Ok I've slipped up a few times since I'm suppose to be on liquids full liquids and mushy food. I had my surgery 4-28-11. Well at 1st you're cool cause your're so sick you dont want anything to eat or drink. But around that 3rd day when those hunger pains kicked in I've had a few slip ups. The first time I was hungry and nauseated at the same time so i had a couple of saltines. they went down no problem, The next time I had 4 dorito chips no problem. a few days later I was so hungry so I tried a half cup of cereal with milk and again no problems. The worst is when I tried a small bake n break cookie again no trouble. Well I'm pretty well done with the cheating not for any particular reason other than I just lose interest in the food soon after I start chewing. I did make sure to chew,chew,chew! But anyway none of the cheat food made me sick. Was it suppose to? The only thing I've notice after the surgery so far is that I get crazy hungry but as soon as I start to eat I dont really want it much after that. I stop eating the minute my tummy quits growling. Now I do still have an occasional saltine because the hunger pains make me so nauseas,but its like only 1 1/2 crackers. Why are the hunger pains so strong? Why does the hunger pains make me so sick? Shouldn't the crunchy food irritate me? I'm not eating it anymore either because well I know i'm not suppose to...lol

Humph.. That's weird. I was banded on May 2nd so I'm not that far from you. I just graduated to full liquids after being on broth for a few days. Weird thing for me is, I can Barely get my Protein shake down. I will take two to five sips and be done with it. I haven't had much to eat. However I know my appetite is there because my husband cooked food and I was loving the smell and it sucked to know I couldn't have it.

As for you, I would assume the saltines and doritos would of gotten stuck!! I'm positive your band is there.. Some people feel more restriction with their bands even though there are no fills.

Oh I feel restriction like I fill up quick which is why I dont eat a lot because filling up is very uncomfortable, it just doesn't seem to matter what I eat as long as its very litlle, chewed well no problem. My sis said she was like that until her 1st fill. I still think its a lil wierd. Athough I'm not gonna push it because I know my stomach is still healing so I dont want to chance it. come to think of it tho when I was able to go to full liquids It was like thank goodness! because at first liquids and clear broths was gagging me all except jello. It was like the sooner i got on full liquids and mushy food it was easier to keep liquids down. Even now to try and drink clear liquids on an empty stomach makes me wanna gag. I have to wait til I've had something heavier wait like 30 to 45 mins then try water or juice in order to tolerate it. Thicker juices like v8 and oj and 1% milk go down with no problems as long as I dont drink real fast. Go Figure? Anyone else?

Its not the bypass cheat foods are not going to make you sick. You have to have some control in the matter. Why did you have surgery if your going to continue to eat cheat foods and especially a few days post op. Now should be the time you are getting yourself ready for this journey by sticking to your diet the doctor gave you. If you cant do it now how are you going to do it later. The band will not stop you from eating anything until maybe later when you have fills. It wont stop you from eating cereal, cookies, chocolate, doritos YOU have to stop you from eating that. Yes you are going to be hungry but you have to suffer through to get the most of the following weeks post op

Welcome to "bandster hell"! As tempting as it is to cheat while you're going through your stages should be avoided at all costs. You've spent the time, money and effort to go through this surgery to make a change in your life so don't cheat yourself. The band doesn't control what you put in your mouth just offers you appetite control once you start getting your fills. Right now it's all about will power. You're probably thinking if I had will power to begin with I wouldn't need the band right? Some people have restriction without needing a fill. If you have restriction now it's more than likely from the swelling once the swelling subsides you'll be able to eat a lot more but will need to control how much you eat. Let your body heal and dont worry too much about weight loss for the first 6 weeks. Good luck to both of

you on your journey.

I agree with the above posts. My 2cents is to stop the juice and the milk. You are drinking the calories rather than eating. Orange juice has tons of sugar, natural sugar but still sugar. It will cause your blood sugar to spike wich leads to your body storing the sugar as fat. Once you get to solid food, you will be much better off eating an orange, then you get fiber which helps control blood sugar. You will find it more filling as well. Eat low fat cheese for your calcium. Good luck on your journey!

Im not gonna go over what everyone else has said other than to stress that it's all about willpower right now...your band doesn't control what you eat. Also, you were surprised that you didn't get stuck...hard, crunchy foods don't normally get stuck. It's the soft foods or dry meats that cause problems for most people - for example a lot of people can't eat bread but can eat it if it's toasted.

If you test to your band to see what you can get away with, you're going to find yourself "winning" a lot But in the end, that's not a game you want to win, right?

It sounds like once you're healed and can eat solid food again that your band may be working-- giving you a feeling of satiation after only a little food. But for a lot of us (me included) the band did never and will never stop you from eating anything.

Your job= choosing what to eat and listening to the band

Band's job= giving you a sense of "not hungry" after a relatively small amount of food

That's it.

Good luck to you! I know it's hard to figure out with every other person, and every other doctor, saying something different.

I'm a former addict, so I viewed the first month of post op as my detox time and the things I did consume as medicine. I cleared my house of my drug of choice, food, before my preop diet. It was hard and in many ways even the physical symptoms of detox were there, but I got through it. Now in many ways it's easier. I still need sugar free Popsicles to get me through the really hard times but my goal right now is weight loss and loosening the grip food has on me. The best thing is that it's been over a month since I've snuck food. It's hard but it's worth it.

For many surgeons, they put us on liquids post-op to allow our stomachs to heal. Unlike with bypass, our pouches still grind. Most surgeons anchor the band by pulling the stomach over it and putting in a few stitches. By eating solid foods of any kind you are forcing your pouch to grind and putting pressure on those stitches that are trying to heal and form scar tissue to anchor them down. You risk pulling them loose, and needing another surgery to repair it. Liquids don't cause any grinding as they go right down...thus leaving our stomachs empty.

Now, not all surgeon's have the same post-op instructions and some people return to solids sooner than others. Each surgeon bases his or her post-op instructions on personal experiences of best outcomes. You should follow what you were instructed to do.

If you were to eat something that got stuck at this point, the pain and trauma from that could be extreme. I'd not want to risk losing my band because I pushed the envelope. I was one of the ones who was very hungry immediately post-op. When my doctor called at 3 days post-op to check on me I told him I was ready to eat my dog. He said that would be a bad choice, but since I was doing so well, I could move to full liquids a few days early. Mashed potatoes never tasted soooooo good!

If you are nauseous, there are medicines for that, call your surgeon's office and ask. Or ask if the saltines are OK. They might clear you for them.

Denise is right. The reason to progress very slowly to solids is to allow for healing. Contact your doctor and talk to them about your issues. They may allow you to progress a little faster, or may have suggestions to help you through this time. Medication for nausea would be better than changing what you're supposed to eat on your own. Hang in there, it will get easier.

The saltines didn't get stuck cause they are a processed food.. basically pre-digested. Yuck.

Teekii, I know it is hard to stop those bad habits. Do some further research on the band and you will find that it does not prevent you from eating. It helps with portion control and hopefully hunger once restriction sets in. The types and choices of foods will be yours to make all through this process. Call your doctor, let him or his team know of your extreme hunger and see if he/they will allow you to advance your food levels. Try drinking added protein some for some folks it helps with the hunger.

Wishing you luck in learning new ways....

I'm a former addict, so I viewed the first month of post op as my detox time and the things I did consume as medicine. I cleared my house of my drug of choice, food, before my preop diet. It was hard and in many ways even the physical symptoms of detox were there, but I got through it. Now in many ways it's easier. I still need sugar free Popsicles to get me through the really hard times but my goal right now is weight loss and loosening the grip food has on me. The best thing is that it's been over a month since I've snuck food. It's hard but it's worth it.

I feel the same way, right now im finding it harder and harder not to sneak food!!!! I got my lap band on April 15, and snuck 1 soft taco from taco bell yesterday. I feel awful about it, and im really upset with myself that is did this. Any tips on ways to make yourself less susceptible to giving in? I honestly feel like I have a food addiction also, and its comforting to see that someone has been successful in getting on their way to ridding themselves of this habit.

Nope, the band will never stop you from eating, you have to control what goes in your mouth. The band controls your hunger. I struggle daily with making good choices. If don't follow the diet you won't lose any weight.

I feel the same way, right now im finding it harder and harder not to sneak food!!!! I got my lap band on April 15, and snuck 1 soft taco from taco bell yesterday. I feel awful about it, and im really upset with myself that is did this. Any tips on ways to make yourself less susceptible to giving in? I honestly feel like I have a food addiction also, and its comforting to see that someone has been successful in getting on their way to ridding themselves of this habit.

Looking at the calories helps me.. I'll go on the website on my phone if I'm out. If you knew that Soft Taco you had as a snack was 210 calories would you have thought it was worth eating? I would of said no, that's almost a whole meal worth of calories for me. If that was your lunch, then it's fine, not so bad.

I can't eat a lot of the things that others bandsters do and I am (15) months post-op. There is no possible way that I could eat a soft taco from Taco Bell. That doughy tortilla would become a glob and I'd better be close to a restroom. I haven't had a chip or a single piece of bread to this day. I have had a few Oreo's that I chewed the hell out of.

I did not self-pay $14,000 to fail. Money is too precious to me.

If we go to a Mexican restaurant I order a cheese enchilada ala carte (with extra red sauce to make it really moist) and steal a few spoon full refried Beans from hubbys plate and I am perfectly satisfied. I can't eat any more than that.

I have a Protein shake from GNC every morning - I have come to really love them. Even before my surgery I was never a Breakfast person.

I love to put different fresh fruit in the vanilla ex. strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, banana (yum). Even tried canned mandarian oranges and it tasted like an Orange Julius.

For lunch at work I will have a salad, or deli turkey meat, hard-boiled eggs, low-fat string chesse or slices of cheddar. Oh and I love cottage cheese with some Marinara sauce on it. Certain Lean Cusines work perfect to heat up in a hurry at work.

Please trying counting to (10) before you eat something that isn't a positive food item for your LapBand. Say to yourself "Is this REALLY worth it?"

Steping off my soapbox now.....