I asked this question on another board and the responses I got have made me feel bad and that I have done something wrong and messed up this whole journey.

I am 3.5 weeks post op - doctor wants me on anything that can go through a funnel (Soups, Jello, hummus, etc). I have been following that part and sticky to mushy foods, Protein shakes and Water. This is the problem - I have taken a few small bites of my sons meals like a tiny bite of chicken,Pasta or sausage. I have always done this to test for temperature and to see how it tastes and I have done it a few times since surgery.

Have I done something really bad? I know it is considered cheating but I am concerned now that I messed up the band. The answers I got on the other board told me that I am not commited to the changes I need to make. I think that is a crappy thing to say - I have lost 23 lbs since I started this and I feel great.

Am I a failure cause I sure feel crappy now!

Lauren

Lauren, you really need to try and follow your surgeon's post-op rules. It's important so that band anchors securely and you avoid future problems. But you're not a failure! My surgeon advised that once I got to mushies, I could blend regular foods very well before eating. This really helped because I could eat whatever the family was having.

YOU are NOT a failure. I'm sure that most of us have done pretty much the same thing when we were on our liquid phases.

The thing that I always had to tell myself is that I could be doing harm to myself if I ate solid food before I was instructed to. It's very hard because you don't feel pain, or it doesn't hurt when you eat solid food so you think everything is ok. My doctor told me that when you eat solid food, your stomach churns and moves to try and digest it, and you don't want your stomach doing that while it's in the healing process.

You'll be fine. Just try to stick to your doctor's orders and don't beat yourself up over the tiny bites that you've already had.

Take it day by day, you'll soon get through it!!

Lauren,

DOnt worry about it! I was eating regular good in my third week. Every doc is different. If you told me you ate a whole 24 oz steak, then I would think that you have an issue. We all slip up and make mistakes.

Babs in TX

334/184/170

-150

Lauren - I doubt you have harmed your band, especially if you really chewed everything really good, however it really is best to follow your doctors rules. If you have any problems, I would contact your doctor, but if not, then try to stick as close to the orders your doctor gave to you. It is really important to let your band anchor itself.

How long before you move to solids? My doctor put me on solids at 4 weeks. Every doctor is different though, so try to stay as close as you can to his instructions.

Lauren, I'm with Babs. You did nothing wrong. My doctor's post-op instructions call for solid food in the third week. If you have felt no pain or anything, I'm sure you didn't do anything at all to your band.

That said, I'm sure you know it is important to follow your doctor's instructions. But I don't for one second think that nibbling while cooking shows any lack of commitment. (It will be a habit you want to break, though, since when you have restriction two or three nibbled bites can be enough to ruin your dinner.)

Relax!! You're doing great.

What they said!!

I don't know how many times I put food in my mouth and spit it back out again.

I have 2 kids that I cook for. I had such a bad habbit of tasting while I was cooking for them, I didn't realize what a bad habbit it was till I was banded.

I am with Babs here too. I am only newly banded (1 week today), and my doctor has me on blended foods. That includes blended meats too. Every doctor is different-and it seems like the post-op diets differ greatly from doctor to doctor. As long as you are chewing the items good enough to fit through the stoma, I would say you are alright. Are you having pain? Have you vomited?

Joan

I have not vomited and the only pain I had was on Monday when a small piece of bread that I did not chew well enough got stuck but it did go down.

Alex - my doctor is Bertha too - he said no solids until week 4

Just don't do it again!!! lol

Don't worry, you are not the first post in here I have seen that someone didn't do the same thing.

I know my doctor won't let you eat solids (meats etc) until week 6. watery Chili at week 4 or soft scrambled eggs. Milk products not until week 2. Like others have said, each doctor is different, I know my doctor personally, was one of the very first doctors to use the lapband though. Just in the last 1 1/2 since I had my surgery, the rules on what you can eat/not eat have changed. The rules I just stated were enforced when my husband had to have his surgery redone after his band slipped. But, as I stated in another post. after a fill he now makes you wait 5 days before solid foods. It use to be only 2.

We arent nor is anyone else still living......I ate gravy and biscuit a week after surgery and I am fine. I was scared mind you but I fell weak. I did correct myself though and so should you do your best. Its time to heal up then you shouldnt be able to hurt your band....

Hi,

As you can see many of us had a few bites that we should not have, but don't "should" all over yourself.

Heck, I was also taking bites, chewing the heck out of them in my mouth until they could have gone through a funnel or straw, lol.

My brother in law (doctor) was banded and told me that if I chewed it up good enough to go through a straw not to worry, of course doctors are terrible patients.

Of course it is good to follow your doc's instructions, duh, however, we are only human and a few little bites is not going to destroy the pouch in my humble opinion, especially if it is chewed to mush.

Congrat on your surgery.

Alex - my doctor is Bertha too - he said no solids until week 4

Things may have changed since I was banded in August of '03. At that time they were just using a marked-up version of the bypass diet, with rough time frames written in. Mushies were OK to start at day 4-6, for example. See how that goes and move on after another week or so. Do they have something printed specifically for bandsters yet?

I don't actually remember the specifics, but do recall trying to eat some black bean Soup right about the end of week 1. I couldn't actually do it, so I waited another week before trying anything so thick. Dr. Abkin at that time agreed that whenever we try anything new the important thing is to listen to our bodies. Any pain or discomfort means we're not ready for it.

Oh, Geez!!!! With friends like that, who needs enemies??? What an awful thing to say to someone who had just gone through a life changing surgery!!! Hey, your doing a great job! How about considering just hanging out here and leave all the snippy remarks on those other boards!

Lauren, you are normal, normal, normal!!! Just try not to do it too much. It really is best to follow your drs orders. But it seems no two drs give the same orders! Mine had me do mushies on week one and on to soft solids at week 2, then solids at week 3.

My doctor said that if i eat too much or the wrong thing my body will tell me and it will hurt. He said to call him and he would advise going back to liquids for a few days. He also told me not to wait, like if I was vomiting or PBing (productive burping) to0 much <a href="http://www.TickerFactory.com/">

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he says that is when his patients get into trouble because they wait too long to call. Also I like Vera's suggestion of just spitting it out. I will remember that...

Hello,

Can you tell that this has happened to other people too? I'll never forget being a week or two out and popping a peice of sausage in my mouth. OMG!!! Thank God I was able to spit it back out but it is so easy to do things like that without even a thought. At the time I was making Breakfast for 8 people at the bed and breakfast I work at. Having to prepare food while not eating it is tough business. I love Spinach Gnocci and somehow decided since it has kind of a soft squishy feel to it, IT MUST BE a MUSHIE!!! I never determined the correctness of that but WE definitally all make mistakes. I tried very hard to be good and no damage was done to my band. Best wishes, Teresa