You will have to give them up after surgery, for a while at least. When you're healing after surgery, you don't want something expanding in your stomach and causing tension on the stitches. And even when that danger's over, soda takes a long time to drink. You'll be so busy trying to drink the amount of fluid you're supposed to that you won't have time for carbonated stuff.

I myself drank diet coke during the pre-op diet. After surgery, I didn't find it difficult to stop the soda. I do have it occasionally now (1 year +)

Thanks. I will double check with the dietician on my Dr's staff to see what she says.

I appreciate the help and timely responses.

I checked with my dietician and she said that sugar free hard candy is limited to 3 or 4 PIECES PER DAY!! ???

so I won't even bother. Same for the chewing gum. After asking about the candy, I decided it best to not have it at all. So........

time to run to the store and get more crystal light and chicken and beef broth!

Curious - are the all caps and exclamations because 3-4 pieces per day is too little or too many? I was thinking that is a lot but maybe not?

Good luck with your liquids only -- I still count myself fortunate that my program didn't require that! You can do it!

Too little.... and the ALL CAPS AND ALL EXCLAMATION POINTS IS TO EMPHASIZE THAT PART OF THE STATEMENT...