As of yesterday, I've officially lost that restriction feeling. I've been so excited since surgery.. people kept talking about getting hungry and the 'band hell' and I felt blessed because I really never got hungry, I would eat because I know my body needed it. Well it's been creeping up and as of yesterday..I get hungry, I eat, and I don't feel full on my little portions!! It's rough, and so now I'm in band hell My stomach even growls and rumbles within 30 minutes of eating, and I want to eat soooo bad.

My 'follow up' appt. with doctor is on May 9th, he said he does fills 6 weeks out, down to 4 weeks if the patient is ready. May 9th won't really be 4 weeks for me, but I hope I can convince him to give me a little bit of fill at least. Even from now till May 9th I'm a little worried.

Laura, I can't understand what you are going through because I'm not there yet. But I can say hang in there, you will make it through. I know that I have read around here somewhere why you should NEVER get fills earlier than the minumum of 4 weeks, I think WasaBB wrote about it. Anyhoos, it has to do with the fact that your stomach has not yet formed the scar tissure needed to hold the band in place in the back side and that the scar tissue around your sutures may also not be fully formed, filling early is a very good way to have a slip and/or erosion. Try to stick it out, you can do it!!

Keep pressin on. Don't starve yourself eat a little something when your stomach growls or if your like me I'll eat a bunch of crap I shouldnt. I have had several fills I think 5 and these past two weeks I have lost my restriction also and I have 2.3cc's so I see my doc tomorow and I am gonna tell him to fill er up! It takes time because you don't want to get an overfill and an underfill sucks so they do it a little at a time to make sure you don't get sick. I never even felt restricted until my last fill so if you felt restricted with no fill thats great. Just be patient and keep pressing on, you can do it!!

Good luck in trying to convince your Dr. I know how you feel. I had my surgery on March 15 and was supposed to get my first fill 6 weeks out which was last thurs. UNFORTUNATELY, my doc is just so so busy and I can't get in until May 10th.

I was very bummed out about that and also scared that I'll gain weight. To my surprise I have done well and I only overate 1 time. Won't do that again - felt horrible. Anyway, I can't wait on my first fill and it seems so far away. If you do get yours on the 9th, please post your experience.

I was scheduled to get a fill 2 days ago, and to make a long story short, they cancelled. However, I lost 3 pounds last week so I feel as long as I am loosing I will not get a fill. I still get hungry and sometimes eat too quickly. Thus I get stuck and slime and gag and etc etc. I have learned it is better for me to eat 4 to 6 small meals a day. Example: 1 pack of oatmeal in the morning, 4 meatballs for lunch, some kind of soft snack, deviled eggs really deviled and squished, Soup or refried Beans for supper. A pudding in the evening. I am not able to eat a lot of different foods yet. I think my hiatal hernia came back when I had coughing attacks 2 weeks ago. But, I am eating enough.

Good luck on your journey!!!

I was banded on 4-4-07 and I already feel like I need a fill. I'm hungry long before I should be. I'm eating "healthly" snacks much too often. I see my Dr. on 5-7-07 and I'm hoping he'll give me my first fill. I'm tolerating food really well. I've gone on to eat a little bit of halibut and it didn't bother anything. I'm down 15 lbs since surgery still have 105/110 lbs to go. :hungry:

Hang in there. It does get better. I'm only a little over 2 months out and the memory of bandster hell is already starting to fade. Try to eat lots of protein and keep busy. For me, the hardest part has been learning to be 'no longer hungry' vs. 'full' and it's an ongoing process.

I had my surgery on 4/6/07 in Dallas, TX. I live in Monroe, LA. I am not sure where most of the people posting on this forum are from but I was wondering if someone knows of a place closer to me to get my fills than Dallas. I really hate that drive. I was 195 and 3 weeks later I have lost 15 lbs. I am looking forward to my first fill because I feel like I am eating too much. I started eating a little bit of food and now I think I am eating more than I should be. However, it is pitiful to think about what I ate before I had the surgery. I am no where close to eating that much. Just wanted to see what I should expect with my first fill and to see if anyone knows of anywhere closer to me than Dallas. Also, has anyone found that insurance will pay for the fills. I had a lady at the hospital (another dr. did her surgery) tell me that her ins. pd for her surgery and her fills. Anyone had their ins. pay for their fills?