I want to run my situation by all of you. I was banded early in November. For the first few weeks I felt restriction. Slowly I began to get more and more hungry....found that I could eat more and more. I am scheduled for my first fill Jan. 7th. Today I can eat like I did before the band. The only difference I feel is occasional port discomfort and really crude burps!!! I have gained back about half of the twenty pounds I lost right after surgery. I do make bad and unhealthy food choices...guess I have a last supper mentality post-band!

I read all the posts here and worry if I have done band damage. I swear I wouldn't believe I even have a band if it weren't for the port!!!! Sometimes I forget I have it!!!!!

I suppose I am wondering if this type thing happened to anyone else. If so, did getting a fill help???

I understand about the band mentality and proper eating....I guess I thought I would get more help from the band than I have. Not making excuses for my bad choices and certainly not knocking banding. I am just hoping that a fill will help me!!!

Thanks for your input!

Dana

Dana, you were restricted initially due to swelling from surgery. Now you are healed. For most of us, until we get properly filled, it is like our band is on vacation. You may also gain because you are re-introducing foods back to your body.

Don't worry. Remember this is a process not a race. You will find times when you have restriction and times when you don't. Even when you are properly filled, there will be times you can eat too much and the band always lets you eat bad food - ice cream, chips, etc. But it is there when you are ready to get back on the band-wagon. When you follow the rules and have restriction, it will be there for you.

Just try and eat better and wait for your fill. When I was 6 weeks out and without a fill, I went to Liberia Africa for two weeks. It wasn't a matter of making bad choices, but not really having any choice. When I came back and got a fill, the band kicked in.

Good luck. Celeste

I think after such a fast weight loss your body does want to hang on to the pounds and equalise itself a bit. I'm only 2 and a half weeks out, lost a quick 13lb or so on liquids and then as I've introduced solids my weight loss has stopped completely for the last week. AND I've been making good choices and am still averaging under 1000 calories a day. It's very very frustrating but in the long run it will come right.

I'm realising it doesnt really start happening till those fills start.

Celeste is right on. The initial restriction was from swelling due to the surgery, which of course subsides over a short period of time. As you begin to get fills, you will begin to feel more and more restriction. Don't worry if the first fill doesn't give you enough restriction. It's usually a good idea to go slowly first with the fills to acclimate yourself with what the restriction really feels like and what you can and cannot eat. Always check your restriction slowly, by taking very small bites, chewing very well and then swallowing. Give it a few seconds and see if you can feel it going down. Then adjust your eating style accordingly. If something feels painful, like you swallowed a golf ball, don't eat it again. Try to avoid dry meats without something on them to help them slide through and many of us cannot eat soft doughy bread. It's all a learning process, one you will catch on to quickly.

I'm quite sure that you haven't done any harm to your band, you simply have no restriction yet as there is no fill in it.

Good luck, and remember we are always here if you have more concerns or questions.

Cindy

Thank you all very much. I was feeling abnormal and a little scared. I am excited about my first fill.....have even joined the gym in anticipation. Will need to something to fill my time other than EAT! I am ready to get with the program...hopefully, I will get good restriction with my first fill....I am flying across the country to get it!!! I am going to re-read the two books I have on lap band. I swear it feels like I don't even have one!!!! Better get my head right before I get restriction!

Thank you all for your responses!

Dana

I just answered a similar thread and will repeat myself here (sorry). If I even tried to eat too much, I could not. It is all due to my fill (which was tiny, but I have great restriction). I think that if you can eat like you used to, you aren't restricted properly. We all got the band for a reason -- to lose weight, and we all had food issues before that made the band the right choice for us, so I say if it's not working for you, get a fill (or two) and then let the band do it's work. Don't be disouraged now. Once it is properly tuned, your band will work for you instead of you TRYING to do all the work yoursefl!