Hi,

I was just banded last week in Bangkok. I live in Shanghai and Bangkok is more in the neighborhood than North America.

I think the surgery went well. My wounds all look good, I feel better and stonger each day. My surgery was arranged by LBS (Dr. Miller) in Bangkok. My surgeon was Dr. Sutdachit. He is a very kind man and I believe he did a good job on the surgery. As for LBS, I think our pacient/doctor relationship is finished. Dr. Miller gave me a very outdated booklet with a load of incorrect/outdated information related to the surgery, side effects and post surgery diet to follow. As a result I no longer trust Dr. Millers advice. My Husband and I have searched the web for information about post-op diet. There are so many opinions about what to and not to consume on the liquid diet. I was really confused what I should eat or not but I think I got a handle on it now.

• I would like to hear some opinions re; post op diet. I think/hope I am doing the right things for my body.
  

I don't feel the excitement about the procedure yet like I feel I should.

I feel I am here alone with little support living with my band in bizzaro world. I feel nervous about my ability to handle all of this without any psychological counceling or dietician. These things are not readily available in Shanghai. However I am lucky that there is a clinic where I can get my fills done.

I have lost 13 Lbs (6kg) in just over a week. I decided against Dr. Millers advice and I use a diet shake to increase my Protein because I read several sites that is essential for healing in the first month. I would like to loose as much weight as reasonably possible but not at the risk of complications from not healing properly. I also stopped drinking tea which was allowed under the "Miller" plan and now being at home I have read it is not advisable. Some of the post op diets I have read said cream based Soups (cream of mushroom with skim milk) are ok and others say not. I am trying as much as possible to use sugar free and reduced calorie items for the full liquid diet but they are not easy to find and sometimes just not available at all. I figure the difference between low fat cottage cheese and regular is not that crucial?? I was just happy to find cottage cheese at all.

• I would like to know if there are any other expat banders like me living in asia.
  
• Are there any other people who have had surgery done in Thailand?
  

Thanks P-Body

Hi P-body-

I'm from California so I can't help you with finding support in Thailand. But for the post-op dieting, I really like my surgeon's plan:

Protein is 70-100 g a day, keep carbs under 40g and fats under 30 g. This is really easy during the thin liquid stage (first 2-3 weeks). I think it might be harder once I move to softs. But he and his partner have experienced really good results with this diet for all his patients, regardless of surgery type.

P-BODY - Welcome! Wow...all the way from Thailand! What kind of work are you doing there? Are you an American?

It sounds like you are on the right track and eating the right foods. Just fyi my post op diet was something like this:

2 days Clear liquids such as broth, Jello, popcicles, etc.

1 week full liquids - any kind of Soup as long as it's blended smooth, Protein shakes, yogurt, smoothies, etc.

3 weeks mushies - cottage cheese, pinto Beans, guacamole, scrambled eggs, etc.

then I proceeded to regular foods.

Hope that helps. LBT is a wonderful place to gather information. You've come to the right place!

Hi Terry,

You said:

all the way from Thailand! What kind of work are you doing there? Are you an American?

I had the surgery done in Thailand, I live in Shanghai China. I came to Shanghai for work. I am a fashion design teacher at a design college. Oh yes, I am Canadian.

Thailand is much farther ahead than China for medical care. So I opted to go there instead of doing the surgery in Shanghai. The hospital was kinda iky in Shanghai.

Thanks for sharing your diet. I found allot of diets that tell me about the foods but not much info about the Protein supplements. My husband said the store across the street caries that whey protein supplements. Maybe I should just take some of that and then I need not worry about the diet so much as far as getting the daily protein intake and focus on the size and chewing it all really well.

I am starting to feel like I need to be a scientist he he.

Hi P-body-

I'm from California so I can't help you with finding support in Thailand. But for the post-op dieting, I really like my surgeon's plan:

Protein is 70-100 g a day, keep carbs under 40g and fats under 30 g. This is really easy during the thin liquid stage (first 2-3 weeks). I think it might be harder once I move to softs. But he and his partner have experienced really good results with this diet for all his patients, regardless of surgery type.

thanks for the diet info. That gives me a bit of a gauge. So somewhere between 50 and 100g. So I think I definitely not getting enough.

Hi. I was banded a few days after you. I am glad that you found this forum to get some information and support. If you go to this link http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f9/lapband-food-stages-lists-suggestions-3995/, it is a very good guide to the food stages found under the Food and Nutrution forum. It matches very closely to what my surgeon here gave me. I hope this helps you. Have a great lapband journey!

Hi Terry,

You said:

all the way from Thailand! What kind of work are you doing there? Are you an American?

I had the surgery done in Thailand, I live in Shanghai China. I came to Shanghai for work. I am a fashion design teacher at a design college. Oh yes, I am Canadian.

Thailand is much farther ahead than China for medical care. So I opted to go there instead of doing the surgery in Shanghai. The hospital was kinda iky in Shanghai.

Thanks for sharing your diet. I found allot of diets that tell me about the foods but not much info about the Protein supplements. My husband said the store across the street caries that whey protein supplements. Maybe I should just take some of that and then I need not worry about the diet so much as far as getting the daily protein intake and focus on the size and chewing it all really well.

I am starting to feel like I need to be a scientist he he.

That sounds so interesting! I like to hear what other people do for a living. I have such a "regular" ol' job....I'm an executive secretary, but I like it. Boy, I could sure use some design lessons these days making my jewelry!! I'm clueless and have never taken an art class!

Again, it sounds to me like you are right on track. I shoot for 60g of protein a day and do try to keep my carbs low <60. For a while there I had been eating as my doctor suggested: Eat whatever you like, just less of it. That worked fine for the 1st 6 months while I was exercising daily, but now....not so much! I'm back on the low-carb wagon and feeling much less hunger, losing weight again, and more in control. It's hard to get in 70-100g a day with food alone, so yeah, you'll definitely want to find a way to supplement that. I do like whey protein better than soy so if you can find a source, go for it.

Other than that, how are you feeling? OK? It takes a few weeks to get back 100%! No problems finding a fill doctor?

That sounds so interesting! I like to hear what other people do for a living. I have such a "regular" ol' job....I'm an executive secretary, but I like it. Boy, I could sure use some design lessons these days making my jewelry!!:crying: I'm clueless and have never taken an art class!

Again, it sounds to me like you are right on track. I shoot for 60g of Protein a day and do try to keep my carbs low <60. For a while there I had been eating as my doctor suggested: Eat whatever you like, just less of it. That worked fine for the 1st 6 months while I was exercising daily, but now....not so much! I'm back on the low-carb wagon and feeling much less hunger, losing weight again, and more in control. It's hard to get in 70-100g a day with food alone, so yeah, you'll definitely want to find a way to supplement that. I do like whey protein better than soy so if you can find a source, go for it.

Other than that, how are you feeling? OK? It takes a few weeks to get back 100%! No problems finding a fill doctor?

Hi Terri,

I had a look at your jewelry, very nice. interesting materials. The true indicator of correct design is always sales I say. If people buy it then it's good. I am not really a fashionista, I do technical stuff like sample development, pattern making and sewing. Although I am trained as a fashion designer my design skills are pretty rusty.

I feel pretty good today. yesterday I went to the fabric market and I think the bags were too heavy. I started getting pain in my right side by my ribs (I think that's where the port is) Then it was getting worse through the day when bending over. Finally at night it was hurting quite a bit from any twisting or bending. Today it is better so I guess I over did it. I will take it easy today (last day off) and see if it gets better or I will go to the Doctor after work tomorrow.

Diet wise I think I'm ok for now. Thanks to people on this forum. You are way ahead of me, so maybe I can ask you about the next stage. After my first fill I herd I need to go back to liquid diet? For how long? I really hated the liquid diet. The smell of chicken bouillon make me nauseous now.

Sounds like you are doing great! Congrats :-)

I remember my doc saying nothing over 5 or 10 lbs. for like 6 weeks or something! .... it was quite a while, I remember that!! BE CAREFUL!

Are you OK now?

yes, good and strong now. I think it was just some port pain. I think it's fairly common. I get it from time to time. I will remember that. Thank you kindly :-)