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Liquid Phase



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How long were you on liquids after being banded? My dr said six weeks, but I was thinking I had read about the liquid phase being much shorter than that for some people.

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Each dr. is different. I've even seen some lately on the Yahoo boards that say they went straight into eating regular foods. I find that a bit scary, but I guess they'll find out.

The norm I have heard is maybe 1 week Clear Liquids, 1 week full liquids (anything you can drink through a straw), then into soft/mushy foods. Variations to this might be 3 weeks liquids, 3 weeks soft/mushy.

The reasoning behind this, so I've heard, is that the first 6 weeks is healing time for your stomach. Even though we only have 5-6 minor incisions on the outside - this really is major surgery. The dr. sometimes have to do some cutting away of tissues inside that we don't see outside. Maybe there are some repairs to hiatal hernias etc. Either way, the tummy has been through a major unsettling and the tummy is generally a grumpy customer. So you have swelling and general disturbance of the natural order of things which needs time to settle and return to normal. Not only this, but your band needs time to find it's place and become 'seated' , if you will. 6 weeks is considered a good time limit to allow this 'seating' or growth of scar tissue around the band so that your chances of slippage or complications later become less.

It is said that the less grinding and churning of the stomach during this phase (thus, the liquids/soft foods) the better it becomes settled in it's place.

I hope that makes sense.

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Hi Blossom,

It seems every surgeon has a different post-op plan...

I was on Clear Liquids for two days... Full liquids for one day... pureed foods for 2 weeks... then a Soft diet for two more weeks. I am officially on a Regular diet as of this Friday.

Darcy

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My Dr. reccommended 2 weeks clear liquids, 2 weeks full liquids, 2 weeks mushies, then gradually onto solids. Unfortunately, I just couldn't stick to it for the allotted time. I just made sure I was really careful and moved slowly. I think I probably actually spent maybe 1 week on clear liquids, 1 week full liquids, and about 2 weeks on mushies before the gradual move to more solid food.< /p>

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I was just like Marie to the tee.

My first real food was clam chowder at about 3 weeks. After 3 bites I got the hiccups sooo loud, it was pretty funny. I thought I had done something wrong. Hiccups, gurgles and burps are normal.

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Originally posted by Vera

Hiccups, gurgles and burps are normal.

Hiccups definitely meant I was 'done'. Buyer beware - if you go past this point, it's your own fault! lol

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Never goty hiccups... a few belches yes... I was on liquids for two weeks and soft foods for two and then on to normal foods to tolerance.

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My hiccups are really not your normal repeated hiccups. It's usually one BIG hiccup. Sorta like your diaphragm suddenly declaring it's existence? That was 'my sign' before this second surgery.

Interestingly, this time I've had some other signs, like suddenly feeling like I need to sneeze and not really sneezing. The scratchy throat and suddenly having a coughing problem. I had this the first time around. But, if I get to that one big hiccup, I'm done.

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I never did clear liquids. They actually gave me yogurt drink the following morning after I was banded in the hospital. I did liquids for 2 weeks, then mushys for 2 weeks. When I did start regular food, I got some twinges of discomfort so I stuck to soft foods for a couple of weeks after.

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    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 0 replies
      1. This update has no replies.
    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. summerseeker

        Life as a big person had limited my life to what I knew I could manage to do each day. That was eat. I hadn't anything else to look forward to. So my eating choices were the best I could dream up. I planned the cooking in managable lots in my head and filled my day with and around it.

        Now I have a whole new big, bigger, biggest, best days ever. I am out there with those skinny people doing stuff i could never have dreamt of. Food is now an after thought. It doesn't consume my day. I still enjoy the good home cooked food but I eat smaller portions. I leave food on my plate when I am full. I can no longer hear my mother's voice saying eat it all up, ther are starving children in Africa who would want that!

        I still cook for family feasts, I love cooking. I still do holidays but I have changed from the All inclusive drinking and eating everything everyday kind to Self catering accommodation. This gives me the choice of cooking or eating out as I choose. I rarely drink anymore as I usually travel alone now and I feel I need to keep aware of my surroundings.

        I don't know at what point my life expanded, was it when I lost 100 pounds? Was it when I left my walking stick at home ? Was it when I said yes to an outing instead of finding an excuse to stay home ? i look back at my last five years and wonder how loosing weight has made such a difference. Be ready to amaze yourself.

        BTW, the liquid diet sucks, one more day and you are over the worst. You can do it.

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      Officially here for a long time, not just a good time💪
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    • KimBaxleyWilson

      Three months and four days ago... I was in Costa Rica having a life changing surgery! Yesterday we had a followup visit with Dr. Esmeral via video chat and this morning my middle number changed.  I'm down 47lbs and two pants sizes. I can wear a Large tshirt for the first time in like... 14 years! Woot!! Everything is going great. I have zero regrets. I went down to the riverwalk with a friend and walked 2 miles on Monday without even getting fatigued. And no more snoring or chugging pickle juice for crazy leg cramps! I need to go to the gym more... I'm making new shirts next week so that will motivate me. LOL But I'm also just not as TIRED all the time! I have a LONG way to go...but seeing the progress on the scales and in the mirror is a huge motivator!! Thank you all for cheering me on and supporting me!!
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