Gerhowzel

Thank you so much. That helps give me some perspective. I think with the modifications to my cravings/hunger, I will be successful at changing negative eating behaviors.

I get “hungry” …if I haven’t ate for more than 2 hours. But I don’t get cravings. That’s the big difference for me from before Surgery. I live with 2 other people, so there is food in the house that would normally be a craving for me pre-surgery, and I don’t even think about it and haven’t touched it.

There is physical hunger, and there is mind hunger - food fantasies. Because most of us got to WLS as a result of our mental relationships with food, the mind hunger is usually much more of an issue that genuinely being hungry. A huge part of this journey for me, and likely most people having surgery, is being able to distinguish between the two. I experience emptiness ("I'm hungry!"), then have to ask myself how long it's been since I ate or drank anything. This is when it is crucial to have high protein foods that fit into my diet on hand. Because I have been a compulsive eater, a food addict most of my life, I'm trying to approach this whole thing almost as a science.
Someone also mentioned reflux and i agree, it can also mimic hunger pangs. Drink something, water or some of a protein shake. It helps coat and fill your pouch so you feel physically fuller. It also buys your mind some time to separate real hunger from food fantasies.
Learn from the experience, be grateful if you didn't hurt yourself and move on. You just had surgery. I was an emotional roller coaster after mine. Get support from professionals if you're struggling with food addiction. Addictions don't go away just because you've had surgery. Take care of your body, and your mind. You're not alone.

I had my lap band out in 2009. I was just miserable with it, constant reflux issues. Felt immediately better having had it removed. It was probably one of the easiest surgeries I've ever had and I had no complications.
I was a little terrified that I'd gain all my weight back but noticed that my portion sizes were still small. I kept up my general lap band-like practices and my weight held steady UNTIL life handed me a big bag of stress and change. As a result, I started stress eating. Over the course of a year and a half, I gained all of my weight back. Fortunately, those pounds didn't bring too many extra friends to the party. Long story short, I had the sleeve in 2017 and am happy with that decision.
Moral of the story: there IS life after the lap band. If you stay the course and do not return to bad habits, you'll keep your weight off. Best of luck to you!