Cheater, Cheater, Pumpkin Eater

mcloser · July 22, 2007

Ok, so I am 8 days post op and still on liquids and will be for another week. I must admit that I have cheated here and there. I have occasionally needed something substancial to chew on. Nothing major. I have not had any meat or anything. I have had a piece of toast and at one point I had a couple of bites of scrambled egg. I am so ashamed!! Has anyone else cheated? Have I jeapordized anything by doing this?

:help:

faithmd · July 22, 2007

Hello mcloser, welcome to LBT and welcome to bandland! I posted this on another thread, but thought it might help you so I'm posting it here, too.

I do understand your desire to chew something, I really do, but... Just because something goes down okay doesn't mean it isn't setting us up for damage later. ANY solid food is just that, food and could be "major." The sutures are helping scar tissue form around the band and that's what holds it in place on our stomachs. The sutures only help hold it on the front, scar tissue is all that holds it on the back of the stomach. Everytime we eat something more than a liquid, (and no, chewing something until it's liquid does not count) it causes our stomachs (which are muscular) to churn and undulate to digest that food. That churning stops the scar tissue from forming, or helps break new scar tissue just barely formed. Liquid requires little stomach movement to process. When we start to chew something, that lets our digestive system know that food is coming down, fluids begin to be secreted to aid in digestion and the stomach starts moving in preparation to start the breakdown of food.

I understand that some doctors move folks along faster in their diet programs, that's okay if it's what your doctor says to do, but Allergan (the manufacturer of the band) advises a very slow progression.

Damage we do now freshly banded may not show up until a year or two down the line. Maybe we have a bad episode of vomiting and because we just couldn't wait to chew, we didn't get good adhesion of scar tissue early on, it may slip.

Most everyone here says that we should always follow our own doctor's advice. My doc's practice is a slow one, 4-6 weeks for solids as well. The Allergan website (the folks who MAKE the LapBand) says this about food stages:

Post-Surgery Nutrition

After surgery, you will need a new nutrition plan. Your surgeon

and/or dietitian can help you learn about and get used to the changes in lifestyle and eating habits you need to make. It is very important to follow the eating and drinking instructions beginning immediately after the operation.

In the first few weeks after your surgery, you will be on a liquid diet since only thin liquids will be tolerated by your stomach at that time. As you heal, you will gradually progress to pureed foods (three to four weeks post-op) and then soft foods (five weeks post-op). Finally, you will be able to eat solid foods.

Granted perhaps there is new research that says prolonged periods on liquid diets are not necessary and the Allergan site just hasn't been updated yet. However, I would want to know WHY a surgeon and nut (nutritionist) would make such drastic changes to their post-op eating plans. I would also ask that surgeon about what her/his complication rate is and more specifically what their SLIP rates are. Are they making these changes because of the AP band and the selling point that it's less likely to slip because of it's width? Is there a study they can show me to support the move so soon to soft foods? Has surgical technique changed and is there a way now to access the back of the stomach (not previously accessed because of it's proximity to the spinal nerves) and suture the band (I haven't heard of it)?

At least that's what the band folks have said for years that is how it all happens. That's how I was always taught that digestion works. Perhaps someone somewhere has done a new study and what we've always believed is actually not right. It's possible.

Do you see now why I'm hesitant to eat early?

Of course, if somoene can show me concrete good data (not just a study with a sample of a few patients) that our previous held beliefs are wirng, then I'll be happy to change my thought process.

Think about this, it is only 4 to 6 weeks out of your LIFE. Is that really that awful? Are we so far gone that we can't make a committment to something for a month to then have it help us in the long run?

You can do this!!!! We can do this!!!!

Jachut · July 22, 2007

It is major, its very important to give your stomach time to heal. It doesnt matter what the solid food is, you need to stay away.

The liquid diet is really hard but the only rules I had were that it had to be able to pass up a straw. There is no reason not to liquidise REAL food, you dont have to live on Protein shakes and juice. Make some decent Soup or something and blend it smooth. Put Pasta, meat and vegetables in it. It makes ALL the difference and it doesnt stop you losing weight either.

I only found the liquid diet hard whilst I was trying to follow what people seem to do here - many people have Clear Liquids for a lot longer than I had to - once I stopped trying to live on V8 and Water and started having some real food, I found it very easy, honestly.