:hungry: OK bandsters...help me out. I am 15 days out (still on mushies) and I can't seem to get enough food in me to stay satisfied for more than 2 or 3 hours. I know that once I get my fill I will stay satisfied longer but this is driving me nuts!! I want to keep my caloric intake down to 1200 but I'm not doing a very good job of it right now.

I lost 10 lbs the first week on liquids but I don't think I've lost anything since then, because I eat so often. Is it possible that my doc would do my first fill before the 4 weeks is up? Does anybody have any suggestions for mushies that stay with you longer???

Thanks

i also had my first fill at 2 weeks out of surgery

my doc did it because he couldnt see me again for a cpl of months

im hoping to get another fill on fri when i see him

I had my first fill 3 weeks after surgery...and several fills later (3 months since banding) I'm just getting somewhere near restriction. My doctor is not conservative with fills either, so don't place too much hope on that elusive first fill, I know it was a bit disappointing for me.

I know when I was on mushies I was always thinking about food - could it be 'head hunger'?? Good luck and don't forget those mushies are probably just slipping straight through. The band is not really working yet.

Good luck :rofl:

Anca, I can NOT believe he filled you at 2 1/2 weeks post op! :rofl:

The ONLY thing that helped MY hunger was a small mcdonalds shake. Not protien shakes - only the mcd's!

Id have one a day.

Before I started having this daily, I was doing some serious cussing... b/c ALL my tummy did was growl! Like Ive said before, mcd's shakes are made with yogurt, not just plain ice cream. It may be a mental thing, but they sure helped me!

Anca

LOL...

no wonder Spiegel wants to "get rid" of you.

You know more then most MD's... and definately have more sense!

(sorry for the hijack!)

This last week at my initial evaluation, my doctor showed me a diagram of what happens when you're banded. It's sort of like a belt that gets cinched -- put your husband's pants on your son. The stomach folds in on itself, creating layers upon layers of folded membranes. A cross-section shows almost NO room for food to get through. Add to that the edema (swelling) from the surgery & you're probably not very hungry immediately following surgery... and liquids make sense.

But the edema goes down soon after surgery (the rate of de-swelling depends on the person). As it goes down there's a little more room for food, creating more hunger. And per my surgeon, at about 3 weeks, food can slip through fairly easily (again, depending on the person). That's when we start mushies. At that point, the pouch is basically just an extension of the esophagus, so of course you're hungry.

BUT... they don't want to do the first fill until the stomach has totally absorbed all the extra "folded" membrane. Doing so can lead to lesions and possibly the dreaded erosion. That occurs between 5-6 weeks. Hence their desire to wait that long. Mushies make sense, since solid food could get stuck in folds & create issues.

As my doctor put it, "Yes, you'll be hungry. I'm sorry. But it IS only about 3 weeks & for your own safety you really need to suffer through it. We'll face it together. Call us if you need help."

I haven't experienced it yet... but I figure I can tough it out for 3 weeks. Better that then losing my band.

Sorry I'm not jumping on the doctor-bashing band wagon, but I bought his sales pitch. Of course, I'm not there, so I can't really know what you're going through. I'm sure I'll be groaning with you in about a month. :rofl:

I'd try some warm Water, take a walk, then cold water, take a walk. See which works better for you. Get your mind occupied & find a support group to go hang with.

Hang in there, it'll be over soon... and just THINK of the difference!!

Good luck!

Janet

Ohmigawd - I can't believe some of you had your fills so soon after surgery since it's contraindicated until at least 6 weeks.

The stomach is a very sensitive organ (remember what it did to you the last time you had the flu?) Any surgery on the stomach, Lap-Band notwithstanding, is followed by the same kind of diet we're on - clear then full liquids, mushies, etc.

The reason for our Lap-Band surgeons to require this post-op diet is not to boost their weight loss statistics, it's to ensure long-term success with the band and to prevent vomiting for the first six weeks while the band gets situated and your stomach heals. There is an extremely high incidence of band slippage with people who don't heed the six week post-op diet.

The surgeon most likely stitched a portion of your upper stomach to a portion of the lower stomach right over the band to keep it in place. This area needs time to heal. When the surgeon placed the band around your stomach and cinched it in place, your stomach reactly negatively and swelled. So with the combination of the stitches and the swelling, you NEED to be on foods that will pass easily through your new stoma.

Like people have been saying, the first six weeks is not about how much you can lose - it's giving your new stomach time to heal. Yes, you should try to watch your calorie intake, but if you're hungry, have something. If you stay with liquids and soft foods with substance, like cream Soups and oatmeal, you're less likely to be hungry again so soon.

You have to look at the big picture ... 1 year, 5 years, or even 10 years from now when you are at your goal weight and living life the way you have always wanted, the uncomfortable 3 or 4 week period post-op is a pretty insignificant amount of time.

I beg you to follow your doctor's recommendations, go slow and take it easy on yourself.

Sorry - I just have to respond to some things that were said in previous posts.

I would be really concerned about a bariatric surgeon who claims you will lose 30 pounds in the first month following Lap-Band surgery. If they are, they shouldn't be doing this surgery because they don't understand the band. Doctors place the band with no saline in it, let the stomach heal for 6 weeks, *then* will make adjustments. Since there is no restriction for the first six weeks, once the swelling goes down in stoma, there is no reason to believe you will not still feel hungry, because it's almost as if the band isn't there. I'm glad some of you are able to eat solid food so early, but you're taking your chances with problems further down the road.

Also, the Lap-Band has always been an *adjustable gastric band*, meaning even when it was first introduced in Europe, it was adjustable. There is a previous surgery that is still sometimes done called vertical banded gastroplasty. Here's a picture:

Uh ... sorry about the naked chick up there, I could have done without her but that's the only good picture of the surgery I found in a quick google search of VBG. But yeah, there's a band there, but there's lots of staples and you get a circle in your stomach. You can see they really screw up your stomach and the plastic band is not adjustable in any way. This is *not* the Lap-Band.

Sorry for running off at the mouth like this, but I started researching bariatric surgery in 2001, have known about the Lap-Band from before it was even approved in the United States, and just want to make sure people get the facts correct.

Thanks.

My doc's diet was clear/full for 7 days. Then on to mushies for 7 days, then soft/low fat for 7 days then on to regular. I'm on the soft diet now. I'm really afraid to eat too much so I stop as soon as I "think" I could be full. I haven't felt fullness yet. I've been drinking about 100oz of water per day inbetween meals to make sure I don't get hungry. For some reason I'm hungriest at night. I've started exercising and just feel better. I have to learn the difference between head and body hunger, and I think I'm getting better about it...

Ohhhhhhhhhh hunny...let me tell you, I had the same problem as you. The only thing that actually helped me, was drinking a protein shake everytime I was hungry. Honestly, it fills you up, and satisfies too. I just got really creative with mine, like putting peanut butter in the chocolate one, or blueberry yogurt in the vanilla. Trust me, it works!!

Thanks everyone for all the great advise.

When I get hungry I'll eat til I feel satisfied. I'm not going to worry about calories or losing 30 lbs in the first month. I did not get this band so that I could starve myself into losing massive amounts of weight the first month.

LBTers...you are the best!!

Good luck to all

The only thing that will gove you the feeling of fulness you're loking for is protein so try the shakes and even blended soups etc. My Doc was OK with cottage cheese on the liquid phase. Whatever it is just get the protein in there to fill you up!

The protein shakes are a god send. I used the CIB and it really does help.