Annie77

Wow, I can't imagine tuna salad the day after surgery. I had a hard time sipping Water or crystal lite. It's amazing how doctors are so different.
I'm 2 weeks and can drink Water more normal. liquids go right through me and I'm always hungry. I've heard I will be full once I start with soft foods.

I haven't had any problems thank Jesus! I was sleeved on 12/20 and go back to work on Monday. I did feel very very weak the first week and wondered how I was going to make it to work. I feel much better now but I'm still taking it easy, walking and sipping my Water. You'll be fine.

Welcome! I'm going to be honest and tell you that my friend did the research and had the sleeve done along with both her daughters a year ago. They have been very successful and Look great!
She shared her experience with me and told me the sleeve was the way to go. I totally trust her so I had the sleeve done 12/20 and have been doing great thank God!
All of my excess weight is around my belly and I am pre diabetic. I know this new way of life is going to prevent me from getting diabetes and my knees and back will stop hurting. This was my Christmas gift and I'm very grateful!!! : )

@Annie77: thanks for the reply. The answer to your question is yes, you can eat more later. As a matter of fact, you can stretch your stomach back out to its pre-surgery size. That is why we all need to focus on the nutrition, the fitness and the emotional side of why we are here and how we can modify them all.

@@Annie77
all the reasons/comments from "above" are good
having so many doctors give different rules to patients IMO is ridiculous
(unless there are medical, physical reason that are necessary for different rules)
there should be ONE book for all docs to follow
just a few examples
why should people be at different time periods for liquids/purees', soft food etc.
why should one person be allowed to have coffee from the get go - others wait different time periods
alcohol in 3 weeks, 6 months, or 1 year!!
why is sex allowed within a couple weeks for some when you feel ok?
my doc has me still waiting 3+ years PO
GOTCHA
it would be great if all docs/NUTS could be on the same page
kathy

Have you had a consultation? The doctor can help you make an informed decision. Just my opinion.

Mine was 2 weeks liquid diet before surgery then 1 week clear diet, 2 weeks full liquid diet, 1 week pureed/soft foods and then regular food.. wow 4 weeks in every stage is too much! But every surgeon is different

It seems as though my tolerance for each phase is 1 week! I am on day 6 of puree foods and I am so over it. I just want real food. I could not do 4 weeks of pureed foods!!! I dont even know if I can make 2 weeks of puree. Dying to go to the next phase

@@Annie77 3 weeks of clears sounds a bit off to me. Typically it's 2-7 days of clear then on to full liquids for 1-2 weeks. Then purée for another 1-2 weeks. Then soft, then regular. But to do clear for 3 whole weeks sounds obsurd and then full liquids for a whole month. Wow!

Maybe it's because I am 62 and have had a long time in this body...but I have found so many conflicting things being told to me...and that is from my own surgeon's office, to be honest. The hospital gave me semi-solid food that first day...cream of chicken Soup, Jello, Protein drink (which I loved!)...but some of that is not on the post op diet i was verbally told to follow by my doctor's office...and that post op diet was not the same as the one in the notebook my doctor's office gave me, or in the nutritionists' guidelines. I was sleeved on 12-23, and for me, I found that I cannot do much in the way of dairy: so the sugar-free instant breakfasts are a no-go. I made a fantastic cream of broccoli with cheese soup today that is utterly wonderful. To be honest, some of my concerns really did deal with hunger and nutirition. I lvoe the sleeve, don't get me wrong...but I weighed 237 pounds on 12-13 when I started that pre-op diet, and yesterday I got on the scale and was 217. The hunger was real. i am glad to lose the weight, but losing it this fast (at my age) is going to end up making me look like the crypt keeper. Anyhow, I guess the point of this rant is that I am slowly and cautiously finding out what my body needs/wants and can absorb. I have looked all over the web, and the fact is that there are MANY recommended post-op diets for sleevers. I am slowly & carefully seeing/finding what works for me. I can take direction, but when that direction is conflicted or confusing...I need to use the structurre I was given and fidn what works for me...just my 2 cents worth for today. Peace y'all.

Wow, I can't imagine tuna salad the day after surgery. I had a hard time sipping Water or crystal lite. It's amazing how doctors are so different.
I'm 2 weeks and can drink Water more normal. liquids go right through me and I'm always hungry. I've heard I will be full once I start with soft foods.

I'm supposed to be on Clear Liquids for 3 weeks then soft foods (only soups) for a month. I feel weak and I think I need more substantial foods (soft or puréed).

Does anyone know why doctors have different post-op diet requirements for the same surgery?

Have you had a consultation? The doctor can help you make an informed decision. Just my opinion.

Welcome! I'm going to be honest and tell you that my friend did the research and had the sleeve done along with both her daughters a year ago. They have been very successful and Look great!
She shared her experience with me and told me the sleeve was the way to go. I totally trust her so I had the sleeve done 12/20 and have been doing great thank God!
All of my excess weight is around my belly and I am pre diabetic. I know this new way of life is going to prevent me from getting diabetes and my knees and back will stop hurting. This was my Christmas gift and I'm very grateful!!! : )

I am so jealous of some! For me, week 1 was liquids, week 2 pureed, week 3 soft, moist Protein. Week 4 I can finally add half cup nonstarchy vegetables and cannot add fruit until week 8. I am not even allowed Soups as my surgeon says it is liquid calories and he wants me to consume solid Protein. No yogurt until six months! At this point I'd take Soup and yogurt. I was never really a meat eater before surgery and now that's all I'm allowed to eat! Ugh!

Nope, no choices. They had us do that nasty drink and xray of the stomach early in the morning,then drink Water and juice. After that, within a few hours we received hospital tuna fish w/ mayo, it wasn't chunky, and the nurses came to make sure we ate some before the docs would release us. The way this practice is run, there was about 10+ of us in the hospital wing that day with various surgeons. We sleevers all had the same protocol. It was actually kind of fun in a way that first night because we would chat about it all during our every 2 hours walk. These were the same people we had to take a pre-op class with at the hospital about 10 days prior to surgery where we went over this protocol. That classmate feel was actually pretty good looking back on it.

Thank you everybody!

I had a hard time with these drastic differences initially. My doc didn't release us from the hospital until we ate some tuna salad, which they consider soft food. That was the day after surgery! I rarely see that on here. I trust it. I never stalled or felt overly weak. The lack of carbs in general definitely led to some mid-workout struggles though!

@@Annie77 Mine obviously was trained in torture! Two week of that nothing but liquid ugh! But I love him and he helped to change my life so I followed right along with his orders, as I'm sure you will

@@Annie77 That does sound rough! I was on clear liquids 2.5 days after surgery and full liquids including Soup and yogurts for almost 3 weeks after that. Ventured to pureed foods for a week and this is my first full week on soft foods. Check with your nutritionist also, may be they can help you figure something out specific for your needs. It's all just precautionary measures in which the doctor feels comfortable. The longer you go with out substantial food, the easier it is for your stomach to heal.

There are many variables. The surgeon's own skill level and training. It could be something as simple as whether he's a DO versus and MD. Some doctors are more conservative than others. Some have had more success with a certain technique. Because the surgery is still relatively new, some mirror the protocols they use for bypass patients. Then they also have to customize the procedure to the individual. So you have the patient's age & overall health to consider. You have look at their eating habits. Men and women may respond differently to the surgery. Does the patient have a hernia that needs to be repaired? A gallbladder that needs to be removed? What if a patient is vegetarian or pescatarian? What if the patient has diabetes or hypertension?
The basic surgery is remove approximately 85% of the stomach then place them on a high Protein diet to induce ketosis and then transition to high Protein regular diet.
It's one of the reasons why you need to do your research when choosing a program. You need to find a program that is a good match for you and your lifestyle. Otherwise you may be setting yourself up to fail.

@@Annie77 That's a bit rough! Good luck! You can do it...

bufflehead we have the same doctor! I am 2 weeks post surgery today and don't go back for my first post op visit until next Tuesday. I am so very tired of liquids! I am praying that they will let me progress to pureed foods but I'll just have to wait and see. I feel really good and feel like I've healed to the point that I can try introducing some foods but we'll see what the doctor says. I am looking forward to my first scrambled egg!

While I like to think my program is just super conservative because they care about their patients....some of it has to do with how well my program compares to other military programs. They are very proud of the fact that their patients' average 30 pounds lost during PreOp and the high percentages of patients who have exceeded the national average of weight loss patients after surgery. These stats most definitely helps when budget time rolls around. Not to mention...bragging rights and dr's ego.