I was banded Dec 2005 and can honestly say that I have NEVER felt that full, not hungry feeling without being at the point of pbing. I have read so many post about how with the band you will eat smaller meals because you will feel full but I have never felt that way. I either have no restriction (doc did an unfill yesterday) or too much (1.0cc) and am experiencing pding and first bite syndrome. What am I doing wrong and how can I make this band work?

Okay...I'm going to throw out a few ideas, and you try them and see if anything works, or sounds plausible for you.

First, let's figure out the difference between full and satisfied (satiated). For me, "full" meant "stuffed to the max". That definition doesn't work for bandsters...you will get sick. Now, you need to operate on full = not hungry anymore; satisfied. Examine your definitions and see if that's where things are going wrong.

When you have some saline in the band, you will have to learn the mechanics of eating differently. Cut you food into much smaller bites. Chew LOTS more than you usually do. Put your fork down, so you don't swallow food as fast or as often, giving the bites more time to go down. If you don't do this, you will get the "first bite syndrome." You will get the golfball feeling. You will PB.

Re-read all the bandster rules and guidelines and really, really, concentrate on following them.

I bet ya a nickel the confusion is on the feeling full = stuffed, instead feeling full=satisfied, not hungry.

Hope this helps!

I sometimes get that "first-bite" syndrome in the AM and at dinner time. I find if I have something warm to drink like a cup of tea before I eat, it helps to ease that syndrome and allows me to not have to adjust my level of fill.

As already stated, eating to satisfaction and eating to full are 2 VERY different things. I used to fill a bowl all the way up with cereal, add milk, and wonder what I was going to eat next. Now, I dip in my one cup measure to the cereal, add 4 oz of skim milk and I'm set until lunch.

Losing weight is very much in the head. The belly is controlled by the head.