Pre-op Day 13 of 14 PLAN FOR SUCCESS

Wow...just two days left!

We got a ton of snow overnight, but luckily I was able to get to the drug store last night and pick up 8 more Myoplex Lite shakes...I decided for the two days before surgery I will do strictly liquid diet and make sure to get tons of protein, so my body is strong and healthy to recover...however, if I have a few nibbles of veggies or an orange section, that's ok. I've lost 16.5 lbs, and have had no more than about 50 g of fat in the last two weeks, so I am confident my liver has shrunk and defatted!

You know what is my worry? If I am still going to get to have my surgery on Tuesday...the truth is I still have a small cough, so I am worried they won't want to go ahead...I plan on drinking tons of tea today, and have been taking mega doses of Vitamin C, but the cold and the dry air combine to my not being able to shake my cough.

And because of the holidays, I am thinking if they reschedule the surgery, it will not be for Thursday...;)! It is Christmas Eve. (Tuesdays and Thursdays are the two days of the week my surgeon operates.)

What can I do? Can't control it! So will just keep moving forward.

I'm going to type up my plan for success, and every once in a while, I will check in on it and see where I am. Some of these I am already thinking might not be the permanent changes, but might need some tweeks, but it feels right to start with them and then see where I am at. It might need some adjustments, but here is where I am going to start. Please feel free to make suggestions if I am being unrealistic.

1. Avoid liquid calories as much as possible.
2. Avoid soda and carbonated beverages.
3. Avoid drinking with a straw, as it can cause gas and be uncomfortable.
4. Make sure I get enough protein every day. 60-80 g per day.
5. Make sure I get enough fiber!
6. Take supplements: multi, calcium, and biotin every day. Right now I got gummis, cause I love the way they taste. Might switch to chewables later, as they do have a bit of sugar.
7. Make sure I get plenty of fluids, 8 glasses a day!
8. Stop drinking 5 minutes before a meal, and wait 20 minutes after. This is what my Dr. recommends.
9. Eat slowly and chew well.
10. Move 30 minutes a day. Even if this is just walking to do errands, etc...move 30 minutes a day. This is what I am shooting for right now, at least until the end of January. At that point, I will re-evaluate my exercise goals.Couch to 5K, bootcamp, hot yoga, etc...these will all come, and I am excited about them. However, I know that I need to a) get into an exercise routine and b) not push myself when I am healing and c) will be more fun and manageable when I am a little smaller.
11. Follow my ten day liquids, and ten day mushy food diet after surgery.
12. Come in to see the Dr. monthly my first year.
13. Enjoy the foods I love in smaller, healthy amounts so I can continue to loose weight AND feel good about my quality of life.
14. Keep blogging! It is my support group.
15. Try the support group at NYU...it's not terribly convenient, but I def. want to try it, at least once before my birthday, at the end of March...maybe some of you will be there!
16. Keep a food diary. I may do it online as the end of my blog entries, as I find I need the accountability. There have been times in the last two weeks when I did not eat something cause I knew I would have to write it down. And others where I knew it and did it anyway.

I am about to have shake number three of the day, and will finish up with another one before bed...

Oh, and I wanted to share two things:

1. Arnica. I have a family friend who is an ND, a Naturapathic Doctor (four year post grad degree) and currently completing her MD. She suggested that I take Arnica to help with healing. Of course, consult your doctor before following anything you read on the internet! She said:

I would recommend ordering/purchasing Arnica 200C - from Boiron and Arnica 30C (available at any Health food store).
Arnica 200C - use it first.  Start 1-2 days pre-operatively 3X day, take it as soon as you can after surgery and depending on the time - continue up to 4X/day that day and post-operative day 1.  Then I would switch it to 3X/day for post-op day 2.  And then continue with Arnica 200C 2x/day for post-op day 3-4.  I would then recommend taking Arnica 30C after post-op day 4.  You can take Arnica 30C every few hours as you need it up to a week to ten days to help with healing.  Arnica will not interact with any medications and because it is a homeopathic (energetic) medicine you cannot overdose - that being said, it works well even with one dosing, but because you would have just had surgery, that is the reasoning for the frequent dosing on post op days 1,2.
How to take it:  take it away from food and drink, screw the top part and allow 3-5 pellets to drop into the cap and put the pills under your tongue (without touching them with your fingers)  Let dissolve - they taste like sugar.

2. Leg@l stuff...This is a fairly safe surgery, but it is major surgery and general anesthesia. Because of that, you have to consider the possibility of a complication in surgery that would render you incapable of making medical decisions. Depending on the laws of your state, there are different names for the document that allows another person to make medical decisions for you when you are not able to do so. I had a talk with BF and my parents about it, and I decided to appoint my mom. No real reason, just cause. Depending on your personal circumstances, you may want to consider other leg@l stuff. I'm not spelling them all out because I don't want this page to come up in online searches ;)!  You just figured out what my professional life focuses on!