Hey all I was banded on 2-3-10 I am so happy to have had it done. I have a question if anyone has time to advise. Is the band empty at first? i'm on my 15th day im doing good, I don't know if i feel hungry or its just a mind thing but all in all i'm handing it. Is there anything in the band? i go to the doctor Monday for my first visit and i was curious because i really do not want to be hungry i'm living on cottage cheese, soup, farina, skim plus and sugar free fat free pudding. Wondering if im not eating enough in the meals i am having? I have lost 11.5 lbs in the two weeks so far. Today i felt hunger :confused:

thanks for your time xox

From what I have read here, most surgeons don't do a fill when inserting the band. But there are some surgeons that do put some in during the procedure.

My surgeon did not put any fill in my band during the surgery.

I had 2cc's put in at surgery, I didn't find out until my 1st fill when they said I have 5cc's total because they added 3cc. And that I had 2ccs put in at surgery.

My surgeon did not do a fill during surgery, but some do. I DID, however, have restriction just from the having the band placed due to swelling. If you are wondering if you are consuming enough, try journaling everything you eat and drink to see how much and where your calories are coming from. This will also help you be certain you are getting enough protein in.

I started with 3 ccs and had to have it removed due to complications. So, esentially I started with an empty band. You may grow more and more hungry. During this time it's good to make healthy food choices and portion your food out. After you get fills this will go away but it may be a while that you feel this way...

I had 2.7 cc at surgery

My band was placed empty. I did have restriction for about 10 days or so, due to postop swelling. After that, I was h.u.n.g.r.y. Not head hunger, but bona fide hunger. It's frustrating, but all you can do is stick with your program, knowing that there is a light at the end of the tunnel :confused:

I had 2cc from the beginning (doc said it came that way, he didnt add it). Since then, I have had 1 fill for a total of 7cc in a 14cc band.

Simple explanation:

Lap Band has some saline in the "deflated" state.

Realize band has no saline in the "deflated" state.

Detailed explanation:

All bands have no saline in them when they come out of the sterile package in the operating room. Lap Bands are primed with saline - the air displaced with sterile saline so that they have some saline in the "deflated state". Realize bands are simply deflated completely with no priming saline.

The early Lap Band designs (9.75, 10) that we started with eight years ago when the band was first FDA approved had very little priming saline in them. The VG band had more priming saline and the new AP designs (Advanced Platform) have about 3cc of priming saline for the APS (standard) and 4cc for the APL (large).

Some surgeons will put some fill in the Realize band at the time of surgery. If a Lap Band patient has a lot of swelling of the stomach tissue after surgery and they are having difficulty swallowin liquids, we can access the port, remove the priming saline and the difficulty swallowing resolves completely.

Hope that helps

brad

thank you all so much for the information you gave me it is so appreciated. I think im antsy waiting for my first appointment. I thought it was at two weeks but their schedule was full so my first visit is at the 3 week point and i just wait to see how i did and to ask all these questions i have :confused: thank you all again!