not done liver shrink and got the op !!

i went to a group support meeting last night and the girl who talked about her op had not done the liver shrink..

she was asked before she went down had you done the liver shrink and she said kinda .. Dr said yes or no ..

she said i did my best .. but she had not done it for a day .. she said she had been going to the gym but had carried on eating.

she got her op but was down 5.5 hrs.

but then it got everyone thinking do we really have to do this liver shrink .. i was kinda pissed cause it puts doubt in your mind

i mentioned it when i came home from the meet to my other half he went mad !!

said to me take that right out of ur mind right now he said don't you dare think your not doing this ..

as i said i am doing it i was just thinking to i have to be as strict.

as he said do you want to go down and be brought back cause ur liver is not shrunk enough ???

i understand where he is coming from but its really puzzled me now and annoyed me.

Brett...I see where your comming from and where Vince is comming from too....I was absolutly terrified of getting my liver damaged if it was still to big as apparently is a delicate organ bleeds very easily during surgery....have a look at the problems you can get with a liver
What can go wrong

It makes for sobering reading...and at the end of the day how on earth did she cope post op if she couldnt stay the course pre-op?

I wouldnt risk either not having surgery or a damaged liver just cos I didnt do the diet to the letter.

It makes you think doesnt it xxxxx

Brett, for me the pre-op is about more than just liver shrinking, it's about getting your head in the right place too. How can you know that you'll be able to cope with the post-op routine if you can't cope with a simple pre-op routine? Post-op, you can't just say, oh actually I think I'll have a day off and just eat what I want, you have to stick to the rules.

So this lady got away with it. Whoop di doo for her! She's not you, and there are no guarantees you could get away with it. But really, you need to think about whether you would truly want to.

hi brett, she has took it upon herself to abuse the rules from the start which isnt a very good example to set for other patients, the liver diet is there for a reason and they wouldnt tell people to do it if it wasnt beneficial to the patient, the liver is the 1st thing to be moved to one side when they go in, and it makes it easier for the surgeon to do his job and safer for you the patient also, you can do the diet and i have every faith in you, we are all here to support you through it.

liz x

You'll always get people that don't do it but get a lucky escape and the op goes ahead.

You could liken it to smoking. There are those that smoke 20 a day all there lives and get no health issues and others have a few every now and then and get lung cancer.

Everything is a risk not a certainty. If you wan tot give yourself the best chance then you follow the advise and guidelines to the letter.

I can understand your frustration and it makes you think how much these people really want the op. I would bet that if you went back to these people 2 or so years later. Those that cheated in tne pre op diet or more likely to "cheat" the op and not do as well. I am sure this is not the case all of the time but it gets you thinking.

yea for sure understand what your all saying ... im defo going to do my pre op as planned and i will stick to it cause im strong minded.

and i know i want this op so much. and the bariatric nurse told everyone this is not the way to go as the surgeons have removed people from the op cause of liver shrink in the past and you must do it .

i don't think this girl will really get where she wants to from listening to what she said. was quite sad and dis heartening.

i was really annoyed thats all.

and another woman said she thought weight loss surgery was the easy route after trying for 20 years to loose weight and it not working by having this op no matter what you do u will lose weight !

there was hell on lol no on was happy she said that the post op people anyway. and i met the first person who said she really wish she had never done the bypass..

she was 7 weeks out and only reason for saying this was she felt it was all rushed as much as people want this op as quick as they can get it .. you really really need to know everything and what your putting your self forward for cause theres no turning back.

Hi,

I was lucky and didnt have to do any pre op diet! I was considered a "light weight"..(yeah right!) lol..so It can depend on how much you need to lose too! But if you have been told to do it then do it!! When I had my RNY done..someone came back from theater, without their op bcoz their liver was still too big!..I cant imagine waking up and being told I didnt get the op...

Kel xx

Brett, everyone finds their way to wls differently.You know that they give the liver-shrinking advice because it medically neccessary for most people. Some people have such short notice that they have to skip it. Or maybe they have a lower BMI, but they are the exception, not the rule. You obviously know that, and I share your irritation of that woman's 'pride' in taking a medical risk.

But I will tell you a secret, just between you and me. People who can't/won't obey the pre-op diet are the same people who rush their food stages and eat unhealthy post-op. They will also be the ones scrathing their heads at 8, 9, 10 months down the road when they can't shift anymore weight or have actually gained. It is all about having your head in the game. Those who are really commited, have decided to change their lives forever and realize that repeated mistakes/abuses of the tool early on set you up for failure in the future are the ones who achieve their goals and maintain their weight loss permanently! It is hard slog to get your head sorted but it is really, really important. It is probably the most important thing post-op.

That is just how I feel about.

Nic

well i have had a good cry to the bariatric nurse today about last night and she was not happy that i was the strong me that i normally am .. she said the girl who spoke last night was not pleased with what she did ..

she spoke cause the nurse wanted everyone to understand its not easy and how honest you have to be with your self and that its not a good idea to do what she did cause she was very lucky that her liver had shrunk enough or she would not have had the op.

so i feel a little better .. there was a few things that upset me lat night .. they had a room change and there was twice as many people there last night around 50 i would say.

and the room was hot and loud and i have panic attacks and that made me worse so i came away from last night upset.

and then talked about after support and she made me know that there will be loads of after support for me and i had nothing to worry about.

so i feel a bit better now.. and my other half has aid sorry cause he went mad about last night after me coming home with her story and thinking i was going to do the same ..

but knows better than anyone how strong i am ..

so its been one of them days lol

For me the pre-op diet was hard for the first 5 days, then it kinda became normal. Mentally it has set me up for my post-op life, and only eating tiny amounts etc. And physically it shrunk my liver, and also prepared my stomach and bowel for major changes.

It is hard,mainly for the first few days. Enjoy the days u have left, and then get stuck in, ready for ur new life. xxx

(((((( Brett ))))))

Some big strong purple hugs for you babe...Sometime things like that really get under your skin don't they and the irritate and hurt far more than others think they should....its that walk a mile in my shoes thing isn't it. You are a lovely guy and I hate to think that last night upset you so much...come here and Bi*ch to us about it and we can send you hugs and listen.

Take care of yourself and listen to Vince he loves you loads its so obvious xxx

bret i wanted to share this with you and for anyone else having doubts about the pre op diet. It is an email from my friend in dubie and her experiance

Carol, I'm 5ft 8 and until I had Salim I was always a size 12-14, never had a spare ounce on me and for most of my life was always told I could be a model. That was in the days when 5ft 8 was very tall and models started out at about 5ft 7. I was an eleven pound baby, just like Salim, but what you've said about absorption rate now has me very curious as to a few things. I have between 7 and 8 stone to lose. After having Salim I never lost my baby weight and over the years I've just gotten bigger and bigger though I've stayed stable for the last 3 years. I've tried everything to lose weight, even have a fully equipped bloody gym here in the house that has seen no end of personal trainers in it. They all get a really good work out with me and I stay fat. Last november I decided to try the gastric balloon and that was a mistake, although people can do well on it I hated it, it felt awful and after 4 months I had it taken out - 2 months too early. It's actually becoming quite the thing to give people the balloon for 6 months leading up to the op in order to help get them to a safer weight for surgery so it may be something you want to keep in mind. Another thing - are you on reductil or anything because I would have thought they should have you on something to tide you over till you have your op.

Anyway after having the balloon out, I did lost half a stone though some people can lose 4 or 5 stone, I was at my wits end and one very unhappy lady. I was having to face facts that whatever it took to lose weight the traditional way I didn't have it. Also carol, I hate being overweight, I don't even live a half a life when I'm like this and at 50 I knew things had to change. So one day I just got up and went off to the surgeon, I'd spoken to him a few times about banding when I was having the balloon done - and 2 hours later I had signed the consent papers. What happened next was really funny. I phoned my pal and said, "well denise whatever it is Fern Britton has - I don't, I just cannot lose weight her way." My friend laughed and said, "too bloody true you don't have what she has - she admitted today she has a band." So although it will sound really corny carol - I knew I had done the right thing. lolol

I think from deciding to doing it was about 3 weeks, I could have done it sooner but I was in the middle of dental treatment and wanted it finished.

When I woke up I felt worse than I thought I would and it transpires that my 50 minute op actually took 2 hours and was nearly stopped at one time. I have always been looked upon as a really healthy overweight lady with fantastic cholesterol, bp, blood sugars, fitness level etc but seemingly my liver was so heavy and fat the doctor couldn't hold it, and every time he touched it, it bled. My op was nearly stopped because of it. Nothing in any pre op test indicated there was a problem with my liver, not the scan, the blood test and it was a very big shock for all concerned. I have a bmi 0f 40 and the doctor said my liver is the size of someone with a bmi of 60. So carol I now know there is no such thing as a healthy overweight lady and for that reason alone I would urge you to have the op done. Forgot looking gorgeous, cos you surely will, get it done for health reasons. My doc was so sure I was ok he didn't even put me on the pre-op liver shrinking diet that people usually have to do! Thankfully it will heal itself but I am and was very scared.

Why I had the band - I waned to be able to work with the band although my surgeon thought the bypass or sleeve would be better for me. If you are a grazer you can beat the band, it is better for people who eat 3 meals and 2 snacks a day and aren't bingers. If you are a grazer and binger then you are better off with the bypass or sleeve. My doctor thought that as someone who has a high level of mental stress in her day (((my wonderful son))) that the bypass would be better as I wouldn't have to think about things so much. But I knew that for me it had to be the band even though I know my eating habits mean the other two would have done as well depending on what day it is. pmpl

hth
carole

I was told that the pre op diet for the liver was mainley for lap ops and not really for open surgery

brett30 said:

i went to a group support meeting last night and the girl who talked about her op had not done the liver shrink..

she was asked before she went down had you done the liver shrink and she said kinda .. Dr said yes or no ..

she said i did my best .. but she had not done it for a day .. she said she had been going to the gym but had carried on eating.

she got her op but was down 5.5 hrs.

but then it got everyone thinking do we really have to do this liver shrink .. i was kinda pissed cause it puts doubt in your mind

i mentioned it when i came home from the meet to my other half he went mad !!

said to me take that right out of ur mind right now he said don't you dare think your not doing this ..

as i said i am doing it i was just thinking to i have to be as strict.

as he said do you want to go down and be brought back cause ur liver is not shrunk enough ???

i understand where he is coming from but its really puzzled me now and annoyed me.

Click to expand...

Hi Brett

Listen to Vince hun,I am one of the unfortunate ones who have been down to theatre and came back without the op being done due to the condition of my liver and i did the pre-op diet ,it was one hell of a wake up call for me.
I just couldnt believe i had gone thru all that and still no wls ,but i only have myself to blame to much eating the wrong food and eating it too late at night and binge drinking ,when i look back now i am not surprise the operation failed.
My lifestyle,drinking and eating habits have changed so much since that day in October.
Hopefully by the time i go for the op again next month i will be joining the other losers on here.fingers crossed

As others have said dont get upset,look forward to your new life and get Vince to give you some extra cuddles.

Di xxx

Brett, you have already recieved some fantastic replies including the fantastic honest post by Di above, and the fantastic post by PG.

Its so not worth the risk. I hope the people organising the meeting gave her a good telling off for planting the idea into peoples heads that they can "get away with" not doing the pre op diet.

WHen do you have to start your pre op hun?

Hi I went to a group meeting a couple of weeks ago with my sister who is having a band fitted and someone there asked about 10 day pre-op and the nurse who was taking the meeting said if when they go in to do the surgery the liver hasn't shrunk due to not sticking to the pre-op then he will close up and refuse to do the op until you have proved you can lose at least 5 stone. Pretty drastic but I suppose if you cant stick to the 10 days then you are hardly going to change your lifestyle forever and stick to it, so it really isnt worth not doing it. xx

I only had a few days notice prior to my op and as my BMI was not too high Mr Ammori said not to worry about the pre op diet....this was not long after Di (blonemoment) had been down to theatre and refused surgery. I remember fearing I would wake up and find they had not done it. So whilst on one hand I was glad I did not have to do it I still worried myself silly and the first words out of my mouth was "has it been done"....and thankfully it had...xx

Brett!! you know you have to do this and i am sure you will follow it to the letter, its good mental practise for after the op, and believe me it helps a LOT. The conditioning you put your mind through is just as important as the physical.

Brett,
I've been told by the hospital I don't need to do a pre op diet for my bypass as I already have a band, however i am soo concerned i'm kinda doing it anyway. Have you seen them do a bypass/band on tv, the size of your liver can be the differnece between keyhole and open surgery. I don't want the huge scars of open surgery so will do what I can to prevent that.

We all go down a long journey to get to wls and as others have said you need that time to get your head in the right place, i've had my band for nearly 3 years (should have had a bypass to start) and i've sat in many support groups and as someone else has said i've found the ones who think its a 'quick fix' or flout the rules are the ones who fail then sit and tell you the op isn't working for them.

I listened to a lady 5 weeks post op(bypass) who was sooo angry that she couldn't eat the way she had previously, she'd even had a sandwich and lots of 'normal foods'. It worries me that people only hear what they want to hear where wls is concerned, they don't research or join sites like this where you can hear ALL sides of the story.

I honestly beleive from what i've seen you have wrote that your head is in the right place for your op, please don't let others influence your thoughts or way of dealing with your wls. We have lots of support here, but this is a one man journey, no 2 peoples journeys are the same and we have to deal with our own issues as they arise in our own way.

Good Luck Brett and everyone else, we can and WILL do this...the right way.
XX

Brett , just try and think what you would advise if some one else had posted this. You would be saying the same as everyone else has here. Just because someone has done it and got away with it doesn't mean its right for someone else to do it and jepordise the op just because it has been done once. If you stick to the diet as best as you can I think it will help you get in the right head space for those first few weeks of fluids only. This is something for life and not something you do when you can feel bothered to do it.

You are strong and can do this you will do really well and will be able to tell people at future meetings that you have done the pre op diet and survived it and how much it helped you in those early weeks.