Fatty liver non-lover

Image courtesy of http://www.pamf.org

Anytime someone has bariatric surgery, one of the concerns that surgeons have is de-fatting the liver. The liver, even in a lean person, sits in its recliner, sprawled carelessly over everything that the surgeon needs to get to. A liver retractor is used to move Mr. Liver out of the way, but in a porky person? The amount of visceral fat that we have wrapped around our organs is incredible, and, in some morbidly obese patients, the surgeon has to use a liver paddle to do the job. During surgery, it's not as if the surgeon can grow a third arm to battle the liver while trying to cut, and staple, and swab, and...! 


The person following the Typical American Diet (TAD) has a fatty liver, and it's even worse for those TADers who also drink alcohol. One of my relatives, who never touched a drop of alcohol in her life, had a fatty liver so bad that she had cirrhosis from it. Thank you, but no.


With all that in mind, one of the most difficult parts of bariatric pre-op is the liquid protein diet that one has to follow to make man-handling the liver less of a problem. My protein of choice is Isopure, which I started drinking before I had my Lap-band procedure in December of 2005. (I find it a bit ironic that I am having the Band out and the sleeve done, God willing, in December, also.) Isopure seems to be absorbed much better than the cheap-o brands. If you aren't lactose intolerant, the way to tell if your brand is junk is by whether or not it gives you diarrhea. That means that the protein isn't being absorbed, and is traveling to your large intestine, partying all the way...out. Since I am not morbidly obese, the surgeon told me that I should have either three protein drinks a day, or two drinks and a tiny meal. I usually opt for the tiny (low-carb) meal. 


For the first time since 2008, when my then-surgeon, Dr. Lack-of-Care, maxed out my Lap-band, I can eat pork loin. Cottage cheese. Hamburger meat. I can drink a 16-oz. bottle of water in a few minutes, instead of an hour. I have been on the pre-op plan since Monday, and I have already lost 8 pounds. That's what 500 - 700 high-protein, low-carb calories do to you.  


For those of you who are not squeamish, I found a video of the procedure, if you who are curious. Also, I found out that I can keep my "Bionic Broad" moniker. The surgeon will be using titanium staples! Yahooooo!


The Bionic Broad out.