Hi all. I just recently got banded this past Tuesday. It happened in Dallas,Tx and I couldn't be happier with the doctor,staff & process so far.. However day 4 now and I'm trying to get back to normal somewhat. Each morning I feel nauseous so far but haven't thrown up. I am keeping my liquids down but still am feeling hungry and not too restricted. I'm quite frazzled by this and don't want to be discouraged. Starting my pre-op diet 11/20 I was 363lbs. 12/4 I weighed in at 339 before surgery. I am excited to continue this journey. But I want to make sure what I'm feeling is normal or any other suggestions.

I was also banded on 12/4. I've been feeling really hungry for 3 days now. I'm on full liquids and that just doesn't seem to keep me full or satisfy me at all. I'm counting down the days until I start mushies. As far as pain goes I'm almost pain free just some incision tenderness. I think it's normal to start feeling hungry after surgery as the swelling in our stomachs go down. You probably won't feel restriction until you get a few fills. I believe we are starting the stage everyone refers to as bandster hell. It's where you have to rely solely on self control to get you through until you get to proper restriction and the band starts to help. Good luck!

Jojo and Cassie, I had a lot of nausea post op, I pretty much lived on Gas-x and RX Nausea medication supplied by my doctor. In the days when I could only have liquids I was only able to tolerate 2 ozs or so every 2-3 hours. I felt like that was all I did and I did feel pretty week. I was banded on a Thursday and went back to work on a Monday. I thought because I worked in an office I would be fine but that first week back was really hard and I felt pretty week. My suggestion is make sure you are always sipping on some sort of SF drink in the beginning and do remember that these early days are more about healing than losing weight, that will come after your first fill. I used a lot of creamed soups and once I felt better and had less nausea I added a little unflavored protein powder to help me go a little longer between meals. I also ate a lot of thinned grits and mashed potato's and when I say thin I mean pretty watery. I was so hungry one day I decided to try a saltine cracker because they dissolve well in your mouth, wasn't a good experience for me. Just know the these early days are very hard, you have no real help from your band and you are so excited and eager to start your journey and so frustrated that you are hungry. Know that all of these feelings are normal and you are doing nothing wrong, and Cassie is correct this is the part that is referred to as "bandster hell". You also will eat and drink things during this stage that you later will consider sliders, protein drinks, yogurt, etc. I just encourage you to stay away from high calorie foods now and learn to not bring them around because unfortunately these are the foods that when nothing else goes down they always do. Good luck to both of you and I know you both will do very well.

it was several weeks before I felt like myself after surgery.... sounds very normal to me.

As for the hunger... Make sure you are drinking as much as possible and following your Dr's post op instruction. This is key! Please do not jump ahead of what he prescribes in the way of mushies or solids. Time to heal is so important.

I was banded on Nov. 26th. I do get hungry and I think this IS what they refer to as bandster Hell! I think it makes it worse that it is the holiday season and there is food everywhere! I don't go back until January and I know that I am going to have to rely on myself for restraint. After almost three weeks of liquids and then just mushy food, it is really hard not to eat everything in sight. I have worked to hard to get where I am and I don't want to mess up now.

Congratulations on your surgery! will be thinking of you!

I really appreciate everyone's insight! I'm glad I found a site for support. Now that I know I'm in "bandster hell" I can accept it and adjust to it. : ) I wish everybody luck! I'm sure I'll have a million more questions as this journey continues!!

Jojo,

I also was banded on 12/4. First few days felt like I was punched in the stomach but now on Day 6 I almost feel normal again, EXCEPT for a tightness when I drink Water. Soups, ice pops, etc go down fine, just water. Which I find odd because its the thinniest consistancy.

I have two incisions. I am assuming one of those incisions is where my port is located. I go back this week for a follow-up visit. My doctor doesn't even consider doing a fill until 4 week out. (if he even does one he told me)

I am glad for this forum and being able to talk about our feelings and what we are going through. It was a huge decision to get this done!!

Good Luck Jojo.

I was also banded 12/4...I have to do clears one more day. What I think helped was the surgeon has you go on all liquids 2 weeks prior. Good luck to everyone.

Hello, I was re-banded on Dec 7 after being without a band for over two years. I am feeling the same things. So nauseous and hungry. I don't remember feeling this way with my first lapband but that was four years ago and it was the older smaller band. I did originally lose 120 lbs with it. Don't jump ahead. Trust me. Let your band heal. I lost my from too much vomiting from stuck food I shouldn't have eaten. Good luck and I am with you in banster hell for the second time :-)

i was banded on dec 4 too

Although it's been one week since surgery I'm still feeling kinda the same. I will eat my yogurt, sugar free jello, broth ect but still hungry. I'm trying so hard not to cheat and god forbid eat a cracker or something : ( however, I just have this sick taste in my mouth that makes me not even want my yogurt, ect anymore. So then I'm worried about my energy, blood sugar ect..

Likewise banded on 12/4. I have been hungry at times, but drinking lots of liquid helps. Those MIO sugar free sweeteners are great to put in your Water to liven it up.

When I started introducing Protein shakes, my hunger decreased. Also starting the day with 4 oz of farina (which is allowed in this phase) was a nice addition with just a bit of texture. This might seem wasteful, but I have been making progresso Soups and straining out the chunks leaving the Soup. So much more variety of flavor than broth alone!

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So, for those banded on 12/4 how's it going? I'm sitting outside my surgeon's office waiting for my 1st post op visit. I'm hoping there aren't any issues since I am looking forward to moving on to mushies. I'll report back with my first weight loss totals soon after. Exciting!

I've been wearing clothes that are 6-7 years old from before I was married that are 2-4 inches smaller along my waistline and have had to put two more notches in my belt already. I can't wait till I can properly exercise again. I hope everyone else is having a similar experience or better.