be honest

[Essence36 0]

i was banded 9-6-07 ive been on liquids for over 1 mnth now what will happen if i eat some solids

[Cindy_D 1]

Essence you really need to think this through again before you do something to jeopardize all your efforts. You have been given post-op instructions for your benefit, no one else's. No one is trying to perpetrate a hoax on anyone. Think about what has been done to your stomach - you now have a band around your stomach and many sutures pulling the stomach up around the band on the top section. If you screw it up by eating too early, you risk your stomach working overtime, you risk nausea, vomiting, and having the band slip necessitating removal through a much bigger operation than the one you just went through - but it is all up to you....

[losingjusme 12]

i suggest you call your surgeon and ask..

congrats on being banded.

[Susan70 0]

I was banded on 8/10/07.I will be honest. I did not follow the instructionst to the T. I was supposed to be on Clear Liquids for 2 wks and then soft mashed foods for 2 wks. I did eat Soups like mushroom and Tomato soups the first 2 weeeks, By the 3 week I was on solid but soft foods.. I do not encourage doing what I did though I dont think I have had any problems.HOWEVER I did not eat solids until at least 2 wks later... Now for you is way too soon. Eat a hearty cream Soup before you think about solids

[faithmd 14]

I was banded on 8/10/07.I will be honest. I did not follow the instructionst to the T. I was supposed to be on clear liquids for 2 wks and then soft mashed foods for 2 wks. I did eat Soups like mushroom and Tomato soups the first 2 weeeks, By the 3 week I was on solid but soft foods.. I do not encourage doing what I did though I dont think I have had any problems.HOWEVER I did not eat solids until at least 2 wks later... Now for you is way too soon. Eat a hearty cream Soup before you think about solids

Susan's post is a good example of what most people say:"I didn't have any problems" or "It went down fine" or "I didn't have any pain" or "I chewed really well." Now while I am glad that Susan said she did not start solids until she was supposed to, and likely she won't have a problem from the soups, one NEVER knows. Usually the problems aren't now. The problems creep up later down the line generally after a fill. The band needs to get scar tissue formed around it to hold it in place on the back of the stomach (it's stitched on the front) ans it also gets itself "seated" into a groove it makes in the fat pad on your stomach's surface. If it either doesn't get to make that little groove in the right spot, or it if gets shifted around a lot while the stomach is churning trying to process the more solid food you've eaten (before you were supposed to), then the groove won't form right and down the road you may have a slip. I emphasize MAY, not WILL.

Think about it people, did you get fat in six weeks? NO! So why can't you stick to a freaking plan for four or six or eight tiny weeks out of our whole miserable lives in an attempt to make our lives better? Really! I know, the cop out response is "Well, if I could follow a diet I wouldn't be fat." Gimme a break. It's not a diet in the post-op phase, it's an eating plan to give you the best possible chance you can get with the tool you have just either sold your soul to the insurance company for, or that you have just paid for with blood, sweat and tears (or taken a loan on your home, any number of ways). And remember this is not MAGIC, it is a tool, and that tool needs to be taken care of like any other tool. you wouldn't leave an $8500 saw out in the rain, would you? You'd protect it. So protect your investment in your weight loss tool. It's not magical, it does require work on our part to make choices in what to eat and what not to eat.

I also urge you to call your surgeon before you start testing your band.

[losingjusme 12]

:clap2: :clap2: :clap2: :clap2: :clap2: :clap2: :clap2: :clap2: :clap2: :clap2: Faith!!!

[kacee 3]

SOOOOO not a good idea! It doesn't matter that you have "been on liquids for a month". You had surgery FOUR FREAKIN DAYS AGO!!!! Heck NO you can't have solids! And yes, you can do damage if you screw up. For probably 30 days (typical time with most docs) you need to abide by the liquids, mushies and soft foods your doctor puts you on. Why potentially defeat the purpose of the whole procedure?

[claramae 0]

Well, let me get my two cents worth in. I have been on liquids since August 13th. I had my band on August 27; am still on liquids. Do I love it-------NO. But I will not knowing jeopardize ANYTHING at this point. Why would I have gone through all the pain and suffering to jump ship now?

I also believe there are people(no I am not paranoid) that are expecting me to fail at this. I will not give them one ounce of satisfaction. But that is just me.

[Debbieway 0]

I am NOT banded YET, but have asked myself the same question during my research, "If I could stick to a diet, I would not be in this position, so why would this be any more successful than any other diet?"

You have just helped answer that question. The more that I read on this site, the closer I get to taking the first steps towards Lap Band Surgery. You are all sooo right! If I am going to do this, I need to be ready to commit to it, and I think that I am closer today then I have ever been. Your honesty and positiveness is very motivating. I want to be on the other side, helping people as you do, with these same questions.:whoo:

[Cerrin 3]

Thank you Faith I think it was very well put. I am NOT banded yet but thinking about doing damage to a tool I ASKED-BEGGED for them to put in it stupid. I know it is going to be really hard to stick to the liquid thing. But I can do ANYTHING for a month/ two months if it means my LIFE is going to be better

[juliegeraci 7]

You can rip out your sutures so don't do it. If you are starving eat some creamy Soup. You should be moving to mushies within 2 weeks. Good luck.

[faithmd 14]

You can rip out your sutures so don't do it. If you are starving eat some creamy Soup. You should be moving to mushies within 2 weeks. Good luck.

Julie, I have asked repeatedly that you stop writing what people can do with their diets., I'm asking again. You don't know what their diet should be, you are NOT their surgeon and neither am I. My doc would not have had me on mushies in two weeks, and I could NOT have cream Soups just because I was "starving" and wanted them.

It is irresponsible to continue to post that people can have cream Soups whenever they want and to say that they "should be moving to mushies within two weeks." Maybe their surgeon has them on them in three days, maybe it is a month, unless they say, we shouldn't tell them what is okay.

[Wendell Edwards 73]

i was banded 9-6-07 ive been on liquids for over 1 mnth now what will happen if i eat some solids

Hi Essence,

While nobody can tell you for sure what WILL happen, it's what MIGHT happen that should concern you.

I made the following post a loing time ago, because this question gets asked all the time, but the answer remains the same:

"DON'T DO IT!"

"How Important Is The Post-Op Diet?"

It is critical. Most doctors prescribe a post-op diet of weeks of clear fluids, followed by weeks of full fluids followed by weeks of mushy food. My doctor said 2 weeks clear Fluid, 2 weeks full fluids and 2 weeks of mushy food. The time following the operation is for your stomach to heal. The Lap-Band needs to form a groove on your stomach. That groove makes the Lap-Band resistant to slipping.

Eating food during the post-op period before you are supposed to be eating food could cause the Lap-Band to slip, or increase the risk of a future slippage.

Food causes the stomach muscle to "Work" to digest the food. The "Work" could cause the band to not seat properly on the stomach. Weight loss is NOT to be expected during the recovery time after the operation. If you lose weight, wonderful, but don't expect it. The time between the operation and getting an EFFECTIVE fill that causes restriction is called "Bandster Hell" for a good reason. Without an EFFECTIVE fill, our hunger is just as strong, but the band does not work to help us. Getting an EFFECTIVE fill sometimes takes multiple fills, it is not unusual for it to take 3-5 or even MORE fills to obtain restriction. Because the band has to seat into the groove to hold its position, and every time the band is filled the fill adds extra pressure on the band, most doctors choose to let time pass between fills. Most doctors will not fill a band before 4 weeks after the operation, 6 weeks is common and 8-12 weeks of healing time is not unheard of.

One more thing:

I strongly recommend that you NOT follow the advice given to you by ANYONE who is not YOUR DOCTOR.

[Kat817 19]

Make sure you are getting some clear liquid Protein, it will help with the hunger/cravings often times, and will also aid in your healing.

I would not in my wildest dreams imagine a Dr. ok'ing solids after only days!!! This is time to heal. Time to find out what you are really made of! Get mad, get tuff, and hang in there! Even if it takes getting mad at the fact you got yourself banded---whatever it takes to get you past the "gotta eat food" thing you find yourself facing.

It is way too soon. You have had it explained to you in many ways why you should not be eating---ANYTHING that is not on your Dr.s ok list. It is not like you are trying to eat a cream Soup a day early---you JUST had surgery---please give it a chance to heal!

Soon the weight loss, will help give you incentive---unitl then, perhaps when you think you HAVE to have something, take a walk around the block---it will serve double purpose, get you away from food, and that thought, and get you some exercise started as well. Or log on here, and complain to everyone---we have all been there----and made it!!!

Be strong---it is the difference maybe in having the band and being healthy the rest of your life, vs. momentary satisfaction of what---a sandwich? Not even a question!!!! Give me long term weight control!!!!! Size 14 is just my current stop on the way down, but it feels so much better than anything you could eat today would taste----you'll see....hang in there!!! It IS worth it!

Kat

[losingjusme 12]

and i repeat ...

:clap2::clap2: faith...