No fill in band - no restrictions on what I can eat

[ABLOND 92]

I was banded on January 17, 2014. I did NOT receive any fill in my band during surgery, and will not receive any until the end of February. The first 5 days after surgery, I felt like I had eaten Thanksgiving dinner, ALL DAY...I could only drink coffee and a little of my Protein Shake. The 6th day my husband fixed taco salad for dinner. I tried some lettuce, Tomato and a little shredded cheese and about two spoons of the hamburger mixture. I ate it without having to chew chew chew ...the only thing I noticed was the small amount actually made me feel full, maybe a little too full. Most days I eat Soup, coffee and some Water (I am NOT getting in my needed amount of water or Protein and need to work on this) but some days I will also have dinner that is NOT liquid or blended. I'm getting concerned that because I CAN eat, that I have done something to my band/pouch/tummy. Any advice out there?

[lisacaron 5,075]

Did your doctor put you on any kind of restricted diet after surgery?

[alicesandra 98]

I would stay off any kind of solid foods/etc until your surgeon tells you otherwise. It's the healing phase for a reason, just because you CAN do it currently, does not mean you should. It's very annoying sticking to the 'phases' they want us to go through, but you'll be much happier with yourself when you gradually start re-introducing foods back in the way they want you to.

That is assuming your surgeon goes about it that way, as most from what I've gathered do the liquids > mush/soft > slowly going back on solids.

[lisacaron 5,075]

That is assuming your surgeon goes about it that way, as most from what I've gathered do the liquids > mush/soft > slowly going back on solids.

This is true, many surgeons do follow these phases as mine did. However not all doctors do. If your doctor has not placed ay restrictions on you and you are still worried about it, and even if he has and you are worried your best course of action is to give your surgeon's office a call and see what they have to say.

If you are that hungry and having that much difficulty they may want to see you sooner then Feb. It never hurts to reach out to your doctor for clarification. They are there for you, and if you have a nutritionist it wouldn't hurt to have a consultation with them as well.

Best of luck to you as you move forward on your journey!

[ABLOND 92]

yes there were restrictions, I'm now in the "mush/mush" stage of eating..lol But I pretty much just stick to eating Soup (cream of chicken, or chicken broth with crackers that have gotten real soft).....I'm not eating real food, except for the dinner I tried with my husband. Just kicking myself and wondering what if I messed everything up with trying the food too soon....just worrying...lol

Thank you all for the comments it's great knowing people that have been there, are at the end of my finger tips ready to help.

[lisacaron 5,075]

You probably have not messed anything up, but stick to your Dr.'s orders. In the mush phase food should be blended and really soft. Things like lettuce can often cause hangups in the stoma for some, so wait on that until your doc tells you it's OK to start eating it again.

I was very hungry right after surgery and it was hard to stay on point with the post-op diet but you want to heal and you want your insides to have the chance to heal. Eating things that are solid too soon even though they pass through and you don't feel that they "hurt" you make the esophagus, stomach and intestines work harder then they should be right now while the focus is on healing.

There are many good yummy foods that you can mush up and enjoy for now, one of my favorites and still a winner when I have a fill is to get a chilli from Wendy's or make my own Turkey chilli is even better, but I will throw that in the blender for a few seconds and it's like a thick pasty Soup. It's so filling and delicious.

You could even do that with the Taco salad your hubby made for you, minus the stringy lettuce