Please help/reassure/admonish.

I'm a week post op and the dietician has said fluid diet, I feel fantastic, although constantly hungry. Well the devil on my shoulder got the better of me and I had a bag of crisps (chips). I know I shouldn't but I lost control. Now I have horrible sternum pain. Could I have damaged my staples?

I feel so stupid and I'm really cross with myself. Did anyone else cheat the fluid diet? xx

No- I didn't cheat-after surgery you must to stick to plan. Not just because your nerves were just cut and you physically can mess yourself up, but mentally allowing yourself to eat things you shouldn't be is not good 1 week out.

I would call and see about getting a therapist.

I never cheated on the liquid diet... post op, I was too afraid to hurt something. I had just gone through major surgery, had my stomach cut on, and my intestines re-routed. The idea of cheating never crossed my mind seriously enough to even consider it.

If your pain lasts, you should call your doctor. If the pain goes away, please use more willpower. You are setting yourself up for the rest of your life. Now is your chance to make changes to last a lifetime.

If the pain persists I would call your Doctor. You probably didn't damage anything and just irritated it... but better to be safe.

I was too terrified of damaging myself to cheat....

SF Popsicles were a lifesaver at this point... at least they were something solid. Make different flavored protein drinks to satisfy your cravings. You can do this.

Remember your cravings are about your brain/head not a need for food.

So curious-- did the chips "satisfy" the feeling of hunger you say you had? ? While I imagine its hard to decipher since it left you in that horrid sternum pain-- I'd venture to guess that it did not. Head hunger makes you crave specific things (IE chips)... if the hunger were real- at this stage it should have easily be sufficed by drinking something. 

I did not cheat on the post-op liquid phase-- but I do recall the same pain from trying something too solid too soon. Pay close attention to how you feel once the sternum pain asses-- if you still feel not right then I'd suggest a call to the doc. 

Learn from it and don't repeat it.

Hi, I'm just about 5 weeks out. I am seriously fighting the urges.  For the 2nd time, I am In pain from eating too quickly. This time I really scared myself! Calling the surgeon scared.

Please keep posting here for support and tough love. These people really understand because they are us. Family can support, but people who have lived through all these issues are priceless!!

I didn't cheat the liquid diet because - as the other posters said - I was too scared to hurt something. But there were times I ate something that didn't go down all the way before I drank half an hour later and I would end up getting sick or being really uncomfortable but nothing that was horrible pain like you're describing.

I'm guessing you didn't damage anything but if it were me I would call my surgeon.

But the bigger issue is that 1 week post op you're not following the plan. That's an issue. Because while the hunger is still there it should be one of the easiest times to follow the plan because you are so fresh out of surgery and not wanting to damage anything. You have a very long way to go - as does everyone who has WLS - so you really need to examine yourself and being able to follow your plan. Consider seeing a therapist to help with the mind stuff that goes along with it. (I see one and I find it helps).

Good luck.

Thank you everyone for the feedback, the pain has now gone and hopefully I've done no damage.

I'm more concerned no one else seems to have cheated, I'm finding it really hard to stick to fluids, I'm so hungry I seem more obsessed by food than ever. I never anticipated this, I thought I'd be so excited at taking control of my life that it would surpass everything else. Instead I'm struggling quite a bit. Surgery and recovery seem to have gone seamlessly, but the want for food hasn't gone away, if anything it's worse. Maybe I do need a therapist.

xx

When do you switch from fluids to something else?

Maybe I do need a therapist.

I sought one YEARS before surgery because I had/have food issues. It was my friend, comfort, and social life (lunches, dinners out, hosting dinner parties, church pot lucks).

There is nothing wrong with seeing a therapist to evaluate your relationship with food. It means you are a reasonable person looking at ALL aspects of the journey.  It doesnt make you insane or weak as some people (like my Mom) would imply.  

It doesnt hurt to examine your relationship with food at all.

After surgery, I have had to re-evaluate my relationship with alcohol. I didnt think/dont think I am an alcoholic. But I did discover that it goes to my head quicker, I get drunk fast, and maybe I need to figure out a way to nurse a glass of wine for a few hours (or do a class of wine then water for the rest of the evening). If I drank equivalent amounts post op to what I did pre-op, I felt so ill. Just sick.

So, we all have had to make some changes. Some people have had to re-evaluate their relationships with fat and sugar.

Good luck to you,

Skinny