I amd 2 weeks post op. I am supposed to be on Clear liquids and on the 9th day - went to cream soups/full liquids instead, against my doctors orders. I know - don't do it, follow orders, you are not the medical expert, blah blah blah. I did it - I am still doing it and I feel I have to.

The one thing I see over and over is that by doing so - I can damage the band even though I don't "feel" anything. I saw Dr. Ortiz on the doctor's corner and have spent countless hours researching.

So then - who admits to eating improperly and then finding out later that their band is damaged or slipped?

I was soft foods/mushies the 2nd week after my lapband surgery. I was on full liquids from day 4 - 6. Your diet depends on your doctor and dieticians. It may be that there are special circumstances in your case but as I said I was food much sooner than you are. It didn't harm my band and I had no serious side effects. Almost all the time I do follow doctor's orders but some times I have eaten something that I am not ready for.

i STRONGLY suggest following your surgeon's pre and post op instructions.

they are there for a reason.

yes, there are surgeons out there who allow their patients solids sooner (or full liquids, whatever) but who knows what kind of suturing technique their surgeon had, etc.

the post op diet is there to HEAL... the more complicated the 'food', the more your stomach has to work to digest it - yes, even full liquids. the more your stomach moves, the less time the sutures have to heal and set your band into place.

of course, i could talk until i'm blue in the face. people are goign to do what they want to do, but - as i said - i strongly discourage it.

in addition ...

a band slip isnt going to necessarily happen the first week / month out of surgery if you dont follow the rules, it could take a year or two.

it may be too soon to know but i was the worst offender! i couldnt follow the pre op OR post op diets & i called the dietician over & over to try to get on track. she told me i was "just lucky not to have ended up back in the hospital" but offered no real explanations! she did say that "your stomach is like a new baby stomach" but that was all. i'm not trying to support or suggest that anyone do as i was doing but RIGHT NOW everything with me is ok---i will be sure to keep you up to date on any problems i may encounter in the future; if any! lets keep our fingers crossed!!!

I did my band in Germany and the recommendation was a liquid diet from the date of surgery until the date of the first fill (5 weeks later). However, even the hospital provided cream Soups as soon as I was allowed to eat food at all (day after surgery). Once home, I ate nothing but cream soups. After 3 weeks I was going a bit nuts so I started looking around online to see what other doctors had recommended for their patients and saw that most people could eat real food after a few weeks so I added in mashed potatoes and mac n cheese just so I'd be satisfied. I went back for my fill yesterday and everything was fine.

Like the above poster said, every doctor has a reason for his dietary recommendations. Maybe you should ask yours why he wanted you his specified plan. If he doesn't have a specific reason I think it would be fine to eat those things.

i'm going to be the "bad girl" and say this, but i'm hoping it'll help. if you aren't going to follow the doctor's instructions maybe this surgery was a mistake for you.

this isn't a magic wand that'll make you thin...it's hard work and you have to be "ready" to DO it this time...it's a mental battle for me every single day, but it gets easy each time.

i urge you to get to the place you need to be in order to have this wonderful tool help you acheive your goals. if my doc told me to drink Water for 3 months i would have...i would have complained like hell, but i would have because i want to be healthy...i think almost anyone who goes through with the surgery does. my mom told me early on not to sell myself short..i'm stronger than i give myself credit. she was right..this time i am--but not without struggles--you can still do this the right way. i hope you do.

i was suppose to be on clear lq for 2 weeks but when i went in dr seen i was handling my lq ok not throwing up and not in much pain. he said i move to full lq and very soft food. they do it on a case by case because everyone heals diffrent.

I followed my doctors orders probably 95% of the time, and those couple of times I didn't I communicated where I didn't. If I didn't follow, I got back on plan asap. I don't have any complications now, I don't want any complications in the future and I am taking the health of my band seriously. I don't know if I will have a problem in the future, but if I do, I want to be able to say to myself that I made a strong go of this and I put forth my best effort.

I am really becoming disturbed by all the threads lately with the theme "I didn't follow doctors orders and don't intend to" or "I got off my diet plan, so please validate me by telling me everything is OK so I can continue not quite following doctors orders (but if you don't agree with me then you are against me and being opinionated)." However, threads with the theme "I got offtrack but really want to make this work, can you help me get back on the bus" are great threads for support and are helpful.

noahsmomm, This response is not specifically to this thread, just a response on a number of similar threads that I have seen lately. Many people move through their liquids stages faster than the plan allotted but all I would suggest is to call your doctor and make sure it is supported. I am just worried that too many threads along this line may have a negative impact on newbies that are just learning the new lifestyle.

How did I end up obese??? By making excuses to myself daily about why I can overeat. I am stressed because work was difficult . . . I had a bad day . . . I am so happy because this happened . . . time to Celebrate a good grade on my midterm . . . and the most important one of all (albeit frequently overused) . . . I am going to eat what I want today because I am starting my diet plan tomorrow (thank goodness I don't have a count for how many times I thought this, I am sure the number is enormous).

So what is my point . . . no more excuses for me. I have to take responsibility for my actions. I can cheat every single day if i want to, but I don't because I put myself under the knife due to being sick and tired of being sick and tired. If someone writes, I had pizza and ice cream 3 days after surgery and my band and I survived it . . . does that give me an excuse to go out and have a Big Mac???

If you are reading this thread, you have probably gone under the knife as well. That is no small step and not an easy road to take. If you start your journey by disregarding the rules, then you set yourself up for the possibility of failure.

If a few weeks of liquids and unpleasant foods can put you on the road to long term health and all of the benefits a more normal weight can provide . . . then you deserve to do the right thing for yourself. You can do this by taking personal responsibility for your actions and making no more excuses for not doing the right things.

I was on full liquids by day 14 and mushies. Every doc is different and mine said if your able to tolerate it then go ahead. I have not damaged my band.

HeatherO - great post!!!

When I want to falter and cheat I tell myself this, "You had major surgery because you're obese." That usually does the trick for my brain. It's an effort to follow our diets but if we want to succeed we have to stop sabotaging ourselves.

I was told by my doctor to have clear liquids for the first week and then full liquids on the 2nd week so having full liquids on the 9th day and on isn't going to hurt you. I think the directions that your doctor gave you are good but since mine was a little different that tells me that having full liquids on the 2nd week is ok. I just got my first fill last week and I was afraid that I had stretched my pouch because I was able to eat anything I wanted to before the fill. When I went for my fill the doctor told me my pouch looked fine and you would have to really abuse your pouch to stretch it. I don't know how much abuse it would take to stretch it but I think you are ok.

Lisa - just remember every doctor is different. unless you are the original poster's band surgeon, i really dont think its good advice to say that she'll be ok... you dont KNOW that.

I was trying to calm her nerves. I'm not her surgeon and wasn't trying to act like I was.

I followed my doctors orders probably 95% of the time, and those couple of times I didn't I communicated where I didn't. If I didn't follow, I got back on plan asap. I don't have any complications now, I don't want any complications in the future and I am taking the health of my band seriously. I don't know if I will have a problem in the future, but if I do, I want to be able to say to myself that I made a strong go of this and I put forth my best effort.

I am really becoming disturbed by all the threads lately with the theme "I didn't follow doctors orders and don't intend to" or "I got off my diet plan, so please validate me by telling me everything is OK so I can continue not quite following doctors orders (but if you don't agree with me then you are against me and being opinionated)." However, threads with the theme "I got offtrack but really want to make this work, can you help me get back on the bus" are great threads for support and are helpful.

noahsmomm, This response is not specifically to this thread, just a response on a number of similar threads that I have seen lately. Many people move through their liquids stages faster than the plan allotted but all I would suggest is to call your doctor and make sure it is supported. I am just worried that too many threads along this line may have a negative impact on newbies that are just learning the new lifestyle.

How did I end up obese??? By making excuses to myself daily about why I can overeat. I am stressed because work was difficult . . . I had a bad day . . . I am so happy because this happened . . . time to celebrate a good grade on my midterm . . . and the most important one of all (albeit frequently overused) . . . I am going to eat what I want today because I am starting my diet plan tomorrow (thank goodness I don't have a count for how many times I thought this, I am sure the number is enormous).

So what is my point . . . no more excuses for me. I have to take responsibility for my actions. I can cheat every single day if i want to, but I don't because I put myself under the knife due to being sick and tired of being sick and tired. If someone writes, I had pizza and ice cream 3 days after surgery and my band and I survived it . . . does that give me an excuse to go out and have a Big Mac???

If you are reading this thread, you have probably gone under the knife as well. That is no small step and not an easy road to take. If you start your journey by disregarding the rules, then you set yourself up for the possibility of failure.

If a few weeks of liquids and unpleasant foods can put you on the road to long term health and all of the benefits a more normal weight can provide . . . then you deserve to do the right thing for yourself. You can do this by taking personal responsibility for your actions and making no more excuses for not doing the right things.

This is the best and most realistic post I have seen in a very long time on this topic.

Hear hear! Good job, standing ovation, all that good stuff. ;o)