Fellow Bandsters!!!! Please Help

Every Doctor has his/her own way of doing things. My Doctor asks me to do liquids for 24 hours after a fill and introduce solid slowly. Seeing that this is your first fill I doubt you are over filled however we are all different. Not feeling full is normal. Remember you are not looking to get full like Thanksgiving full you want satiety It's good you are not hungry but whether or not you will remain that way will depend on you. How were you on the liquids before surgery?

How big is your band and how much of a fill did they give you? I do think you are over thinking it a bit but that is normal. We all do it. Just remember to take everything slow until you learn how your band behaves.

As for the water it is not surprising at all. Remember for the most part the fluids just slide on through. If you are having an issue swallowing water then your band is way to tight. I got 4 fills and good "restriction" and I can belt down a 16.9 oz crystal light in 5 minutes but I know my band. So take is slow and explore and treat your knew stomach like a baby.

Every Doctor has his/her own way of doing things. My Doctor asks me to do liquids for 24 hours after a fill and introduce solid slowly. Seeing that this is your first fill I doubt you are over filled however we are all different. Not feeling full is normal. Remember you are not looking to get full like Thanksgiving full you want satiety It's good you are not hungry but whether or not you will remain that way will depend on you. How were you on the liquids before surgery?

How big is your band and how much of a fill did they give you? I do think you are over thinking it a bit but that is normal. We all do it. Just remember to take everything slow until you learn how your band behaves.

As for the water it is not surprising at all. Remember for the most part the fluids just slide on through. If you are having an issue swallowing water then your band is way to tight. I got 4 fills and good "restriction" and I can belt down a 16.9 oz crystal light in 5 minutes but I know my band. So take is slow and explore and treat your knew stomach like a baby.

Thank you Jim,

I have a 10cc band ad I now have 4.9cc's in my band. On the liquid diet, pre and post op, I did very well. Post op, I was to scared to eat anything and pre op, I only did liquids the day before surgery. It didn’t seem to bad. My next question is... should I drink the liquids as if I am having breakfast, lunch and dinner or should I drink continuously throughout the day?

If liquid is all your having then I would drink it throughout the day as you want it. Here is a good article to read about restriction and what to look for. It helped me a lot when I was first post op.

http://www.lapbandtalk.com/page/index.html/_/support/post-op-support/restriction-the-holy-grail-r51

Yes, you are overthinking this. My liquid diet post-fill was 48 hours. A fill will make your band squeeze your stomach more and can cause some inflammation. If you try to pass too much food through your stoma you could cause more inflammation and even create an ulcer. He's asking you to ease into your new stoma(portal) with caution.

tmf

My Answer is for the last question: yes. you are over thinking. I suggest that you think about how much walking and exercising you are going to do.

How excited you are that you have the lapband and are going to be sucessful with it.

Didn't the office give you more information about fills, pre and post surgery rules? A relationship with your Dr is the most important thing.

Relax. and good luck. no bread.

Welcome to the brave new world of bandsterhood! I'm going to add my responses in blue text below.

Had my first fill yesterday and now I am back on liquids. The liquid diet doesn’t really bother me because I know that it will help me achieve my goal. The Dr. put me on a 3 day liquid diet, then soft, then regular. I have read people going on a 1 day and even 2 day liquid diet, but not a 3 day after a fill. Is my Dr. exaggerating this diet by extending it another day or two? Or is this the regular post fill diet? A regular post fill diet is whatever your doctor says it is. They all have their own protocol and it's useless trying to figure out why.

Also, at this time, I am not hungry and have been satisfied with my liquids. My concern is…. Will I be hungry on liquids for 3 days? I don't know. Maybe, maybe not. Time will tell. Although I am not hungry, I don’t feel full. Is that normal? I think it's normal. My pre-op idea of "full" was Thanksgiving Dinner full. As a post-op it took me a while to figure out that full should be "just enough food, nothing more, nothing less." My last question is…. How can I tell if I am over filled or under filled? Underfilled = frequent physical hunger (say, less than 3 hours after a meal). Overfilled = unable to eat or drink without discomfort or regurgitation. It's actually more complicated than that, but you don't need complication right now. Right now you need things simple. Right now, everything feels a bit “normal”, but I have to assume that it is because I am only drinking liquids, but I can still drink at least a 16oz cup of water within 45 mins. Am I able to drink too much? It's extremely unlikely that you would ever drink too much water, and you should always be able to drink plenty of water, though maybe not guzzle it. One sign of a fill that's too tight is being unable to drink water.

The last, last, last question: Am I over thinking this too much? Yes you are, but it's better than not thinking about it at all!

UGH… I feel so confused

Yes, you are overthinking this. My liquid diet post-fill was 48 hours. A fill will make your band squeeze your stomach more and can cause some inflammation. If you try to pass too much food through your stoma you could cause more inflammation and even create an ulcer. He's asking you to ease into your new stoma(portal) with caution.

tmf

Thank you for your insight. I spoke with the nutritionist today and she said that I only have to stay on the liquids yesterday and today.

My Answer is for the last question: yes. you are over thinking. I suggest that you think about how much walking and exercising you are going to do.

How excited you are that you have the lapband and are going to be sucessful with it.

Didn't the office give you more information about fills, pre and post surgery rules? A relationship with your Dr is the most important thing.

Relax. and good luck. no bread.

Thank you for your response. Yes, they gave me information, but of course, once you leave… everything leaves the brain and goes out the window. And I have a question about the gym… because I go “hard” in the gym, elliptical machine/ 70 mins/ over 700 cals burned/ 4 miles (every time)! But……….. last night I went to the gym and when I was on the elliptical machine, my heart started palpitating to the point that I felt it would be safe to get off and use the treadmill. And I could only do the treadmill at 2.5 without palpitations. (L) I figured that because I was only taking in cals from liquids and my cals was low, my heart was saying NO WAY!!! Am I right?

Welcome to the brave new world of bandsterhood! I'm going to add my responses in blue text below.

Had my first fill yesterday and now I am back on liquids. The liquid diet doesn’t really bother me because I know that it will help me achieve my goal. The Dr. put me on a 3 day liquid diet, then soft, then regular. I have read people going on a 1 day and even 2 day liquid diet, but not a 3 day after a fill. Is my Dr. exaggerating this diet by extending it another day or two? Or is this the regular post fill diet? A regular post fill diet is whatever your doctor says it is. They all have their own protocol and it's useless trying to figure out why.

Also, at this time, I am not hungry and have been satisfied with my liquids. My concern is…. Will I be hungry on liquids for 3 days? I don't know. Maybe, maybe not. Time will tell. Although I am not hungry, I don’t feel full. Is that normal? I think it's normal. My pre-op idea of "full" was Thanksgiving Dinner full. As a post-op it took me a while to figure out that full should be "just enough food, nothing more, nothing less." My last question is…. How can I tell if I am over filled or under filled? Underfilled = frequent physical hunger (say, less than 3 hours after a meal). Overfilled = unable to eat or drink without discomfort or regurgitation. It's actually more complicated than that, but you don't need complication right now. Right now you need things simple. Right now, everything feels a bit “normal”, but I have to assume that it is because I am only drinking liquids, but I can still drink at least a 16oz cup of water within 45 mins. Am I able to drink too much? It's extremely unlikely that you would ever drink too much water, and you should always be able to drink plenty of water, though maybe not guzzle it. One sign of a fill that's too tight is being unable to drink water.

The last, last, last question: Am I over thinking this too much? Yes you are, but it's better than not thinking about it at all!

UGH… I feel so confused

Thank you so much for your response. It really tickled me and I really needed a laugh yesterday because I was starting to feel down. I am back to my excited self about my band and looking forward to this journey (again). J . Thank you again, for the information, support and tickle.