Complications from advancing diet too soon

[LipstickLady 25,682]

[Djmohr 6,965]

Maybe I am doing something wrong when i use the link someone provided but I could not find my bariatric center of Excellence in that link which was confusing to me.

So I went to my center's website: http://www.parknicollet.com/SpecialtyCenters/Bariatric-Surgery-Center

Doing a small bit of research to understand what makes a Bariatric Center of Excellence I found this link that I thought was very informational. It might help some folks that are looking to better understand.

http://www.obesitycoverage.com/insurance-and-costs/pre-approval-process/center-of-excellence

[clc9 644]

I have Blue Shield of CA and the bariatric center of excellence near me isn't covered in their network. It's not a great hospital. I certainly wouldn't want to land there if I was sick. Consumer Reports gives it a 47 out of 100. So I take the designation with a grain of salt.

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[demonchick 67]

I still get worked up a little bit it's so frustrating to hear. A guy who had his surgery a week after mine, was saying how he'd eaten a pie, we were in puréed stage, but it was ok because he took an hour to eat it and chewed thoroughly. I wanted to punch him in the head! Seriously! What's the point of having the surgery when you continue to eat shit and also could hurt yourself? And he wondered why he was struggling to lose?

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[summerset 5,261]

So I just read yet another post about someone advancing their diet on their own too soon. This one from someone 4 days post op advancing to broccoli Soup. Probably won't kill them but it could.

Dear mother of God! I was truly lucky the hospital staff didn't kill me by serving me this cream of broccoli Soup so soon after surgery!!

[summerset 5,261]

And, personally, I think it's a bit creepy and stalk-y to call another person's hospital and ask for their program's details in order to prove some point on an internet message board. You might want to slow your roll a bit on this one.

Absolutely.

[Malin 470]

So I just read yet another post about someone advancing their diet on their own too soon. This one from someone 4 days post op advancing to broccoli Soup. Probably won't kill them but it could.

Dear mother of God! I was truly lucky the hospital staff didn't kill me by serving me this cream of broccoli Soup so soon after surgery!!

Right???? I got popsicles and ice chips. Mmmmmmm....ice chips!

[health2017 2]

So I just read yet another post about someone advancing their diet on their own too soon. This one from someone 4 days post op advancing to broccoli Soup. Probably won't kill them but it could. Then of course we get the irresponsible follow up poster saying that they too advanced their diet on their own way early and explored all kinds of foods and as long as their stomach tolerates it they see no problem with it.

Now I'm getting super frustrated, I had to put my two cents in. And perhaps I was harsh. But I watched someone die 4 years ago from doing just this.

My x mother in law had gastric sleeve surgery. At less than two weeks post op she started eating tidbits of foods she was not supposed to have, turkey, stuffing, ham, chicken in very small bites and yes chewed very well. All that didn't matter. She was fine at first. In fact showed no symptoms for days. Then she became extremely ill, with pain and fever. She had a leak which had to be repaired by surgery. After surgery she developed a serious infection and a fistula which led to the outside of her stomach. Everything she tried to drink seeped outside her stomach onto a large padded napkin that she held up to the opening of that fistula. They could not get the infection under control. They fought it for three months with the best antibiotics they had. Eventually she became septic, her organs began to fail and she passed away.

I am only 4 weeks post op VSG, you better believe I thought long and hard about having the same surgery that she had. But I can also say that I have followed my an to the T, with the exception of drinking coffee which I discussed with my surgeon beforehand.

When are people going to realize that following their diet is serious. And more so when are these idiots going to stop coming on and saying things like it's ok to explore foods early as long as you tolerate them!!!! My mother in law tolerated those foods just fine for damn near a week before she finally showed the signs of a serious leak.

Your prescribed diet plan after major stomach surgery is not just a guideline that they want you to follow so you can lose weight. It's a prescription that really can mean life or death, I've seen it with my own eyes.

Ugggggh sooooooo frustrated!!!!!!!

Thanks for sharing. I'm 10 days post Op and I was just thinking about what I can eat. I'm not really hungry, just miss food I guess. But thank you so much, the food can wait!

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[Clementine Sky 707]

What was beneficial to me was thinking of the post-op dietary instructions not as a "diet" but as a vitally critical prescription. After dieting since age 13, I'd become conditioned to thinking that a diet is something that could be tweaked rather than followed diligently. It's just a Pavlovian response to the word "diet" for me. So framing it as a prescription helped me to change my mindset and realize that it wasn't something that allowed for "cheating" or "treats," but had to be adhered to faithfully because the potential risks were far too high. Since I was self-paying for my surgery in Mexico (my BMI was under the insurance requirements, so they wouldn't contribute a cent), I was sort of a DIY patient. Before the surgery I studied the post-op instructions from bariatric centers at the mayo Clinic, the Cleveland Clinic, Stanford, UCLA, and a few others. They were fairly uniform, though some did allow for some personal tailoring with smaller things such as having very modest amounts of coffee if it was well-tolerated but not anything major (none permitted solid foods in the first week). My own surgeon's instructions were in alignment with the bariatric centers' for the most part.

I had fierce "head hunger" post-surgery, craving things that I ordinarily wouldn't even want. It was a battle between my emotions and my reason, but reason won out. I spent oodles of time looking at DK Donut's Instagram page, ha. I never actually considered eating what I desired, though. When I see questions on here about eating x, y, or z that is typically forbidden soon after surgery, I assume the person is experiencing head hunger and not fully understanding the jeopardy they are putting themselves in by following through with their cravings. I'll explain why it's risky and try to encourage finding a way to bear through it, such as looking for fun recipes for each stage on Pinterest to liven things up rather than only having plain Protein shakes for sustenance. I help moderate a forum for my college and am completely used to the same question being asked ad nauseam even though it's been answered thoroughly many times before, so I don't really get annoyed by the repetitiveness. If they did annoy me, I'd just skip over them. I also don't invest my own energy into getting upset if someone doesn't want to follow what I suggest. On such a forum all you can really do is throw your two cents out onto the table, and if the person doesn't want to pick them up, it's not such a loss for you. We're not responsible for the choices others make for themselves.

[justhere4theshow 462]

I continue to be shocked--although less and less as time goes on--at how rude and hateful some people can be. Do what you want, eat what you want, and you'll end up right where you started: fat (and maybe dead). If you spend all your time on the internet getting advice from strangers, you might want to re-evaluate some things. It's one thing to start an open discussion in the spirit of sharing and voicing your own experience, but it's quite another to get on here so you can judge and berate people. I have switched from looking to this forum for support and learning to reading the various nonsense and BS purely for entertainment.

[summerset 5,261]

I Do what you want, eat what you want, and you'll end up right where you started: fat (and maybe dead).

Absolutely.

- do what you want (try to be the 110% compliant WLS super-patient instead of the 110% compliant super-dieter)

- eat what you want (severely restrict food choices without necessity just like on so many diets before in your life)

and

- end up where you started: fat after you have burnt out and regained.

[summerset 5,261]

@@Clementine Sky I agree with what you said about post-op eating and "diet". In Germany we have a (IMO) more accurate word for this: "Kostaufbau".

I couldn't find a simple translation for it. To roughly describe it: it means the progression from Clear liquids to solids after surgery.

In regards to postoperative feeding there are many protocols out there, from traditional to "fast track", not only when it comes to WLS.

[pvechiola 195]

So I just read yet another post about someone advancing their diet on their own too soon. This one from someone 4 days post op advancing to broccoli Soup. Probably won't kill them but it could. Then of course we get the irresponsible follow up poster saying that they too advanced their diet on their own way early and explored all kinds of foods and as long as their stomach tolerates it they see no problem with it.

Now I'm getting super frustrated, I had to put my two cents in. And perhaps I was harsh. But I watched someone die 4 years ago from doing just this.

My x mother in law had gastric sleeve surgery. At less than two weeks post op she started eating tidbits of foods she was not supposed to have, turkey, stuffing, ham, chicken in very small bites and yes chewed very well. All that didn't matter. She was fine at first. In fact showed no symptoms for days. Then she became extremely ill, with pain and fever. She had a leak which had to be repaired by surgery. After surgery she developed a serious infection and a fistula which led to the outside of her stomach. Everything she tried to drink seeped outside her stomach onto a large padded napkin that she held up to the opening of that fistula. They could not get the infection under control. They fought it for three months with the best antibiotics they had. Eventually she became septic, her organs began to fail and she passed away.

I am only 4 weeks post op VSG, you better believe I thought long and hard about having the same surgery that she had. But I can also say that I have followed my an to the T, with the exception of drinking coffee which I discussed with my surgeon beforehand.

When are people going to realize that following their diet is serious. And more so when are these idiots going to stop coming on and saying things like it's ok to explore foods early as long as you tolerate them!!!! My mother in law tolerated those foods just fine for damn near a week before she finally showed the signs of a serious leak.

Your prescribed diet plan after major stomach surgery is not just a guideline that they want you to follow so you can lose weight. It's a prescription that really can mean life or death, I've seen it with my own eyes.

Ugggggh sooooooo frustrated!!!!!!!

Thanks for sharing, sorry for your loss, your story definitely made me start writing down everything I am going to need and have it all ready for my liquid diet before and after my surgery. You really made me think thank-you

[pvechiola 195]

No matter how many people get this surgery there are always people who are going to want to do it the softer easier way and that's why they will probably gain back their weight in about five years. Eating things we liked before are what got us this way in the first place, I am surely not looking forward to having surgery just to gain it back or have a revision I'm sorry but it's alot harder to make a complete change in your life and stick to it than it is to ," cheat a little " I for one will stick to the diets and listen to my surgeon because I want my great body back and will never be so ashamed ever to go out in public and the eating food part can kill you if you don't get the surgery or if you do get the surgery and don't follow the instructions like cheating or sneaking food just because you want to satisfy a craving, it's just not worth it to me.

[504chic 53]

Wow. Well I am sorry about your lost. I have heard so many variations of the stages. My first week was Clear Liquids second week full liquids and this week puréed. I am not eating much except sugar free pudding and puréed pinto Beans. With a little sour cream. Honestly I can eat about 4 teaspoons or less and I am done. I still get chest pains when eating and drinking so I take it very slowly but then forget about eating and drinking anything. I am more afraid the lack of liquids and food will harm me

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