Hi! I am so sorry for you! I know this is tough. I am on day 6 of my 10 day pre-op. Mine, however, is a full liquid diet, so it is different than yours. However, I thought I'd share some things that have helped me, and maybe something will help you a little bit. If nothing else, maybe knowing that somebody else has been there and cares might help.

Knowing WHY I need to stick with it has been a huge motivator for me. I mean, yes, maybe sticking with this diet shows that I will do well with the sleeve, but how motivating is that? I expect the sleeve to help me stick with the diet, anyway!

However, my surgeon's office explains it this way: Most obese people have fatty livers. If the liver does not get shrank down properly before surgery there are 2 things that happen, neither of which is desirable. 1. They have to manipulate the liver to be able to perform the surgery, which means a very uncomfortable recovery. 2. If the liver is too big, they will not perform the surgery, and will instead close up the incisions, and a person might awaken to be told that they do not, indeed, have a nice little sleeved stomach. The second one scares me into following the diet quite strictly.

I will admit to eating a little bit on the first day. Although it wasn't hunger that drove me to it, but rather a social event. We were at a dinner at rather formal acquaintances house, and i was not going to explain my liquid diet. I ate salad and meat and maybe 2 Tablespoons of potatoes. I was still under 1000 calories that day.

The first 3 days, I was super fatigued and scared. How could I cope with this kind of fatigue? What if it was like this after surgery? But it did get better. I still have times when I feel weary, but I can perform my normal daily life just fine. Let me tell you about a couple of the things that helped me.

I contacted my surgeon's office on day 2 and asked if the fatigue was normal. They assured me that it was, but to make sure I was drinking lots of water, and consuming all my calories. I had been given a calorie range, but after that, I started making sure I hit closer to the upper end of that range.

I also made an effort to drink a lot of water. That helped, too.

Another thing I started doing was to drink hot broth. That helps me feel fuller, and I eat it with a spoon, so I feel more like im 'eating' soup.

Chewing sugar free gum has been a huge help. I have lots of gum on hand in lots of different flavors.

Also, staying on top of the hunger has been huge for me. It seems like it's terribly difficult to get back on top of it if I don't catch it right away. If I start realizing I'm hungry, it's a good idea to go grab something, and usually, the hunger subsides.

Another thing I have is sugar-free jello. I bought the pre-made stuff in the individual little cups found by the yogurt in our Walmart. There's about 4 different flavors per a 12-pack, and they are really good when you just want something sweet.

I also got some terrific advice here when I posted about the fatigue: community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10611804/the-pre-op-liquid-diet#latest

I think things will turn around for you if you just keep on keeping on. Sorry it's tough! All the best to you. Feel free to friend me if you need friends. My surgery is 11/8, so we are almost surgery buddies!

You really do need to do the head work now Hunni

You don't think struggling afterwards is true, that you will be forced to stay on the diet........ My hospital had to deal with a woman who a week after sleeve surgery decided she wanted a cheese sandwich.
She woke up a month later in intensive care surrounded by doctors and her terrified family

Please reach out to your bariatric team, see if they can get you in for an appointment to talk it out with a therapist, the dietitian, specialist nurse etc

Try and find something to do when that head hunger hits. Visit a friend, go for a walk, grab an adult colouring book

Yes pre op diet sucks *kitten*. Mine was 3 pints of semi skimmed milk a day and nothing else for 2 weeks but it was needed to shrink my liver so the surgeon had room to operate safely

gettingdownto150 wrote: »

Ok, I have a question. My sleeve surgery is scheduled for next Wednesday 11/8. So I do not have experience with the sleeve. But those of you that do: can you help OP and I to understand?

I know VSG isn't a magic bullet. I know after the sleeve I will need to stay severely cut back on calories and do my part with tracking eating less, and exercising. My surgeon says VSG is a very important tool to help you lose weight. It won't do the work for you. But it's a tool.

Some of you are making it sound like it's a pointless tool. Why should OP and I have the surgery if it's just to throw our money away on something pointless?

I still plan to have the surgery. Sam_c, I hope you do, too. I think you will regret it if you don't! But won't some who has already had the surgery chime in here and give her a reason to stay?!!

I don't think anyone is making it out to be a pointless tool, but as with any other tool, you HAVE to use it properly for maximum effectiveness. You have to make the commitment mentally and physically. Having this surgery was the best decision I have ever made, but it is not the easy way out, and like any other plan for health or weight maintenance, you have to be diligent. You have got to make sure your head is in the game.

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sam_c_93 wrote: »

I typed up a huge response a few mins ago and it disappeared! It took me ages too. So I'm not going to go into all that detail

I appreciate the support but I'm having major doubts about the surgery now. What's the point in me paying all that money if it's not even going to help me and will just be like dieting? I've dieted for 10 years now and it's got me nowhere

I'm in the UK and am going private so it's costing me a lot. Because I'm going private I don't really have a bariatric team to talk to about all these concerns. Their communication hasn't been great. I don't get the same service I'd have gotten if I had gone through our health service. If you go through them you have to go through layers of dieticians and psychologists to qualify, a bit like you do for your US insurance from what I gathered.

If your paying then they really should be giving you better support, please phone them and ask to speak to a member of the team

Your right, if you were done on the nos its a fairly lengthy process. After my gp put in the referral I had to go through tier 3 which involved weekly meetings with thier health workers, regular appointments with a dietitian, phycological testing and as my mobility was very poor a couple of physio sessions

Does your local hospital have any support groups you can link into?

The operation isn't pointless, I "dieted" my way to 387lb and Ill health
But it is just a tool, you do have to be ready to make those life changes alongside the surgery

I'm currently 230lb, I can now walk without a stick, heck I can run and hike now. I hike with my baby on my back, a baby I was told I could never have, that I was infertile

Do I have to watch my diet? Of course because bypass is a tool
Would I change my decision to have bypass? Nope its the best decision I made

I know that therapy isn't a big thing in the UK, but I wish it was. Because I don't think I would have been in the right headspace for this effort without it. And I think you would really benefit from working with someone to get to the issues underneath not being able to stick to an eating plan for a few weeks when it’s necessary for a procedure that you really want. There is something that is making you self-sabotage and that would be important to understand before undertaking weight loss surgery. I know of a lot of people who didn't work on the mental piece and were able to eat around their surgeries and did not lose or lost and regained. The successful ones work on every aspect of their food issues. I wish you the very best. Therre is no shame in postponing your operation to work on the head part so you are at your most successful!

Hi Sam,

I am sorry you are having a rough time. I am still preop and just started my two-week clear liquid diet today. I did a test run for three days last week, and it was definitely tough, but I made it. My surgeon talked to me about the diet last week when I had my endoscopy (he does his own). He said that the preop would be very difficult because it puts your body into starvation mode. It is necessary to ensure your stomach is prepped and to shrink the liver to make surgery easier. He said that it has nothing to do with what will happen after surgery because at that point, in addition to restriction, our Ghrelin (hunger hormone) will be reduced, and we will be naturally less hungry for a while to build better habits. He says he has seen the Ghrelin stay down for up to two years. I don't know about you, but I trust my doctor. He has been doing this for a while, and he has seen a lot.

For me, I knew I wouldn't make it if I didn't find a way that makes it work for me. I had to test out some things before I started. First, make sure you are getting enough liquids. I had to be cognizant of this, or I would get dehydrated and hungry very quickly. I also had to order special products because I can't stomach whey protein. I ordered Bariatric Choice berry flavored liquid protein from Amazon, which I like. I can drink two pouches in about 8 ounces of water to get what I would from a whey drink. I tried some from Bariatric Advantage protein, but I didn't like those. They were powder and hard to drink, for me anyway. I also ordered Bariatric Advantage raspberry protein jello from BariatricPal. It is filling and palatable if you make an effort not to smell it for long. Just get it into your mouth. Also, lots of sugar-free Popcicles and Jello. You would be surprised how much you can take in of these things without going over a calorie limit. I don't have a calorie limit, but I am limited to protein, sugar-free Jello and Popsicles, apple juice, v-8 or tomato juice, broth, caffeine-free tea and water. Decaf coffee is on the menu, but I don't like coffee.

I also ordered GenePro flavorless protein and put that in my broth or apple juice. I can handle it.

I have a very demanding job requiring really long days, lots of stress, and travel by plane often at a moment's notice, so I also ordered Vitamin B-12 patches from Bariatric Pal along with multi-patches and biotin patches to try. Biotin is not just for hair loss. It is also for energy production. I wanted to go ahead and try these for post op use and so I don't have to take my regular supplements on a liquid stomach. Those took some time to arrive, but anything you can get on Amazon will arrive fast. I am not proposing you need these things, but they are helping me, so I thought I would throw these products out there.

I also found that if I mix a tablespoon of low fat cream soup into my broth it can help, and my surgeon said that is okay, but no more. They won't do my surgery if I don't stick to the plan.


Finally, I suggest getting on BariatricPal if you are not already. I love MyFitnessPal and will stay on it, but BariatricPal is a lot more positive concerning Bariatric issues. I have not read all of the posts of this chain, and I don't plan to because I heard there are some negative posts, and I have definitely found more naysayers on MyFitnessPal, that is, outside of my group of friends on here. I have a great group of pals who are never negative. Feel free to invite some of my pals. Omachiver, in particular, is a great Bariatric friend to have. He has been successful and has a lot of good, supportive advice.

Getting rid of the all or nothing attitude is not something we can change over night, that will happen with time, but we have to work on it. We have to think of this as a temporary struggle to endure and beat. You can do this, but you have to make sure you are adequately hydrated and have enough protein, or at least, that is what is working for me.

I know this isn't much, but I really hope it helps. I am not giving up, and I hope you don't either.

Best,
Michelle

sam_c_93 wrote: »

If I could stick to any diets then I wouldn't be having my bypass. The pre-op, so far, hasn't been different for me. I'm fine until around 2pm then I cheat. And I don't mean small cheat, I mean totally ruined the day cheat. I KNOW I need to stick with it but it makes no difference in my head.

I've read all sorts of things saying like "If you can't stick to the pre-op diet you're really going to struggle afterwards", but I don't see how this is true. You are forced to stick with it afterwards and have an absence of the usual hunger as well as a smaller stomach. It's totally different.

I'm trying to get my head in the right place as it's currently not at all. I don't know how to do this though. It's never been in the right place. I can't forcefully change my psychology.

Don't know why I'm posting I just feel really low, worried and hate myself so much. The surgery is the LAST resort and most people seem to stick to the pre-op diet and I can't even stick to that. I can't even get motivated that they might not do the surgery if my liver is too big. My surgeon seems quite lax which isn't helping my mind set. We are even allowed a final three course meal of anything the night before. It doesn't sit right with me (not like I'm complaining).

I suppose I just don't understand how I'm magically supposed to follow a (very restrictive) diet when it's the inability to follow them that has led me to book the surgery in the first place.

For the record my pre-op diet is 800 cals of food a day off a list I choose. I have considered trying a liquid alternative as I'm not sure if the food is actually making it harder

I have ten days until my operation.

My surgery is 11/17, so I will be right behind you. The GenePro is pretty good. It barely has any taste. You are going to do great. If we continue to support each other, we are even more likely to be successful. You keep your chin up too!