Preop diet with Dr Cahn...

[bee in my bonnet]

Okay, so I am hoping that my insurance will approve me and that I can be set to be banded in October, but I have a dilemma. My husband and I are scheduled to go on vacation to visit family October 4-10. I deally, I would like to have the surgery the week that I get back. Dr Cahn operates on Mondays at St. Al's so it would be perfect.

What is the preop diet like? Is it something that I can do while I am away from home easily? I really don't want to wait until the first week of November. At Dr Cahn's seminar he didn't give specifics but said that typically one has to lose 5-10% of weight before surgery. I am a little stressed about it. I was meaning to call the office today but got sidetracked at work.

How much weight did you guys lose preop? Is it protien shakes, broth and jello? How many calories were you on? I can be motivated and stay on a preop diet while I am away knowing that my life is changing the week I get back. I just really need to know if you all think that it is possible.

I don't know how quickly my insurance will approve me and don't know how comfortable I would be sitting on a plane if I got banded in early September. What do you think?

[chopka]

Dr Anderson in Boise was my surgeon and I lost about 30# before my surgery and it took me about 3 months to lose the weight. I drank a protein shake every morning, ate a lot of nonfat cottage cheese, and lean meat. I was told to stay away from fruits and bread during the diet. I don't know if Dr Cahn wants you to follow a different diet or not. It really wasn't a bad as I thought it would be.

Rae Jean

[LindaV]

Dr. Anderson is also my doctor, but I have heard from a lot of Dr. Cahn's patients and I believe that his diet consists of a combination of protein drinks, slimfast shakes and vegetables. I also know that he will postpone your surgery if you do not lose all your weight.

A quick call to Deb, his nurse, should be able to answer your question for sure.

[bee in my bonnet]

Postpone?? Postpone??? That is good to know. I would hate THAT to happen. Does Dr Anderson postpone surgeries?

I want to get the lap band so quickly that I can't afford to get anything postponed. My insurance is changing in January so I need to kind of hurry.

I didn't interview any doctor other than Cahn. Would you recommend that I see Dr Anderson?

[LindaV]

I believe that Dr. Anderson will postpone surgeries as well.

[bee in my bonnet]

Oh. Well, do you know if they factor in how soon I want the surgery, or do you think they will say I have to lose X lbs no matter how long it takes me?

How long did it take you to lose your weight and how much did you lose?

[LindaV]

I think both Dr.'s want you to lose about 10% of...either your excess weight or your total weight, I'm not completely sure about which one. Jaime, the lap band coordinator at St. Al's, could probably answer that question.

If you are in a hurry, it might be worth talking to Dr. Anderson. I think he will see you before you have all of the requirements done while, I have heard that you can't get an appointment to see Dr. Cahn until you have all of the presurgical requirements done. I think that I have also heard that Dr. Anderson is more likely to have an opening for surgery sooner.

Either way, they are both good doctors and I would recommend either.

One thing that I would strongly recommend though is that if you have not seen a dietitian yet, that you see Joyln Seibert. She is GREAT! Many of the local bandsters have switched to her because she is so good. I think that Dr. Anderson lets her set your presurgery diet. The good thing about Dr. Cahn's diet is that, while it is difficult to do mostly liquids, you can lose weight quickly. If Jolyn knows that you are on a time-line, she will work with you to do what you need to do to lose the weight.

[LindaV]

I just saw on your other thread that you are seeing Jolyn. Good choice!

[bee in my bonnet]

OMG! I see Jolyn on Tuesday! I am glad that you say she is so good. I see her at 1030am and then Mark Snow at 300pm. I am going to be sure to call Deb first thing Monday morning to find out more about my diet. I haven't been trying to lose weight yet becuase I don't want the insurance to deny my claim. My BMI right now is 48.6 though so I might be okay.

I have never lost 30 lbs before so the thought of doing it prior to surgery really scares me. I don't want to fail and not be able to be banded. Being on such a time crunch is not fun. I wish that I had made the decision sooner but better late than never, huh?

Gosh, 5% is 15 and 10% is 30. I have so little time...

[LindaV]

Christina, I will pm you with my phone number. I hate having these back-and-forth conversations on line. I type way too slow.

[Dustbunny]

Go into your Doctor's office and ask that they weigh you for an official beginning weight and that is the weight the insurance company goes by. Then you can start losing weight now. DB
You don't need to see the doctor, just ask the receptionist.

[SheryBery]

Christina, I too had Dr. Cahn. I had to lose about 35 lbs before my surgery and it was postponed once. Devasted me, but made me more determined to do it. Pre-op diet was 3 SlimFast a day, protein shake and all the veggies I wanted. I struggled, but made it through and I know you will too. PM me if you want my phone # to talk.

[Chisaimama]

I also had Dr. Cahn,
His preop diet was a protien shake for breakfast and three slimfast per day and all the veggies you wanted for lunch and dinner. That does not include starchy veggies. One of the big keys to losing even on the pre-op diet is to get in that exercise every day. I still have trouble losing weight even if I follow the rules if I don't keep exercising. I substituted v-8 sometimes for veggies when I was on the go. I could not do three slim fast a day so I did two along with the protien drink. I lost my weight in about 5 weeks. I had to lose 38 pounds. Best wishes.

[KristiR]

I had Dr Cahn, was supposed to lose 25 pounds, lost 9. He still did the surgery. I had a hard time losing the preop weight. When I added a little bit of protein I lost some weight. When I stayed strictly on the preop diet, I did not lose. Go figure.

You really can do the preop while on vacation, but you must add the exercise. If I wasn't is so much pain I would have been able to exercise and that would probably have helped.

[bee in my bonnet]

Hey Guys,

I spoke with Debra today about the diet. I have been thinking on it a lot and had decided to start early and do the medifast. I can easily lose 45 lbs and still have a BMI over 43 (although I have never lost that kind of weight before). Debra recommended that I not lose any weight until my consult with Dr Cahn and really spoke about not going crazy. She had a concern that if I started medifast, my liver wouldn't shrink in the last 3 weeks on Dr Cahn's diet. She said that Dr Cahn would LIKE me to lose 10% but the important thing was to actually stick to his diet and let him know that I did not cheat. If I say that I went crazy on meat and sweets and starches, he won't do the surgery. I felt better that I spoke with her, but sad that I had made the decision to start medifast and she kind of talked me out of it. I just want to be banded already!n I really have to start exercising but it hurts a lot everywhere.

I see Jolyn and Mark Snow tomorrow and am very excited. Woohoo- 1 step closer!

Thanks for all of your posts. Linda and Cheryl- thanks for speaking with me over the weekend. The support means a lot!!!

[SheryBery]

Christina, just be patient hon! It will be worth the wait and it's best to do it just as Dr. Cahn says to prevent any problems with getting the surgery scheduled. Sounds like you have almost all the steps in the process done and will be meeting with him for your consult soon! Keep us updated!

[PhotoNut]

Hello Christina. Sorry I'm late in welcoming you and joining this thread!

Dr. Cahn is my doc too. I started at 307 pounds and lost 16 pounds on the pre-op diet. I believe Dr. Cahn's main concern is shrinking the liver, in which case Deb is right on with her guidance. It's that initial change in diet and drop in weight that reduces the fat in the liver, so hang in there and start when they tell you to.

I also agree that as long as Dr. Cahn sees that you are sticking to the diet and losing weight, he'll go ahead with surgery. It's not so much the number on a scale that he's looking for, but rather your compliance to his instructions, which definitely helps achieve your goals.

I love Deb and Dr. Cahn. Sherry is a bit of a grump though. *snicker*

Anyway, welcome to the boards and to our Boise group. I hope to meet you soon.

[LindaV]

Christina,

I know that in the past, Dr. Cahn has done surgeries even when patients have not lost all of their pre-surgery weight. I would caution you to not count on that. I believe he used to be more flexible about the weight loss than he is now. I have heard several people at recent support group meetings who have mentioned having thierr surgeries postponed until they lost all of the weight.