i am in the mushies stage and have been good 90% of the time, and not so good 10% of the time . i can eat everthing ! and i mean EVERTHING !! can anyone tell me if ive done any damage to my band when im only a few weeks out from surgery ? holidays are hell food wise ! anyone else been through this and do you have any advice ? my 1st post op drs appt is jan 9th. ive lost 12 lbs total, 6 before and 6 afterwards , but have;nt lost anymore because my appetite has returned and no exercising except for walking until jan 9th, per drs orders. HELP !!! need advice !

This is really debatable...some people are on liquids for weeks after surgery then move to mushies, but others have one week of liquid, then move to 'soft foods' which are more substantial than mushies (this was my situation). As far as damage, if you didn't get stuck or vomit, then maybe there is no damage but ask your doctor if you're really concerned or have pain.

As for getting the scale moving, I'm guess you're not too far out from surgery if your first post-op is Jan 9th. My experience was that I lost a lot in the liquids week, but then when I got to soft foods for a week, then regular foods after that, the loss really slowed. I also couldn't do any exercise other than walking for the first 6 weeks. I luckily didn't gain anything, but not losing was sort of a bummer. Hopefully after your first fill, you'll see the scale move again.

I don't think you've done any damage to your band, You're probably

like most of the rest of us. I think if you go back to the diet you're supposed

to be on, you'll be just fine. Why not go to a calorie counter and start

regulating your diet to start losing 1 or 2lbs a week. This will probably

be a very difficult time for you, but the hunger eases with a little time.

I can eat anything and almost any quantity, but I've learned to control my

appitite (most of the time), it takes a lot of patience and a bit of will power.

You probably won't take the weight off much faster than you put it on,

but with the band to help, it should stay off. The most important thing is

to stay with it and work at it, it'll come off. Try not to worry too much about

weight loss just yet, with fills you'll lose more and more.

This is really debatable...some people are on liquids for weeks after surgery then move to mushies, but others have one week of liquid, then move to 'soft foods' which are more substantial than mushies (this was my situation). As far as damage, if you didn't get stuck or vomit, then maybe there is no damage but ask your doctor if you're really concerned or have pain.

As for getting the scale moving, I'm guess you're not too far out from surgery if your first post-op is Jan 9th. My experience was that I lost a lot in the liquids week, but then when I got to soft foods for a week, then regular foods after that, the loss really slowed. I also couldn't do any exercise other than walking for the first 6 weeks. I luckily didn't gain anything, but not losing was sort of a bummer. Hopefully after your first fill, you'll see the scale move again.

You can "Cheat" by staying with the mushies, but eating too much outside the recommended portion sizes/frequency. OR you can be cheating by eating beyond the mushies and sneaking in solid foods.

The latter is not a good idea. There is a reason, other than loosing weight, that Dr.s have you on a post-op regime of slowly bringing you back to "Normal"

You can "Cheat" by staying with the mushies, but eating too much outside the recommended portion sizes/frequency. OR you can be cheating by eating beyond the mushies and sneaking in solid foods.

The latter is not a good idea. There is a reason, other than loosing weight, that Dr.s have you on a post-op regime of slowly bringing you back to "Normal"

True, eating solids "too soon" could be cheating based on your particular doctor's guidelines. I was on solids by week 3 though based on the guidelines provided by my doctor, so the OP's concern about damaging the band by cheating on mushies if it was eating something solid is probably not a big deal.

So if you eat stronger foods beforehand, will it not help expand the pouch they want to keep small? Seem to me, the stomach is alike a baloon, and if it shrinks back, with all this liquid small amount diet, when they fill you should be easier as the baloon is smaller? what do I know? I know im on liquids still, but saw Dr and told him i was on green pea soup and ready for black bean soup and he was ok with that, just 1/3 cup.??

So if you eat stronger foods beforehand, will it not help expand the pouch they want to keep small? Seem to me, the stomach is alike a baloon, and if it shrinks back, with all this liquid small amount diet, when they fill you should be easier as the baloon is smaller? what do I know? I know im on liquids still, but saw Dr and told him i was on green pea soup and ready for black bean soup and he was ok with that, just 1/3 cup.??

You want to heal, and have the surrounding tissue heal strong and healthy, and have the band set properly, thus avoiding complications later on down the road.

The soft tissue around the band is expected to be inflamed and tender. Thus the Liquid, then soft foods. Introducing hard, rough and possibly large pieces can damage the tissue, and/or move the band out of expected position prior to becoming properly seated.

It's true with just about any surgery. The site has to heal before it can be used in a normal capacity.

As far as dilating (stretching) the pouch/esophagus, that is another problem that would be more of a concern later on when you start to experience some restriction of food passing through the band. Yes, the pouch can expand, and shrink. People with dilated pouches will have to go back to full liquids, and possibly a full unfill so as not to have food settle in the pouch for a while.

The real danger again, is to the band placement for proper function.

I'm sticking with the soup and next week the baby foods, came too far now, to have damage. and Holidays has been hard but at least I was on drugs lol. I mostly slept throught it - with my family all enoying that huge dinner. The different kinds of broth like french onion and pea soup etc to me has been much better than the cubes in hot water. Bought a little strainer- does the trick. Good luck every one, you jump off- jump back in quick !