pre-op diet begins

So I started my pre-op diet yesterday which actually wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.  For my shakes my nutrionist suggested bariatric advance but I really didn't like the taste of that so....to Costco I went.  I purchased the premier protein shakes that I kept hearing about.  I got both chocolate and vanilla.  I'm surprised by the taste.  I'm really not into shakes so i originally started to get the vanilla and just add the sugar free syrups to it but my friend suggested to get both just in case I didn't like the vanilla.  She was right.  Not a fan of the vanilla.  It was a bit too sweet for my taste buds. The only way I can tolerate it is to add some skim milk, half of a banana and a strawberry.  Now I don't know if thats okay with my nutrionist but that is what works so far.  Now the chocolate...I really like.  It's pretty good.  The other part of my pre op diet that i like is that I can have 4 oz of lean meat and 2-3 servings of a non-starchy veggie.  I can also have a pat of butter or a tablespoon of salad dressing.  

So...for my first day I had three shakes, had a chicken breast and half a cup of greens...(yum) plus I drank water throughout the day so I wasn't hungry at all.  Now my hubby did make spaghetti for the family last night and it smelled sooooo good but i wasn't tempted to cheat so I gave myself a pat on the back.  I also got my APPROVAL letter   YAAAAY!  So that just really made my day and I'm soo looking forward to joining the losers bench.    

Today I go to my pre-op meeting at the hospital and discuss what to prepare for pre-op as well as post op and tomorrow is my pre-op appointment with my doctor and have my labs done.  

My biggest concern now is how much time it will take to recover.  I don't want to go back to work just to have something happen and have to take off of work again.  I'm a phlebotomist so I'm on my feet all day...I just really want some advise from the veterans out there to see how much time you took off for your surgery.

I had my surgery Sept. 11th, as for pain I had little.  The drain will probably be the worst part, not at first but the  night before it was removed it caused some painful cramps.  Walk as much as you can stand after the surgery it will help with this.  Some of the people who had surgery with me had brought medicines for gas, this also helped greatly.  For the first 2 weeks you have a 10lb limitation on lifting after that it is 30lb until you hit  6 weeks.  You can not work out for 6 weeks other then light walking.  Technically you can go back to work to a desk job after 2 weeks but for a job on your feet you will want to hold out for as much of the 6 weeks as you can.  If you can hold off I think 3 or 4 weeks will be okay but you will have to take it easy.   If you do too much you will rip open your stomach.  You will be physically weak after the surgery and it will take a lot of time to recover that strength.  You will feel fine but it won't be, just remind yourself that you just had major surgery when you get frustrated.   One of the women who had the surgery had a friend who was in the hospital with a feeding tube because she did some light vacuuming 5 days after surgery.  I know she was in the hospital for at least a month.  I am sadly unemployed so I at least got the time to heal, but even now I don't think I am as physically strong as I was before the surgery  I hope this has not scared you, this has been well worth it and I would do it again in a heart beat. 

You are lucky.  My 2 week pre-op diet, which I started today,  is strictly liquid with only a few exceptions.  I get 4 protein shakes per day (Bariessentials Choc w/ 8oz of skim milk).  Other than that, I can have water, sugar free kool aid, crystal light, sugar free jello, sugar free pop-cicles, and chicken broth.  So no solid food for those two weeks before surgery and then 3 weeks after surgery.  3 weeks after surgery I get to start eating pureed foods like baby food.   So consider youself lucky that you get some solid foods at least up until your surgery.

Dave.