Had my surgery on Dec. 9th. It will be three weeks tomorrow. If I didn't have the scars to prove it I wouldn't believe I had surgery. I feel amazing. No pain, nothing. ALSO - no restrictions. I am on mushies right now but tried other things during the holiday and chewed the mess out of them.

Nothing is too much. Not once have I stopped eating because I was full. I just stop because I know I shouldn't eat more you know?

Never get that feeling of tightness at all. At my pre-op visit a week out of surgery I told them this and they said my dr. doesn't put anything in yet. So I have to wait till the 21st of January (6 weeks after my surgery) to get a fill.

Is this normal? Surely it can't be. I am not gaining, but not losing either.

Anyone else??

It is VERY normal. It is the hell period before your first fill. It was almost 8 weeks before I had my first fill. This surgery isn't an overnight fix it. It takes time and patience as frustrating as it may be. Hang in there.

Had my surgery on Dec. 9th. It will be three weeks tomorrow. If I didn't have the scars to prove it I wouldn't believe I had surgery. I feel amazing. No pain, nothing. ALSO - no restrictions. I am on mushies right now but tried other things during the holiday and chewed the mess out of them.

Nothing is too much. Not once have I stopped eating because I was full. I just stop because I know I shouldn't eat more you know?

Never get that feeling of tightness at all. At my pre-op visit a week out of surgery I told them this and they said my dr. doesn't put anything in yet. So I have to wait till the 21st of January (6 weeks after my surgery) to get a fill.

Is this normal? Surely it can't be. I am not gaining, but not losing either.

Anyone else??

after ur post-op visit u told ur doc that u were hungry n could eat any n everything n he didnt schedule u a fill? smh! well every doc is different . be 4 surgery did u all discuss how often the fills will b given? maybe ur nt gettin enough Protein to hold u over n make u full. make an appointment with ur nutristionist n drink drink drink. I had surgery nov 23rd 09 n had my 1st fill dec 21st n it really gave me restriction. at 1st i thought that food was getting stuck n my chest n it hurted then i told my doc n he sd thats what restriction is n my body was telling me that i was full. wow i didnt know when 2 stop eating. i hope u get a fill b4 jan 21st but this is definitely hard wrk n u have 2 have self control n make the right food choices. best wishes let me know how things go.. 3lbs from onederland

I had my surgery 1 day before you and what you are experiencing is 100% normal. I am hungry all of the time. However, I do get the "full" feeling which really is basically upper stomach and chest pain. Next time you eat pay very close attention to the signs your body is giving you. Doctors don't like to fill the port before 6 weeks post op because that is the period of time that our new stomache pouch requires to heal so the swelling goes down. I have been eating solid foods since day 8 and now I know what overeating, eating too fast, and not chewing enough feels like. Hope this helps even a little. Until week 6 comes around you are going to be hungry. As the other user posted---drink drink drink. Don't chug though! Sip! And do not use straws and stick with foods that are high in protein such as lean hamburger meat, skinless chicken breast, and tuna. Good Luck! Happy New Year!

Edited December 30, 200916 yr by Amber6986

I am so glad you asked this question! I had my lap band surgery on Dec. 3, 2009, and while I am eating much less than I was before, I am still eating more than 1/2 cup. I'm glad to know this is "normal." My first fill is Jan. 12. I have lost 27 pounds thus far, but a lot of that was during the liquid diet before surgery and 2 weeks after surgery. I want to lose 152 more pounds. Can anyone give me an idea of how you cook your foods, and what you eat for Breakfast, lunch, and dinner, i.e., what foods and amounts? I was given guidelines, but they are not very specific, and I really want to do well. Thanks to everyone who is on this board!

Edited December 30, 200916 yr by brightcopperkettles

I didn't have to do the 2 week pre op diet but now after my band on 12/24 I'm trying the liq diet but it so hard I'm hungry all the time I had some rice & brocli chewed the heck of it but had no vomitting sesation at all so I left confused

I too had my surgery on Dec. 9th and I was just explaining to a friend (that had it done in Oct.) the EXACT same things that you are saying! I feel like I can eat ANYTHING!!! Im hungry all the time and the only reason that Im not really OVEReating is because Im FORCING myself not too! It is very hard but like you I am just waiting my 6 wks until I can get my fill. Im hoping that THEN I will have some restriction....and start losing (I am also not gaining but not losing either). I feel like I never even had the surgery sometimes! Well, good luck too you and hopefully we will both get the restriction that we need when we go for our first fill...if not we just have to try again untill we have it right!

welcome to "Banster Hell". Try not to over eat during this time. Stick with "diet food" and know that it will not last long after you start getting fills. You need healing time for your band to last longterm.

I feel the exact same way. Like I can eat most things without any problem and more than I thought I would be able too. I am making myself stop but the weight is not coming off! I am also not gaining but the weight was coming off so nicely in the beginning. My first fill is Jan 8th. Hope it helps. My surgery was Dec 3rd.

When my surgeon puts the band in she does not put in any fluid, therefore there is no restriction. I was absolutely starving during the liquid portion of the post-op diet but it did improve a bit when I was able to eat pureed foods and a touch more when I could eat solids. I had to wait 6 weeks for my first fill so that my stomach could have time to heal after banding. Hang in there. It will get better.

Welcome to that place you don't want to be....Bandster Hell. The good news is that once you start getting fills it does get better.

What I was told to do was to eat a meal consisting of 3 oz of lean Protein, a vegetable and a whole grain carb. If (when) I got hungry in less than FOUR HOURS, I was to eat a snack of protein...a boiled egg, an ounce of low fat cheese, a little deli sliced turkey. Any of those things are lean protein and are about 70 calories.

Once I started getting fills, I found I could go longer before I got hungry and now I can go 4 or 5 hours (and sometimes, even 6) between meals.

Just don't DRINK your protein (protein shakes). Yeah, they have a lot of protein but liquids pass through your band very quickly and as a result do not stimulate the vagus nerve and because that doesn't happen, you don't get a full feeling.

Thanks for all your replies. I am eating pretty much totally normal foods now and nothing is too much. I mean I am cutting back because I know I am supposed to but the band isn't doing a thing for me.

I have the REALIZE band, btw.

Totally normal! I am in the same boat. I felt some restriction for about a week after I could start eating real food (day 4 post-op for me). I even had the stuck sensation very briefly after eating some dry turkey meat.

But, by two weeks post-op, all of my swelling was down and I have had no restriction since then. I refuse to call it 'Bandster Hell', though. My doc told me that this first month, I should just be focusing on healing anyway and not worry about the weightloss. So, I call it 'Bandster Heck' as in heck, I have to just diet like I used to if I want to take off any weight between now and my first fill.

Even though we may not lose a lot during this time, we can still practice the band rules and start exercising. My surgeon doesn't give any limits as far as the quantity of food. She says that the whole purpose of the band is portion control and that will eventually happen automatically for us when we get fills. So, instead of measuring things out, she has a rule that you just don't eat longer than 20 minutes for a meal and you don't 'snack' between meals. I've been able to stick to this pretty well without being too hungry. And, if I do need a snack, I just try to pick something Protein or a piece of fruit so at least it is healthy.

Welcome to Bandster Hell (a place where I feel like I've been FOREVER! LOL) I actually remember writing your post almost verbatim about 3 or 4 weeks ago. Thank God I have my first fill next week! It has been such hard work without that help!!!

Hang in there! And as others have said, try to 'chew' your Protein (chicken breast salad, cheeses, things like that). They give you more satiety than the Protein drinks, which will slide right through the band and you won't feel full.

So, basically if you were banded in December you're currently trapped in bandster hell/heck! WOOHOO!!! I seriously was thinking by day 10 that I had so screwed up by getting a band and wasted a small fortune :blushing: THEN I found this website and discovered so many other folks in my shoes....I'm now off liquids and on soft/mushies and while I can definitely eat much more than I'm supposed to (my surgeon says 2-4 tablespoons is a meal????!!!) I'm sticking to much smaller portions than I would have before and at least not starving to death. I was banded on 12/16 and I'm 8 days from my first fill, WOOHOO!!! Still losing, though much slower than the first week, I'll take it!

We're tough, we can make it!

I remember posting a similar post way back when. Relax and let your body heal. Even after your first fill you might not feel restricted. It took me a couple. My surgeon doesn't look for weight loss until after a couple of fills.

I also postponed my first fill because we were, of all things, going on a cruise!

Yeah, try being in Bandster Hell while cruising the Panama Canal! OY! My surgeon was ever so pleased that I managed to lose 1 lb during that 10 days!

Needless to say, I was fit to be tied, I wanted that fill so badly.

Someone here during my first days posted that an empty band shortly after surgery is like having a new sports car with an empty gas tank.

It is so pretty and you want to take it out for a spin, but with no gas...it gets you nowhere!

That was pretty much what I kept telling myself until my restriction started. "Wait till you have your gas!"

It will come, give it time. It is frustrating that the result isn't immediate. But now, 2 years later, I am down around 60 lbs. :rolleyes2: Yeah, baby! It's all good!

Denise