I had my surgery on 8/28/06. I know that I don’t and won’t have any restriction until my first fill. But right now I am eating just as I normally would pre-surgery, which is NOT healthy eating at ALL. And Ive gained back the 10 lbs I lost in the liquid phase. I’ve had no vomiting or uncomfortable feelings at all. (Which I kind of wish I had so that I could stop eating)

How much of a difference does a filled band make verses an unfilled band? I understand that its not a cake walk but it has to be easier than this or I would have just dieted without the band to lose weight. It certainly would have been cheaper. I’m really starting to wonder if they even put a band in there, lol.

<O:p

I am really disappointed in myself but am mainly curious to know if this eating like this now could cause some type of problem when I actually get the fill. Am I setting myself up for failure?

<O:p></O:p>

I guess what I am really asking is, how many of you pigged out when you found that solid foods were okay? And was it easier when your band was filled? Am I abnormal? I’m really depressed about this, no more’Yay, happy I’m going to lose weight’ feeling. HHHEEELLPPP

Hey Shauna, well I think that there are a lot of folks that didnt feel any restriction until they were filled. I believe the time until the fill should be more of learning time, than weight loss. Healing is the most important thing right now. I did have restriction, but it was more about eating really small bites, and very slow. I've found, and still struggle with all the time, that while I can eat sometimes more than I want, I shouldnt. You should be trying to eat following the guidelines that your Doc gave you. I think that you could do damage if you continue to pig out. (But then, my definition of pig out, may be way different than yours, lol). Good luck on your journey.

sam

When I had my band placed I was required to be on liquids for 2 weeks, then pureed food for 2 weeks and then SLOWLY add soft foods a progress SLOWLY to soilid food. YOu are only a few weeks post op and in my opinion too early to be eating like that. Each doctor has their own rules for post op diet but Im sure your doctor would NOT want you eating that way. You could damage your pouch. Remember the pouch is only about the size of an egg.. yes you can force things into it, it is a muscle and it will stretch but over eating this early in the game is setting yourself up for the possibility of a complication. If I were you I would check with your surgeon and make sure you understood the post op diet and are doing it correctly. If so, you MUST try to practice self control. Just like you did with every other diet you have been on.. The risk isnt just not losing or gaining back weight but your risking ruining the pouch by overfilling it and risking a complication. Throughout the future your band will not be "the cure", your band is a TOOL for you to work WITH, not against to control your portions of food. That is ALL it does. YOU must be incharge of what you put into your body. If it is all unhealthy food you will lose very little if any weight with the band. To answer your orriginal question, yes it does get easier once you hit the "sweet spot" where you have good restriction but it may take many fills and many months to get there. Continuing to eat like you are will not only give you more weight to lose but make getting good restriction more difficult due to stretching your pouch. Whe I first got my band I was hungry ALL THE TIME. I drank water constantly between meals and only ate what i was told to eat.. Yes it was hard but I risked my life having surgery and I wasn't going to screw it up. This is a good place to get support while you are going thru this difficult stage. Sharing your problem was a good thing.. Now you need to get control of your eating and take care of yourself!! You deserve it!!!

Good luck,

Kathy

i was told prior to surgery to eat only 1 cup of food three times a ay--no snacks and no diet soda or caffine...so hungry or not i only eat what i was told--before the first and only fill i have had i did go to bed hungry a few times...it did not kill me!! i am still following the same regime--i find that if i eat the protein then fruit then veggies, i stay full and have no trouble with the snacking---also chew,chew,chew!!!......and rely on sugarfree popsickles!!!

Hey girl, don't trip, I did the same thing and I'm fine. I did not feel any restriction at all until my 3rd fill and up to 6 cc's now. However, the tight feeling is fading and I am going for ANOTHER fill next week. I managed to keep off the 15lbs I lost after surgery, going up and down a little bit bust staying around there. It took almost 3 mo's after surgery to start losing weight again. Just realize that even after your 1st, 2nd or 3rd fill you may not get the restriction your looking for. Be patient and realize this WILL work eventually. Your money is not wasted, I was going through the same kind of scary thoughts as you. Best of luck!

I am so glad you started this thread. I was banded on the 29th of August and thought something was wrong with me because I can eat a whole bowl of oatmeal!! I'm on the mushie stage and following the guidelines but I didn't think I would be able to eat that much.

Hi all,

I was banded 8/30, and rarely feel any restriction at all, only sometimes in the AM. I am pre-menstrual right now and feel like I can't stop eating. Is it possible to stretch your pouch b4 you have any fills? I thought I read somewhere that it was virtually impossible to stretch the pouch b4 you've had any fills. In the AM when I do feel restriction I don't force anything, I just eat a small amount or not at all. I'm really nervous because my appetite is thru the roof! I have even thought about asking for appetite supressants....HELP!

Connie

Connie, I heard that some doctors will give their patients appetite suppressants for the post op/pre fill stage. I sure wish mine had. I am not sure about the answer to your pouch stretching before fills question. I have often wondered this myself and have actually told myself that it is impossible because my food is just going right on through that pouch, it sticks around for no time at all. My question though, is I know for a normal, non-banded stomache, you can shrink it by eating less and less. Can you do the same with a pouch? Say you stretch it but then start eating less will it shrink back? Just curious

Hang in there. I experienced a lot of the same things you have. I was banded on May 11th and lost 13 pounds right away doing the liquid thing. Then, I started adding foods back in and added all the wrong things. I didn't have any restriction and for some reason, I thought this band was going to magically melt the bad foods I was eating. I didn't gain any weight back but completely stopped losing! I went for my first fill on July 5th. I had 1cc put in ( I already had 1cc from surgery). I felt a tiny bit of restriction but was still able to eat quite a bit. I began to think that this was all just a waste of money. On August 16th, I went in for another fill. I weighed exactly the same (185) as I did on July 5th. The doctor put .5cc into my band. I went home and thought this must be it. And it was! After about a week, I started to experience that feeling that everyone talks about. I knew when I was getting full. I knew when I was eating a food that wasn't going to work for me anymore. I still didn't lose any more weight even with my newly found restriction.

This is when I sat myself down and really thought back to the day of my surgery. I remember the doctor asking me if I was ready to work with my band. I remember him telling me that it wouldn't lose the weight for me...that I would need to work with it to make it happen. That was on September 5th. I finally stopped eating the candy, cake, cookies, chips (that go down sooooo smoothly) and started eating only healthy things. I cannot get anything down my pouch in the mornings and have to be very careful at lunch. I eat a yogurt every morning for breadfast and even that sometimes moves slowly through my stoma. I started exercising and saying no to all sweets. When I'm eating now (healthy of course) I am very full after only a 1/2 cup or so. I usually eat salad first then the meat and that usually is it for me. I love it. I did experience the closest thing to a PB the other day. I was at work eating lunch and got to talking...I ate my salad and then was eating a piece of chicken. I think I forgot to feel for that "full" feeling and went back to my desk in extreme pain. I started to salivate and got lightheaded. I had to go take a walk around the building. I took a small sip of warm water and I could feel it start to loosen up. One more sip of warm water and I felt it go through. PHEW!! That is not a pleasant feeling at all. You will quickly learn what you can and can't eat. And the painful feeling from eating the wrong food will always be in the back of your head helping with your willpower.

You can do this. I have lost another 4 pounds and thankfully am starting to see a major difference in my clothes. Once I stopped fighting the band and actually used it for the tool it is, I am seeing the weight come off. It's such a wonderful thing we have. Use it correctly and you will see results. I think of it as a weightloss tool. Nothing more than the "points" that you are allowed with Weight Watchers. You can go over your points but you won't lose weight. Nutrisystem gives you the meals but if you eat more than that, you won't lose weight. Our band gives us the ability to eat a very small amount and not feel hungry. We have to eat the right foods and throw in some exercise to make this happen. This is not a magic machine. It is simply a TOOL. It is all up to us whether we use it!

I think that once you find that sweet spot with restriction, you will love it!

Stay on these boards--they have great info!

Karma2,

Thanks for the info! I do feel like I am losing even though the scale isn't showing it, but the clothes are. I just feel so freaked out about the fact that I don't feel any restriction and am scared that I am stretching my pouch. Hopefully not and I am going to try to focus on what I am eating better, maybe that will help.

Connie

I'm not sure where you are in the eating stage, according to your surgeon. Mushies? Please be careful, if you are eating solids...heavy duty. As your band is new and needs to remain in place for healing. When you eat hard solids (chicken, beef), it puts pressure or torque on your band. Allow your body to heal.

It's ok, if you're eating more than you thought you should. Restriction usually happens with fills.

Take care, Shawn

Congratulations on your banding. Your weight will fuctuate but if you are eating way more then you should or unhealthy food right now, you are going to slow down your progress. Try counting calories so you can see what you are taking in. Try drinking a shake for breakfast, get your 8 cups of water in, no caloric drinks, eat a salad with you lunch and dinner, make healthier food choices. The smaller 4 to 6 meals a day maybe helpful. If you are not exercising yet, start walking 15 minutes a day or twice a day. Maybe a support group like OA or TOPS. Hopefully your first fill will give you some restriction.

Good Luck

I am having the same problem. I was banded on 9/6/06 and that has barely been 2 weeks. I definetly can't eat like I used too but I still feel hungry all the time. In the mornings I am drinking my protein shake like I was told, but at lunch time I am starving and then about 2 hrs later I am starving again. It sucks!! This has me really worried to. The liquid thing is not cutting it when it comes to being full for a while. Help me!!!

It seems to me that you should be careful about what you eat and how much in that post-op phase. I believe that the theory is that you don't want to stretch your stomach pouch and you also want to let it heal. My docs put me on their post-op diet: one week clear fluids, two weeks fluids (soups and yogurts), followed by two weeks of mushy food. In addition to the type of food they also restrict the amounts. (I got banded a week and a half ago and so I am still on the soup and yogurt stage.) Apparently this is a time when a lot of bandsters lose quite a chunk of weight and this is an added bonus.