Question:
Did Anyone Gain Weight Before Surgery?
I spoke with my nutritionist the other night and she warned me that the surgery table at the hospital only holds up to 350. I am at 339, so I want to make sure I don't gain before the surgery, It's hard considering everything is a last meal mentality! I started walking more and have a protein shake for breakfast. It's not that I was planning to gorge myself, but I feel like I put myself on a diet with only two weeks to go before surgery. Wondering if anyone gained weight prior to surgery, how much, did you have to lose it, etc.? — mrsmyranow (posted on June 13, 2003)
June 13, 2003
I gained about 15-20 pounds before surgery. Let's just say I had a lot of
last suppers. I ate all the ice cream I could because I knew I would never
get my favorite chocolate chip cookie dough again. I weighed in at 378 the
day of my surgery and they never said anything about a weight limit on the
table.
I am happy to say that 8 months post-op I am down 110 pounds with about 90
to go.
I would say you should definately have some of your favorite foods before
surgery because you might not get them again. Keep up the walking. I
started walking prior to surgery and I think that helped me heal so
quickly.
— ckreh
June 13, 2003
I too have gained about 20 pounds and am scheduled for 06/23/03. They have
not said anything about it. I am trying to control myself a bit more but
EVERYONE wants to take me out for a LAST meal. It's hard to say
"no" when they know all my favorites--some I will be able to have
some not. I guess that's why I have been willing to go out and eat.
— Kathy J.
June 13, 2003
Yes. I gained almost 30 lbs. before surgery. I ate any and everything
though. I don't regret it and now I can still vividly remember how Fried
ice cream tasted. I am only 2 weeks post-op and I have lost 18 lbs. So, I
guess I am now having to work off that 30 lbs.
— Mindy B.
June 13, 2003
Oh yeah! 2 months of last meals - eating out constantly, gallons of ice
cream... I gained. But it was worth it to me - a closure of a lifestyle
gone forever!
— jen41766
June 13, 2003
My doctor didn't allow any weight gain - in fact he required that you lose.
Believe it or not I was weighed in the pre-op area on the day of my
surgery - I already had my hospital gown on and everything. I was told
that if you gained weight your surgery would be cancelled!
— Susan B.
June 13, 2003
I think that I probably gained weight in the months right before I had my
first consult with my surgeon. Fortunately, he understood that patients
seeking WLS have trouble losing weight, so he didn't impose any ridiculous
requirements that he wouldn't operate if you gained weight or that you had
to lose some weight before surgery. Also, he supplies to the hospital a
special bed for his WLS patients which accomodate those of us who were a
tad over 350 pounds (I started at over 500 pounds).
I did find myself being much more careful about what I was putting in my
mouth after my consult-- and I was only given 7 days notice of my operation
date as another patient had cancelled and I was given her spot. So, I
didn't have any last meals as I was on such a shortened timetable to reduce
fats (so that my liver size would shrink facilitating the laparoscopic
performance of my RNY). Although I may have liked a last supper, I had
become so sick and tired of living a life dominated by food and insatiable
hunger that I was eager to start my new life even before surgery. There
were some moments in the first few days after surgery that I longed for
some of my old comfort foods and wished that I could have devoured several
helpings of them before surgery, but then (as happens with most patients)
my relationship with food so drastically changed that those feelings
passed.
Good luck!
— SteveColarossi
June 13, 2003
I gained about 10 pounds right before surgery. I didn't intentionally
gorge myself... I just became less careful about what I ate and when I ate
it. And, I did enjoy my month long "last supper" syndrome! I
thought there would be a lot of foods that I would never taste again....
WRONG! I can take a bite of just about anything I want now if the craving
hits me....and, I just leave it after a bite or two. So don't feel like you
have to eat something because you will never have it again. Best of luck
to you!
— teresa M.
June 13, 2003
I know from my own experience and those of other people on here that a lot
of the surgeons want you to LOSE weight before surgery. It helps shrink
your liver to make it easier for them to work around and less dangerous for
you. Also, A lot of people have gotten their surgery cancelled at the last
meeting with the surgeon because they have gained weight. Since yours
didn't say anything about this to you, be very careful. You don't want to
be blindsided
— Delores S.
June 14, 2003
Once my surgery date was scheduled, I had no cares. I guess that's bad
...but I knew there were alot of things I wasn't going to be able to have
for a long time, maybe never again, so it was no holds barred. If I wanted
it I let myself have it. I gained ten pounds in a month before the
surgery.
— Dana G.
June 14, 2003
I gained a few pounds before surgery. I also had that Last Supper
mentality. No one really told me that I would be able to eat the foods I
really liked before surgery once I healed up from surgery - I just wouldn't
want to! I remember having Montgomery Inn ribs before surgery - man, were
they good, and I was going to miss them. Since surgery, I have had more
than one opportunity to have them and passed them up in favor of something
else! There is a particular brand of ice cream made in a certain way only
in Cincinnati, and it is just awesome. I have not even had any desire to
try it since surgery, because it is high in butterfat. I have only dumped
once - on something very small but high fat, but I haven't dumped on sugar
- yet. So, that really influences what I choose now. Eat what you want
before surgery if you can. It will never be the same afterwords and that's
a GOOD THING, as Martha Stewart would say! You are doing a great thing by
walking and increasing the protein before surgery, but do indulge in some
of your favorites before you take this step. It may very well be that you
won't miss them after surgery! By the way, my surgeon feels the same way -
get it out of your system before you have surgery, and it was not a problem
for him that I was up, less than 10 lbs., before surgery.
— koogy
June 14, 2003
If there was one piece of advice I could pass along to all pre-ops, its to
please try not to go wild and gain weight before your surgeries. No one
told me that I would still be able to eventually eat all my old favorites
after surgery, so I felt sure I had to eat as much of them as possible, as
I would NEVER be able to have my cheesecake, cookies, candy, fast food
burgers and fries ever again. Those 10 pounds I gained in the month before
surgery are the same 10 pounds keeping me from goal. And I can still eat
all my old favorites, just in smaller amounts and not as often, mostly
because I don't want them more often. And as a post-op your tastes do
change and some of the old favorites are no longer favorites. I used to
love fast food burgers-now they are tasteless and just don't sit right.
wish I could say that about cookies! LOL!
— Cindy R.
June 15, 2003
Oh Myra, how I goofed on this "last meal" issue. I like the
previous posters, believed that I would not be able to eat my favorites
after surgery. That is the biggest misconception yet about this surgery.
First of all, the first few weeks I DID NOT WANT this stuff even if I could
have had it. Second of all, you can eventually eat most everything you
want (very small quantities, of course). This surgery is really a miracle
for me. Even though I am only 10 weeks post op I don't want all of that
stuff. Once you start losing, you try the exercise and good food choices
to speed it up. I have tried some things and don't even care for them any
more at all. I have been very lucky, no "head hunger" as of
yet. I really don't feel like I will have it. I gained about 10-15 pounds
prior to surgery and that was probably the biggest goof-up of all! Oh how
I could be 10-15 pounds lighter now! Please don't make the same mistakes
that I have. The people who lose prior to surgery have truly made the BEST
decision. Good Luck! This surgery has been a true blessing in my life. I
have lost 48 pounds and feel great. But just think - 58 sounds so much
better - doesn't it!
— Post O.
Click Here to Return