Had surgery 11/22/10 and as of a day or two ago, I can eat ground beef, salmon salad, cheeses, ice cream. Really concerned that I'm going to have to rely solely on willpower (which got me to this weight in the first place.) First follow up tomorrow and wondering if anyone has had a doctor do a fill less than two weeks post-op?

Had surgery 11/22/10 and as of a day or two ago, I can eat ground beef, salmon salad, cheeses, ice cream. Really concerned that I'm going to have to rely solely on willpower (which got me to this weight in the first place.) First follow up tomorrow and wondering if anyone has had a doctor do a fill less than two weeks post-op?

I just replied to this in another thread. I relied solely on will power for the first 5 months of having my band. I don't remember how many adjustments I had (maybe 4?) before I felt any kind of restriction, but it was 5 months. Eating all the stuff that you're eating puts you at greater risk for complications. I would be really honest with your doctor tomorrow at your follow up about how/what you've been eating and just see what he/she says. What were your postop instructions? For most its: 3-7 days Clear liquids, then 2 weeks full liquids, 2 weeks mushy foods, and then slowly back onto solids (so at 6 weeks you would be fine eating beef and meat and other solid foods).

I didn't have my first adjustment until 6-7 weeks out of surgery. My doctor wouldn't do an adjustment until 6 weeks minimum.

I was banded 11.19.10 and I am having trouble making myself eat enough. I eat or drink about 800cals a day. There really must be something about the placement of the band in relation to nerves controlling hunger. I have basically no hunger but my stomach will rumble when empty so I eat a few TBL to shut it up.

You shouldn't be eating ice cream and hamburger. I had my postop yesterday and even though I feel great and totally healed my dr said mushies and puree for 2 more wks. Try eating high Protein foods like cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, mashed Beans, eggs and see if they don't linger in your pouch longer to give you satiety. I won't eat anything unless it's a

protein food. My NUT said the longer food stays in the pouch the longer my hunger is

squelched. Shes right too, it works. You can stir an unflavored Protein powder into applesauce, pudding, pureed pears or beans. Do you have a nutritionist you can talk with? If so call today for advise before you are gaining. I hope it gets better for you. I feel very fortunate that I have no cravings or appetite.

I was banded on 11/15/10 and I would agree that you should be careful. Every surgeon has different time frames for certain foods, but most that I have seen on here all have at least one week on liquids post surgery. Mine was one week on liquids then 2 weeks on soft/mushy. I am only allowed tuna and chicken (finely chopped) as far as meats go. I don't think the only reason for gradually adding more harsh foods is to see if you can tolerate them, but also to let your stomach heal. If your stomach has to do a lot of breaking down of food, it could cause problems with your band since everything has not healed and is swollen. I am scheduled for my first fill on 12/9/10, which is not quite 4 weeks post op. That's the earliest I have seen. I would suggest calling your surgeon and let him know what's going on. These first few weeks are very critical in everything healing properly and staying in place. Good luck! I'm sure it will get better. Hang in there.

Thanks guys. I'll try to be good. I keep pushing it a little bit and, when there are no ramifications, I give myself a mental greenlight. I'm still only consuming 1,000 calories a day, but I'm a quick learner and scared that I made the wrong choice. It all reverts back to willpower I guess. My doctor is a hardass, so I'm not so sure about fessing up on the taco meat last night. LOL. I'll try to stick to liquids/cottege cheese today.

Please carefuly review your doctors instructions for post op. They are'nt just about low cal low fat choices but about healing your body! Big exclamation point! Please note that after the first week I have been on nothing but will power. I am 3.5 months out have had 3 fills and have no restriction. So yes I am totally on will power right now. You need to eat liquids/soft mushie foods that don't take much digestion. You dont' want your stomach doing a lot of moving around. I would follow the food instructions you were given and try spreading them out through the day. Liquids/mushies will slide through the pouch to the big stomach. I would have soup (tomato) then an hour later have a protein shake and later on Greek yoghurt that I added milk to (to make it runnier).

When you are allowed cottage cheese (which for me was at 2 weeks) I bought the low fat chive, and non fat pineapple (some people have trouble with pineapple I did not). Also Chobani non fat Greek yoghurt with splendra is a HUGE treat during mushies. I used a stick blender so the fruit pieces were completely chopped up. Again you could add some milk so that it is runnier (greek yoghurt is more solid than regular yoghurt.