Hello, I had my surgery on 6/6/11 and I am in a fix. I have absolutely no restriction and I am eating solids, but being very careful. Is this normal to not have any restriction whatsoever? I would figure having the band around my stomach would at least feel different? Please help. Very Confused,

I haven't needed a fill but I think I'm not the norm. Most people experience no restriction between the swelling going down and the first fill. It's known as Bandsters Hell.

Stick to your surgeons meal plan and get a fill scheduled if you need one. Some won't do a fill for 6-8 weeks after surgery. Others do it sooner.

I haven't needed a fill but I think I'm not the norm. Most people experience no restriction between the swelling going down and the first fill. It's known as Bandsters Hell.

Stick to your surgeons meal plan and get a fill scheduled if you need one. Some won't do a fill for 6-8 weeks after surgery. Others do it sooner.

Thank you, and yes you are right, it is Bandsters Hell, because I am as hungry as _ _ _ _! I go back on 7/21 for my first fill, but this has got to come to an end. I try to keep myself busy to not think of food, but , Oh well, Hurry July 21st, I am in need of a little more help.

I also had my surgery 6/6/11. I too don't feel much restriction. I did initially had some extreme restriction but it was causing me pain. I thought omg wht have I done. But now I'm starting to understand my band and hownit is supposed to work. I am going for my first fill July 6th and I'm looking forward to it. In the mean time I Really suggest u read the book called bandwagon By Jean McMillian. I purchased it from amazon. I haven't finished the book yet and I wish I would have read this book prior to surgery. I am not affiliated with the author in anyway. I just found this book helpful. Good luck on ur journey.

Yes, totally normal. I had 1 fill and had perfect restriction for about 1 week-now it's completely gone!! I don't get another fill for 19 days!! It's very frustrating to say the least, but my inderstanding is that it can take several fills to maintain good restriction-this is th ekind of info we should have had prior to surgery. I was ubder the impression that having the band would help me lose weight right away, now I know it may take several months to see a real difference. Hang in there!! I also recommend the book-I think everyone who has the surgery should read it.

I'm 3-1/2 weeks post op and just told my friend today that I feel no restriction. I have heard the term "Bandsters Hell" and never realized what it was. It makes sense to me now. I can cope with this, but it just messes with my mind. I just have to train myself not to dwell on food. Today I cooked a variety of things for a famly cookout and caught myself sampling the dips and Desserts I had made. I was hoping this stuff would vanish, but I knew it woudln't! I hopefully have my first fill he 15th and can't wait. We can make it through this, so let's hang together! We got this!! Good LUck!

My second fill was the ticket for.me I couldn't do solids for a week but now I am able to keep chicken down... I almost went in for an unfil but I am glad I gave a lil time. I have perfect restriction now 2 weeks later. & it helped me get out of the 250's! Whoo hoo!

I'm 3 1/2 weeks out too. Was banded on the 9th. At first I had no hunger and was feeling restriction. Now I'm starting to get hungry 2 hours after I eat. I don't have a scheduled fill yet, my Doc said to call when I needed one. I'm still debating if I need one. So far I've dealt with the hunger OK.

I also highly reccommended the book Bandwagon. It is very imformative!

I also had my surgery 6/6/11. I too don't feel much restriction. I did initially had some extreme restriction but it was causing me pain. I thought omg wht have I done. But now I'm starting to understand my band and hownit is supposed to work. I am going for my first fill July 6th and I'm looking forward to it. In the mean time I Really suggest u read the book called bandwagon By Jean McMillian. I purchased it from amazon. I haven't finished the book yet and I wish I would have read this book prior to surgery. I am not affiliated with the author in anyway. I just found this book helpful. Good luck on ur journey.

Thank you for the name of the book, It is the first think on my purchase list. Good Luck on your journey, I am happy I found someone else with the same BandDay! I would love to keep intouch!

My second fill was the ticket for.me I couldn't do solids for a week but now I am able to keep chicken down... I almost went in for an unfil but I am glad I gave a lil time. I have perfect restriction now 2 weeks later. & it helped me get out of the 250's! Whoo hoo!

Congrats on your weight loss. I am right there with ya! Thank you for sharing.

I'm 3-1/2 weeks post op and just told my friend today that I feel no restriction. I have heard the term "Bandsters Hell" and never realized what it was. It makes sense to me now. I can cope with this, but it just messes with my mind. I just have to train myself not to dwell on food. Today I cooked a variety of things for a famly cookout and caught myself sampling the dips and Desserts I had made. I was hoping this stuff would vanish, but I knew it woudln't! I hopefully have my first fill he 15th and can't wait. We can make it through this, so let's hang together! We got this!! Good LUck!

Yes, the training part, well, I am still in training. I have not been sampling but my portions have some what gotten a little bigger, and see I understand this, so I am working with myself to stay a portion sizes. I know we can do this, I just was very surprised one morning when I woke up and was very very hungry. Mind over Food Matter. Good Luck on your journey, yes, I would like to hang together and get this done! Thank you for sharing.

When most people get banded, their bands aren't filled, so once the swelling goes down you probably won't feel restriction until you get a fill. My band had 2ccs in it to begin with, and I do feel some restriction, but not as much as it probably should be is my guess. The first six weeks are for healing, my doctor says, and then they start fine tuning the fills.

Took me six months to get restriction. I'm not telling you this to depress you but to help make realistic expectations. My suggestion is to buy a good digital scale and make sure to weigh your protein. Before restriction I would eat my 3 oz of protein and then eat a serving of veggies and be done.

Took me six months to get restriction. I'm not telling you this to depress you but to help make realistic expectations. My suggestion is to buy a good digital scale and make sure to weigh your protein. Before restriction I would eat my 3 oz of protein and then eat a serving of veggies and be done.

A digital scale it is. Thank you for sharing.

I'm 3-1/2 weeks post op and just told my friend today that I feel no restriction. I have heard the term "Bandsters Hell" and never realized what it was. It makes sense to me now. I can cope with this, but it just messes with my mind. I just have to train myself not to dwell on food. Today I cooked a variety of things for a famly cookout and caught myself sampling the dips and desserts I had made. I was hoping this stuff would vanish, but I knew it woudln't! I hopefully have my first fill he 15th and can't wait. We can make it through this, so let's hang together! We got this!! Good LUck!

This topic is making me feel so much better. I got banded with my mom and aunt on June 16 and they're both doing pretty well. I feel completely like I did before which means HUNGRY. It's been making it very difficult to stick with my post op diet and therefore I gained a couple of pounds back. It really helps knowing that others are going through this same thing. I have my post op appointment today and will hopefully get scheduled for my first fill!