What to Eat the Day Before Your Surgery

What to Eat the Day Before Your Surgery

There is an aspect most people don't think about that can greatly affect post op nausea, vomiting and your immediate operating room recovery: Minding your diet the day before surgery.

For starters, being well hydrated before surgery will help your IV insert far easier. Typically, you will have to stop eating and drinking by midnight the night before your surgery. The mistake a lot people make is that they spend the day before eating as if it's their last meal ever. They eat heavily that day, they don’t necessarily hydrate themselves properly, and they eat up until midnight, even when they normally would not eat at those hours.

Here's What Will Help

 Drink up to 16 eight ounce glasses of water that day. Space them out so that you drink your last one at the last minute before your NPO (nothing by mouth) order kicks in - usually midnight. It is possible  to drink too much water and flush your electrolytes out so 16 glasses is plenty. Anything over 20 and you may put yourself in danger.

  During the day before surgery avoid: red meats, garlic, peppers, onions, tomato based sauces, heavy pasta, cheeses, heavy cream based soups, CORN and apples (very hard to digest) lemons, limes, coffee, caffeine, sodas, 'Red Bull', salads, dairy, chocolate, candy, sweets, donuts, etc. I know, quite a list! But people who follow it don't tend to throw up in the recovery room. So what will you eat?

Melon for breakfast, some toast and light butter, even an egg. Eat a clear style chicken or vegetable soup for lunch. Noodles or rice in it is fine, but nothing with beef, cream or cheese. Eat melon, such as honeydew,  throughout the day. It is easy and fast to digest. It will trump up your hydration levels quickly, and get you through the no water period better, as well as improve your IV insertion.

Don't eat after 6-7 pm latest. For dinner select soup again if you can. Herb tea is fine. If you’d like more information and help, please join us! We’re happy to help you customize a plan.