Before my lap band surgery, I spent 7months imagining how my life would be transformed after WLS. I thought, "No more dieting, no more bingeing and overeating" Well, 25 days out, and I'm always hungry - especially afternoon and evening and, I just had a bowl of ice cream! What is that? I lost 13 lbs 7 days post-op and have not lost anything since. I had been watching my food intake, drinking 70 oz of water but not able to stop at 4 oz of food. Doctor said that I was pretty open so it is not unusual to be hungry.

My concern is that I will gain back the 13lbs before my first fill. My second concern is that the fill won't stop me from being hungry and eating as i have been. The 3rd concern is that I just waisted my time, money and energy on my last hope at getting to a healthy weight. I don't mean to sound like a pessimist , but I truly thought this was going to be different. I mean, I thought that the lap banned would be the perfect tool to stop me from overeating when I can't do it for myself.

Has everyone else experienced this disappointment early on? If so, did it get better and how...Thank you!:eek::wink:

I too am feeling discouraged..My surgery date was 2/23 and I have had one fill so far..I now of some people who have lost twice the amount of weight that I have.12 lbs.It is hard not to compare yourself to others..I do feel hungry in between meals..i have started exercising..that has helped with the "blues"...I know we will be successful..thanks for sharing story...let's do this together!

WOW! 78 lbs in 6 months..you have encouraged me..I am glad to hear that you are doing so well .. It sounds like I need a few more fills.

Hang in there...month after month you will feel more and more restriction. I was worried too, but I lost 140 lbs and am happily maintaining now :thumbup:

Wow..how long did it take you to loose your wt? that is great! I am praying that the wt loss starts soon thanks for the encouragement

I think it took me about 18 months...thanks!

I'm about six weeks out, had a 2 cc fill at my two-week postop check, and I can basically eat anything I want, and as much as I want. My only issue is if I don't chew well, it just sits there and has to come back up (the equivalent of spitting out a bite of food, not vomiting per se). But other than that I have no restriction, and I do get hungry. Plus the usual overeating cravings are still there. I've done okay with not giving in to cravings overall, but it is frustrating. I've said before, I thought I was well educated before the surgery, but really didn't know it would take possibly three or four fills (hence three or four months!) to get to the point that the band is doing its stuff.

I have my second postop check this Wednesday, 4/28, and hopefully will get another fill. I haven't gained but the scales aren't showing much of a loss either... although my clothes are really showing signs of being too big, so I'm taking that as a positive sign.

Hang in there - at the very least you know from reading all this that you're not alone.

Hang in there. I was told it would take 4-6 months to get to proper restriction. It does get better with each fill, but it may not be until your 3rd fill or later that you actually see any significant reduction in your hunger. Look at my signature below to see my fill amounts and dates. It wasn't until my last fill (4th fill) that my hunger really went away. It has been awesome since then.

Maybe 4-6 months seems like a long time to wait before the band is working optimally for you. But putting everything in perspective, its really a short time considering the lifelong benefit you will get from the band once its adjusted right. We don't have to lose weight fast. Try to take that pressure off of you. The weight WILL come off and stay off once the band is adjusted right. I just went to Vegas for the weekend and lost weight despite breaking many rules. Even if I wanted to splurge at the buffet, there's no way I could. The band is a wonderful tool. Just be patient and give it a chance.

I am also surprised that more surgeons do not set expectations right going into this surgery. I was sat down and told that if I expected to drop weight fast right after surgery, then go for the bypass instead of the band. But, if I was willing to be patient, come in for the adjustments, and follow the band rules, I would do great with it. My doctor even went as far as to say I should not expect to lose any weight the first month because that time is just for healing.

In hindsite, I'm glad it took awhile to get restriction. It gave me time to practice the rules and focus on exercise. And, getting used to restriction is like learning to eat again. If I went straight from no restriction to the restriction I have now (which is quite good), I would probably be getting stuck all the time and PBing a lot. There is a certain art to eating w/the band that takes time to learn and everyone is different. I've become much more aware of the textures of different foods and my own level of tightness/openness on any given day. And, its something you can't really learn from a book, but through trial-and-error and through gradual adjustments.

There needs to be a permanent thread posted about how contrary to most people's expectations (including mine) right after surgery where people expect to lose all this weight. Chances are you're not and you are Not a failure during this time - your body is healing. This isn't gastric bypass. Until you get filled it's just an ornament around your stomach.

I like this analogy as well! It is like an ornament unless it is working for me! I spoke with the nutritionist yesterday and that was helpful. He said to really keep track of what I am eating and keeping up with Protein was key to try and stay full-also eat small mini-meals around 6x a day. This was something I was not doing, so maybe little protein Snacks will help.

The nurse also said you totally do not want a fill until you are fully healed because it could cause problems, so I will try to stay patient for a few weeks.

So yes everyone, we can totally do this everyone!! Let's make our "ornaments" work for us in a few weeks!:scared2:

Hang in there. I was told it would take 4-6 months to get to proper restriction. It does get better with each fill, but it may not be until your 3rd fill or later that you actually see any significant reduction in your hunger. Look at my signature below to see my fill amounts and dates. It wasn't until my last fill (4th fill) that my hunger really went away. It has been awesome since then.

Maybe 4-6 months seems like a long time to wait before the band is working optimally for you. But putting everything in perspective, its really a short time considering the lifelong benefit you will get from the band once its adjusted right. We don't have to lose weight fast. Try to take that pressure off of you. The weight WILL come off and stay off once the band is adjusted right. I just went to Vegas for the weekend and lost weight despite breaking many rules. Even if I wanted to splurge at the buffet, there's no way I could. The band is a wonderful tool. Just be patient and give it a chance.

I am also surprised that more surgeons do not set expectations right going into this surgery. I was sat down and told that if I expected to drop weight fast right after surgery, then go for the bypass instead of the band. But, if I was willing to be patient, come in for the adjustments, and follow the band rules, I would do great with it. My doctor even went as far as to say I should not expect to lose any weight the first month because that time is just for healing.

In hindsite, I'm glad it took awhile to get restriction. It gave me time to practice the rules and focus on exercise. And, getting used to restriction is like learning to eat again. If I went straight from no restriction to the restriction I have now (which is quite good), I would probably be getting stuck all the time and PBing a lot. There is a certain art to eating w/the band that takes time to learn and everyone is different. I've become much more aware of the textures of different foods and my own level of tightness/openness on any given day. And, its something you can't really learn from a book, but through trial-and-error and through gradual adjustments.

Thanks for this post. It was really helpful to reframe my thinking about the band. It really does take more patience and a longer time to lose weight and get to the right fill spot. I think part of my issue is at the pre-op meetings I was lumped in with the bypass people. These folks lose weight so fast and surgery is totally different. I wish they would separate out the lapband patients and educate them similarly to what you were told by your doctor.

I might even suggest this next time I am at the dr's. office.

It is normal to gain before you reach restriction according to my surgeon. I didn't because I was eating healthy stuff and exercising my butt off at the YMCA but told him how frustrating it was. He told me I wasn't restricted yet. It took 3 fills for me to feel a little tightness and now this 4th fill or 8cc in my Realize band and I definitely know what restriction feels like. I haven't puked ever or slimed that much but I get this real tight piercing pain under my breast bone and I can tell its the food working its way down, especially with Protein.

My weight wasn't moving much and I was gaining/losing prior. Now since this 4th fill (March 29) or two weeks ago, I have lost 12 lbs and not eating half of the quanity I could before.

It gets better. I know I went to Ocharley's on Saturday with hubby and we ordered salads and a side of soup(yummy potato) He also had some artichoke dip. I had the cup and he had the bowl. I had the cup and couple fo dips in the artichoke and spinach and told the waiter to box my sald up before they served it, I couldn't eat anything else. I had salad for Breakfast but only ate the chicken and strawberries off of the top because I am tighter in the a.m.

Today I managed to eat a fourth cup of egg whites and a best life wrap cut in half to wrap around it for breakfast. I choked it down. A Protein shake 2 hrs later and now a piece of laughing cow cheese smeared on a couple of Kashi crackers and a few almonds. I could eat anytihg before and now very small bites while I wait for it to hit my tummy.

January 8, 2010 surgery date.

Edited April 27, 201016 yr by sld21

oh and he wasn't filling me a month at a time until the 3rd fill appt...I called a week early and begged to come in which they didn't have a problem. He gave me a big ole boost and then told me to come a week later so he could give it some more. I think I am at the sweet spot , I hope.

So, how often do you have fills done? I know at my seminar they said you could only do liquids the rest of the day after a fill. Also, are the nerves that signal fullness in the upper part of the stomach? I know that you get the little pouch and it slowly empties into the rest of the stomach, but if the rest of the stomach has nothing in it, then what signals the satiated response?

I fell into this high expectation of immediate weight loss after surgery until my mentor had to point out you HAVE to get fills to the point of restriction while also letting your body heal. It is like every week there are 2 to 3 threads "I just had surgery 3 days ago and I haven't lost weight" or "I just had my 1st fill and I can eat whatever" and it's like people, calm your @$$ down - it took me 5 fills before I got decent restriction and the sole reason I am in onederland (because I stayed at 201 forever) was because I asked the doctor to be slightly more aggressive AND b/c I got myself to run/walk 2 miles for nearly a week straight. Granted if you get filled tight enough I've read others who posted that they lost weight without exercise.

Sorry, not to be harsh but this ornament will only become a tool when you get decent restriction.

good luck!!

So, how often do you have fills done? I know at my seminar they said you could only do liquids the rest of the day after a fill. Also, are the nerves that signal fullness in the upper part of the stomach? I know that you get the little pouch and it slowly empties into the rest of the stomach, but if the rest of the stomach has nothing in it, then what signals the satiated response?

My dr does them monthly until you reach restriction adn he feels your weight loss is steady.

He does recommend liquids after a fill due to swelling and not wanting to get stuck but I usually test it out. Supposedly the band is placed on the upper portion of the stomach around the stoma which has a nerve called the vagus nerve that when you are restricting and get full quicker that nerve turns down your hunger. While the food is slowly empting into your lower part of your stomach that nerve gets less stimulation, hence your next meal.

I would have posted my disappointment if I wouldn't have had my 2nd fill. I'm going for a 3rd fill tomorrow. I was gaining weight too, before my 2nd fill and told the nurse my bills were still coming in and I'm gaining weight. She told me to be patient and at the time, I was frustrated. I lost 10 lbs the first week after my 2nd feel. I'm down about 14 lbs from the 2nd feel. Here is the post I placed after that fill. Hang in there. I too was ready to throw in the towel. I ran 1.5 miles today. Things are getting better.

http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f178/non-believer-becomes-believer-113528-new/