Banded 11/23.

I have been reading alot in this forum for the last month and one thing that perplexes me is the range of things different doctors tell people about diet, drinks, and exercise. My Dr had me on no real pre-op diet, Clear liquids only on surgery day, thicker liquids for one week, and mushie food for three more weeks before transitioning to regular food. This will all happen before my first fill.

I have seen a wide range of others whose doctors are either way more restrictive or somewhat less restrictive. Use of coffee is one topic with different opinions. (mine does not prohibit it as long as I use nonfat milk).

So my question is, where does common sense play a part in this journey. I understand strictness while the band heals, but why do some surgeons put more weeks of clear and thick liquids then others? I plan to follow my Dr's rules, but mine are not that bad. I do not have to endure a long liquid only diet. I feel that the plan to heal the stomach has to involve liquid, but smoothie yogurt and such do not seem harmful.

I am on a 600 calorie a day liquid diet and am not hungry and not having problems sticking to it, so this is not a justification for breaking the rules. I only seek a discussion as to why the rules are so different between doctors or hospitals.

Thanks to all for the support.

TJ

Banded 11/23

One of the men of Lapbandtalk....

Hi and Happy Thanksgiving!!

I don't know why Drs. vary so much, it must be their different views on weight loss and the healing process after any surgery.

I was on a diet similar to yours. I was on clear liquids for 1 week but he added milk on the allowed list. I had heavier liquids for 2 weeks, mushies for 10 days then anything I could tolerate. I wasn't hungry on the liquid or mushie stages because of the internal swelling, but boy one that went down......you could hear my stomach rumbles from across the room. I think this route was good for me. It allowed me to heal while adjusting to not eating much. Now I am 6 mos. out and sometimes I go on liquids or mushies just to keep myself on track if I feel I am starting to want larger portions.

Common sense plays a big part, I keep telling myself "YOU HAD SURGERY TO LOSE WEIGHT"....why would you want to eat that. That usually snaps me back to reality!! lol

Today isn't as hard so far as I thought it would be. I was able to start preparing our meal and feel I am truly thankful this year for my "renewed" life.

Good Luck to all

As far as variation between doctors goes, I guess some are more cautious than others. Some accept and some reject ideas about carbonation, coffee, etc. Basically though there are a lot of similarities.

I went to check out 2 different surgeons before choosing mine - they both had a pre-op diet, both for either 10 days or 2 weeks. One was restricted to a few no/low-fat foods, and the other had a liquid Meal Replacement. Both gave the same reason - to lose fat off the liver before surgery to avoid complications during surgery. Different approaches for the same objective.

Common sense needs to be used, but the doctors have information we don't that would make a difference to what would make sense, so they need to give rules. Do you know what chemical affect smoothie yogourt mixed with stomach acid will have on a swollen irritated stomach? Yogourt is actually good on the stomach, I think - I'm not trying to scare you off of it, but that's why we need to check out the rules.

One bandster on here talked about being allowed solids within a week post-op but had problems, another said, same deal, but they didn't have problems - who knows what the end results of those will be vs. those who have waited longer to start solids because of their doctors advice. Common sense would say though that if you are having problems on solids, go back to mushies or liquid. So yes, we do still need to use it, then check with the doctor.

Glad to hear you're not hungry on a 600 calorie diet, but if you are talking post-op you will have a harder time soon when your stomach is less swollen. Good Luck.

I think you all have good points so far. I am also thinking that a lot of it has to do possibly with certain complications some doctors patients may have had in the past? I myself wonder about the varying degrees and approaches to the band diets pre and post op. For me it was maddening to read about such easy pre op diets some people had because mine was so severly strict. But I do believe that it was a good thing because it really helped me look at my relationship with food from a different perspective prior to banding. For me the band was not the only tool I gained from this whole experience.

PSS tarajim how did you come up with your user name? I ask because my name is Tara and my husband's name is Jim. Thought maybe that was the case at your house too? :thumbup:

Common sense is absolutely the key to success, but pre and post surgery is strickly what your doctors tell you.

I just was explaining to a new friend how I have seen unexcusable ignorance posted here at LBT when someone reaches out with questions that in all honesty should only be answered by their personal doctors, not anyone of us. They should be refered to their dr.s, not given speculative opinions to someone you don't know anything about.

This is a particulary hard time for all of us, as food and treats are just everywhere, that is where common sense, and real truthfulness in helping should really be brought forefront.