I was banded December 3/10. I was given the greenlight for solid foods December 23rd. I received 6 cc's at the time of surgery, in a 10 cc band. I at first felt restriction, and the satisfaction of being able to eat small meals and feel like it was enough. But now I am hungry constantly, I feel now like everything is completely back to normal and I can pretty much eat as if I did prior to surgery, with very, very little restriction. Why the change so quickly? Now I'm battling trying not to eat just as I did before being banded. I'm trying to stay positive, but it's hard when things were going well for just a fleeting moment. I've been doing my best to stop myself from eating too much, I will admit i'm starting to find it difficult. I can easily eat more than a cup of food if I wanted to. Trying really hard to resist, but am hungry. Thanks for reading this.

I was banded December 3/10. I was given the greenlight for solid foods December 23rd. I received 6 cc's at the time of surgery, in a 10 cc band. I at first felt restriction, and the satisfaction of being able to eat small meals and feel like it was enough. But now I am hungry constantly, I feel now like everything is completely back to normal and I can pretty much eat as if I did prior to surgery, with very, very little restriction. Why the change so quickly? Now I'm battling trying not to eat just as I did before being banded. I'm trying to stay positive, but it's hard when things were going well for just a fleeting moment. I've been doing my best to stop myself from eating too much, I will admit i'm starting to find it difficult. I can easily eat more than a cup of food if I wanted to. Trying really hard to resist, but am hungry. Thanks for reading this.

I am opposed to doctor's giving fills at the time of surgery. Your body, stomach, pouch, etc..are swollen and need time to heal. There is plenty of times for fills. And 6cc in a 10cc band is way too much at the time of surgery. The swelling plus the fill is what probably gave you the restriction that you first felt. Now that the swelling is down, you have less restriction. I would really question why your surgeon did this.

As to the hunger - well you will have that until you reach the proper restriction, maybe. But it doesn't always work out that way for everyone.

Relax you probably think you have fluid in your band most doctors dont put any or leave very little after surgery. Your swelling has gone down and now you can eat. It happens and if he did put that much fluid in your band at surgery then shame on him and you need to not see him again. That is just wrong so is doctors putting 14 cc bands in people. Its just wrong. You probably dont have fluid he might have put that much in to see that it was working properly but Im sure he took some out. or most of it out

Just out of curiosity.....why is it bad for a doctor to put a 14cc band in someone?

Relax you probably think you have Fluid in your band most doctors dont put any or leave very little after surgery. Your swelling has gone down and now you can eat. It happens and if he did put that much fluid in your band at surgery then shame on him and you need to not see him again. That is just wrong so is doctors putting 14 cc bands in people. Its just wrong. You probably dont have fluid he might have put that much in to see that it was working properly but Im sure he took some out. or most of it out

I think doctors take into account the size of a person's stomach when determining which band to install. I think if you have a larger stomach you may need a band that can hold more saline in order to get restriction.

Does anyone know if me being able to eat more than a cup and the hunger at this stage -- normal?

Thanks guys

Relax you probably think you have Fluid in your band most doctors dont put any or leave very little after surgery. Your swelling has gone down and now you can eat. It happens and if he did put that much fluid in your band at surgery then shame on him and you need to not see him again. That is just wrong so is doctors putting 14 cc bands in people. Its just wrong. You probably dont have fluid he might have put that much in to see that it was working

properly but Im sure he took some out. or most of it out

I definitely do have 6 cc's in my 10 cc band, was done on surgery day. This practice of surgeons starting doing this during surgery this past summer. I found out the exact amount when I spoke to the nutritionist about 10+ days ago.

People think because you are big your stomach is big. My surgeon who has done 3000 plus surgeries said it doesnt matter how big a person is everyone he has ever operated on stomach was the same size. If you need more than a 10 cc band then you should opt for one of the other procedures. Bigger band tighter restriction can in the end cause necrosis. I wouldnt want 14cc around my stomach. No one realizes that there hasnt been a lot of research on the band long term. You are constricting an organ so 20 plus years down the road what will happen???? Do we know. Will the stomach be able to keep a band that long if not then what. Take it out? People think about it. I have been in the medical field for 30 years done much research, worked in surgery and even a 400lb person had the same size stomach as a 200lb person. So many people I have seen after 5 to 6 years getting it out. Not trying to scare anyone but who has had the band more than 10 years. Even a hip or knee replacement doesnt last more than 15 years.

I was banded December 3/10. I was given the greenlight for solid foods December 23rd. I received 6 cc's at the time of surgery, in a 10 cc band. I at first felt restriction, and the satisfaction of being able to eat small meals and feel like it was enough. But now I am hungry constantly, I feel now like everything is completely back to normal and I can pretty much eat as if I did prior to surgery, with very, very little restriction. Why the change so quickly? Now I'm battling trying not to eat just as I did before being banded. I'm trying to stay positive, but it's hard when things were going well for just a fleeting moment. I've been doing my best to stop myself from eating too much, I will admit i'm starting to find it difficult. I can easily eat more than a cup of food if I wanted to. Trying really hard to resist, but am hungry. Thanks for reading this.

I didn't feel any restriction until my 1st fill. So yes until you get your 1st fill you will have less restriction. Just try to make smart choices in your meals. Once you get your fill it will be much easier.

I didnt get my first fill til a month out. Then when I did get my first fill it was a few days, maybe a week, until I actually noticed i "felt" restriction. I had 5cc's put in and I know how I feel, so its hard for me to imagine 6 cc's in right away. I would just talk to your dr. I hafta chart my food and exercise for 2 weeks before they will consider a fill, so maybe do that and they will give another fill.

Just out of curiosity.....why is it bad for a doctor to put a 14cc band in someone?

It's not bad. It's just the band they chose to use.

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Does anyone know if me being able to eat more than a cup and the hunger at this stage -- normal?

Thanks guys

I'm at my sweet spot with 6cc in my band and I can eat way more than a cup if I want to.

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I'm at my sweet spot with 6cc in my band and I can eat way more than a cup if I want to.

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Elfie, do you eat until satisfied? What is your strategy (calories, measuring... Neither)?

Elfie, do you eat until satisfied? What is your strategy (calories, measuring... Neither)?

Hi Scoobie,

If I ate until I was 'satisfied', this band wouldn't help me at all. I know what I *should* be satisfied eating and I portion that out on my plate, take my eating eating and when I'm done, that's it. We no longer put serving bowls on the table and I never go back for seconds.

It took a complete unfill for me to realize that the band was working. I thought it wasn't working because I was looking for physical restriction...a limit on how *much* I could eat and even when I was overfilled I could still eat as much as I did pre-band. When my band was unfilled, within hours I was ravenously hungry. I'd forgotten that's what I dealt with before the band. So I had my band filled again, but only up to 6cc. That hunger disappeared within minutes of that fill. What a lesson for me!

For all of these reasons and experiences, I measure out my food. My goal is a 1200 calorie day with carbs around 30, although if I go up to 60, I don't sweat it.

Normally, I start the day with 2 eggs and 2 slices of bacon for Breakfast. For lunch it's a small salad or 1/2 cup of low carb vegies and 3 oz of Protein. For dinner, I'll have the same as lunch but add 1/4 cup of a starch. This is just a sample of how I eat.

If I can help further, let me know.

Melody