I can"t eat breakfast, I can eat a house for dinner

[MsMontelimar 0]

I've been having a very similar experience - I won't have anything for an hour after I get up in the mornings, can't even have a cup of tea immediately after waking as it seems to take a long time going down, lots of gurgling and the unpleasant 'rising bubbles up the throat' feeling. From then on until about 4 in the evening I have very little appetite and tend to have small portions of softer things, definitely couldn't manage something like chicken or Pasta.

But then, come evening, I can start to eat a lot more stuff, and I do feel like I want to eat and eat - and at this point even if the food's not going down so good and I have to take a break, I'll pick up again once the food's gone down past the band. It's pretty depressing as I had thought the band would give me a feeling of fullness, but all I've ever had close to that is the stuck feeling, which can be as mild as needing to wait for the food to go down amidst lots of gurgling, or as bad as needing to vomit, with the thick saliva being the precursor to that.

Like others have said, obviously not a case of needing more restriction. It's unfortunately all too easy to slip into a bad cycle of eating with the band, going for softer foods for the majority of the day, then binging in the evening when you know you can get more down. It's terrible really, I never ever thought I'd be doing this when I first chose to get the band done, but I was working on the assumption that I'd have a very distinct full feeling after just a couple mouthfuls of a meal. I know I must not be using my band correctly, but I also realise now that I have pretty big issues with food and needing to binge eat, and I have been able to work out how to eat around my band in order to fulfil my compulsions.

Also wondering if people do this thing I do sometimes - if I have to go for a meal out at a restaurant or something with people who do not know I'm banded, I will tend to eat some stuff in preparation, like start with something soft, then have something a bit more textured, sort of 'warming up' my stomach? Then when we're eating out, I find my stomach can handle the meal much better. Does this sound like a total abuse of the band? I've just found it's yet another way you can eat around the band if you're really determined to. I don't feel happy about it, but there it is.

[Aldesa 0]

Hi All

Im new to this site, from NZ!

I had my band done 6 years ago, I lost an initial 20kg and have stayed stable since.

i have the worst eating habits, like yourselves i cannot eat in the morning, I have a Protein drink (which I sometimes struggle with), then I eat whatever is easy till dinner time....that means junk usually. dinner can be whatever usually but the healthy stuff always is the hardest to get down.

Any tips on healthy stuff for me to eat easily, I tend to get lazy and grab something from the cupboard that slips down, chips, chocolate etc etc.

Would love to lose some more weight..help

:-)

[LSF 264]

I am writing because I want to know if other people have this issue. I had surgery 7/2008. I had issues feeling restriction and it took a long time and MANY fills. My last fill was 2/2010. I am well over 7cc. I lost weight like a rock star in the beginning, but I was hungry all the time. My lowest weight was 227 in 6/2009, I'm now at 245, just 30 lbs below my surgery day weight of 275. I was at 308 when I started the whole journey. I have been a size 18 since september 2008.

I am very tight in the mornings. I can't even eat a scrambled egg. I have no appetite whatsoever. My mornings consist of coffee and a Protein shake or nothing or cottage cheese. I start to growl at about 10:30/11:00 am. I eat a normal lunch. . . lean cuisines, maybe a loaded salad, a chicken taco. I am then starving all afternoon. I get extremely snacky. When I get home, dinner feels like a 24 hour vegas buffet. I can eat anything! (ok, almost anything).

I know that I struggle with food choice, so if you're reading this saying--well, honey, you just shouldn't eat that--I know. I know exactly how many calories are in everything. 11 Doritos has 140. There, see.

So tonight, I ate a trader joes indian food thing. I ate both servings in the pack. Chickpeas in a yummy glop (410 calories) and a salad with homemade dressing. I ate that at 6:50pm. It is now 9:40 pm and I am grumbling. dinner is horrid for me, because I know that I shouldn't be able to eat normal person portions.

So if other people have this issues, I would love to hear from you. I feel like a freak of lap-band nature.

Thanks, Megan

[LSF 264]

My last fill was in November of 2009 - ever since that fill - I can't eat or drink in the mornings until I have been awake for at least 90 minutes. I have to sip quite a bit of Water and then get get a yogurt down - I'm hungry but the band will cause it all to get stuck if I don't wait. I'm also starting to feel like a failure because at night I'm pigging out and not exercising in the winter like I was doing in the spring/summer & fall. I'm pleasantly suprised to see that I'm not alone as I'm reading about others that have had the band as long as me and are in a similar situation.

[Lisa65 3]

I'm certainly no expert as I have been struggling lately myself and not losing in spite of trying, so please take this in the context it is intended - as a suggestion in hopes of helping someone. Something struck me while reading the posts in this thread. To a person, almost everyone states that they can't eat ANYTHING until very late in the day. I think some morning tightness is normal with the band, but if you can't eat all day, is it possible you are all too tight? Bear with me here...

If you had less restriction during the day, you would be able to eat solid Protein in small amounts several times during the day, and I'm guessing this would go a very LONG way toward stopping the insatiable hunger in the evenings. Your body can not go without sustenance all day and not be clammoring for food once that band loosens to the point of allowing any to pass.

I have read many posts where people stated that once they had some of that fill removed, they actually preferred eating solid Proteins and veggies and were able to eat small portions and be satisfied. If you aren't losing anyway, what have you got to lose (besides your frustration) by getting a bit of an unfill and see if it helps you to eat more balanced meals throughout the day?

Just a thought....

Lisa

[Enrique Pe?a 0]

Hello to all. I can not have anything in the morning not even a tiny amout of Water when I brush my teeth in the morning but I can eat after 10:30 or so and eat goot to. Lately I have been getting stuck with water after about 6:00 pm and then I regurgetate it at nigh and wake up with it in my mouth due the the bad tase of the stomach liquids and thier taste. Has any one one had something similar happed to them

[elcee 3,340]

You need to go and see your Dr urgently. Not being able to drink Water means you are way too tight. Plus the reflux at night is not a good sign. Do not ignore these symptoms because it can lead to far worse problems such as a slip etc.

Please let us know what your Dr says and that everything is OK.

[Enrique Pe?a 0]

The funny thing is that I have been fine for a long time and I have not had a fill in about a year or more. I have lost 122 lbs to date on the band.

[elcee 3,340]

Maybe it is not too tight, maybe you have a slip. I hope not but still a good idea to go and get it checked out.

[debi53 0]

I'm aware of the differences between hunger and random weird stomach sounds. Hunger comes with discomfort, random sounds do not. Trust me, it's legit hunger.

Today's lunch was 3 oz of chicken breast, spinach/carrot/snow pea stir fry mixed with about 1/3 cup of wheat penne. I ate the chicken first, then the veggies then the Pasta. I took 25 min to eat, concluded at 12:40. I was starving at 3:00.

I too cannot eat mornings-I have hot tea. My doctor says hot liquids ease the stress of overeating so that has helped me. Also nuts such as walnuts and almonds help curb the appetite for me.

[MeganMatters 1]

Hi everyone. I have a little update on this topic.

I had struggled with the morning tightness for almost 2 years.

Last December (2011) I had a horrible experience with my band's attitude problem (as I liked to call it). I had gotten used to it being very tight in the morning and quite loose in the evening. I had even gotten used to spitting up 3-5 times a week. Anyway, on December 19th, my band decided (or my stomach. . .whatever) that it wanted to be so tight that I was unable to swallow my own spit. This was the most frightening thing EVER. In my attempts to swallow spit and Water for that matter, I ended up vomiting. This is the only time I have ever vomited with the band in.

A few phone calls later, I was back with my surgeon. She took out .5 cc's. I was on liquids for 5 days --still my idea of pure hell.

In the long run, I love that I can each an egg for Breakfast at a normal time like a normal person. I love that I have only spit up once since December. I still hate that I can eat a normal sized meal without feeling any restriction.

I want to think the band can work, but almost 4 years post surgery, I was as successful losing weight before the surgery than I have been after having it.

[Kathleen Weaver 0]

I have the same problem and keep losing the same 5 pounds, over and over again.

[adorkbl 156]

I have the same issue. Protein drink for Breakfast. lunch is difficult. dinner I feel wide open. Head hunger is horrible at night and I reach for sliders to fill the urge when I am weak.

I am losing weight though, because I am really trying to stick to the band rules. I will swim when I get the urge to overeat and that has helped. I don't always win the battle... but more often than not I do.

I am hoping a fix of a hiatal hernia will fix some of those issues.

[DebbieDuke 0]

Megan, are you in my brain? I feel the same way. Tight and noraml portions in the am, with my volume of eating increasing as I get into the evening hours. I had all my fill taken out due to reflux. But am now told they need to get any remaining Fluid out ( had an upper GI that said I was too tight). Maybe I do need more solids, I dunno. This band certainly does not work the way I expected.

Debbie

banded in 2005

[steveelea 61]

Hey guys know this was an older topic but had to post too.

I am the same....almost three years on and nothing but willpower for the entire time. I am starting to wonder if its all worth it as when my willpower ebs I gain and then I have to DIET to lose a little weight again.

I lost 35kg in the first year and still have almost 50kg to go and cant lose any more. Tight in the morning eat what I like at night......starting to wonder if it is worth looking into the sleeve.

I am not giving up.....I didn't go through the surgery and 3 re surgeries to get ports replaced for nothing but it sure isnt working like a lot of peoples are that I know have been totally successful

I was hoping to be near my goat weight 3 years on for my 40th birthday next week but alas I am no wear near it....sometimes it just gets you down so I know how you all feel