Hi,

I was banded last Friday September 28, 07. I feel good, but my stomach is swollen. How long will that last?

I am drinking protein shakes, water, Crystal Light, and sipping tomato soup. I heard from one source that sugar-free jello is OK and another source said absolutely no jello. Does anyone have advice about that? How about ices or popsicles?

THANKS for the input

I have read many sources of info, but I have NEVER heard not to eat jello!

I just got banded on the 25th and per my dr we can have sugar free jello and sugar free pudding ! Inculding the sugar free pudding popsicles..

Hi Trystelle,

Thanks for the response -- it was my first one and I'm excited to hear from others who have been through this as well. And congrats on your weight loss!

I had the surgery 5 days ago. Do you know whether or not I can eat egg-drop soup? What about any kind of soup that is pureed enough that it could fit in a straw (there's a recipe for a Portuguese soup that looks really good).

Thank you!

I just got banded on the 25th and per my dr we can have sugar free Jello and sugar free pudding ! Inculding the sugar free pudding popsicles..

I can really have sugar-free pudding w/in the first week?? Even though it's not a liquid, nor would it be able to fit through a straw?<!-- google_ad_section_end --><!-- / message -->

I was banded on 9-21-07 and am still on liquids including cream soup...doctor and nutritionist stated NO tomato soup at this point as it as too much acid....if you have a Trader Joe's or Wegmans neaby, they have GREAT cream Soups....Cashew Carrot Ginger, Buttersquash with apple....add a little cinnamon or nutmeg....

Good luck!

a straw? I was told not to use a Straw at all because of the air....which would equate to gas???

The analogy of the straw is to allow you to discern what you could tolerate at that stage in your diet. If you COULD drink it through a straw, my surgeon allowed it in the FULL liquid stage. I was not supposed to use the straw to ingest it, but that's the consistency I could have.

Hey Faith...

Have you seen those new Burger King straws for their Oreo Cookie shake? They are like a garden hose. Pieces of steak would fit through it! HA!

Darn, wish I would have known about those puppies during my liquid phase.

I'm KIDDING people, use a regular skinny straw....

hey im having such a hard time sticking to my post op liquid diet.

first of all my surgeon gave me a hand out that said in huge letters NO JELLO.

also i find that i can eat allot of food in quantity and in type. someone who has had the band for a while told me that the reason you cant eat solids in the post op diet even if it goes down -which by me it does- is because when theres chunks-no matter how well you chew!- the stomach moves when it digests it and that can cause a band to slip.

this is prob only off the books but people told me that the eat cheese curls on the liquid diet bc it melts in your mouth as you chew it and turns to liquid....id love to know ppls thoughts on the matter....

hey im having such a hard time sticking to my post op liquid diet.

first of all my surgeon gave me a hand out that said in huge letters NO Jello.

also i find that i can eat allot of food in quantity and in type. someone who has had the band for a while told me that the reason you cant eat solids in the post op diet even if it goes down -which by me it does- is because when theres chunks-no matter how well you chew!- the stomach moves when it digests it and that can cause a band to slip.

this is prob only off the books but people told me that the eat cheese curls on the liquid diet bc it melts in your mouth as you chew it and turns to liquid....id love to know ppls thoughts on the matter....

That is very bad information. The people giving you this information have no clue what they are talking about.

Follow what your doc says.

BTW, if your doc says no Jello, what do YOU think of cheese curls?

i dont know bc i tried cheese curls and the went down so easily they literaly turn to liquid when you chew them...

i dont know bc i tried cheese curls and the went down so easily they literaly turn to liquid when you chew them...

It's not a matter of liquid, it's not a matter of passing through the stoma. Think about it, if your doc doesn't want you eating Jello, would he want you eating cheese curls? You already know the answer to that one.

Copy/paste from another post:

Eating solids during liquid phase:

When you eat food your stomach has to churn and work to break food down so it can pass through the GI system. When you drink clear liquids it virtually does little to no work. When you drink full liquids it doesn't have to work hard. When you eat solids your stomach has to work very hard to break down food while it mixes with stomach acids. It almost looks like stomach spasms. (not the same as chewing)

Since it is the scarring and adhesions that hold the band in place and not the sutures (long term), when you eat solids your stomach is moving and churning and this prevents adhesions from forming.

The other issue is that when they first started doing this procedure they made the pouch bigger than they do now. People were not losing weight with a larger pouch so they started making it much smaller. If you eat solids before you are supposed to you can actually push your pouch down and the adhesions that do form will secure the pouch in place but with a much larger size. You could end up with a larger pouch and weight loss will be very difficult. The only repair is surgical and then you start the post op diet all over again. I doubt most docs would redo the procedure because you didn't follow the post op diet.

When you don't follow your doc's instructions you are only harming yourself. If you want the band to work, you have to do as your doc tells you.

I think there should be a huge warning label somewhere that patients have to read before surgery. If you want your band to work you have to follow the instructions for EVERYTHING and especially a post-op diet.

When you are doing clears/full liquids/soft foods remember that sugar, ANY kind of sugar or carbs will make you want to eat your right arm. Protein will kill hunger. It's the way your blood sugar and pancreas work. When you eat sugar your blood sugar increases. Then your pancreas kicks out insulin, then your blood sugar decreases and that sends hormones that tell your brain you are hungry again. When you consume protein it doesn't mess with your blood sugar much so your body isn't constantly trying to tell your brain you are hungry. Oh, you'll still have head hunger issues, but we all have that and that is a big reason we are fat. But mix head hunger with stomach hunger and we will fail. It's just too much.

So cut out ALL sugar and most carbs, limit carbs to 30gms daily. Then bump up your protein and that should make it so you can manage post op diets.

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It's your band, your choice. Just remember, the post op diet sets the tone for the life of the band.