Hello Everyone-

My name is Nathen Erickson and I am writing for some help or answers to questions. I had my surgery 1/25/2013, and stayed with the liquid diet throughout the first week no problem. The thing is in the first week, about 4 days in, I was able to eat 2 full cans of Cream of chicken by Campbells, and not get any un-easiness, pain, or throwing up symptoms. I was able to eat that much no problem? Now on Friday, I started semi-solids and solids, so I made a 3oz piece of chicken and some asparagus (8 very small and thin spears). I was able to eat that no problem with no dis-comfort and not achieving a sense of fullness, so I started getting frustrated. So yesterday, I felt I was tolerating everything really well, so I had 8 Schwans chicken fingers and some french fries (15 small) and cheeseballs (10 small), just to force myself to see if I COULD attain fullness or even throw up to know what my threshold was. Ate all of it no problem, and KINDA felt full.

My question is that all the literature that I recieved from the doctor as well as online show that your stomach SHOULD only be able to hold a MAX of 2ozs? Well how is this possible? Has anyone else out there experienced this before? I go to my first Dr. appt on Tuesday as well as meet with a dietician that day.

I am very frustrated with what I am experiencing, so if anyone could have suggestions or direct me where to read more on it, I would appreciate it. I can also be contacted on Facebook and my username is Nate A. Erickson in South Dakota.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Nate

I was banded Oct 15,2012 and have not had enough fills to have restriction yet, but I do follow the rules and the scale shows it.

If you want this to work long term you have got to get your head in the game. Stick to your Drs plan.

I know at some point you heard " you can eat whatever you want, only being able to eat less". That is not right now.

Pull out your Want Power and do what you have to do, to get what you want.

I wish you nothing but success.

Look at scripture under my ticker. Just b/c you can, does not mean you should.

Hello Nathan .... Since everyone has said everything I would have I will just add this... Testing your limits for food intake is about the silliest thing I have ever heard. You obviously have no regard for your health to try to cram down the buffet of chicken fingers and cheese balls you outlined. As for the Soups.... They are liquid and go right through the band so they aren't a good measurement of tolerance.

Either you are serious about losiing weight or you aren't. If you are then stick to eating no more than a cup of food and bide your time until your dr feels its time for a fill. If you aren't not serious please consider getting the band removed because at the rate you are eating you will have all kinds of problems in the future.

Holy crap! How fast are you eating? If your following the simplest of all the rules, which is eat slow and chew, it would have taken you several hours to get down that much food!!!!! Don't use the band just to lose weight, use it to become healthier! As you get more restricted it is going to be VERY important that you make smart food choices! Your body is getting less food, so the quality is important! Proper nutrition is the only thing that is going to allow your body to preform to it's potential. Fill it with crap, you'll feel like crap! Dont test your band because you will be very disappointed to know that you CAN eat around it! FOLLOW THE RULES and it will work, if you don't, this is just another fad diet!

Hi Nathan, I was banded on the 1/10/13, I've read all the comments and 100% agree! Your band is probably not filled yet and that's why you can eat copious amounts of food. I've found with the band I am NEVER full, I'm just not hungry anymore. For me eating till I was full made me happy and I thought that was normal. Since being banded I measure my food and have come to a realization I need only eat to live, not live to eat! Start measuring/weighing your food and as someone stated above chew chew chew, eat slowly and when your food is finished STOP. If your feel hungry soon after try drinking some water. Sometimes we can't differentiate between hunger and thirst. It's about will power at the beginning, see how strong you really are by deciding against fried foods and instead eat healthy food not only for weight loss but just your health in general. Good luck!

Hi Nathan! I was banded the same day as you! First off, I think some of the veteran bandsters, god bless em, are missing the point. Point is your not feeling full. Now, if you could control your hunger then you probably wouldn't have needed the band, right? So for some to say that your not taking this serious is a totally unfair statement because if those veterans could control their hunger then they wouldn't be banded either. Yes, its a tool. A tool only effective when its filled. If it was effective before the fill then we wouldn't need fills to feel restriction. Your not filled and god bless you your hungry! You are gonna feel this way until you have a fill point blank! I lost 17 pounds the first 7 days. Now I'm on solids because I was super weak and tired. My hunger is back! The way I control, and this is what my Dr said to do, is protein shakes in-between meals. 3 meals & 3 protein shakes. Drink lots of water. Just try your best. There is no perfect solution before the fill. Just remember lapband is different for everyone. Not everyone adjusts the same way. Its easier for some and harder for the rest of us. Do your best everyday. That's all you can do. Good luck to you! I'm in the same boat!

Oh and for the record, I think some of you people are extremely rude. He was searching for help. Not a butt chewing. Geesh. Don't you people remember what it was like when you over ate or couldn't control your hunger?

Oh and for the record, I think some of you people are extremely rude. He was searching for help. Not a butt chewing. Geesh. Don't you people remember what it was like when you over ate or couldn't control your hunger?

Jaye - Some people just need the Fear of God put into them to get the point that what they are doing is potentially harmful to their health. There's a lot of tough love on these boards and not a lot of sugar coating which I have grown to appreciate. If it scares the beejeezus out of Nathan and scares him straight into not every gorging like that again so soon after surgery or at least pointing him in the direction of his doctor and/or nutritionist then it's done some good. Some people don't do well with being coddled and that sometimes just leads them back to making the same mistake again thinking it's no big deal. Everyone just stresses these points out of concern for other bandster's health. :-) As I said earlier, sometimes a little skin comes off when the band aid gets ripped off around here.

I understand the "scared straight" approach. But some of the responses were not warranted. Everyone is great at offering positive feedback for weight loss. How about positive reinforcement for someone who is fresh from surgery and in need of help. To say he's not taking it serious or "why did you even have this done", not appropriate

I understand the "scared straight" approach. But some of the responses were not warranted. Everyone is great at offering positive feedback for weight loss. How about positive reinforcement for someone who is fresh from surgery and in need of help. To say he's not taking it serious or "why did you even have this done"' date=' not appropriate[/quote']

Jaye, everyone is entitled to their opinion. If Nathan didn't want those opinions he wouldn't have posted in this forum. Aside from the comments that you deem inappropriate there is a lot of good advice. Nathan will just have to sift through and find what works for him.

I understand the "scared straight" approach. But some of the responses were not warranted. Everyone is great at offering positive feedback for weight loss. How about positive reinforcement for someone who is fresh from surgery and in need of help. To say he's not taking it serious or "why did you even have this done", not appropriate

Jaye, IMHO, I have to disagree with you. I am not judging Nathan, but trying to eat so much that your band forces you to vomit is irresponsible and dangerous. Whether it is through a lack of knowledge or a lack of education does not make much difference. It is the one that that my surgeon stressed above all else and he gave me powerful drugs to make sure that it wouldn't happen.

One of the things that I value above all else on this forum, is the brutally honest feedback that people who have gone before me offer on a regular basis. Would I always answer as they do? Absolutely not. But I would rather have those types of answers if I am engaging in behavior with my band that endangers my health in that way.

Look. I'm not up for lapband opinion debate. I gave my opinion. I stand corrected. I do know this. I've been on here for a few months now and several members have told me to watch what I post for everyone to read because of rude comments. I was told to get a mentor and only discuss personal issues with them. Goes to show I'm not the only one who feels this way. You can't arbitrarily give someone positive feedback and slam them negative reinforcement. He was asking how to not feel hungry and if what he was feeling was normal. I read some really great feedback with links to back it up. That's how it should be.

Nate,

People often ask me what I wish I had known before I had band surgery. My answer is invariably that I wish I had known how long it could take me and my band to achieve optimal restriction. My dietitian assured me that I wouldn't be hungry after surgery because of internal swelling, but I was starving hungry the day after surgery and felt that I could eat anything in any amount. Fortunately for me, I was too scared of complications to vary from my post-op diet progression.

Should my dietitian or surgeon have told me anything different? Probably not, because individual patients react so differently to the band over the course of time. It might have been helpful if they had used more words like "might" and "probably". So where I got most of my encouragement and guidance in the first few months was from the in-person support group meetings where I was able to talk with other patients who had gone through bandster hell and come out the other side feeling great.

I hope you're able to find that kind of support here on LBT. Right now, I just want to tell you one more thing: Don't give up on your band or yourself. This is just a little bump in the long road to weight loss.

Welcome to "Bandster Hell"! This is the stage that can go on until you get a fill that gives you some restrictioin. Like others have said, your band is wide open and at this point you can eat most anything you want within reason. However, your band was sutured into the lining of your stomach and stretching it or having a stuck episode could compromise the good work your surgeon has done.

I don't think you comprehend how the band works. Dr. Paul O'Brien has 4 videos on how the band works. Here are the links and I urge you to watch each one thoroughly so you understand the why's of the band:

Part 1

part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Hold Up!!

In the 3rd video this guy says that it is okay to drink with your meal. Everyone I have talked to says NO! I am interested in thoughts on this...do you guys drink with your meals???

This is a topic heavily discussed on this forum. I sometimes sip but I got used to eating without drinking so I usually stick to the original script given to me in 2011. Since then a study or two have come out and claim it's OK as Dr O'Brien suggests. Some doctors are picking up on this trend but for the most part, most doctors still stick to the no drinking while eating.

I think the no drinking rule is a good one. Even for me it's difficult to wait an entire minute before drinking. If I don't wait I risk washing my food down with the Water and compromise the efficacy of the band.

tmf

This is a topic heavily discussed on this forum. I sometimes sip but I got used to eating without drinking so I usually stick to the original script given to me in 2011. Since then a study or two have come out and claim it's OK as Dr O'Brien suggests. Some doctors are picking up on this trend but for the most part' date=' most doctors still stick to the no drinking while eating.

I think the no drinking rule is a good one. Even for me it's difficult to wait an entire minute before drinking. If I don't wait I risk washing my food down with the Water and compromise the efficacy of the band.

tmf[/quote']

Thanks for the response/advise! Much appreciate.