I was banded 12-3-08 by Dr. Kwon of Tri State Bariatrics. The surgery went well, I went home the same night, and I'm feeling good with only some soreness at the port site.

My eating instructions are clear, ONLY Water or diet iced tea or no calorie crystal light, at a rate of 1 oz per 20 min, until the post-op appointment. The post-op appointment is on 12-8-08, which means I am taking in ZERO calories for five days.

I'm not complaining and I have every intention of following the guidelines but everyone I speak to questions the wisdom and "healthiness" of those guidelines. My sister and my friend who are banded had completely different recommendations and are doing well about 18 months post op.

What do you folks think?

Thanks,

- Hal

Edited December 5, 200817 yr by hlenoble

I think that is probably the most extreme postop diet I have heard of. Huh.

I agree, its pretty extreme! I was banded a week ago, and I am on clear liquids for 1 week. This meant I could have soup broths. It turned out I wasn't hungry anyway, but I got some calories from the soup.

Personally I find it impossible to believe!! The human body NEEDS nutrients (especially proteins) to heal!!

My post-op diet includes two high protein/low sugar shakes (Worldwide Pure Protein/35 grams Protein per shake), greek-style yogurt (14 grams protein), tomato juice, ff/sf jell-o, ff/sf popsicles, low-fat cream Soups thinned down with non-fat milk, and all the Water I can take. This lasts two weeks until after I go to my surgeon for follow-up.

It continually amazes me how every doctor or program differs on this kind of stuff!!

I agree. You are seriously going to be dragging after a few days on zero calories. I was only taking in 300 a day for the first week and I was very shakey and weak by the 5th day. My doctor only required clear liquids on Day 1. Then modified full liquids for 3 weeks, which was basically 2 oz of liquids (which included low-sodium broth as well as fruit juice mixed 50/50 with water) every 15 minutes. In addition, I was to drink 2 oz of a Protein drink every hour.

Good luck sticking with your doctor's requirements. If it was me, I think I'd have to double or triple check to make sure I couldn't also have broth or something with a few calories in it. As it is, take it easy and don't be surprised to feel the effects. Take care!

The instructions say that if I'm lightheaded I can drink apple juice heavily diluted with water.

I am not a doctor so my opinion must be taken with a grain of salt . . . but this doesn't sound healthy to me either. I am not sure that you are going to be feeling your best by the end of day 5.

Your body has just gone through major surgery and Protein and healthy calories will help you to recover faster. I had Isopure clear pre-mixed Protein drinks and broths in the early days.

Geez .. that is very extreme .. I hope the doctor did not get his license out of a cracker jack box. ..

I would verify with my regular PCP if he thought this was good/acceptable.:tongue2:

Very extreme, but it is your doctor's orders, so you will need to contact she/he to see if they are willing to modify the order.

At least it's only temporary , stay strong and call the office if you're feeling badly. I see that compared to other practices alot of Tri-state's requirements are stricter. A few days of missed calories and protein isn't detrimental.

Best of luck to you; I was your neighbor that day- the first surgery done that morning.

I was banded 12-3-08 by Dr. Kwon of Tri State Bariatrics. The surgery went well, I went home the same night, and I'm feeling good with only some soreness at the port site.

My eating instructions are clear, ONLY Water or diet iced tea or no calorie crystal light, at a rate of 1 oz per 20 min, until the post-op appointment. The post-op appointment is on 12-8-08, which means I am taking in ZERO calories for five days.

I'm not complaining and I have every intention of following the guidelines but everyone I speak to questions the wisdom and "healthiness" of those guidelines. My sister and my friend who are banded had completely different recommendations and are doing well about 18 months post op.

What do you folks think?

Thanks,

- Hal

In my opinion,that's WAY extreme. I wonder what the reasoning is ?

Congrats on being banded though !!:thumbup:

This is just a thought but I would maybe ask the Doctor if he would at least allow like the special K protein water. I'm not a medical professional but they always preach about getting enough protein and such. I'm afraid you're going to end up feeling really weak and run down.

Thats odd. I would think doctors would want you to get SOME calories. I was on broth, water, and jello ONLY, for my first three post op days. Then I was told I could try the opti fast shakes I have, and to not have more than three a day, until my appointment (next week, 12/10) I don't think I could go five days on just water. While i wasn't hungry at first, I was pretty shaky on just broth and water and jello.

I'm on board with everyone else, that is extreme! Your body needs fuel so that it can heal from the surgery.

You think that you could at least do Clear liquids so you could have some broth. I was able to have broth, sf Jello, sf popsicles for the first 2 days and then I could start adding small amounts of Protein shake to start upping the calories and protein I was taking in.

You might want to check with your dr office if you are feeling weak and run down to see if you could add some nutrients. Congrats on the band!

I too think that is very extreme. The one thing my doctor's office stressed was that although I was on clear liquids, I was still to try to get some calories in for healing. I was allowed sf jello and sf popsicles along with my broth and crystal light. I would never tell any one to go against their doctor, but I will say that is the most extreme post op diet that I have ever heard of. If you haven't already, you might want to take that week off so that you aren't so weak at work. I wish you the best.

A quick update: The Dr.'s office called yesterday to check on me and they said I could have an SF popsicle if I wanted, but that was all. As of now I'm still only on water and feeling very well.