OK so sorry if this is an asinine question but other than the obvious effect of having a smaller stomach and getting full much faster, can you actually feel the thing? either inside or from the outside?? I have heard people say it is tighter at certain times of the day and at different elevations and stuff....is this referring simply to the feeling of fullness??

The physical location of my band is apparent to me. If I press on the skin there, I feel a firmness that I don't feel if I press lower on my stomach. So in that sense, yes, I can feel the band. When I look at the area in the mirror, I see no outward sign of the band location.

There is no internal feeling of the band, other than the sensation of something feeling stuck if I swallow too large a bite, or eat too fast. Then it's like a knot at the top of my diaphram, kind of like the sensation of a trapped gas bubble. By moving around a bit or drinking sips of Water, the stuck item passes through the band and into my lower stomach. It hasn't been that bad, but it is a way to make me focus on what I'm eating, chewing, and swallowing.

Since the band is filled with Fluid, it is affected by barometric pressure. Its relative tightness will change as you travel up or down in elevation. That's why doctors don't recommend getting a fill right before you go on vacation - if you have an issue, you won't be near your doctor to fix the problem.

Also be aware that women may experience more tightness during their TOM, due to fluid retention. Experienced bandsters say they learn to "listen to the band," in order to know how to approach their day.

Dave

Thanks Dave, makes total sense!!

The physical location of my band is apparent to me. If I press on the skin there, I feel a firmness that I don't feel if I press lower on my stomach. So in that sense, yes, I can feel the band. When I look at the area in the mirror, I see no outward sign of the band location.

There is no internal feeling of the band, other than the sensation of something feeling stuck if I swallow too large a bite, or eat too fast. Then it's like a knot at the top of my diaphram, kind of like the sensation of a trapped gas bubble. By moving around a bit or drinking sips of Water, the stuck item passes through the band and into my lower stomach. It hasn't been that bad, but it is a way to make me focus on what I'm eating, chewing, and swallowing.

Since the band is filled with Fluid, it is affected by barometric pressure. Its relative tightness will change as you travel up or down in elevation. That's why doctors don't recommend getting a fill right before you go on vacation - if you have an issue, you won't be near your doctor to fix the problem.

Also be aware that women may experience more tightness during their TOM, due to fluid retention. Experienced bandsters say they learn to "listen to the band," in order to know how to approach their day.

Dave

How long after surgery before your first fill and did you feel hungry and what did you eat?

How long after surgery before your first fill and did you feel hungry and what did you eat?

I haven't yet had a fill. My first fill will be at six weeks after surgery, at the same time I'm cleared onto solid foods.

After three weeks on liquids only (no mushies), last week I was cleared directly to soft foods, supplemented with Protein shakes. Over the last week I've tried various things, to learn by experience how to eat with a band in place. By and large I have little restriciton, since I only have 3cc's in a 14cc band. I've kept portions small, ate slowly, chewed well, and I stopped eating when I felt myself getting full.

Foods I've tried over the last week include scrambled eggs with ricotta cheese, Wendy's chili (awesome stuff!), oatmeal, cottage cheese, thinly sliced turkey lunch meat, fried eggs, Breakfast sausage, baked potato Soup, pickled beets, corn chowder soup, chicken curry salad, a bit of teriyaki chicken, and some fresh fruit. Everything has been well tolerated, but I haven't pushed it. The closest I got to getting stuck was with the breakfast sausage, and with sliced peaches. In both cases I swallowed too large of a bite without chewing it down enough first. I immediately felt what was wrong, and waited till it had passed throguh the band before continuing. I have not gotten sick.

Hope this helps,

Dave

OMG...I had not considered the elevation factor. I am getting banded in Phx and live in Flagstaff ...that is an elevation difference of about 5800 feet oh crap...I guess I had better talk to my surgeon about that one!

It's been about three days since I had the surgery. My mother was changing the dressings this morning (she's been such a big help) and I could actually see it sticking out, but under the skin. The thing I am most concerned about is the port. It feels really heavy under my breast bone and sometimes itches. I know it will go away in time. I guess I just have to be positive.

I cannot feel the band inside or out, but like the posters above you do have that sensation of a gas bubble at times. I'm only 5 days out so I don't know all the tricks to avoiding that particular feeling yet.

Also, I cannot feel the port, I had to ask my doctor where it was!

OMG...I had not considered the elevation factor. I am getting banded in Phx and live in Flagstaff ...that is an elevation difference of about 5800 feet oh crap...I guess I had better talk to my surgeon about that one!

I think you'll be fine. You'll probably be driving back to Flag, so the elevation increase will be slower. (Wave at my good friends who live there. ) I think the elevation thing is more about airplane heights - like tens of thousands of feet causing things to be tighter than at lower elevations. People get a fill one day, then jet off to wherever the next day, and develop an issue along the way. Just understand that your band tightness will change periodically.

Good luck!

Dave

At past goal I can see my port easily. And feel it from the outside.

But I cant feel the port usually, as in as it sits under my skin, and I can't physically feel the band at all.