Post-Op Diet Hell

[scep7 0]

Hey to all my fellow LBers,

I have a confession that I must get off my chest. I had my surgery this past Monday, the 28th. Everything went well with the exception of having to have a catheter after surgery because I could not eliminate on my own. I was released early Tuesday afternoon after eating my small coat of SF Sherbet and Lemonade. After getting home, I rested for a while and then started my dilemma....

All I wanted was solid foods, anything but the liquid that I was supposed to be on for 2 weeks. I found myself so scared by the 2 week pre-op diet of only liquids, that I knew I wouldn't be able to do it again.

So Tuesday night I had a scrambled egg. It seemed to go down well, as I took very small bites and chewed to a liquid consistency. I have continued to do the same thing until this afternoon when I ate a good portion of a small pizza from Chuck 'e' cheese to realize what I have been doing is wrong. Luckily, I have not had any vomiting or sliming experience, only a tightness in my chest. I am so very ashamed and feel like I am already failing! I know that I can't continue to go on like this but I am also scared that I do not have enough strength and willpower to continue for another week and a half.

It shocks me that I am in this situation when everyone else has done such a great job of sticking to their Doctor's orders. I am very aware of the repercussions of my actions with a slipped band or detached flipped port and am scarred something like this happened. I have failed in this aspect of my life. Not only did these types of habits get me where I am today, they are also trying to enter into my new banded life and I won't let that happen!

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated, but most of all I just want to thank all of you for listening:blush:

[oceangirl6 0]

i dont know much cuz i have not had surg yet but i feel bad for you. please quit beating self up and get on track. talk to doc, maybe. good luck. Janey

[kerry1979 0]

I kind of had a similar problem. I was banded on October 12 so I am almost 3 weeks post op and have been back to work. I saw the nutritionist 2 days before returning to work and found I was eating the wrong things and the wrong amount. I made it not even a week on the liquids because of all the milk and it was making me sick so I called the nutritionist to see if I could move onto mushies. No problem until i was also eating some carbs and almost twice as mush as I should have. So needless to say I had to take a step back and eat only 3oz at a time and NO CARBS! (I have already had a couple of small pieces of halloween candy and trying not to feel guilty about it). Today I am starting to feel sick but I hope my body is just adjusting to the dramatic change in food. To make a long story short, I too was soooo dreading the liquid stage and already dreading the 24-48 hr liquid for fills. I keep telling myself it's temporary and soon I can have what I enjoy. And I agree, pizza is the worst thing to smell going through this!:thumbup:

[BetsyB 9]

No, you haven't failed. Banding isn't an event, it's a process.

You have plenty of opportunity to turn it around. So do it--it's all in your power.

If you really are genuinely hungry, give your doctor's office a call; they may allow you to advance your diet sooner than originally planned.

Know that every doctor has different protocol---mine has his patients on pureed Protein on Day Three postop. The chances that eating small amounts of food too soon will cause lasting damage are really very small.

Try to relax. Beating yourself up can perpetuate the poor eating cycle. Forgive yourself. Look for a solution. Call your doc, or research other docs' postop eating regimens.

Don't get sucked into the vortex of self-recrimination---just make a plan to succeed, and follow through with it. You really can do it!

[Shorty81367 0]

I'm on the 7 day liquids as well and can't stand the hunger pains. I was so sick earlier today that I just kept crying thinking that I made a big mistake. I decided that I couldn't do just the broth or juice so I put a container of yogurt in a bowl and added some lactaid milk and some Protein Powder so that it was very thin and liquidy. I had a few spoons of that and it did seem to calm the growling pains. I have also mushed 2 saltine crackers and put them into my broth which helped but not much. I don't want to eat anything too heavy and I sure know that there are a lot of things that I would love to have right now but it is not the time and if I can just do a little to get through this liquid phase then I hope it gets easier for me. I did just scramble myself an egg and added lots of milk to it so it would be very mushy and that did seem to hit the spot for a little white. It doesn't take the hunger away completly but it does stop that sick emty feeling that makes you feel that you are so empty that you are going to vomit.

I was just under the impression that you would not feel the normal starving hunger pains because of the band but I was wrong. I guess that it depends on the person but I myself felt like I was going to colapse and couldn't even think straight with just the liquids. I am adding a little more to get me through this and I hope that it' ok because at least if I know that I can have a little something to get rid of the growling loud starving hunger pains then I hope that it helps me to feel better.

[SUCCESSFUL4LIFE 0]

I was told by my Doctor, that your growling stomach (post-op) are not hunger sounds. It's you stomach getting used to the band. The stomach is distrupted when it's made into two... The growling noises are normal (post-op)

[Willsmom6 0]

Hi, I was banded on Thurs. Oct 28th and overall I'm ok but 2 things, when my stomach growls it actually really hurts and also i have pretty sharp pain on the left side not the right where the port is, is this normal?:wink2:

[Esorami 2]

Hi, I was banded on Thurs. Oct 28th and overall I'm ok but 2 things, when my stomach growls it actually really hurts and also i have pretty sharp pain on the left side not the right where the port is, is this normal?:wink2:

At this point, nearly everything is 'normal'. Growling, stomach noises, pains here, pains there u just name it. It will all go away in time. I am 3 weeks out and I still have a stomach growl off and on.

[Shorty81367 0]

I was banded on the 27th and I have the same sort of pains going on. I am not in real bad pain and I am now only taking some Tylenol instead of the pain meds since they make me feel too out of it. I have the tightness pulling feeling under my chest and have almost like a stabbing pain once in a while on the upper left side. I did have a hiatal hernia repair when the band was put it so I am pretty sure that it's coming from that.

I have to agree with you that the hunger pains are terrible and they hurt more than anything!

[Tess2352 0]

The liquid diet is hell - mainly because almost everything is sweet. My liquid diet was only one week - then mushy. However, since I did the liver shrinking diet for 2 weeks prior, liquids really lasted 3 weeks.

On my liquid plan it also included pudding, cottage cheese and BLENDED chicken & rice or Chicke Noodle Soup. Maybe if you tried the soup thing it would satisfy your cravings.

Try to get back on track - it aids in the healing of your stomach and helps prevent possible band slippage. Good luck!:wink2:

[PrincessErin 64]

Betsy is so wise. I hope that the OP really listens to that post. I haven't been banded yet, so I have no real advise. I am a chronic dieter and self-beater-upper, so I can definitely chime in on that part! It will be ok! It's not too late to change your habits. Take it a day at a time. :c)

[gracierose 0]

No, you haven't failed. Banding isn't an event, it's a process.

You have plenty of opportunity to turn it around. So do it--it's all in your power.

If you really are genuinely hungry, give your doctor's office a call; they may allow you to advance your diet sooner than originally planned.

Know that every doctor has different protocol---mine has his patients on pureed Protein on Day Three postop. The chances that eating small amounts of food too soon will cause lasting damage are really very small.

Try to relax. Beating yourself up can perpetuate the poor eating cycle. Forgive yourself. Look for a solution. Call your doc, or research other docs' postop eating regimens.

Don't get sucked into the vortex of self-recrimination---just make a plan to succeed, and follow through with it. You really can do it!

Off the subject a bit. Just to let BetsyB know how much I appreciate your sound advice, support and inspiration. You are amazing!:wink2:

[healthyby40 0]

Whenever I feel like I'm falling off track I remind myself of "Back to Basics". And what I mean by that is look back at the materials that you received from your docs office. It helped me because there were actually things I COULD eat, and had forgotten about it.

When I went home from the hospital I was told I could do "full liquids" which meant yogurt, oatmeal, egg beaters, SF Jello, SF pudding, popsicles, etc. I think you should look at the list and see the things you CAN have, instead of focusing on the things you can't have.

You can do this!

[thsisme 14]

Everyone has said it! Stop beating yourself up! This is a new life and new life styles require a process and that process is the LB. Things don't change overnight. Go back to your instructions, or call the doctor's office to discuss your feelings. Just don't give up and know you are not alone. Keep going forward there is a whole new future out there for you.:wink2: