Hi all,

I was banded Tuesday, 7/29. The first day, I was only able to eat liquids, but the second day and on I tried mushies and I was fine (cottage cheese, yogurt, pudding, soft Pasta, cheddar cheese, soft cooked chicken). I have been chewing a ton and not eating nearly the amount I did pre-band. I have lost 9 lbs so far.

My question is: Is it normal to be able to eat these things so soon? I am feeling full quickly, but there is no pain associated with eating small amounts of these types of things. Could I potentially damage myself by eating like this?

Any thoughts are appreciated!

Hi seconds. I was banded on 7/29 also and i was told i could only drink a shot of clear liquids per hour for the first 2 weeks until my band settles in. Then i see my doctor on 8/13 and he will move me to mushies from there. Its hard but i am afraid to damage my band otherwise. I havent had any problems and i think i could tolerate mushies but i was told not to. Maybe all drs are different but those were my strict instructions. Good luck!!! Hope this helps.....

I have not been banded yet (I have 4 more days) but, I don't think you should be eating soft foods yet. For more reasons then just getting it down.

What does your doctor say? The first two weeks I was only allowed to be on luiquids. When I went for my two week post op appointment the doctor cleared me to start mushies for 1-week and then I'll start soft foods. Week five I will get to start eating everything else.

My doctor is very laid back and more or less says you can eat what you can tolerate. I will see him on Tuesday. I'm definitely not shoving a bunch of dry stuff down there or eating too much amount wise, and I feel full right away and have already lost 9 lbs. I wonder if I'm a fast healer? I just want to make sure I couldn't be doing damage to my band without knowing/feeling it...

I too was banded the 29th of july and I have been trying to stick to only clear liquids just so the band can heal properly I was told by my doc not to have any dairy. Today is my first day I am starting to feel hungry. I have a hard time waching my family eat junk while I sip on boring broth. Good luck I hope all goes well. I have only lost 4 lbs

Could I potentially damage myself by eating like this?

YES!!!

You should be on liquids after surgery (for how long depends on your doctor's orders). You should not be eating ANYTHING that you have to chew right after surgery.

The reason is because when they put the band in, they stitch part of your stomach up over it to hold it in place. When they do this, there's nothing but the stitches holding it there. Your stomach has to grow scar tissue around the stitches to hold it there permanently. When your stomach has to digest something, it pulls and contracts, which pulls apart the scar tissue that was just created. It can also pull out the stitches, so that there's nothing left holding your stomach in place. Also, no matter how well you chew your food, your stomach will still have to digest it further. Teeth just aren't able to digest food as well as it has to be digested to go through your system.

If this happens, then your chances of having a slip either now or later go up dramatically, which can potentially be a big problem. Depending on the severity, this could result in you have to have your band completely removed later down the road.

Just because you don't feel pain, doesn't mean that you're fine. There really aren't nerve endings in the stomach there, so even if you tore all your stitches, you wouldn't feel it until you got sick.

Please, please, please go back to your doctor's liquid orders. If s/he didn't clarify them, then call and ask! I don't mean to sound like I'm trying to scare you, I'm really not, but hearing things like this really worries me for your sake.

Also, having only been eating like this for a couple days, I'm sure you'd probably be fine if you stopped now and went back to liquids and followed through on the rest of the orders properly - I'm not telling you that because you ate something for a couple days your life is over, nothing like that. I'm just trying to explain the potential consequences if you continue like this is all.

I'd hate for you to have problems later down the road because you didn't follow doctor's orders, or because the doctor wasn't clear about them and you didn't know.

I really wish you all the best though, keep to your doctors orders and I'm sure you'll be very successful!!

Thanks SeattleSweetie, I will go back to my liquids. Congrats on your 50 lbs loss!

Ditto" " " Seattlesweetie, what I learned is to treat your stomach like a new born baby, let it heal. Talk to your Dr. My surgery is Aug 27. Waiting impatiently. Seems so far away. jean

my doc firmly believes 7 days clear liquids 14 days full liquids. He wholeheartedly believes that if you work your stomach to soon you will hurt the stitch work

I was banded on July 30th, and I have lost 16 pounds so far including my preop diet. I was given strict instructions on clear liquids only for the first week to ensure my system stells into its new sytle with the band in its place. I am drinking about 40 oz of liquid a day. But I will say one thing I went back to work this morning and fell great. I am a little tired but I fell the more I move the quicker I will recover. Good Luck

Thanks SeattleSweetie, I will go back to my liquids. Congrats on your 50 lbs loss!

Thanks and I wish you all the success in the world too! :biggrin:

You're putting yourself in jeopardy by eating already. The reason for the liquid diet and slow progression to food is to make the stomach heal. Band slippage is a huge problem when you eat too soon. You do not want your stomach to "grind" up food and possibly cause the stitches to tear.

The general practice is to have clear liquids for two weeks, then full for two to three weeks and the mushies.

Best of luck.

my doctor has me on one week clear liquids, then week 2 I can start on purreed and full liquids. today is day seven for me so I'm starting mashed potatoes and anything that resembles baby food. i've lost 16 lbs so far.

Just wanted to update here: I saw my surgeon on Tuesday and he was completely fine with the fact that I had mushies early and gave me the approval to go ahead and eat what I can tolerate, providing that I chew well and follow the drinking before/after rule. He said I was healing fine. He also said that I have no internal stitches, which confuses me, as I thought they stitch the stomach over the band. I go back in a month and I will clarify that then..

Thanks for all the help! :thumbup:

If your doctor told you it's was ok for you to eat what ever you can tolerate, I guess it's ok. I was on liquids for two weeks. Then I started on soft foods. Every doctor gives different guide lines. As long as we follow those we'll be fine.