I was banded last Tues. and I am able to swallow pills or eat anything with absolutely no problem. Is this normal? I realize I have no fill, but I feel absolutely no restriction and am quite hungry. I have skipped from liquids and pureeds to solid foods with absolutely no problem. Is this normal? Somehow I thought I would know the band was there, but I don't. Except for the soreness I would never know I had it in there. Has anyone else been able to eat anything they wanted or suffered from hunger. I only ate once today, but I don't think what I ate was on my menu in any way, shape or form. Any help would be appreciated.

Dody, you've been here long enough to know that post-operatively, the amount and timing of hunger or restriction people feel is a function of the healing process. Once the swelling has gone down, most people feel like they can eat whatever they want, and are surprised at their hunger. IT'S NORMAL!! You won't feel restriction until the band is adjusted.

Congratulations on your banding, and congratulations on your healing! Now try to stick to your doc's postop instructions, and don't let yourself get too hungry or you might overdo it.

I should know I'm not that much different, just sort of amazed that the dr. told me I would most definitely have to crush pills, etc. and I don't. You are right, I shouldn't have let myself get so hungry. Thanks for reminding me.

just so you have a second on that, Its true!

once home after about a week and a half, I could eat anything like I wasnt even banded. I never felt the band.

I was told because I was so big to begin with (400 pounds) that I would prolly notive restriction right away.. But I didnt..

Not for months.. till I got a good fill...

Its very common....

one more thing..

once I got the good fill..

I didnt take it very seriously, becasue I was so used to NOT having that restrcition everyone was talking about..

I took two TINY pills of mine the morning after ... and I choked and gagged for 9 hours, then they came up WHOLE! (thats what is called a PB)

for about 30 more hours I still couldnt hold down my own saliva after tons of antiinflaitories...I had tyo have an emergency unfill in the ER..

Thus I was right back to NOT having any restriction for a few more months.

so... TAKE THE PILL CRUSHING SERIOUSLY!!!!!!! lol

You will know restriction when you feel it, its very obvious.

Doty ~ Just b/c you can eat something doesn't mean you should. Stop eating real food immediately!!! You have enough grit & determination to stay on the mushies/full liquids until you are healed.....at least 4 wks. Remember that your band is sutured/tied/or whatever to your stomach and you can cause those to come loose. You have come too far to allow that to happen. Also, remember that your stomach is a muscle that has to work and churn to digest those solid foods and you want your stomach to stay as calm as possible, hence the need for mushies. NOW is the time for healing not for eating anything that you can get to pass through your band.

You can overcome the mental need for food, which is probably what triggered this today. I'm sure it smelled good. Next time, have them bring you some pintos & cheese from Taco Bell. I still have that from time to time. It goes down easy and it's easy on the stomach.

I still don't have a fill and want to wait as long as possible. For me personally, I want to work on the mental changes it takes to be successful long term. I don't have much restriction, but I do get full easily. If I get hungry, I have some cottage cheese, semi-hard cheese, apple sauce....you get the picture. This is an important time for you to plan your day with your food intake. Follow this plan and this is in addition to your Protein shakes/drinks. This is what I sent you and I discovered I could post it here clearly. I'll PM you also.

BTW, are you taking any anti-inflammatory meds for your knee? It may have reduced the swelling post-op on your band.

STAY ON THE MUSHIES GIRLFRIEND!!!!

Dody you were all over the girls eating dinner the night before their bands in Mexico a couple weeks ago......so I can't believe you wouldn't follow your American doctors orders since you claimed the hospital was one of the best in the USA....come on girl you yourself have enough posts under your band to know the rules....

Hey Hootiebell ~ Do you remember agreeing to the rules of LBT to NOT attack an individual person? I suggest you go on with your journey and abide by the rules. Find another thread where you can give support or offer some advice instead of causing trouble. OK? OK.

Hey 3LOVES thanks for the advice

ps 3 loves I am not here to have you start a argument with me....please let me be:kiss2:

ps 3 loves I am not here to have you start a argument with me....please let me be:kiss2:

No problems here....please, next time take something like this to a PM to avoid addressing your issues with one person publicly. You will get the best results that way.

Hey Hootiebell ~ Do you remember agreeing to the rules of LBT to NOT attack an individual person? I suggest you go on with your journey and abide by the rules. Find another thread where you can give support or offer some advice instead of causing trouble. OK? OK.

There is a very good reason why you are one of my favorite people on here. I didn't attack anyone. I was just absolutely in disbelief that they don't have a post-op diet to follow in Mexico. I didn't realize for quite a while I had landed on a "yeah Mexico thread". Enough said. I did know better 3 Loves...and I will make sure it doesn't happen again even though I ate mostly the refried beans. I guess I was amazed I could swallow pills without crushing them. I'll be more careful in the future where and when I post. Thanks for always having my back girlfriend. It was a one time thing and it won't happen again. I am still feeling stuffed from that experience, and still believe I had absolutely no GAS because I did the pre-op diet and the bowel cleanse. People are entitled to their own opinion, but I know what helped me....

I'll no longer respond to anyone on this thread but you. I'm very glad I had the surgeon I did, and he would be disappointed I didn't follow the rules exactly, but I tested the waters and they didn't feel good. I'm no different than anyone else.

After post-op day 5, the only way I knew I had a band was the scars. Because of severe arthritis, I was placed on Nexium so I could continue to Aleve (one pill only twice a day with meals). My surgeon does not do a first fill for a full 8 weeks so it was a struggle to maintain my weight loss.

Fill number one did nothing but the second did yield SOME restriction with hard proteins such as chicken and firm fish. I had fill #3 last Thursday and NOW I really know what restriction is. I can eat the portion sizes I am supposed to and feel full when I am nearly done... not too tight and not too loose.

If you're feeling hungry, call the dietician associated with your surgeon. I did that and she allowed me to add a few soft foods like lite ricotta cheese to the full fluid phase. That was enough to get me through until I could begin solids.

Also, I take quite a few pills everyday and I DON'T have to crush them. I chew a small pretzel until it's really mushy, put the pill in, and down it goes. This was a technique the dietician suggested and it works great.

Concentrate on healing and you'll start "feeling" the band after a fill or 2-3.

FOr what its worth: pills should be crushed forever even if you can swallow them. That's the advice my doctor gave. Why? Pills can sit in the small pouch just like food. They can start to dissolve and then can/could irritate the stomach pouch. If you crush them they will enter the larger stomach quicker and be gone. Thus no irritation.

I don't know what is true. However, I am crushing my meds for safekeeping. Many of them I can swallow with no problem. I just choose not to.

Good luck in your journey.

It has only taken me one time to learn a valuable lesson. I ate mostely refried Beans but there is no good reason for that either, even though it is allowed. There were some nachos in there....I was bad. Fortunately I got no gas and just had the misgivings that wow I can eat with this thing. I thought I would be able to swallow little and was surprised. I won't make the same mistake again, and except for one person you are all extremely supportive and I thank you. I see the dr. in 5 weeks and I'm sure from there things will begin to work more like they should.

3 Loves, you don't have to come and kick my butt I will adhere to the rules. You have my word.

Doty ~ Just b/c you can eat something doesn't mean you should. Stop eating real food immediately!!! You have enough grit & determination to stay on the mushies/full liquids until you are healed.....at least 4 wks.

Where is this any different that what HootieBell said to Doty??:cry