long term diet questions

[Kayak Kara 0]

Hi all,

I am scheduled for surgery December 7th. I am only to be on a liquid diet for 1 day before no other restrictions, other than not to eat a lot and gain weight beforehand. Were most people told to be on liquids weeks before surgery date? I had not heard of that until reading posts on this website.

But, my main question is this, one of the only 5 people that I have told that I am doing this, has been sending me emails all morning of 'info' that he has found on the internet. He says that I can never again eat any kind of fruit /vegetable seed or skin. I am not seeing this in my doctor's info packet, or what I have seen on the internet, although I do see that some skins may not work, such as orange membranes (hee, hee a good thing in my book). So, I am trying to find out, can most of you eat tomatoes, grapes, kiwis, green Beans, strawberries and the like? I do not want to live on oatmeal the rest of my life.

Thanks for your help, I am now mood swinging from excited/happy to nervous/scared.

[Cocoabean 430]

Every doctor is different as far as pre-op diets go. It even depends on individual patients. So, just because I had to do a two week diet, doesn't mean everyone in my surgeon's practice does.

I am not sure of your friend's motivation for sending you this information. I have had trouble with Tomato skin when I've tried to eat whole cherry tomatoes, but if I cut them into pieces, I am fine. Grapes, strawberries, and green Beans, I am OK with, unless I get a very fibrous one that I cannot seem to chew, then I spit it out rather than risking getting ti stuck.

You won't be living on oatmeal forever. I eat most of the things I did before surgery. I don't eat poultry breast meat, and I don't eat doughy breads in a group setting. Sometimes I can eat them, sometimes they get stuck, so if I am with family, I'll try it, but if I am in with strangers, or in a setting where I cannot excuse myself, I won't chance it.

My pre-op eating habit problem was Portion Control, not so much food choices. So now, my portions are good. I still eat most of my favorites, just in moderation. Was there are learning curve to eating with a band? Yes. Was it worth it? You betcha!

Tell you friend, thank you, but I am working with my surgeon and his nutritionist on what I can and cannot eat after my surgery. Or just delete the emails and don't read them.

[Kayak Kara 0]

Every doctor is different as far as pre-op diets go. It even depends on individual patients. So, just because I had to do a two week diet, doesn't mean everyone in my surgeon's practice does.

I am not sure of your friend's motivation for sending you this information. I have had trouble with Tomato skin when I've tried to eat whole cherry tomatoes, but if I cut them into pieces, I am fine. Grapes, strawberries, and green Beans, I am OK with, unless I get a very fibrous one that I cannot seem to chew, then I spit it out rather than risking getting ti stuck.

You won't be living on oatmeal forever. I eat most of the things I did before surgery. I don't eat poultry breast meat, and I don't eat doughy breads in a group setting. Sometimes I can eat them, sometimes they get stuck, so if I am with family, I'll try it, but if I am in with strangers, or in a setting where I cannot excuse myself, I won't chance it.

My pre-op eating habit problem was Portion Control, not so much food choices. So now, my portions are good. I still eat most of my favorites, just in moderation. Was there are learning curve to eating with a band? Yes. Was it worth it? You betcha!

Tell you friend, thank you, but I am working with my surgeon and his nutritionist on what I can and cannot eat after my surgery. Or just delete the emails and don't read them.

[Kayak Kara 0]

Hi, thank you so much! As I am only a week out from surgery, I am getting a little jittery. My problem is much more Portion Control than what I eat too. I have only told a few people that I am doing this, while 3 out of 5 have pretty much ignored the information, 1 actively asks and is supportive, this is the only one who has reacted like this. While I have read some of what he was saying as being short term myself, seems like he found the worst case scenario and applied it to long term.

My other issue is that I don't know anyone who has had this done, so I have no first hand info to go on. I think this forum will be a huge help for that!

Thanks agan, and keep up the great progress!

Kara

[Cocoabean 430]

Maybe he is just scared for you. Maybe not. People react in strange ways. Maybe he wants to be able to say, "I told you so." If you have a problem. Or maybe he is worst case scenario-ing you to be sure this is what you want. In real life, I only know one other person who is banded, she lives 100 miles away. This is where I come for my support and understanding.

If you trust your surgeon, and you trust your research...you are good to go!

[Dave_NW 92]

I've made no secret among my friends, family, and coworkers that I'm having surgery December 6th. To a person, every single one of them has been supportive. They've seen the long-term battle I've waged, and they know I'm not going into this lightly.

The closest thing to negative I've gotten from anyone was a comment made by a semi-friend at another friend's home this past Thanksgiving. She said, "Did your doctor require you to go through extensive counseling before approving you for surgery?" I told her I had interviewed with a psyche, and he'd agreed I know what I'm doing. She half-smiled, and said, "I'm sure you do." I took it to mean she thought I needed to be totally sure of what I was doing before agreeing to have surgery, and that it wasn't the choice she'd have made for herself. (She's rake-thin and eats like a horse, so I hate her anyway. LOL! Just kidding. Well, sort of. )

Bottom line: If you're comfortable surgery is the right choice for you, then stand up for yourself. As the old saying goes, "When they're running you out of town, get in front of the crowd and make it look like a parade!"

Good luck!

Dave

[emjay 8]

Hi all,

I am scheduled for surgery December 7th. I am only to be on a liquid diet for 1 day before no other restrictions, other than not to eat a lot and gain weight beforehand. Were most people told to be on liquids weeks before surgery date? I had not heard of that until reading posts on this website.

But, my main question is this, one of the only 5 people that I have told that I am doing this, has been sending me emails all morning of 'info' that he has found on the internet. He says that I can never again eat any kind of fruit /vegetable seed or skin. I am not seeing this in my doctor's info packet, or what I have seen on the internet, although I do see that some skins may not work, such as orange membranes (hee, hee a good thing in my book). So, I am trying to find out, can most of you eat tomatoes, grapes, kiwis, green Beans, strawberries and the like? I do not want to live on oatmeal the rest of my life.

Thanks for your help, I am now mood swinging from excited/happy to nervous/scared.

I had to be on liquids for 2 weeks before surgery. The physician wanted my liver to shrink a bit to make it easier to get the band around during surgery since the liver has to be lifted out of the way during the procedure. As far as fruit/vegetable skins and seeds...I've never heard of it, nor has my physician said that I couldn't. I've been eating sunflower seeds, apples, oranges, kiwi, etc with no problems. Some fibrous fruits and veggies give some people problems, but just be more careful when you attempt to eat them (small bites, take a little longer between bites for it to go down, and chew well). It may be that some people have such great restriction that seeds may become stuck, but my band isn't that tight (by choice). Seriously, the hardest part of the journey for me was the 2 weeks before and 2 weeks after on liquids. Looking back, I'm amazed that I did it. Good luck to you!

[Kayak Kara 0]

I had to be on liquids for 2 weeks before surgery. The physician wanted my liver to shrink a bit to make it easier to get the band around during surgery since the liver has to be lifted out of the way during the procedure. As far as fruit/vegetable skins and seeds...I've never heard of it, nor has my physician said that I couldn't. I've been eating sunflower seeds, apples, oranges, kiwi, etc with no problems. Some fibrous fruits and veggies give some people problems, but just be more careful when you attempt to eat them (small bites, take a little longer between bites for it to go down, and chew well). It may be that some people have such great restriction that seeds may become stuck, but my band isn't that tight (by choice). Seriously, the hardest part of the journey for me was the 2 weeks before and 2 weeks after on liquids. Looking back, I'm amazed that I did it. Good luck to you!

Thanks everyone for the help and words of support! I can tell that I have come to the right place!

Kara