11 days after surgery and eating normally

rachel · February 23, 2005

Hi Everbody,

I have had an amazing recovery since the surgery 11 days ago and I think that lulled me in to a false sense of security.

It was explained to me today, by a lady in the intro section of this forum, that what I should be eating at the moment haS MORE TO DO WITH THE BAND SECURING IT'S PLACE, AND NOT ABOUT WHAT WE CAN TOLERATE.

i'VE BEEN EATING VERY SMALL AMOUNTS OF (whoops,just noticed the uppercase) lots of things eg: eggs, grapes, cheese, crackers, mince, Cereal and a tiny piece of chocolate.< /p>

Now I'm paranoid that I've done damage.

Does anyone have first, or second, hand experience in doing what I've done? The only things I've had trouble with are chicken and bread.< /p>

Take care all,Rachel.

HarleyNana · February 23, 2005

I think you should stop now! Your tummy needs to heal and when it's busy digesting food it's NOT healing. You can't undo the eating you've done, but you can stop now. You will find your band is precious and you don't want to abuse it. I'm not fussing, just warning ya.

DeniseG · February 23, 2005

I mean with all do respect but, there are probably 100 posts on these boards that say not to do that. I hope you will take the time to learn why.

Alexandra · February 23, 2005

Rachel, did your doctor not give you ANY post-op eating instructions? That's pretty shocking, if that's the case. Post-op diets vary quite a bit but I think everyone agrees that AT LEAST for the first three weeks you should NOT be eating solid food. As you say, it's not all about what you can tolerate, it's about letting your esophagus and stomach stay as still as possible during the healing phase.

If you're feeling perfectly fine then I'd venture to guess that you have done no damage. But please, try to stick with mushy foods or thick liquids for the next week or so. This is the most important thing you can do for yourself and your band at this point.

Jasper · February 23, 2005

I am a new user of this web site and I LOVE it. Everyone is so nice and very informative. I too am 13 days post op and am having trouble following my doctor's food reccomendations. Right now i am on the shake phase, which is hard . I tried soft foods already and felt fine, and wondered is the band in place right, why can I eat this and more than I thought I could and feel OK. But after reading all of your wise responses, I am going to back off of the soft foods since I am not officially supposed to eat it yet. I go back to the doc on monday. What do you guys think of doing the 2 Protein Drinks a day and maybe egg drop Soup in the evening? Please let me know if It will hurt my healing process. I've had some cottage cheese, cheese, soup, and 2 stuffed clams thus far. I hope I haven't ruined the band yet. But thanks for posting your thread...I was worried too. I hope you are doing well and continue to feel OK. God Bless....

Alexandra · February 23, 2005

Hi Jasper,

You're doing fine, not to worry. Egg drop Soup was one of my favorite thick liquids, since it's so high in Protein and kept me satisfied for a long time.

One thing bears repeating. The liquid phase is not about weight loss, it's about healing. So don't worry about calories during this time! I found that it was much more important to NOT get too hungry during this time than to stick to some absurdly low number of calories. There's no point in trying to starve yourself now; it just makes this hard time all the harder.

Go ahead and have snacks! Liptons Soup at Hand is a great thing to explore, and there are lots of mushy dips and spreads you can discover. Keep those munchies at bay while you're healing, and there will be much less chance that you'll lose control over at the tortilla chip bowl!

Jasper · February 23, 2005

Thanks for replying. But, how do you know if your band slipped already, or is not healing properly without having to get an xray of some sort? So although I am not technically on the mushy food stage, egg drop Soup doesnt hurt? Last night I had some and found it was the best thing in the world lol. And I scarfed down 1 cup in a few minutes. It's really hard to retrain myself to eat slowly. But I felt I could've done more. Am I supposed to get that feeling that I need to stop. Or is it too soon after surgery? I hear that liquids go down much easier than solids and I hope that I will feel fuller once I start my solid phase in 3 weeks. What if I permanently damaged the healing process of the band since I already ate foods that are not allowed yet?

Alexandra · February 23, 2005

Jasper, I promise you that nothing you have eaten will have damaged the band or compromised the healing process. I've heard stories of prolonged vomiting in the week after surgery that resulted in no damage or problems.

But you really want to give your body the best care you can while it's healing. And as you said, it really is hard to train yourself to eat slowly. It's all the harder if you're hungry, which is why I caution everyone to NOT let yourself get hungry.

I think of egg drop Soup as a thick liquid, yes. It can go through a straw, can't it? Mostly? As you heal up you'll find that even when you're eating solid food it will feel almost perfectly normal, so don't be alarmed. You have no fill, no restriction from the band so it's not going to have much if any effect. You're probably not going to get any signals from your banded tummy until you get a fill. Some people do have restriction straight out of surgery that stays for a while, but most do not. So if you're eating normally after three or four weeks on soft foods, you're perfectly NORMAL.

DeLarla · February 23, 2005

In addition to the Band securing in place, I've also been told that you don't want your stomach doing any serious digestion because all those digestive acids make your stomach move and rumble around, which is too disruptive in the beginning, so stick to liquids and mushies for a few weeks.

Jasper · February 23, 2005

Hi again Alex..you do a great job at comforting me. :banana Anyhow, I do have a fill. While waiting to be transported back to my room after the upper GI x ray , I was able to glance through my chart. one section was where the surgeon had to report in detail step by step of the surgery. I read that the band is filled 2.5 cc. Which at that time I didnt know anything about. So when I went to the doc the Monday after surgery to get the staples removed. The PA who was also in the operating room said you are thin inside. Of course I questioned that being 270 pounds. She said you have no fat around your organs so we had to use the smallest band and we filled it already because if we didn't you would not lose weight. I am still waiting for that card to tell me what kind of band i have , which I hope to get this coming Monday. That's why I am so worried about not feeling so fullish after eating 1 c of Soup and stuff like that. What do you think?

DeLarla · February 23, 2005

Jasper, I'm impressed with your healing! Some people heal really fast while others (like me) take longer to feel better.

Yes, the Soup will slide right through, so you won't feel full for too long. Just remember that the liquid phase is only temporary. You might want to try cream Soups in the blender for a second to smooth out the chunks, which stuck to my ribs a little better than broth based Soups.< /p>

Did your doctor tell you when you can move on to mushie foods? I was allowed mushie things like mashed potatoes, cottage cheese and refried Beans in my 3rd week.

I look forward to seeing you around here!

Jasper · February 23, 2005

Hey there Delarla...I can start with the mushy foods on Monday (Although I've tried some already) :bandit Have you heard of the band being filled at the time of surgery? I haven't read anything about that, I usually hear that it's left unfilled for about 4-6 weeks.

sharon · February 23, 2005

My doctors instructions were that I could have mushie foods after the 48 hours- basically anything with the consistency of baby food (translate to no chunks). So I've been putting things into the blender or buying tuff that is already mushy - tuna salad, hummus, pudding, chopped liver, veggies, etc. There was nothing about liquid diet for so long. I'm confused.

Jasper · February 23, 2005

Hi Sharon every doc is different I am finding. My doc it was clear fluids for the first 4 days, now Protein Shakes for 2 weeks, then mushies for 2 weeks..

Gigi001 · February 23, 2005

Now there is piece of news, I didn't realize there were different SIZES of bands. I thought it was one size fits all then fills. This forum always has such good info.