hi everyone. i'm a week post-op and reading the topics on this forum has been very helpful. i'm not sure if this is the right place to post this, but i hope it is.

i've been struggling, as most people do, with the post-op liquid diet. my surgeon and nut wants me on it for another week with 'thick liquids'. its driving me crazy, and last night i caved and had a small slice of cheddar cheese in arabic pita bread (very thin white bread). i chewed very thoroughly and everything was fine. the fact that my sleeve tolerated it makes me want to move myself in to pureed foods sooner, because i don't know if i can do another week of broth/soup and yoghurt and i don't know if they have me on it so i can lose weight ~faster (which i don't care about) or because pureed food might be 'too much'...my mini-sandwich experience makes me think it won't be.

basically i'm confused and wondering if moving to a pureed stage sooner would actually do any harm, did anyone have a similar experience or try doing the same thing?

Don't move until your doctor tells you. You may have been ok this time, but the passage through your stomach is small if food does not digest and backs up you can get a blockage and rupture your suture line.

Get low fat cream of chicken Soup and put it through a strainer (no chicken pieces allowed)... that is what I made it through on. Good luck.

Agree completely with Jordan861. Pushing your sleeve early can cause rupture or stretching and delay healing. It is especially important during the first 6 weeks to baby it so that it has time to heal properly and completely. Your internal surgery site has had extensive damage to the nerves etc so just because you don't necessarily feel any pain post eating foods that are not recommended this early does not mean that you aren't possibly doing long term damage to it. You will transfer through the stages soon enough and before you know it you will be back to eating smaller portions of the good stuff. Just try to be patient because the alternative simply isn't worth the taste/texture.

Agreed. Protein shakes, Greek yogurt, low-fat cream of chicken, mushroom, celery, tomato, low-sodium chicken broth, etc. are your best bet until your doc and nut release you to other foods. You can do it! And if I may suggest it, you might want to avoid breads and other starches. IMHO, they are the quickest path to less-than-desired results throughout your journey. Plenty of time to reintroduce that stuff (in serious moderation) when you are at, or closer to goal. Good luck!

I know how hard it is. My plan was 4 weeks full liquids post-op before moving on. It was a very long 4 weeks.

I'll just share what I thought to myself any time I thought of venturing outside my surgeon's plan: "Only x-days left. Is eating "x" worth the risk? Do I risk a leak and have many more weeks of being miserable if i get one?"

The answer was easy for me when I thought of it that way...HELL NO! This stage is not forever, far from it. You can do it.

thank you so much for the encouraging words and quick response, guys. i won't risk the damage again, the frustration was just getting to me. moment of weakness and all that.

idk how i didn't think of low fat cream of chicken soup, i will be getting to that asap. i'll try to stay off the bread and starches, maybe once a week if that, when i'm allowed again. i don't think i could sacrifice them entirely for anything lol

Stick to the plan, its only for a little while, yes it sucks but its something you have to do and be strong doing it, you will be all the better for it in the end.

Full liquids was not that bad, protien shakes with greek yogurt, creamed Soups, its much better than that clear liquid by far. and if you like cheese, campbells makes a cheese soup that is still one of my favorite soups!

If you eat things you should not eat you run the risk of hurting yourself, do you really want to go back into the operating room because you HAD to have that bread and cheese and now blew a staple and are having septis, oh yea that can KILL you?

Dont be silly, buck up and get through it, you know you can!

I was on broth and water for 10 days before advancing to full liquids. I'm still alive. I also had to do a two week liquid pre op diet. So basically liquids for a month. There is no way I'm not following my surgeon 's instructions. Really? It's only food. I'm now a little over two months out and still at the soft stage. I refuse to deliberately do anything to jeopardize my new stomach. So my love, get ahold of some resolve and treat your new tiny, healing tummy as a new baby who is only allowed to have breast milk or formula. That bread and cheese will be right there when tiny tummy will be able to handle a tiny taste. Best.

Stay with your team's plan. My schedule was accelerated, in complete opposite of those who had theirs completely drawn out. Even though you are anxious to move on through the different stages, bread and cheese are not pureed foods. Bread can be a slippery slope for sure. In my previous pre-sleeve life, I could eat my egg and bacon for Breakfast AND four slices of buttered toast with jelly. If there were potatoes in the house, I would not eat anything else until they were all gone.

The same went for anything made with noodles or macaroni - not to mention the butter and salt that goes with them. Yesterday, my boyfriend made meatballs for the first time since my surgery (nine months ago today), but he made no spaghetti. We had them with maranara sauce and a little fresh grated parmesan cheese with some green Beans on the side. It was then that I realized that it wasn't the Pasta that tasted good, it was the stuff we put on it....so, I do not miss the pasta anymore.

Do your best on introducing foods back into your menu so that you do not fall into those old preferences that got you in a mess in the first place. When you do go into purees, you do not have to eat baby food. You can take any healthy food item that you are allowed and put it through the blender to make it mushy. Be careful, and congratulations on making the decision to have your surgery. I wish you good luck and good health.