2savemylife

From being on the board here I see that every doctor is different. I was banded on 6/27/12 and went for my first fill today. At the time of surgery they filled my band with 4cc's...so today they filled me with half of cc. I was instructed to go back on liquids for 24 hours....then 2 days of shakes 3x's a day....then 2 days of mushy/soft then back on food. They want to see me back in two weeks to see how its going. Trying to find that "sweet spot" as SandyMax puts it Before today I had to stop myself when I was eating and yes....I was/am HUNGRY!!!I Im hoping that we find the right fit soon....I dont think this is gonna do it for me....lol. I have lost a total of 27lbs in 6 weeks but of course I am anxious for more to come off lol. Just one day at a time

I was banded in December and was so hungry and tired of holding back, I attacked a bucket of chicken a week post op. (Hey, if i had self control i wouldnt need the band)
Hang in there it gets better.
I only lost 20 pounds in the first few months after surgery, but once i found my sweet spot i am losing a consistent 2 pounds a week and now I am in heaven.
Dont worry, you are normal, and all of our individual experiences with the band are different.

Hi all-
I live in Apopka, just north of Orlando. I was banded on Nov 24, 2008 by Dr. Ortiz at the OCC in TJ. I had my first fill on Jan 19 in St Pete with Kathy Gonzales. At the time I couldn't find anyone closer. Now I don't care if there is anyone closer; she is AMAZING!
Would love to be part of a support group.
sue

Buy a food scale! Measure out your 3 oz of Protein and then eat about a cup of low fat/cal veggies. You WILL over eat if you don't measure.

I am seven days post op. I had 10 days of Protein shakes and 3 days of Clear liquids before surgery. I hated it, but was not as hungry as I thought I would be. I have heard a lot of the banded hell once the swelling goes away and before your first fill. I have decided if I get to that point, I will convert to the 3 shakes a day and only eat green veggies if I must chew, like brocolli and cut out all carbs except the carbs that are in my shake. If I survived for 10 days on the shakes and survived the 3 days of clear liquid, I can go back to that. I know from being a career dieter, that if you cut your carbs out you will not be as hungry.
Just my therory. I will see when it happens to me if this theory works.

Hello
I was banded on July 9th and go for my first fill tomorrow....so when I went for post op appt 2 wks ago the nutritionist said these weeks are trial and error weeks...try stuff see what you can and can't eat....I try not to eat more then 1 cup of food at a time....and very very slowly....
I look forward to not feeling hungy with less food....although all eyes on me on Friday I have a wedding to attend however good news I am down 34 lbs and was size 26/28 and dress wearing on Friday is 2X

We call it band hell....you're so not hungry at all and a switch flips and suddenly you are starving. IT SUCKS!!!!! I drank Water all day long in an attempt not to eat. Thank God It only kicked in a week before my puréed foods started! I lived off retried Beans after that, only purée that really stuck with me.

Hello those are great questions....I was banded on July 9th and get my first fill tomorrow I have a 9cc band...surprising that my surgeon went with the small one.
I started my pre op on June 25th and as of today I have lost 34lbs....I lost 19 pre op and alot of weight the first week after being banded as I wasn't eating couldn't keep anything down for 4 days....not even Water....I can eat most everything now....actually went out for dinner last nite and ate prob 1/4 of 10oz of prime rib ate very very slowly nothing is worse then being out in a restaurant and getting stuck believe me happened to me a week ago...was a horrible experience....
I will post how much goes into my band tomorrow and enjoying food today...liquids for 3 days as of tomorrow

I was banded 6/19, and my first fill was at 6 weeks. I got 3cc in a 10cc band. Since surgery I have lost 20 lbs. (I weigh again tomorrow) I have a little more restriction, but its definitely not enough. I'm going to see how this week looks before I call the dr for another fill. I know my scale, and my drs scale are not the same. I weigh more on mine than the dr. LOL
Things may change for you after a fill. No one can give you a definite answer because there isn't one. Every person is different and the same exact band may perform differently in each person. Be sure you can get Water to go down after your first fill. I didn't do it with my fill and luckily I haven't had any trouble, but you never know. I will definitely do it this time.
Good Luck in your journey!

My first fill was 6 wks after surgery and I'm not sure how much was put in there. As for restriction I have a tiny bit but for now it's working!!! I have lost 32 lbs since my pre op diet which started June 17th
I'm loving my band more and more everyday I'm so glad I jumped on the band wagon

It normally takes people multiple fills before they feel restriction. It know it's frustrating, but if you want to lose weight between now and when you do have restriction, stick to band sized portions and healthy food choices.
Hang in there

I was banded 7/23 & feel the same way! I even called today to beg for my 1st fill. They said no of course. So ready for 8/21. Im too hungry to have been through so much & I'm scared of gaining back

Banded on 7/26...feel completely back to normal and healed which is good. However I feel like I don't have a band. I'm hungry, I can eat whatever although I haven't eaten bread, rice and Pasta. Will my first fill get this party started???

i was on liquids for 2 weeks after surgery.
then oatmeal, runny.........that was an amazing day

Im doing everything im supposed to do iam still on liquids its going on 4weeks for me now I have incorporated light yogurt cream Tomato Soup Protein Shakes popsicles. I have lost 20 pounds since my surgery july 18th i won't lie i do get hungry.i get my first fill aug 29th its been really hard this no joke good luck to you.

I was allowed yogurt and cottage/ricotta cheese at day 15. Please note I WAS hungry before that but thems the rules.

Day 4 for me.....cream of wheat diluted with skim milk and thin creamed Soups. However, your doctor should have given you post op diet instructions.

You are describing mushie foods which I was allowed at day 21. My first were mashed potatoes. I ate 2 tblsp and was so full! I had 2 weeks of mushies which were normal mushie things Like tuna, applesauce, sugar free pudding, peaches, pears, hummus and v 8 juice because there was no way I could eat mushie veggies!
I never at grits tho....

Carbs can cause you to retain fluids so the short answer is yes.
You are in bandster hell now. This is the phase of your journey that the swelling around your band has subsided and you have no saline in your band so you're portal is wide open. You will be hungry much of the time. It's no fun and you just have to keep eating healthy or you will gain. Here's a link to another clinic's lapband manual. http://www.peachtreebariatrics.com/docs/Gastric-Band-Patient-Manual.pdf You should be able to find many of your answers here. I would also recommend Jean McMillan's Bandwagon book. Her magazine articles are on the right side of this page.
Keep in mind you are still in the healing phase so don't be so concerned with losing weight just yet.
tmf

Protein is important because it promotes healing. Carbs, however, I wouldn't worry about until you're at least on soft foods. The reason being, your choices are already severely limited by only being able to have liquids. If you try to restrict your carbs too you're going to have very little to sustain you.
When I was on the liquid phase, I counted calories and Protein but not carbs.
Best wishes!

Can you add protien powder to your Soups, yoguart, applesauce and pudding............protien will fill you up and you can lay off the carbs. A blender, greek yoguart, pro. powder and fruit would be a good start, you should try making your own, save $$ from buying them

I was banded on 7/27. My surgeon had me do liquids for 1 week. When I went in for my follow -up on my 7th day, he told me he wanted me to get used to my band and get to know it. He told me to experiment but stick to Protein, and avoid carbs and only zero calorie liquids. I have been doing exactly what he said. I have lost 24 pounds. I have had no bloating, nausea, gas, nothing. Every surgeon is different. I went with the one who banded a few people I know and they were very successful without any complications. They went on and on about how much individual attention they get from him. I see what they mean. I have never met a doctor who gave me their cell, pager, and personal email. He's not bad on the eyes either...lol

I was on liquids for 4 weeks after surgery, so I didn't add mushy stuff like mashed potatoes until the 5th week.
I was told anything that easily ran off the back of a spoon was liquid. So, I ate things like runny oatmeal and sugar free pudding while on liquids. Yogurt was allowed, too. Oddly, he did let me have cottage cheese during the liquid phase even though it's not liquid.
Mashed potatoes would be a mushie stage not liquids, so I couldn't have that until the 5th week.

That's what I am following too
Banded 7/31/12 Pre op weight 344, starting weight 324

I posted this yesterday for someone...........I haven't had surgery yet, but these are my guidelines from my surgeon
From what my surgeon has given me ( and everyone is different) post surgery
Day 1 - Clear Liquids only
Days 2-13 - full liquids - they should all pour out of a spoon at room temp (pudding, milk, low fat cream Soups, yogurt - no chunks), fudgesicles, smoothies - all low fat/sugar free
Days 14-21 - above plus pureed and soft, blenderized food. consistancy of baby food
Days 21-30 above, plus soft/moist diet, bananas, applesauce, canned fruit, ground meats, well cooked veggies, crackers, cooked Cereal, sugar free/low fat,
This is just brief and an outline from my surgeon keeping in mind that at most stages need to get in 70 g of Protein and recommended Water intake..........I have a mandatory nutritional councelling session prior to surgery, should find out more.