In another topic string, I found this comment and it sparked my desire to create my own post in response. Thanks for listening

<br />I am 12 days post-op and am supposed to be on full liquids for another 2 days then mushies for 2 weeks. I feel great! Barely any pain at the incision so started a trial and error about 3 days ago. Unfortunatly, I can stomach just about everything I have tried. chicken, potatoes, pizza, broccoli, apples ect. I already know I have NO restriction and now I'm just disappointed. :-(<br />

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Hi Frenchie! I can't tell you how grateful I am to hear someone else speak honestly about the "trial and error" that you've been experimenting with. That's sort-of where I'm at. I was banded 12 days ago, too. I followed the liquids, and then purees after surgery. I realized that I was feeling TERRIBLE after the first 5 days or so. I started adding in more substantial food (mashed potatoes, chunkier Soup, etc) and noticed I was feeling MUCH better. (I think the pain meds I was on were too strong to be taken on a stomach filled with Jello only... I was given liquid Percocet because of the pain I was having after surgery). Since then, I've slowly been trying all sorts of other things in small amounts. I chew everything to a pulp before swallowing, which basically makes it a "mushy." Don't get me wrong... I'm not going out and eating a whole Port of Subs sandwich (which I would literally kill for right now, lol). Even for me that's crazy, and pushing it waaaay to far, I know that. But with all the small amounts of things I've tried, I've had NO restriction. I have encountered NO esophageal pain, NO vomiting, NO reflux... no signs of anything going awry. I've even tried toast (OH MY GOD, I'm crazy, I know! Lol), and had no issues. (Granted, it was chewed to liquid before I swallowed it. But still.) I'm just glad to hear that someone else has done the same, and is actually willing to admit it in this forum. Every time someone mentions eating a bit of anything remotely solid, it seems like they are crucified. I didn't even want to ask questions or talk about things that I've been feeling so alone about, for fear of people tearing me apart. And that makes me sad that I feel like we have to audit our honesty sometimes, because we're not 100% perfect all the time. I didn't have this surgery because I have tremendous willpower where food is concerned, and I don't think I'm alone in that. We're all human, and we had the surgery to make positive, healthy changes in our lives. That being said, I am NOT sabotaging my surgery. I'm not out gobbling down fast food, or drinking frapuccinos. And it's not something I'm trying to hide... I plan on discussing my diet with my doctor tomorrow at my post-op appointment. I'm just feeling everything out and discovering what's okay for me (and not) as I go. Personally, I've had no issues at all with soft foods, and because of that, I've been comfortable with cutting a few days out from the purees to move on to the next level. I've just felt so alone, and scared to come here with my feelings because I don't want to be judged or yelled at or lectured. I'm really just looking for other people who have had similar experiences to talk to. Am I alone here, too?

(Sorry to ramble... I've been holding all this in for days, searching the archives for posts that might relate, but having trouble finding them. I finally broke down and am taking my chances with posting, hoping for the best. Hope this wasn’t too defensive, too… Isn’t that bad that no one has even responded and I’m already on the defense? **sigh**)

There has to be a learning curve. I mean, they have to know people are going to do this. I called my doctor to ask a question and she asked how I was doing and I told her that I was SO hungry in between meals and she said to go ahead and start solids. I was so happy. I feel like "now I can do this". The shakes just went right through me. The only thing that made me feel satisfied was tomato soup with a scoop of unflavored Protein powder (really good actually). I haven't eaten more than 4 ounces at a time, but I have made less than desirable choices (corn dog) and it just made me feel like crap physically. Doesn't mean I won't do it again, but I figure if I make good choices even 80% of the time, it has got to be better than before where I made bad choices 80% of the time.

You are very brave and an inspiration for putting this out there. Thank you!

What an inspiring post. I'm preop, surgery scheduled for Feb 14th. I just started attending OA (Overeaters Anom) for support. I have not said anything in OA meetings yet and I don't plan on telling them about my Surgery but I do find the meetings encouraging since I've only been to 3 meetings. It's nice to know that there are a lot of others with eating issues. The band is a tool and I'm worried about the mental part. Have been working on that very hard. Blessing to all on the board on their personal journeys.

I'm 14 months post op and was fortunate enough to have a doctor that didn't torture me post surgery. I did each phase of the postop diet in 2 weeks and was eating solid foods by the end of 2 weeks.

And you are most likely going to be hungry until you start getting fills. You may need several fills. The band works by putting pressure on the vagus nerves which then tell the stomach to stop producing ghrelin, the hunger hormone. Some get enough pressure with just the band. Most of us need fills. Don't look for the band to physically restrict how much you eat. It just doesn't work that way for most people...which is why so many people don't lose weight and end up feeling like failures.

After a 'reasonable meal' (my doc said 3 oz of Protein, 1/2 cup of vegies, 1/4 cup starch), you should not feel hungry for about 4 hours. It won't stop you from eating out of habit or grazing or choosing the wrong foods. So even if you're hungry and are still eating too much, at least start right now with choosing the right foods. I found that by eliminating wheat products (eating only rice, potatoes, Beans or starchy vegetables like winter squash and vegies for my 60gm of carbs) and sugar *and* artificial sweeteners because they keep that craving for sweets alive, it was much easier to make the good choices which, ultimately, also helped lower my calories.

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I think it has to be said that if you do not start out following the rules what are you going to be doing 6 months down the road? When you are suppose to be healing you should follow the rules to the best of your ability. Everybody seems to be giving you support for not following the rules that were made for your well being. I would have wanted people to tell me stop it and get back on track when I was starting out and could not have enough self control to stay on track. People are not being being mean by telling you . . . you are slipping up, take advantage of the time when you lose the most weight about the first 6 to 10 months.

That being said I think the fact that you are honest with yourself and others about your situation is a great step in the right direction. People who can be honest with themselves about what they ate and why they ate it are going to be sucessfull. So my advice to you is to stop eating what you are not suppose to follow the rules and stop testing the band, let it work with you. But . . .pat yourself on the back for being honest with yourself that is the hard part!!

Cheri

Cheri