am I slipping??

[slimgirl 0]

Well hopefully this hot topic will open up more discussions about this subject. Everybody experiences are different, and our opinions are based on that --our experiences. At the end of the day it's that person's decision whether to eat solids on the third week or not.

[coltonwade 27]

Well hopefully this hot topic will open up more discussions about this subject. Everybody experiences are different, and our opinions are based on that --our experiences. At the end of the day it's that person's decision whether to eat solids on the third week or not.

you are 100% right its the person's choice on what to do .

I am curious at 3 weeks were you allowed solids by your doc ?

Not trying to argue just wondering ?

So many docs are different w/ their instructions now .

Mindy

PS I sent you an email

[suzyt 0]

I was cleared for solid food at my two week post op appointment. As everyone says -- every doctor is different for what they recommend.

[coltonwade 27]

I honestly cant even imagine eating solids at 2 weeks post op .

That would scare the crap out of me.

Each doc def.is different !

Mindy

[BellaPerdente 0]

I went to three different surgeons on my journey, but ended with Dr. K in Denver because I was self-pay and he has a HUGE following. The difference in post-op diets was sooooo different between the surgeons. The first wanted me on 4 weeks of liquids....yikes! Nothing that wouldnt pour. Not even a popsicle. The second was as extreme but still on full liquids for 2 weeks after the clear phase. The third (who has done hundreds and hundreds of patients) only has us on Clear Liquids for 2 days, then to full for nine more days, then to mushies for a week and then to solids. When on solids, he wants us to add foods slowly so that we can see how our body reacts.

[coltonwade 27]

I went to three different surgeons on my journey, but ended with Dr. K in Denver because I was self-pay and he has a HUGE following. The difference in post-op diets was sooooo different between the surgeons. The first wanted me on 4 weeks of liquids....yikes! Nothing that wouldnt pour. Not even a popsicle. The second was as extreme but still on full liquids for 2 weeks after the clear phase. The third (who has done hundreds and hundreds of patients) only has us on clear liquids for 2 days, then to full for nine more days, then to mushies for a week and then to solids. When on solids, he wants us to add foods slowly so that we can see how our body reacts.

I chose my surgeon based on his experience and his stats , which are little to no complications .

The post op diet was not a concern of mine , i knew i would follow what ever he gave me becasue i was doing this to stop Eating as much food as i have in the past and to lose weight !!

I believe ( i would have to go back and look for sure ) I was on liquids for a total of 3 weeks , full and clears .

The way I look at this is as i said before. If you cant control yourself for 6 weeks post op ( really its more like 3 or 4 before you get on solids) and you cant follow doctors order for a few weeks to have a better quality of life then you reallly need to THINK before you have this surgery .

People think , I'll get the band and i can eat what ever i want do what ever i want and things will be fine"

NO you can can cause SERIOUS damage to yourself and your band if you over eat, constantly make yourself throw up and do not comply .

chose your docs based on the stats not the shortest amount of post op diet, becasue I really honestly do not think that SHORT post op diets are a good idea.

I have heard Dr K is very good. If i had known about him at the timei had surgery i mgiht have gone to him .

But over all you HAVE To pick a doc that YOU think you can follow their instructions. Just be careful is all im saying . The "easy" road is not always the best road !

Mindy

[BellaPerdente 0]

You are definitely right about it not being the easy road. The REASON I am so heavy is because food is an addiction...a friend...the devil!! I am sure most people who are heavy will agree that the reason they want to have the lapband is because they can't control the amount of food they eat. We are all hoping to beat this addiction, which is worse than being a drug addict or an alcoholic because we do need food to survive.

It is not easy to say goodbye to our old lives. The head hunger (mind games) are hard to handle some times but I agree that we have to FIGHT the demons to make this work. We are going to slip up sometimes...that is normal because we are not perfect.

I fight with myself everyday.

[coltonwade 27]

You are definitely right about it not being the easy road. The REASON I am so heavy is because food is an addiction...a friend...the devil!! I am sure most people who are heavy will agree that the reason they want to have the lapband is because they can't control the amount of food they eat. We are all hoping to beat this addiction, which is worse than being a drug addict or an alcoholic because we do need food to survive.

It is not easy to say goodbye to our old lives. The head hunger (mind games) are hard to handle some times but I agree that we have to FIGHT the demons to make this work. We are going to slip up sometimes...that is normal because we are not perfect.

I fight with myself everyday.

I agree we are all going to slip up and its so hard. But my point is DO NOT SLIP UP DURING POST OP !!!

its SO IMPORTANT . Slipping up is different than going against medical advice during your post op diet . there is a HUGE difference ! Im not perfect I eat crap now i should not . THATS A SLIP !!! Or THAT"S Cheating.

I guess i dont understand it or get it cause i was self pay or that's just not my mind set or cause my doc educated me enough or cause i read so much and knew how important that phase was for the life of your band ?

I dont know but that never crossed my mind to not follow my docs orders.

If you DO feel like you cant make it and need to progresse your diet at least call your doc and ask them if you can . A lot of times theyw ill allow you to go to mushies earlier ?

Mindy

[SanDiegoSusan 1]

I posted some of this in an earlier thread but since it is still happening though I would update it. I agree that even in the few months I've been on this site there seems to be a growing increase in validation for people not following the doctor's recommendations. It is dangerous and stupid and those people should be shown tough love because they are screwing up the future of a bunch of addicts who need to change their lives or die. (Ok, so I only believe in the tough part - not everyone deserves my love.)

I see it more with the younger set whose attitudes are starting to drive me nuts - "I'll do whatever I want." But others are starting to follow their examples. Fine, but don't try to talk others into your bad behavior. As indicated by some of the very knowledgeable moderators slippage has doubled recently. DOUBLED! That should scare you. The band will help about 50% of the people banded lose weight in the long run (antidotes about bad banders who lost weight notwithstanding - our own urban legends) which means 50% of the people will fail yet again at losing weight. If that's the case, I'm going to listen to the ones that are have lost a hundred pounds like Coltonwade or at goal or below as they did what they had to for success. I also feel like I can determine who is going to fail by their posts. If one week out of surgery your biggest concern is how to get around doctor's orders odds are you do not have the right mindset yet to make this work. I also suspect that as the band gets more popular and people come to sites like this where they find validation for bad behavior the success rate of the band will also fall.

The moderators and the "get-arounders" both have the rights to post here. However, if you are a human capable of critical thinking (a skill America is rapidly losing) YOU should be listening to the people who have been through the process and succeeded, not the people looking for validation to stuff their faces with all the wrong foods at the wrong time then bitch and moan at how bad their surgeon must have been when the band fails them. Please keep posting moderators - most of us are far more interested in what you have to say then in what the cheaters say to excuse themselves.

Disclosure - this was not aimed at anyone in particular. It was a general rant not meant to make any individual feel bad. (Really general since it was copied from an earlier post!) If your feelings were hurt by it you need to examine why, but it wasn't meant to hurt you. It's meant to make you think for yourself instead of following the bad sheep of the world. If you haven't been perfect (and gosh knows I haven't!) start being better today. You are so lucky to have this opportunity - treat it like the blessing it is! Change your mind, change your behavior, change what you eat and it will work. And every time you do something right give yourself a mental hug and a "good job!" We've all been conditioned to beat ourselves up for failure but you will go a lot further if you give yourself positive reinforcement for all your successes!

I think the fact that every single surgeon has a different diet to follow pre and post-op makes it very difficult to know what is right, and I hope that soon long-term studies will show exactly which instructions are the most likely to succeed. Regardless however, you need to listen to your surgeon and not seek validation here for bad behavior. We all slip up - it's ok to admit that as the original poster did, and when we do we shouldn't be belittled for trying to seek advice on our mistake. (In fact, some of the response to the original post seemed a little harsh since the person admitted they made a mistake.) But when people ask for advice on what they can do to correct a potential problem the "I did it so you'll be ok" posts are dangerous. Unless you are an MD who specializes in this procedure you should not be telling people that not following the diet won't hurt them. Not only are you endangering them but also everyone who comes to this site seeking advice. Please be very careful doing this.

[minidriver 0]

I do think it's important to remember that each doctor tends to give different orders and if one doctor says solid food is fine at 3 weeks and that person eats solids at 3 weeks, they are NOT cheating. They are doing what their doctor said they could do. There is a big difference between cheating and following a slightly different plan because of the different opinions of our doctors. Some docs use different techniques for securing the band . . . and those different techniques can also play a role in rates of slippage. I have the same doc as bella and he talked to me in great detail about his complication rates (next to nothing) and his surgical technique (a little different from the norm). He post-op diet is not as stringent as many (progress to solids by 3 weeks) but his record speaks for itself. And there are many of his patients who have lost an incredible amount of weight.

Just my two cents.

[coltonwade 27]

you are correct. If you follow your docs advice and they say solids at 3 weeks your not cheating . Bella I dont think made that clear when she said she ate pizza at 3 weeks post op , she clarified that later.

Slip rates are rising for a reason . Personally i think if docs are differing from ANYTHING other than what the manufacture of the band recommends Is treading on thin Water. But that's just my opinion on it i have nothing to really go on . I think the band makers have research to back up WHY they should be placed certain ways and why post op diets should be certain ways

MIndy

[coltonwade 27]

I posted some of this in an earlier thread but since it is still happening though I would update it. I agree that even in the few months I've been on this site there seems to be a growing increase in validation for people not following the doctor's recommendations. It is dangerous and stupid and those people should be shown tough love because they are screwing up the future of a bunch of addicts who need to change their lives or die. (Ok, so I only believe in the tough part - not everyone deserves my love.)

I see it more with the younger set whose attitudes are starting to drive me nuts - "I'll do whatever I want." But others are starting to follow their examples. Fine, but don't try to talk others into your bad behavior. As indicated by some of the very knowledgeable moderators slippage has doubled recently. DOUBLED! That should scare you. The band will help about 50% of the people banded lose weight in the long run (antidotes about bad banders who lost weight notwithstanding - our own urban legends) which means 50% of the people will fail yet again at losing weight. If that's the case, I'm going to listen to the ones that are have lost a hundred pounds like Coltonwade or at goal or below as they did what they had to for success. I also feel like I can determine who is going to fail by their posts. If one week out of surgery your biggest concern is how to get around doctor's orders odds are you do not have the right mindset yet to make this work. I also suspect that as the band gets more popular and people come to sites like this where they find validation for bad behavior the success rate of the band will also fall.

The moderators and the "get-arounders" both have the rights to post here. However, if you are a human capable of critical thinking (a skill America is rapidly losing) YOU should be listening to the people who have been through the process and succeeded, not the people looking for validation to stuff their faces with all the wrong foods at the wrong time then bitch and moan at how bad their surgeon must have been when the band fails them. Please keep posting moderators - most of us are far more interested in what you have to say then in what the cheaters say to excuse themselves.

Disclosure - this was not aimed at anyone in particular. It was a general rant not meant to make any individual feel bad. (Really general since it was copied from an earlier post!) If your feelings were hurt by it you need to examine why, but it wasn't meant to hurt you. It's meant to make you think for yourself instead of following the bad sheep of the world. If you haven't been perfect (and gosh knows I haven't!) start being better today. You are so lucky to have this opportunity - treat it like the blessing it is! Change your mind, change your behavior, change what you eat and it will work. And every time you do something right give yourself a mental hug and a "good job!" We've all been conditioned to beat ourselves up for failure but you will go a lot further if you give yourself positive reinforcement for all your successes!

I think the fact that every single surgeon has a different diet to follow pre and post-op makes it very difficult to know what is right, and I hope that soon long-term studies will show exactly which instructions are the most likely to succeed. Regardless however, you need to listen to your surgeon and not seek validation here for bad behavior. We all slip up - it's ok to admit that as the original poster did, and when we do we shouldn't be belittled for trying to seek advice on our mistake. (In fact, some of the response to the original post seemed a little harsh since the person admitted they made a mistake.) But when people ask for advice on what they can do to correct a potential problem the "I did it so you'll be ok" posts are dangerous. Unless you are an MD who specializes in this procedure you should not be telling people that not following the diet won't hurt them. Not only are you endangering them but also everyone who comes to this site seeking advice. Please be very careful doing this.

WELL Said my dear well said !!

[KayleighsMommy 16]

Just what I was thinking, well said Susan. I was following my docs orders, just concerned the solid I ate at 5 weeks was a bit too solid. I have been soooo compliant (which was difficult being in the hospital for a week, but my surgeon and I discussed that issue...I did best I could) I had to eat pureed Pasta and scrambled eggs at 3-4 weeks, just because that all there was) I fully intend on being a success story, and will do everything by the books from now on.

[BellaPerdente 0]

Bella did not eat the pizza. Mini...well said.

[Froggi 4]

Not all younger people do not follow the doctor's rules though. I am turning 23 this week and I get banded in November and I intend to follow every rule the doctor has. He wants me on 1 week clear 2 weeks full 2 weeks pureed then soft solids into more regular solid foods.

This is a life changing event I am not going to screw it up because I am hungry while I am STILL healing. I have learned a ton from the oldies on here who have been banded for long periods of time and I love them dearly. Many I talk to daily...and they believe I am going to have great success with the band with the attitude I have. And I think so too.

I have already changed my eating patterns now and this is why I have lost 20.5 lbs in 3 months not even being banded yet. I want to be healthier and smaller for when I do have my surgery and more likely have a smaller healthier liver. I have 3 more months of this diet and I hope to lose at least another 20 lbs.

I cannot wait to be banded and lose this weight. To all of you eating foods that require your stomach to churn to digest I sure hope you don't have problems with your band in the long run. It doesn't always show up early in banding...it shows up long after too. I'd be praying. Good luck to all.

Coltonwade I think your advice is spectacular. Keep it up. :teeth_smile:

Edited August 3, 2008 by Froggi