I am 1 week post op. I take it that the band offers no restrictions at this point? Cause I am starving and have no problem drinking liquids or swollowing pills what so ever.

I am 2 weeks post-op and have no restriction either. My surgeon says restriction comes with your first fill. I wont have my first fill for 2 more weeks. I believe we are in what is referred to as "bandster hell". Our appetite is the same as before. My doc says during this time willpower is the key and just to do my best to make good food choices. HTH

Hi. I was banded three days ago. Gettin Skinny I just talked to my doc. and he said you can't stretch the stomach pouch out drinking fluids. I'm drinking Propel Kiwi-strawberry fitness Water. It has Vitamins and a great flavor plus it boosts you up a bit. I drink hot broth, order from the chinese restaurant won ton and just drink the broth. I measure one cup of it and sip it. If I want more, which at this point not really, I drink more.

This is the plan for three weeks.

I did read where some folks just got banded and didn't need a fill for months. It would reason that having the band would give you SOME restriction because it did create a new pouch for your stomach.

Consume something. Nothing huge and thick like meats, sausages..you know.

Best to you.

Lap_dancer,

I really really really hope that a week or so from now you still feel not hungry. You will be one of the lucky ones. Right now and for the past 2 days I have felt like my stomach is empty and thus far no amount of liquid is helping much. Lapband hell I think they are calling this.

Lap_dancer,

I really really really hope that a week or so from now you still feel not hungry. You will be one of the lucky ones. Right now and for the past 2 days I have felt like my stomach is empty and thus far no amount of liquid is helping much. Lapband hell I think they are calling this.

I've heard about the Hell. I was told by my doctor that it is necessary to give the surgical site time to heal. I can deal with that.

Hopefully others have ideas? I'm loving the hot Soups and hot coffee with ice. I think it's the hot that feels so good inside.

How about that strange girgle sound going down??? (smiling) That freaked me at first.

Keep posting back Skinny. I'm a week behind you.

Goodluck to you both.

The weeks up until mushies were the worst. I'm a little over 3 weeks post-op and I've been eating normal food since last week just fine. Bearing in mind, strictly by the doctor's orders. Believe it or not, if you go take a long walk in the morning, I found that I was less hungry throughout the day...

Just my .02, though

Cut out ALL sugar. Every bit of it and bump up protein. If you are on clear liquids there is Isopure (gahhhh) or unjury for a couple of examples. Get at least 30gms of protein and hopefully 60gms daily. Sugar will make you want to eat your right arm off. Protein will kill hunger.

I don't have any great advice. I'm lucky (knocking on wood!!!!!) I have yet to get 'hungry' so far. I've eaten my clear liquids when I feel sickish, because I know I need something.. but I've not felt the urge to eat yet.. I *DO* have head hunger. I see things (things I don't even like to eat) on tv and just want to feel it in my mouth. My doctor gave me a liquid Rx for head hunger. I only had to use it before the surgery because I knew I COULD eat, so I almost blew my pre-op diet. If you think it's head hunger, and not hunger hunger, I would ask your doctor if they can prescribe something.

I figure by next week when I'm healed better I'll be wanting to eat.. so I've got my bottle ready!

Those first 3 or 4 weeks were HELL for me! I was STARVING and so nauseated all the time. You'll look back on it and wonder how you managed to survive, but trust me, IT IS SOOOO WORTH IT!! Hang in there...... it'll be over before you know it. It took me 4 fills and 3 months to get restriction!

Protein shakes are definitely the best way to go to curb the intense hunger. I know how you feel, been there myself. A week post op and I was fainting from hunger. The doctor's office told me to start having protein shakes mixed with fat free milk. It saved me from being a starvin' marvin'....good luck

This is a perplexing time for the new Bandster. Your experience is influenced by many factors which define precisely "getting skinny"....and they have similarities but many nuances of differences from any other particular Bandster.

No Bandster has ever died of starvation no matter how we felt at the time.

I was one very tight for weeks, and developed little hunger for the first few weeks postOp.

My entire life was summarized by the movement of a shark having to swim forward to force water thru it's gills to be able to breathe....only in my case I can to crawl thru life inhaling foodFoodFOODFOODFOOD regardless of hunger or in spite of lack of appetite...

It is a difficult transition to go from reacting to everything in our lives by overeating, to not eating.

A real key to this, IMHO, is coming to understand the nature of what hunger is, how you control it, and to to eat ONLY the amount that takes that very edge off of the sensation....I still am learning how to eat just to the edge of being 'NOT hungry' ...and really it doesn't take very much....

a bite of two most of the time...yet habit continues to drive me to eat that whole egg, or whatever....drink 8 oz of protein shake instead of the 2 or 3 it really takes to satisfy...

Most of my own overeating was based in the fear of BECOMING hungry...rather than being hungry...

Somewhere along the lines we must come to the point of being the master of our own hunger beasts....and learn to let our minds dominate instead of our bellies....

Water helps...walking, yes...doing anything....it only takes a few days to kick into ketosis and your hunger will dwindle to nothing...

There's lot of helpers available....hope we can suggest some that do the job for you...

good luck and congratulations on your New Life....

I love you today Jack. Your post came at a wonderful time!

BTW: Look at my ticker! I am down almost 20 pounds since I began my detox and into banding!

Feeling good.

Feeling the hunger. don't know if it is mind or matter. I hope soon it will not matter!