I started mushies a couple days ago and two things happened:

First thing is my hunger increased dramatically. I feel as though I don't even have a band....

Second thing is that it's not difficult to eat foods at all. I've been told to eat mushies but I have tried pickles and Soup with noodles and I have no problem getting it down. I feel no restriction (i haven't had a fill yet, i know i'm not supposed to yet) but now that I'm on solid food my weight fluctuates about 2 pounds. I have tested the band by eating while drinking, eating quickly....and nothing. I don't feel any different. Has anyone else gone through this?

ME!!! WHen my dr called to check on my 8 days post op I told him this exact thing. He said some people have this surgery and after their tummy heals there is NO restriction whatsoever. Others have some, but you and I are the lucky ones who have nothing,. If it weren't for my scars I would never know anything about me changed!! WE just have to hang tight until we start getting fills. IT is very difficult. I finally had to get rid of the scale. WE aren't supposed to be losing weight easily right now. Yes, we could if we really tried, but trying got me to this point. I can't diet on my own. I need this tool. Hang in there!

ME!!! WHen my dr called to check on my 8 days post op I told him this exact thing. He said some people have this surgery and after their tummy heals there is NO restriction whatsoever. Others have some, but you and I are the lucky ones who have nothing,. If it weren't for my scars I would never know anything about me changed!! WE just have to hang tight until we start getting fills. IT is very difficult. I finally had to get rid of the scale. WE aren't supposed to be losing weight easily right now. Yes, we could if we really tried, but trying got me to this point. I can't diet on my own. I need this tool. Hang in there!

WHAT, that is so weird! I don't even feel like my pouch is tight or anything because food just slides right through. How does that qwork, does it get harder to get foods down once you get fills?

The first 5 mths and 3 fills I felt nothing. I could still eat as much as I did pre-band. My 3rd fill is what did it for me. Didn't your doc explain to you the fill process? My dr has a model of the stomach with a lapband around it and explained it to me. It's like an inflatable balloon. The more liquid that goes in with fills, the tighter the band gets. I have a 14cc band ad it took 7.5 cc to feel any restriction at all (most drs don't put any liquid in during surgery). Some people don't need any fills (very rare) while some people need 4+ fills to feel any restriction.

It's now been 2 1/2 yrs and I've lost over 100 lbs. I do remember feeling like I was a failure that first 5 mths tho - thinking I've done every diet known to man, gave up and had surgery - now I've failed at that too. I didn't, you just have to be patient and wait for the fills to kick in. When is your first one scheduled?

Good luck!

Marci

Right now you don't have a pouch at all! The band is just sitting there around the stomach. When you get fills the band actually expands like a balloon when the saline is added. This creats the pouch by creating a something akin to a funnel. I am not a medical professional, that is just how I view the band.

Buy a scale and measure your Protein. At two weeks I would have 8 oz of smooth soup (tomato or sweet red pepper), and then a container of yogurt. At three weeks I could have 3 oz of cottage or ricotta cheese.

This is a will power diet for now. I wish more doctors gave patients realistic expectations.

the first 6 weeks is about healing...so until you start getting fills you probably wont feel like you have the band, eventually everyone "tests" their band, but i would be very careful about eating regular foods so soon. dont want to do any damage. and you want your band to settle in so scar tissue can form and it can be secure.

jennifer

i ate like a pig after 2 weeks out, they dont fill the band during surgery and after it heals you will go right back to eating like you did before. you wont feel any effects of the band until they start to fill it up with saline. it took me 3 fills to get some restriction. i have a 10 cc band and i have 5.5 cc in my band and I am at good restriction. the first 4-6 months is slow process until you get the band in the green zone. good luck to you

The first 5 mths and 3 fills I felt nothing. I could still eat as much as I did pre-band. My 3rd fill is what did it for me. Didn't your doc explain to you the fill process? My dr has a model of the stomach with a lapband around it and explained it to me. It's like an inflatable balloon. The more liquid that goes in with fills, the tighter the band gets. I have a 14cc band ad it took 7.5 cc to feel any restriction at all (most drs don't put any liquid in during surgery). Some people don't need any fills (very rare) while some people need 4+ fills to feel any restriction.

It's now been 2 1/2 yrs and I've lost over 100 lbs. I do remember feeling like I was a failure that first 5 mths tho - thinking I've done every diet known to man, gave up and had surgery - now I've failed at that too. I didn't, you just have to be patient and wait for the fills to kick in. When is your first one scheduled?

Good luck!

Marci

Yeah, I kind of feel that way right now as you had previously explained. I don't know if I'm doing something wrong but I've been following my doctor's orders to a T. I am scheduled April 11th but it is not a sure thing that I will get a fill. Does it feel harder to get stuff down now that you've had a fill?

i ate like a pig after 2 weeks out, they dont fill the band during surgery and after it heals you will go right back to eating like you did before. you wont feel any effects of the band until they start to fill it up with saline. it took me 3 fills to get some restriction. i have a 10 cc band and i have 5.5 cc in my band and I am at good restriction. the first 4-6 months is slow process until you get the band in the green zone. good luck to you

Yeah, I feel extra hungry for some reason! How long did it take you to get your third fill?

the first 6 weeks is about healing...so until you start getting fills you probably wont feel like you have the band, eventually everyone "tests" their band, but i would be very careful about eating regular foods so soon. dont want to do any damage. and you want your band to settle in so scar tissue can form and it can be secure.

jennifer

Thanks for the advice, I definitely don't want to blow anything out!

Right now you don't have a pouch at all! The band is just sitting there around the stomach. When you get fills the band actually expands like a balloon when the saline is added. This creats the pouch by creating a something akin to a funnel. I am not a medical professional, that is just how I view the band.

Buy a scale and measure your Protein. At two weeks I would have 8 oz of smooth soup (tomato or sweet red pepper), and then a container of yogurt. At three weeks I could have 3 oz of cottage or ricotta cheese.

This is a will power diet for now. I wish more doctors gave patients realistic expectations.

I agree, they sugar coat the procedure too much. I expected the no restriction, I just did not expect things to go down as smoothly as they have. I think I'm going to go back to a liquid diet. For some reason it kept me full faster because I was almost bloated 24/7.

I would try spacing out your eating. Are you at the beginning or end of 2 weeks? At week two I could have full liquids: so I would have smooth soup wait as long as I could and then have the protein shake. At week three: have smooth soup wait as long as possible and have the yoghurt. It gave my head the feeling like I was eating more. If I ate everything at one setting It felt like an eternity before I got to eat again.

i got a fill at 4 wks of 3 cc, didnt really feel much from that, then i got second fill about 8 weeks out of 1 cc and still didnt feel much but i was losing like a pound a week so he told me to come back in 2 months which was through the holidays and i ended up gaining some so in jan which was 5months post op he gave me another 1.5 cc fill which was a total of 5.5 cc and now i have good restriction. so to answer your question it took about 5 months to get me in the green zone. good luck to you

what worked for me was having something every two hours and not going over portion size.. So I would alternate between food and protein shakes and then stop having my last meal at 6pm and all other times I drank.. I also made sure I never went over 1/2 cup of food.. My dietician said since I didn't have a fill ( which I just got one on the 28th of March ) yet; that I could eat between 1/4 and 1 cup of food per meal, but to make sure I didn't go over the 1 cup.. I stayed with 1/2 cup and it seemed to work for me.. Of course I felt hungry at times, but I would just drink when I did and that seemed to work.. I had no problems with swallowing anything and everything went down real easier..

its all about the fill......the restriction comes when the fill is right... or at least so i'm told.

I am 7 weeks post banding (feb 9). i have lost 25 pounds but not thanks to this contraption i've got inside me, nor from the incisions that were made in my body and the misery and discomfort suffered as a result of surgery... nope...not even the first fill i got on march 22. NONE of this accounts for this weight loss except me.

I occasionally wonder why I did this to myself... but then i recall all the years of up and down eating, the binging, the extreme restricting.. and i recall i said to myself.. this is the LAST TIME.. no more out of control eating...

I thought I'd have more help from the band.. sooner... but its not that way and , sigh... it is not the process. Nope....when I was disappointed with the level of restriction from my first fill and I called the doctor, I got a 15 minute lecture on good eating habits with the band.... eat Proteins, then carbs, avoid soda, don't drink with meals.. blah, blah, blah.. everything I already know..

but I had to face the sheer reality of the band... its not an overnight wonder... its a tool, yes.. but it appears that this tool does not function right away... it takes months to tweak it (fill after fill) until it gives restriction. In that time... I guess we "practice" good eating... getting reaquainted with our human frailties, our good and our bad habits..

I admit to being disappointed. Feeling at times a little defeated. But here's the gist of it... I know from talking to others, that this band does work.. when its fitted right and when its filled and gives restriction... It's now going to happen for me today and maybe not for tomorrow.. but it will one day. In the meantime, I'm not going anywhere.. I have no intention of leaving the planet. I scheduled fill #2 for 8 weeks... In that time, it is my intention to "Practice" what eating with a fill will be like... slowing down, choosing wisely, keeping a food journal, a weight chart, an exercise plan.... just like the good old days when I dieted.. and lost tons of weight.. I am going back to that person.. and I will patiently wait,, until that day when I can say what others say.. "I am at good restriction, I am moving towards my goal weigt... but most of all.. this weight is NEVER coming back"

New bansters please remember you are not on liquids, mushies,etc because they think you CANT eat normally, but because your band is settling in your stomach and HEALING! You can damage your band by EXPERIMENTING to see just how much you can eat. Most of us, newly banded, could prlbably eat anything we wanted. However we did 't because our docfors gave us a diet to follow for optimal results with our band. I always followed THE RULES and ate like I was in the GREEN ZONE so when that happened the transition was super easy with no PBing, or getting stuck. Good luck and try to follow your doctors instructions. They know what they're talking about!!!!

highland is so correct... You have to give your stomach and stitches time to heal, that's why we go on the liquids then the mushies.. It takes about 6 weeks for scar tissue to develope and that's what they are waiting for, then you move to reg food..

Also, most ppl will not feel like anything has changed that much until they get their first fill. You have to start measuring and changing eating habits even before your first fill. You can't eat the same things just smaller portions and think your wt will come off. It's a life change!! The band can't change your food choices it there to help with hunger. Helps you eat less and helps hunger between meals, that's it.. Food choices are yours and yours alone..