Sh*t Just Got Real

Effective a couple of hours ago I'm on my surgeon's pre op plan for my surgery next Wednesday: nothing but zero or very low calorie clear liquids for the next seven days. As much as I'm looking forward to getting the surgery done and starting the next part of my journey, thi**** me like a ton of bricks and set off the first panic attack I've had in years. I go tomorrow for all my preop work, and I'm afraid I'm going to be a scared, shaking mess. Not exactly the strong, confident persona I'd wanted to project! Gah! If anyone is feeling so inclined, please share how you got past any "I-can't-do-this!" feelings. With that, and by the grace of benzodiazepines, I'll make it through (I hope)!

If a big huge needlephobe like me with a severe anxiety disorder can walk into a hospital and do this so can anyone.  I wanted this surgery more then anything I have ever wanted, a second chance in life to run with.  Nearly nine years later I am still thrilled to be a normal bmi and NOT diabetic!

Your pre-op diet is different than mine was, but by day 3 I was AOK. Pure excitement got me through the first 2 days. :) 

I hope you will have a similar experience and find there are really only 48 hours of 'trying' and the rest becomes 'doing'. I suggest the Isopure RTD clear liquid protein to help you feel full and have good nutrition during this time.

:)

Hi Pam - I too am scheduled for Wednesday - and I feel the same way. Mine got real about 4 hours ago when I realized that my (our) surgery is one week from tomorrow - YIKES. I know it's normal to have doubts and wonder if we're doing the right thing - but we ARE. We CAN do it. The other day I decided to get a tattoo on my wrist - a dainty little thing that says "I Can" in Arabic (I want to be the only one who knows what it says - and Arabic is so pretty!). I got it done in red - the Power color. Also, since this is permanent I wanted a permanent reminder that I can do this. So when I get freaky I just look at my wrist and say The Mantra - "I Can - I Can - I Can" Three times cuz my lucky number is three... weird, but hey, it works for me. I actually tweaked the idea from my therapist who wanted me to go buy a small bracelet to wear and when anxiety hit, to touch it and feel stronger. Remember, we are not powerless - we are Powerfull!
Good luck and let's stay in touch - We can do it!

So excited for you!  I wasn't at our 12/4 support group due to a family emergency, but I look forward to seeing you post-op in January!  :D

 

Jen

Too funny - I wasn't there either because I had a family emergency - my son was struck with a nasty 5mm kidney stone - THREE visits to the ER... ugh! See you in Jan!

QoftheU, grats on the tattoo! I have a couple myself, hmm, maybe I can use this as an excuse to convince my husbeast to let me get another one! 

Thanks for the cheerleading. I'll be posting here, and definitely will be thinking about you next Wednesday (Dun dun DUNNNN!)

Zero calories?  So no protein drinks?  No protein for seven days before major surgery?

Kelly, I know how knowledgeable you are, and how helpful you are on these boards, so your question did give me pause. At my pre-op visit today, I asked about the clear liquids restriction and expressed my concern. The two surgeons in the practice both use this same protocol, and have for almost 2500 surgeries. (Sometimes they even have people do this for two weeks; thankfully that's not the case for me.) The point of the severe restriction is to shrink the liver as much as possible, since the surgeons do not like doing open WLS as it's much more problematic. When doing surgery laparoscopically, the more that can be done to get the liver out of the way the better, as having as clear and unobstructed field as possible is important in keeping complications to a minimum. At this point they've had no complications which can be traced back to the dietary restriction pre-surgery, and they feel their record of complications is better than other surgeons *because* of their diet plan. It may not be what many people here have heard/done, but I'm confident enough in my surgeon to go along with the program.

For the record, I asked the pre-op nurse when I was at the hospital, and she confirmed that they've had all their patients following this protocol for some time. She agreed that it sounds too harsh, but she said that the results seem to bear out the wisdom of it.

I did find information about a study that suggests that low or no protein diets prior to surgery may actually have a beneficial effect and help protect against complications: http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2012/01/25/protein-free-d iet-may-make-surgery-less-risky/ While it's interesting reading, it has so far only been tested in mice. However, the fact that there's any link at all to a protein-sparing diet being beneficial before surgery makes this seem a little less crazy, IMO. The study is available for download from the journal site, if anyone has the physiology chops to make sense of it. The abstract is all that would be meaningful to me.

Thank you (and everyone else) for asking about it, though, as it gave me a chance to get a bit more information about one aspect of all this.

Thanks for providing the link about low protein diets.  That is pretty much the opposite of what I was told by my surgeon.  I think the important thing is that you're asking questions and getting answers that satisfy you.  I have no doubt that your surgeon has had many patients that did well on his plan, just as mine did.  Certainly there are more than one method that works.