Hi there, I had my surgery 3 weeks ago and have still been very hungry since, my surgeon said to me he put a bigger band on as I had a fatty liver and was hard to reach, he said my first fill which will be in a week, he said he is going to add 5 ml, I have been very hungry and have stuck to the diet religiously, just wanting to no if this is normal and any advice that can be given along the way thanks

I don't know what normal is, but I can tell you that I was starving hungry the day after my band surgery, and I've heard plenty of other bandsters say the same thing. In some patients, the swelling and irritation from surgery decreases hunger and appetite, but not in everyone. So you're in what we not-so-affectionately call Bandster Hell, and you'll have to white knuckle it until you get enough fill in your band to help it start working for you. That may take more than 1 fill, but in my opinion it's better to sneak up on restriction than to jump on it all at once.

The other thing that may be affecting your hunger is your post-op diet. Most of us have to follow a staged diet progression, from liquids to purees to soft foods to solid food. If you're not on solid foods yet, your physical hunger could be due to the fact that solid food has the best potential for providing the early and prolonged satiety that's the band's claim to fame.

Hang in there!

My hunger returned about this point after surgery. Once you start with fills, you'll be working with your surgeon to get into the green zone. This is a point where a small meal will keep you satisfied for at least four hours. Until you're there, it's going to take a lot of will power. Just keep following the rules. You can do this.

I think it's very normal. I was hungry and back to normal within a few days of the surgery. Just got my third fill three days ago and believe for the first time that I might be getting some significant benefit from the band. Fingers crossed.

Prior to the third fill, I had 4.6 CC (almost same as your first fill will be) and still didn't feel banded. So, hang in there. I've read countless posts of people having to get 5 or even 6 fills before they hit the green zone. But, if he is starting you at 5 ML/CC with the first fill, then you may very well start noticing a big change much sooner than most of us.

Personally, I couldn't have handled 5 ML on the first fill though. My doctor tried to give me 3.5 CC and I freaked out when he had me drink some Water. He backed off to 2.5 CC. That only gave me restriction for a couple of hours. Later that night I felt like my old self and could eat as much as I wanted and as fast I wanted. Appetite was not suppressed in the slightest.

You'll be hungry until you start getting good restriction from fills. My advice is to not starve yourself. If you're hungry then eat. Just watch what you eat and start your diet slowly. It'll get easier the more restriction you get.

thank you all so much, I am nervous and excited about getting my first fill, I am on the puree stage of the diet. I know I can do this but I didn't realize how challenging this would be mentally, I don't have anyone to talk to about a lapband so I am really enjoying reading all the topics, thanks again for your help

You're not alone my friend. I too had the hungry feeling and I wanted to eat some food. I had enough of the shakes and sweet chocolate and vanilla flavored whatever it is. I wanted something crunchy I wanted to chew something. I was looking for something savory and not bland or boring.

Someone on here posted something that caught my attention, and I took that and ran with it. When my husband and I were past the liquid phase of recovery and were on to purred foods and then to mushy, one thing that helped me was making chili.

The person had posted trying Wendy's chili and we did that at first before making our own. We bought a small chili from Wendy's threw in in the blender, got fat free sour cream and put a small spoon full in it. OMG my friend it was soooo good. It wasn't chicken broth, it wasn't Protein shakes, it wasn't pudding. It had the consistency of it, but it was a different flavor and different smell.

You can do that with pretty much anything, that you like. A quick zip in the blender and it's baby food constancy with the taste you are looking for.

Make sure that you put healthy for you foods in that blender though, after our shot with the Wendy's chili we made our own to cut the fat and calories. We made a turkey chili, loaded with vegetables and once they hit the blender it was good to go for our diet requirement. We have now progressed to solid foods, but still enjoy that turkey chili as a meal because it's so healthy with the all the vegetables in it.

Good luck and don't let the feelings of hunger get the best of you. Sometimes we just need to satisfy our need for flavor or texture and there are loads of healthy choices out there that can fit the bill. With the new tool you have the help of the band to control the portion size, just pay attention to your body's signals to stop when your full and enjoy!