Need some opinions....I'm scheduled for surgery 2/22, but am now worried that I won't feel full. Is there and initial waiting period after surgery 'til first fill? Pls. advise!

I felt full right away after surgery. I have only had 2 fills to this point and my surgery was in September. I think maybe alot of people get too many fills too fast so they don't feel hunger much at all. Then when they do eat they are not eating the correct food. Myself, I have tried to work out my issues with food. The reality is that the band is to help you lead a healthier lifestyle and if you have problems with exercise to get you to lose enough weight to introduce that into your lifestyle. I have learned hunger is natural. Approach it in the way that if you lost your band tomorrow your bad eating habits and lifestyle wouldn't cause you to regain every pound you lost. Sorry for the speach, but I see too many people just relying on the band to do the work for them and I just want newbies to get off on the right track. Everyone slips up once in a while but make this the beginning of the new healthy you! Good Luck and don't worry everything will turn out AWESOME!

For me, I had to wait 6 weeks until my first fill. I was pretty lucky and wasn't really very hungry for a while. I've had 5 now, and I think I'm at a good spot.

I think maybe alot of people get too many fills too fast so they don't feel hunger much at all. Then when they do eat they are not eating the correct food. Myself, I have tried to work out my issues with food. The reality is that the band is to help you lead a healthier lifestyle and if you have problems with exercise to get you to lose enough weight to introduce that into your lifestyle. I have learned hunger is natural.

I agree that hunger is natural, and from what I have seen in myself and read on groups, we as a group seem to almost fear it. That being hungry is such a terrible thing we have to avoid it at all costs. I've been thinking about that for myself, why I am that way.

As far a fills, it can be a fine line. My goal is to have my band dim my appetite, limit how much I can eat at one time(and what I can eat to a point) but also allow me to eat a good variety of healthy stuff. I want to get the full benefit of it, I was self-pay!

Yeah, I was scheduled for a fill 6 weeks after my surgery, too, and by that time, I was ready. In fact, I just had my first fill on Monday, but I don't think he put enough in, so I am going back next Monday to get a little more. It's really hard to tell if they are putting the right amount in, and I think you just have to try it for a few days and see how you feel--I don't feel that restricted, so I am going back for more.

What I can say, in all honesty, is that your definition of full is going to change...and dramatically.

On a base level...will you feel full? Yes. I too had this worry.

But "full" these days (I word I'll use, but with a nod to Jack's excellent post, BTW) doesn't feel the same.

Where being "full" before was some sort of serotonin bliss overload concocted by crap food and feelings of guilt, being "full" now usually means pain, ouch, ate too much, why did I do that?

You will learn, with the band, to not only eat differently but to redefine what eating is all about.

Look forward to the journey! It's a heck of a ride!

I too had to wait about 6 weeks. I wasn't too hungry though preop. As far as feeling full you may feel full with the swelling. It all depends upon your body.

I had my band done 11/21 and haven't had a fill yet. I can tell when I have had enough alto the last one or two days I have been ignoring the full feeling and having "more piece". I don't want to get off track....but getting back to the topic here, I can feel when its time to stop. You will too. After surgery you will be paying really close attention to the signals your body sends. Good luck to you!

I haven't posted in a while but this thread caught my eye. I was worried about feeling full before my surgery, too. To tell you the truth I really didn't think I would even take any of my weight off. My real weight loss didn't start until after my first fill which I think was about 5 or 6 weeks after surgery. It took me a while to get accustomed to the new full feeling that I had with my band. It is different than before the band and one bite too many can cause a problem with p.b.'s. I had a second fill about 12 weeks after my surgery and I haven't had any more since then. It takes very little food to make me "unhungry" and I stop eating. I don't eat again until I need to. I don't feel deprived of food at all. I have gone from wearing a size 22 to a size 14. The best part is that I fell so good which has made food become less and less important to me. Good luck!

I think the avg wait between surgery & fill is 7 weeks. I did the math once, but I don't remember exactly what it was. This is pure luck, but I lost my appetite the day before surgery and it has yet to come back. Some people aren't so lucky and really struggle to control their eating between surgery and restriction, not just surgery and first fill. Chances are not great that you will achieve restriction after your first fill... unless you have an aggressive surgeon.

I also had major restriction from the get go. I think it was maybe a year and at leat 60 pounds before I needed a fill.

Thanks for your encouragement! I guess I fought hard and finally got approved, but now it's like, I hope I'm doing the right thing! Should I have gone w/the whole RNY? Needless to say, I'm a worry wart.....

I had a bit of a different experience with hunger. I was banded on a Tuesday and by Friday was so hungry that I called my doc and he let me start mushies. I got my first fill at 4 weeks and that helped me a lot. I ahve since had 4 fills and have lost 62 pounds but still get hungry. It comes on fast and I have to eat NOW when I feel it. Good thing though.... it doesn't take much to fill me up and I stay full for 3 hours or so!

Good luck to you!