I had surgery on 8/7/08, and I am really struggling with the liquid diet part. I know I don't have restriction yet, but I thought I would be doing better than I am right now. I have two more weeks until my first fill, but I want to be sticking to my liquid diet per my doctor. This surgery is such a great opportunity for me to be healthy, I don't want to blow it already ya know. Did anyone else have this struggle until their first fill, and then was it less of a struggle?

Yes, I got my appetite back in about one week. Do you get to advance to mushies soon? I was able to do so on day 14 and then it got easier. On day 30 I advanced to solids and it was much, much better.

Once you get more solid food in, you should be less hungry...that liquid just flows right through!

I had so much trouble with the liquid. I was a bitch and had stomach pains all the time. The smell of chicken broth now makes me gag. You should have gotten to full liquids by now. I found I really like the way yogurt feels on my stomach. I buy the tubs of lit 'n' fit vanilla. It has about 4 servings in it and is only 80 calories per serving. So i'd say go to town with it becase there are no chunks and it keeps you full. oatmeal should be on your list soon as well. That coats your stomach and keeps you full.

Just hang in there, you are so close!

i had my surgery on the 11th and i am still on just clear liquids but i have my regular appitite back. It's very hard. i see the doc on the 28th and will ask if i can go to mushies early. I AM STARVING!!!

If it's any consolation, I'm on a mostly liquid diet preop..and have been since 7/25. I didn't follow it properly for my 1st 8/11 surgery (although I DID lose 15 pounds) and had to go right back on it pending another try on 8/29. THEN I'll have 2 more weeks of liquids to face before I finally get (woohoo) mushies. So I truly feel your pain. All I can tell you that gets me through is that I did what I thought best the first few weeks and learned the VERY hard way that I DO NOT KNOW BEST for myself in this venue. I need to trust my surgeon. So, I'm doing what he told me.

You are healing and it is so important to get off to a good start now!

You've come so far, just hang in there. Mushie time will be before you know it!

You are lucky restless. My doctor told me if I had a morsal of food 2 weeks before my surgery, he would know when he openned me up. He said he'd just sew me back up and I'd wake up with nothing. what I've found is it is a struggle to do this everyday no matter if its liquid or not. But I have also found that after I'm done excercising or done not eating things I shoudn't, I feel either nothing or good about myself. When i don't excercise and i do eat things I shouldn't, I just feel bad. I remember the liquid sucking but here I am almost 11 months post op and have lost 90 pounds. I feel like I just had the surgery but I didn't. So just take it one day at a time and know that before you know it, the time will have come and gone.

Thank you all for encouraging me. I am on liquids until 9/3 when I get my first fill, and then to soft foods for a month. I am afraid I have not "stayed on the wagon" though and have had soft food already. But you all encouraged me to get back on the horse and hang in there. Thank you so much, I want to be a success and I've come so far already as far as actually getting banded and all.

Hopefully once I get the fill, I will really start to have results.

Cat

It's funny how different each surgeon is, isn't it? Mine has a schedule of 2-weeks post op liquid, 2-weeks mushies, then on to "regular" food, and 1st fill at 6 weeks. They are all a little different....

Yes, I am learning they are all a little different. Not sure why, but I know it is important to do what my doc says, no matter how much I don't want to. : ) I just have a couple of weeks to go. I gotta hang in there.

Cat

When i got to the post op liquid, i started on mushie food like a week early and I was ok but every BODY is different.

Hollie, for one thing, you're young and young people heal faster. Once a person hits 30, things start to slow down. So you were lucky! I've learned to follow my surgeon's orders but then I'm 53 and don't recover from things like I did when i was your age!

oh yea thats why I usually try to say something about how peolpe are different. I just wish there were more people my age who could relate but I am one of the few. I am in a teen study to have the band FDA approved for people under 18. So hopefully there willl be more of a variety eventually.

I had the surgery the same day as another girl in the study my age and she hasn't been doing to well. I try to be there for her but you can tell there is tension everytime I talk to her. So I gave up. Other girls are giving me enough dirty looks as it is.

I have to be on liquids for 3 weeks. I am already sick of the shakes and it's only day 3! I am also getting hungry. I think part of it will be finding a shake I like and can drink without being annoyed at the bad taste.

I am going to GNC as soon as I can drive again!

The shakes are always sweet! And while I rarely turned away a piece of cake w/buttercream icing, when I'm hungry I want FOOD not candy!

I wish they could make them taste like real food!

I was also banded on the 7th of August, tomorrow I progress to pureeed fruit and cottage cheese and low fat ricotta.

I was allergic to the whey power drinks I am now on soy I like the advantage soy chocolate drink and add some Hersey's sugar free syrup to make it nice and rich.

I also got soy non-flavored protein powder and mix it with my soups in a blender then heat, It makes them nice and rich and thick with no weird taste. Try that

I take tomato soup and add Italian seasonings and a tsp. of Parm cheese and the whey power and blend and heat, tastes like spagetti sauce.

I also have put the powder in my other soups too.

I am not eating any real "food" for another 3 weeks.

Week 5 and 6 I progress to soft foods like eggs and stuff.

I am getting a bit hungry now that I am back cooking for the family. Got them on a nice low fat diet too.

LOL we will all be healthier

good luck

Ahhh you are in what is affectionately known as 'Bandster Hell' that awful phase when you havent had a fill and you are still on the liquids.

Hang in there hon, you will move onto the mushies soon, just keep telling yourself that you only have to go through this for a short time.

The good news is that it means you are healing nicely, you tend to get hungrier as the swelling goes down!