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Hang in there. It does get better. Try a few variations, if you're allowed. Ask fruit, yogurt, cinnamon.....

pre op i was drinking slim fasts twice a day and eating a lean cuisine for dinner. Post op i was on liquids for 3 weeks. started with clear. broths, apple juice cut 50/50, sugarless ice pops. progressed to cream soups, my favorite was a lobster bisque... protein shakes and 0 cal vitamin water. i kept a variety of soups.. leek, tomatoe, chicken broth. as long as i had choices, i was ok. 3 weeks was a long time to stay on liquids... docs never agreed to any "mushies" so I went from full liquid to whole foods at 3 weeks.. oh yes i also drank non-fat flavored yogurts. by day 3 of liquids my hunger button turned off......after that it was smooth sailing, good luck

I lost 20lbs ish three weeks prior I had three protein shakes and a very lean dinner. I had unlimited raw veggies and for snack a cup of Greek no fat yogurt. I also rode my stationary bike 30 mins. a day, minus Sundays.

My first mashed potatoes were awesome! Our diets sound pretty much the same with the cream soup and yogurt. I added avocados because they were just as awesome as the potatoes. You can also eat baby food. Also so you don't eat too fast put your fork down for a least a minute before you take another bite. Good luck moving forward!

Patrick, you are a trip! LOL. I like you dude. I never thought to ask for my money back. Honestly, if the insurance company is paying, I would figure they would put you on a 6 month strict diet and then allow re-operation. I can't see that happening with any doctor. It cost the insurance company over $20,000, plus a three days hospital stay and all the doctors that visited me and checked on me. I would say they are out $30,000 right now. So my way of thanking the insurance company is by at least following the guidelines. They called me the day after I got out the hospital and when I told them I am no longer diabetic, the insurance company was very happy. The way I look at this, if I am not successful, then other people, like you who want a sleeve, will find it harder through insurance companies to get approval. As I heard, the six month diet requirement came about, because so many people were unsuccessful on the bypass diet. So they wanted to see if patients would stick to a diet for six months. I know bypass patients who were eating whoppers, pizza and full big macs by their second month and eating it regularly. By the way, I noticed that I mis stated something, Dooter, I apologize. I slipped up and ate two lean cuisine pre-op, not post op. Post op, I have only eaten Soups and liquids. Finally, I am on mushies. No wonder why you thought I was busting my stomach. I am lucky if I get down 1/4 cup of chicken salad. That even feels funny! Yogurt turns into a meal!

Quite a few people have asked me about my experience at Mexico Bariatric Center in Tijuana and I want to share the entire experience as it was extremely hard for me to get a full review from the last year or so. I also wish I would’ve written this on day 3 and not day 7 as the farther away from your surgery date you get the more romanticized the process is. That being said, here is everything that I know. It is a bit long, but for those of you who want all the facts, here is my experience. I reached out to MBC on the 3rd of January and by the 5th of January I was already e-mailing back and forth with Kristi. I completed the patient questionnaire online and was approved within 12 hours. From then on, I was on a text string with Kristi asking questions about the process, getting my personal loan approved (I went through Discover as I’m paying mine off of in 8 months), and scanning in photos of my passport and flight itinerary. Scheduling was SO EASY and I was scheduled to fly in on Wednesday, January 17th and fly out on Sunday, January 22nd. I was 260, 5'4'' and had a BMI of 45, and my pre-op diet started on January 11th-14th, and my 2 days of liquids were the 15th and 16th. I was not perfect, but I did do pretty well for those 6 days. As for choosing a surgeon everyone has different opinions on their process. They have 4 different surgeons who operate out of Mi Doctor hospital in Tijuana and to me, I wasn’t tied to any specific person. The most experienced surgeon of course will have a higher coast, but when dealing with your life few people care about an extra 500 dollars. I was set with Dr. Rodriguez who is the newest of the group, but I am always of the opinion that the newer the team member the harder they work and the newer their techniques are. In all, with my flight, 2 extra nights at the hotel for my companion, 2 nights in the hospital, surgery, all follow up, all medicine, and ride to and from the airport/through the border my surgery cost me about 5,500. Being that my research in Dallas, Texas was going to be at least 12,500 + unforeseen costs (thank you anesthesia) *I also had a 650 revision charge as I had the lapband in and out in 2014 and 2017. I flew in early on the 17th and landed in San Diego Int’l around 10:30. Victor was already waiting for me and another person, so the 4 of us were driven through the border check point. It was about a 30 minute process and he had lots of great advice for us as we went. We were dropped off at the hospital which looks like a typical hospital. No, it’s not the multi-million dollar facility you see in big cities, but let’s be real—do you pay for good care or do you pay for the look of a building? Don’t let that influence a decision. When I arrived there were about 4 people outside in gowns and about 30 cars that lined the street. The hospital is older but well kept, and they have a small café downstairs for your companion. Once there, we were pulled all over the place. They ran an EKG to make sure your heart is healthy, pulled about 4 vials of blood, and had you sign a few pages making you aware of the risks/possible outcomes. Then you meet briefly with someone to zero your balance and tell you when you are scheduled to come in (typically the following day, typically between 7 and 10 in the morning). Then they shuttle you to the hotel. All in all that took me about an hour in total. The hotel is very nice, clean, and a place I would choose to stay again if in Mexico. I splurged for the 2 nights for my boyfriend so he could work from the hotel room and it was wonderful to have that as homebase. The hotel offers you as many cups of broth and cups of jello as you want—as that’s all you can eat at that point!—and then they take your luggage to your room and you are left to your own devices. The beds are okay—I have a temperpedic so nothing so the same J but the hotel has a full kitchen, all utensils, a TV with English channels (find Cinecinal), and great wi-fi. I woke up the next day and took my suitcase with me. They shuttled me and 2 other people and took us up to our room by about 8:30 with a surgery time of 10-11. I will say one thing MBC gets things done. It’s a business, so don’t forget that—and there are what seems to be dozens of people coming in and out of different stages as the days go on. That being said, you get incredible care and there are always people to help, support, or answer questions. You are taken to your room, which is something I’ve never had in an American hospital (it had always been a bed and a curtain), that has a bed, maybe a 2nd one for your companion, a table, shower, bathroom, sink, and mirror. They take your vitals and have you change into a gown and put on those awful compression socks. Then you wait. I spoke with the internal medicine doctor, my surgeon, and multiple nurses. They put in my IV which sucks but hey, it’s part of the process! By 9:30 they were wheeling me back to the operating room. I didn’t have my glasses on so I could see very little, but it was a small operating room down the hall with about 5-7 people. They have you step up onto the operating table and ask you a few questions. If you don’t speak Spanish expect to be lost—I speak a little so I could kind of follow along but remember, you are in MX not the US. There was no countdown, no reminders, just I was listening and then I was out. Next thing I knew I was waking up next to 3 people in the recovery room. Personally, I HATE waking up from anesthesia. I hate it. I always panic because I don’t have my glasses, and everything is fuzzy. This was even harder because I couldn’t see and couldn’t understand anything. I remember very little during this time, but was back in my room/my bed by noon. From then on it was extremely fuzzy. I was tethered to an IV rod, and while I wasn’t in pain because of the medications, I wasn’t feeling that great. I had to sleep on my back which I hate, the pillows are not comfortable at all, and I felt really alone. Again, this is my extreme hate for anesthesia manifesting, not a reflection on the hospital. The nurses were wonderful and came in every hour, kept a monitor on, brought me ice chips when I needed them, and kept the lights off/door shut so I could rest. I let my boyfriend come over at 4 o’clock and they tell you to use your spirometer to work on breathing – AND USE IT! Every hour for about 5-10 minutes I would be sucking into that thing. It hurts. A lot, but it infinitely helps your recovery process. I used it every hour from 4 o’clock on the 18th until I left on Sunday the 22nd and by then nothing in my body hurt. Worth it. Do it. In addition, they tell you to walk as much as possible because it helps the process AND IT DOES. Walk, often. I set up my IV rod in the middle of my room and walked around the bed, bathroom, wall, etc. every hour or two for about ten minutes. I would sit in the chair and use the spirometer. I’d walk up and down the hall a few times a day. Yes, you should recover and sleep as much as you need, at the same time the more ambulatory you are the better off you will be. The nurses checked on my every hour on day one. I was NOT happy. It hurts to breathe, it hurts to move, and it hurt to sleep on my side which I’m so used to doing. Because I slept away the day I was up every hour or so during the night. I threw up twice because of the pain medication and doing that after having your stomach cut is never fun. I cried, quite a few times, but slept away most of the day. The nurses brought pain medication every 6 hours and nausea meds every 8. Antibiotics were given at different intervals—all of this made my IV and my arm very cold which was uncomfortable, but I left healthy and pain free so I can’t complain too much. They changed my bandages once at the hospital and I changed them one at the hotel. After having the lap-band in and out, I already had a handful of scars on my stomach so I wasn’t much worried about scaring. That being said, the incisions they made were TINY and so perfect. I had 4 small incisions, none larger than ¾ of an inch, and one small vertical incision where the port/drain tube was stitched in. I am 7 nights out and tonight I took off my bandages as all of the incisions have scabbed over and are healing perfectly. I am IMPRESSED and so happy that I chose Dr. Rodriguez. Friday the 20th, the day after my surgery, was better, a million times better, but it was also hard in its own right. They changed the bandages, my IV was ruined so they had to use my other hand and my veins were tiny and easy to miss, and they removed the drain which was a blessing and a curse. After surgery you have a long tube (I think 1-2 feet?) inserted into your body to drain excess fluid. They tape it to your side, stitch it in, and connect it to a plastic draining cup that they dump every few hours. It is a big source of discomfort on day one and two, and is SO WERID when they remove it. It really didn’t hurt to remove it and it happens so fast. Don’t watch it. It’s gross. At the end of the 2nd night they gave me liquid medication to help me sleep and it was GLORIOUS. Between having the drain tube out, being on day two of recovery, and getting a full night’s sleep I felt ready to leave the hospital. On day two they also give you small bottles of Gatorade, water, and apple juice. Try to drink 1 oz every hour as you need to feel what your stomach feels like with such small pieces at a time. I thought I would be hungry after not eating anything for 5 days, but my hunger hormone was pretty much nonexistent. It was amazing. The doctor discharged me that morning after checking on me and answering all of my questions, and I was shuttled to the hospital with about 5 other people. Again, this is a business so expect to have multiple people/companions with you any time you are outside of your hotel or hospital room. By Sunday at 9 a.m. I was back in the hotel and ready to relax. I felt good. I was drinking 6 oz of fluid every hour, I had to pee every hour, and was excited to sleep on my side in my ‘own’ bed for the day. My boyfriend and I walked down to the pharmacy (which is located in the hotel) and picked up cleaning soap and medical tape, and then walked to the Wasabi restaurant. They have amazing miso broth and amazing shitake mushroom broth. I was excited to feel normal after 48 hours of the hospital. He had seafood soup, lol. I wasn’t hungry, but the shrimp looked good! I slept and read for most of Saturday and was in bed with the lights out by 8 o’clock. I felt fine, took a shower that day, and was still using my spirometer while walking around the hotel room/hotel floor. I cannot state enough how kind and helpful the hotel staff was—it is like they are an extension of the hospital as they have lots of the information you need. At 11 o’clock on Sunday we were packed and ready to go. The driver came to pick 7 of us up and drove us through the medical lane across the border. All in all it took about 45 minutes to go from the hotel through the check point. We passed with no issues. From there, it was another 15 minutes to the airport and we were off! My plane left about 3:30 so I sat and watched a football game while drinking water and cranberry juice. I still wasn’t hungry, but I was missing the act of eating/drinking. That part so far is the hardest. I flew back with a little nausea and a slight headache though I hate flying almost as much as I hate anesthesia—so that could be chalked up to me and not the surgery. I took Monday off not because I felt I needed to but because I needed to do all the life things I didn’t do while in Mexico. By Tuesday I was back at work without any issues and my coworkers/family have no idea where I spent my long weekend J I was drinking 65 oz of fluids by day 5, and was drinking creamy fluids by day 6. I have also easily tolerated soft foods (soups w noodles, yogurt, etc.) as well as a few tough foods (granola, protein cookie). My incisions are healed completely without any issues, and I have lost 17 pounds since in 3 weeks. The coolest (and weirdest) thing is that I feel full. I chew/swallow slowly and am full after a small portion. I don’t feel hungry often, and when my stomach does ache it is typically because I haven’t drank my 8 oz of water for that hour. After 20 years of over eating and storing food and buying fast food to eat it quickly I am weirded out by this new process and it has only been a week. I’m excited for what is to come J I hope this (incredibly long) 2500 word essay was helpful and clear. I would absolutely without a doubt recommend MBC and will gladly answer any questions you may have!

Hey everyone- I wanted to take a few and share my frustration. I am 3 weeks post-banding, and everything has gone absolutely great. The only problem I have experienced the entire time was when the gas had to make it's way out of my system 48 hours after the surgery. I've dropped about 20 pounds since the surgery (Although I probably havent dropped much at all over the last 7-10 days), and I've lost a total of 45 pounds including pre-op diet to be down just below 240 pounds and I am now feeling healthy, slim, and good. I can squeeze into size 36 Jeans and feel as healthy as I ever have. I saw my primary yesterday, and for all intents and purposes the HBP and Diabetes I had 2 months ago are now effectively gone! Life is good, and I am very happy I got this procedure done. The lap-band is in and wide open; no fills yet. OK, Now here it comes... BUTTTTTTT.......... I haven't exactly been sticking religiously to the post op diet. For the first 1 1/2 weeks, I Did for the most part and just had liquids (The substance I would have would be applesauce or yogurt), however the last week I have pretty much eaten whatever I want to. My body is accepting it, and it is going down with no problems whatsoever. I feel no restrictions and quite honestly at this point could eat the same way that got me into trouble in the first place if I wanted to. I even had a few bowl of Pasta and sauce on Super bowl Sunday. There's nothing I haven't re-tried over the last week, and as I stated everything is going down fine and without problem whatsoever. It bothers me that this is happening. I was trying to eat the "bad foods" hoping that my body would reject them and that I would sublimally know not to do it again. I KNOW that if I wanted to, I could completely pig out and go eat whatever I wanted to just the same as before. My willpower is obviously not as strong as it was leading up to the surgery and directly after the surgery, and now that I know I can go back to my bad habits...I just do not trust myself because I can see the bad habits coming back. Over the last 3 days I have not shown much restraint and eaten pretty much whatever I wanted to and I'm not happy with myself- but again, Now that I know I can I feel like I've opened Pandora's box and that there's no closing it. I don't THINK I will sabotage myself, however part of the reason I had this lap band placed in me was to know that I would be restricting myself using this tool...Which is not helping in the least bit right now.......I can eat and eat and eat if I want. I had my initial follow up with my surgeon yesterday. He was very happy with my weight loss and progress, and said that He is pleased and everything looks great. Of course I completely lied to him and said that I was following all the dietary guidelines (I didn't want to raise any red flags or stop him from doing a fill). I then told him that I had really serious hunger urges and that I would like to have a fill. He then told me that he wouldn't do a fill unless I plateau'd and showed I wasn't losing any weight. DAMN. This is blowing up in my face. So I need to show that I can't lose the weight for him to do a fill? This makes no sense to me- Why wouldn't he just do a fill? Isn't that part of the surgery? I don't get it and I am frustrated. In any case, I have another Appointment with him scheduled for 4 weeks from now.....I have to NOT lose weight in order to get a fill? That makes no sense to me. This surgeon did an AWESOME job in placing the lab-band; he is obviously one of the best at what he does, and I know I should just do what he tells me......But still, I am questioning the point of not doing a fill. Do I need to flat out tell him that I am not controlling my hunger and eating whatever I want? because IMO if I do that he will NOT do the fill because he will be afraid I will damage the lapband or hurt myself....Whatever...I'm confused... Any and all advice would be appreciated...Thanks in Advance!

I had outrageous hunger for at least two weeks post-op. Very frustrating. Whether it was head hunger or actual hunger didn't really matter; they felt identical. My fear of hurting myself by "giving in" to the hunger is what got me through it. I spent too much money on my pouch to mess it up! I am now allowed to eat solid/regular foods. The most surprising thing is that I don't crave a single thing. All the stuff I loved 6 weeks ago doesn't seem appealing at all.[/quote I guess I am just surprised that it's so easy to drink the fluids with no problems. I was expecting to struggle.to get in the liquid and instead I feel like I can do all the liquid and eat as well. I am glad I'm getting fluids and can get the Protein shakes in, just wish I wasn't hungry! I am so looking forward to cottage cheese and yogurts!

I was also banded on the 14th. I am on pureed foods now but have had no hunger at all. Sometimes I cannot eat the whole of the 4 oz yogurts. I drank my cream of chicken soup protein shake too fast today and was terribly uncomfortable for a bit, enough that I could not finish it. I do not know if the fact that I had plication along with the band is making a difference, but I am definitely not getting any physical hunger pains. Occasionally head hunger does rear its ugly head though.

I walked every 2 hours for the first couple of days. Then we hit a heat wave here and I walked 30 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes in the afternoon. I got bored with that and snuck back to the gym (was supposed to wait until a month out). I only do the treadmill for an hour. The liquid diet does get boring. I did broth with unjury chicken soup flavor, protein jello, sf popscicles, water, crystal light. About a week out I was okayed for yogurt, so I had that as well. I'm on purees now and loving the variety.

I got sleeved march 18th I'm almost a month out and I'm only down 15 pounds mind you a lot of that was the first week out. I had posted on here before regarding my stall felt better but now I'm just so depressed. I drink two proteins a day a Greek yogurt and 20oz of crystal light a day. So that equals out to 50g of protein a day. Sometimes a have a little mash potatoes but can't handle it to well seems heavy.

Was sleeved 2/14 I feel healthier then ever. I lost 32 lbs so far. I have a ton of energy and I love to workout. I go to gym at least 3-4 times a week. I walk for 30 a day. I keep my calories under 700. I am able to eat 3-4 oz of fish, turkey or chicken somedays. I am burned out on yogurt, cottage cheese and ricotta. I found I can tolerate decaf coffee Foldgers called smooth. I love sheetz non fat cold latte. Dq has spelenda smoothies with protein, sometimes I bring my own protein.

Well I have a high white blood cell count...had to rush to hospital to get lab work done so i can get on antibiotics before next week's surgery...it turns out I have bladder infection.....the pre op diet is really hard i'm eating more cottage cheese than I think I'm allowed, but I'm drinking bouillon cubes, broth, protein shakes and lots of sf popscicles and sf jello and light yogurt....so hopefully my liver will shrink from me just eating that stuff..what do you thinK?

Hello and welcome! I really enjoyed your post! Your mom knows you best, of course, but the band REALLY helps you stick to a healthy eating schedule. You don't need to overindulge now because you WILL be able to eat later, most likey. I can still eat pizza, hamburgers, fries, enchiladas, lasagna...you name it. I just dont' eat it often and when I do, don't eat a lot of it. I eat a piece of pizza (no crust) and am full for about 4-6 hours. So...you do what your Mom says (LOL) because you aren't going to starve and be miserable forever. Show her you've got the juice! There are some who are so tight they only eat what we call "sliders" (yogurt,Soups, ice cream) but that tightness is a choice. You'll always be in control. Good luck!

I think for purees is make sense to eat foods that are pureed (or very soft) anyway. So rather than pureeing bacon, stick to things like pureed soups (you can always add Protein powder with an immersion blender once the Soup has cooled a bit if you want more protein), eggs, soft cheeses, refried Beans, yogurt, cottage cheese, etc.

The liquid diet can be challenging. I am finishing up my first week and I am finally not dying of hunger pains. I am also allowed cottage cheese, cheese sticks, and yogurt each day too. So, my question for you is, have you cheated on your pre op diet? I have not but believe me, I would love a cheeseburger right about now!!

My pre-op diet is shakes for all three meals and I’m allowed two snacks per day of broth, fat free low sugar yogurt (1/2 cup), fat free cottage cheese (1/2 cup), sugar free pudding, sugar free popsicles, calorie free drinks like vitamin water. And no caffeine.

I'm one month out. I still need to have at least one Protein shake/day at 24g. Otherwise I focus on protein first with everything I eat. Typically egg substitute at 6 Jimmy dean turkey sausage at 11 Yogurt/cottage cheese at 11-12 Cheese stick or cheese on eggs at 6@ dinner just the meat. Been getting in 60-80 Good luck! You can do it.

I am 6 months now, i can do cheese and yogurt with no problem, but Tuesday was the 1st time i drank milk and didn't have to run to the bathroom, I just kept trying it every few weeks just a little at a time. Tuesday i was able to drink 1 cup of skim.

I had a full Bypass back in September. I am only able to eat less than 1/4 cup of food and that is pushing it. The only time I can get to that much is if I eat yogurt. For some reason my grouch pouch makes more room for yogurt. I would definitely check with your doctor. I am not familiar with how much room you should have in the mini bypass vs. a regular bypass but if you are worried, I would certainly follow up with your team. Good luck!

I cheated...two weeks out..I ate cheese off pizza at a gathering to be eating with everyone and wanting solid food not just my isopure..... It went down easier and tasted great. I fact nothing has given me trouble, insides of a bean burrito, sauce and ricotta from inside lasagna yogurts cream soups and my fav laughing cow caso cheese so spicy!! But lentil soup tonight omg ouch why

Hey everyone. Ill be starting Mushies and soft foods in 2 weeks and I wanted to know what you all think. My doctor has me roomed applesauce, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, even finely chopped eggs.. Would you consider chilli to be part of this phase?

Good! I have not really felt sensation of hunger but more tired of having little options so that is probably why the short temper. I go to doctor on 6th and can't wait hoping u can move to soft foods. Yogurt, chicken broth protein, and isopure you can only have so much if and in variety. Any suggestions on what you all ate during the full liquid stage? Thank you all for responding.

Your so funny. Yep I can only imagine! Oh the simplest of things...Never taste so good I do have a shaker ball cup. It's meant for the shakes cause I drink instant Breakfast often since I'm not a breakfast eater. If I get up at like 5am I usually have s cup or 3 of coffee, a yogurt or oatmeal around 1030ish and don't actually eat lunch till around 230ish. I'm just not quick to start eating. Actually upsets my stomach if I do. May have something to do with the hiatal hernia I'm not sure but I've never been a breakfast or should I say morning eater. I'm not a morning person period! Lol Right now I'm on synthroid for my high scores in my thyroid levels. We're supposed to be .04-.40 and I'm at 25.7! I'm way off. So I'm taking that and Vitamin D since I'm way low on that too, methacarbamol (muscle relaxer) tylenol#3 and Motrin coated with malox all for my neck and back. I have a bunch of herniated discs in my lower back and neck. I also have a broken bone in my foot right now I'm getting doctored for and a severed tendon there too. My last test is the stress test and they will have to do it in a bed since I can't wak/run the treadmill like they need. They'll just give me an injection to induce my heart level. Last thing I gotta do So back to the Vitamins. I take D, calcium, multi and I think that's it. I will ask what they require. Did you get any of the Biotin for hair (yes I know your a guy lol) and also did you get the miralax and gas ex tongue melts?

Just had three sample cups at Menchies frozen yogurt( I'm 5 WLS post op) and not sure how to track it. It was very tasty but did not need my own serving