So I've been banded for exactly two weeks today and I have a confession...

Well, both my husband and I got banded two weeks ago. The first week we stayed on Clear liquids, and actually moved into full liquids about two days early. Then we went to mushies early. Now we just said screw it and we're pretty much eating WHATEVER WE WANT!!! I mean, there's very little restriction too. We just take little bites and chew well....but seriously I am worried that this isn't going to work because I can eat just like I did before...I mean, maybe a little slower, and maybe a little less food in general...but all in all I am wondering what the heck?

Also, should I be worried? I know the docs say to go to full liquids then mushies then soft foods, but for what reason? Everything we've been eating has been totally fine. Even bread doesn't really get stuck. Did we stretch it out or something? We haven't got our first fill yet, so do things change big time after that?

I am just worried that this isn't going to work!!!

Annie - I'm with you and I've said that several times on this board. There should be a dietary standard that bariatric surgeons have their patients follow. And there should be sound medical reasons for it. And the patients should be told what they are. I am a patient who asks a lot of questions and gets copies of every test. I also thought they attended symposiums and topics like this were discussed. While I am not a fan of one size fits all medicine it seems like from doctor to doctor that is the approach each uses. If it is a strict doctor - all his patients are put on the most restrictive program, etc...I would like to see more uniformity among these surgeons. There are standards of care for cancer patients, why not bariatric patients?

Also, it's not very nice to assume I didn't do my research before this surgery. Both my husband and I researched this for two years before we ever got it, yet NOTHING during any of the THREE orientations we went to mentioned the reason for the liquid diet.

When I told my doctor that I'd found this great online community, he rolled his eyes and told me not to believe everything I read. Yet it seems like 9/10 of what we learn is found out in this sort of manner. My doc has never told me MOST of what I know about the lapband.

It is possible that your doctor believes that if you handle solid food OK, then it is OK to eat it (I seriously hope not thought). But this really should have been made much more clear to you, its very poor service to not tell you WHY you have to undertake such a strict post op diet.

I would definitely bring this up with him.

I went to mushies 2 weeks post op and was prepared for 2 weeks of mushies but when I went for my post-op my surgon told me I could start eating "real food" he said take it slow and chew chew chew. I do make sure everything is as chewed as possible before I swallow though and I am not eating anything stupid. I have a 14cc band and almost no restriction at this time. So far the doc is very happy with my weight loss. I feel like I lost a week though because I was eating 700 - 1000 calories a day and did not drop a pound for a whole week. As soon as I kicked it up to 1500 calories the weight started coming off again.

I was told after the the third week to start eating as I would forever and practice eating slowly, chewing thoroughly, finding what foods might cause problems, etc before the first fill. But never to eat more than 1/2 cup at a time and to eat 5-6 times a day. I can have a shake, but they would prefer I concentrate on real food and add protein powder to the food if needed. Their main concern is no vomiting or overeating.

Here is a page from the Lap Band website. Since these people actually make the Lap Band, I would say it is a good place to gather information. Lapband.com - Recovering from LAP-BAND® System Surgery

According to the makers of the Lap Band we should not be eating solids for up to six weeks. The doctors who allow it much sooner are going against these guidelines.

The way I see it, it really doesn't matter what other peoples doctors said. I researched my doctor, I chose him because I trust him. As much as I wanted food, he told me no food for the first four weeks, the literature with Lap Band supported this and I stuck with it. I had a choice of doing what my highly trained bariatric surgeon instructed me to do or doing what someone on an internet forum told me that their doctor told them to do.

Edited December 23, 200817 yr by Jodi_620

wow Jodi :thumbup: That's exactly what I said a few posts up. :eek:

So good news! I actually called my doctor and confessed, and he said not to worry about it, but to go back on mushies right away. He said I would definetly KNOW if there was slippage or stitch ripping or anything like that. And he said the same thing....as long as we are chewing throroughly, taking small bites, and really "pureeing" the food in our mouths it should be okay since we are on the mushies stage.

So yeah!

wow Jodi :thumbup: That's exactly what I said a few posts up. :eek:

:blush:Oops, sorry Beth that was honestly not done on purpose. I replied without going to page two where your response was.

I did research my surgeon team and they have a great track record even though they don't follow the 6 weeks of no solid food rule. I am sure they would have changed their rules by now if they were having lots of problems months or years down the road. Of course they don't have people eating solid food week 2 either!

i was banded on 12/9 and was told on 12/24 I could go on regular foods

two days on liquids

three day - 12/23 - soft and mushy and almost reg foods

12/24 regular foods

had a piece of toast with Promise -- minus the crust

and it was sooooooo good

and went down fine

I can not do potatoes---- get stuck

:blush:Oops, sorry Beth that was honestly not done on purpose. I replied without going to page two where your response was.

No worries honestly :thumbup: Just thought it was funny

I reread my diet guidelines, on the diet given by my surgeon the main difference between mushie and regular diet is that you drink while eating during the mushie stage. This way the food washes through and does not sit on top of the band and therefore will cause no damage. I like the way you all say to do what your surgeon says until he says something different than you like, then he's a dumb ass and you should only follow what's on the lap-band website. I trusted my surgeon enough to cut me I guess I'll let him tell me what I can and can't eat also, BTW I had my surgery at a "Center of Excellence" did you?

I was banded on December 15 and given written orders for liquid diet, then full liquid, then soft with a range of days for each stage depending on how I was doing.

My nutritionist told me if I moved into soft foods to use a pressure cooker or crockpot to make meats softer, to take really small bites, and to chew 25-30 times each bite to make it like puree before swallowing.

After reading all these posts, now I'm afraid I'm eating the wrong foods, too. It seems each weight loss center has different guidelines so who is to know what is or isn't the correct guidelines to follow. It's confusing!:thumbup:

Well, here is my theory as to why different doctors do different post-op rules about eating. My doctor told me that they tend to place the band a bit higher than most, with a smaller pouch, and the band is at a slightly different angle than some doctors. They also take a bit of the stomach tissue and pull it over the band and stitch it in place. Once the stitches dissolve, the band is then covered in scar tissue and is locked in place. They have been practicing for SEVERAL years and they have a top notch program with a high level of success. I'm sure they have developed their post op plan based on what has been successful with THEIR surgical methods.

My theory is that perhaps each doctor has their own subtle differences about how they stitch the band in, the exact placement, the angle, etc and they have tweaked their diet regimen to work best with their own methods.

I plan on following my doctor's advice to the letter, regardless of whether or not they tell me why. I would not assume anything. I hired my doctor because I trust him to do what's best for me and I'm going to do what he says.

When I told my doctor that I'd found this great online community, he rolled his eyes and told me not to believe everything I read. Yet it seems like 9/10 of what we learn is found out in this sort of manner. My doc has never told me MOST of what I know about the lapband.

It is possible that your doctor believes that if you handle solid food OK, then it is OK to eat it (I seriously hope not thought). But this really should have been made much more clear to you, its very poor service to not tell you WHY you have to undertake such a strict post op diet.

I would definitely bring this up with him.

My doctors have been VERY informative (almost to the point of redundancy) and very thorough in their explanations and telling us what to expect and why. They also gave us a huge packet of material (in a 2 inch binder) that detailed diets, time frame for post op diet, etc. In this packet was a sheet of support groups, both in person and online and I was thrilled to see that www.lapbandtalk.com was on the list! I definitely told them how great it was.