Hi Everyone,

I'm a new bander, just banded July 21. Today (which is 5 days post-op I feel WIERD......is this what restriction is:

-feeling like I have to sit straight up (when I slouch it feels like I ate too much) and I only have had small amounts of liquid today.

-feels like when I would eat too much before being banded

-feels like I have to burp

-feels like if I did try to eat dinner (liquids) I couldn't

-I guess I feel full, but really have not had much!

So Expert banders what is restriction supposed to feel

like....the above???:confused:

and when should "restriction" after you eat (liquids) get back to normal "restriction" so that you can eat your next meal....hope that makes sense??:grouphug:

Thank you for all your help!!!!:grouphug:

No, I think what you are experiencing is swelling from surgery...."extreme restriction", if you will.

After you've healed you won't have to sit in any special way and you'll not feel anything very different from your before banded days....except when you eat! If you've chewed well and eaten small bites, at most you will feel a fullness in your chest, rather than in your stomach and you'll know that you can't put in one more bite. The sense of fullness changes in that way. You'll also stay satisfied for a few hours on small amounts of food. If you have eaten improperly by taking too large of bites or not chewing well you will feel pain in your chest ....like someone is pressing their fist into your sternum....until the food passes thru the stoma. If/when that happens do not take another bite or drink anyting until that feeling passes!!

TerryDoodle,

I was just banded 4 days ago. Do you normally feel tightness in your upper abdomen after taking meds? I took some pain killers last night and have been feeling full for the past 12 hrs. Is that normal? How long does it take to pass pills?

Your doctor should have told you not to take pills larger than a birth control pill. As a matter of fact, you should only take liquid form whenever possible. If you took a capsule or one with an enteric coating, it could stay stuck in your stoma for quite some time....and irritate the heck out of it!

Call your doctor and ask why you weren't given liquids for pain....and what pills you can and cannot take! It's important.

Yep,

They had prescribed me loritab 10's, 120 of them for after surgery and I had no clue how much that was in liquid form so I went and exchanged it from my pharmicist and it was 5 huge bottles of liquid loritab which I never even needed. I finally threw it out it went out of date, but you do need to either crush or quarter larger pills or use liquid.

I felt what you are feeling after surgery for about 3 weeks and then I guess after the swelling went down I got hungry again so I got my first fill at 3 1/2 weeks. To get really good restriction it took me 2 fills but it feels the same as what your feeling and it stays that way when you keep your fills right. You know it when you get there. I don't ever sit and think, hum, what do I want for lunch or supper, you just don't sit and think about food anymore and usually after 1 cup your like, God, I'm so full. You stay full too until next meal and I forget to eat alot of the time. It's a great feeling.

Thanks Terrydoodle. I will call my doc up today and see if I can get an Rx for liquid pain meds. I appreciate your quick response.

I got my 3rd fill yesterday. Now it's up to 2cc's in a 4cc band. He said that was the most he's put in anyone. Pfft, Anyway,,,this is the first time I feel what I think is 'restriction'. It feels like I've swallowed a golfball and can't get it to go down. Probably didn't chew it well enough. My question,,,any physicians/nurses with bariatic experience that can explain to me why it hurts going down? The band is placed below the newly created pouch,,and the purpose of eating hard Proteins is that they will stay in your pouch longer,,,when it finishes its digestive stage, shouldnt it be passed through the banded area easily? You dont feel it go in your mouth and then go thru the band,,there is a time lapse there. Just curious,,,,,,,,,,,

Banded 1/29/07

Dr Ken Cleveland-CMMC-Jackson, MS

Hi everyone, I have just had my second fill, its not been the best experience so far as post op and after my first fill i had no restriction. Now i have a feeling , but don't really understand it ??? I can eat lots of soft food, ie a whole bowl of bran flakes, but when i ate some chicken breast i felt this hard lump lower down my throat. and it took a second to pass, and each mouth full was the same . is this a good sign ? am i on my way (at last) to getting some restriction ? i do hope so ?

And what is that hard lump feeling,, i thought the food would drop into my pouch, then i would feel full? i still don't feel very full, but just finding some things harder to swallow.

and sorry to sound ignorant, but what is my stoma?

I just don't seem to understand why i get this hard lump feeling ? is it the food reaching my pouch ? i don't think it can be the food passing through my pouch ? as its immediatly after i have swallowed?

thanks for sharing your knowledge.

Hi Everyone,

Thank you all for your insight....I am feeling much better now, 9 days since the operation....I'm so glad the people who responded really calmed me down!!

I think you were right TerriDoodle, it was probably just swelling and extreme restriction, I'm still on a liquid diet and it definitely feels much better!!

It is so difficult to know what to expect your body to feel like,

Thank God for the LapBandTalk.......I would be a basket case without all the info here!!!

i was just banded on the 16th . it osunds like you are eating too fast. even if it feels like it is slow do it slower. and smaller amounts at a time. whenever you feel weird at all, you are too fast or too much or both. dont do it. it will really hurt once it is solid food. be careful. that is how problems can start.

Hi everyone, I have just had my second fill, its not been the best experience so far as post op and after my first fill i had no restriction. Now i have a feeling , but don't really understand it ??? I can eat lots of soft food, ie a whole bowl of bran flakes, but when i ate some chicken breast i felt this hard lump lower down my throat. and it took a second to pass, and each mouth full was the same . is this a good sign ? am i on my way (at last) to getting some restriction ? i do hope so ? It could be one of two things: 1) You're taking too big of a bite and not chewing well enough (you should chew 20-30 times to liquid state, bites the size of a peanut), or 2) you're still too swollen for solid foods...give it a few more days. For me, meat, raw veggies, fruit skin, Protein bars, are the trickiest thing and I am always extra diligent when I eat these things.

And what is that hard lump feeling,, i thought the food would drop into my pouch, then i would feel full? i still don't feel very full, but just finding some things harder to swallow. The food is meant to sit in your pouch but it is very small...like the size of a golf ball...so the rest of the food is backing up into your esophagus until your food slowly passes into your stomach. When you are 'stuck'...like with a piece of chicken that won't pass thru...you will feel pain as your esophagus fills up. That is why it is important, especially with risky foods, to wait between bites to make sure you are chewing properly an it will go down. Our instinct from the old days is to keep eating, or to drink something to PUSH it down...but that doesn't work anymore. In fact, it will do just the opposite and make the situation worse. That's why, if you feel any kind of discomfort in your chest, you should STOP EATING AND DO NOT DRINK until the pain goes away.

and sorry to sound ignorant, but what is my stoma? Your stoma is the small opening between your pouch and your stomach thru which all food either passes or gets stuck!

I just don't seem to understand why i get this hard lump feeling ? is it the food reaching my pouch ? i don't think it can be the food passing through my pouch ? as its immediatly after i have swallowed? As I said before, I'll bet this is not after your first bite, but after you have taken 3-4 bites too quickly and the food is backing up into your esophagus. SLOW DOWN and see if that helps. Also, it could simply be irritation from previous meals that hasn't settled down yet. If you're feeling pain up high in your chest/throat, I'd say go onto liquids for at least 24-36 hours and see if that helps. Then try introducing solids again s-l-o-w-l-y to see if you're still feeling any pain before the next bite.

thanks for sharing your knowledge.

Hope that helps!

Thany you so much Terri Doodle for explaining all of that to me. i definately think i have some restriction now and a pouch, and now i have to learn how to eat.. its a bit tricky really... just a new learning process i guess ... and of course i am already missing food, which sounds crazy !!!!!!!!!!!!! but in the matter of one day i can go from eating whatever i like to not.. its great i have some feeling, just odd ! if that makes any sense what so ever :-)

i shall keep reading and learning from this site, it teaches me all i need to know

thanks again.

Well, it's interesting really.... you miss food now, but pretty soon it won't become so important to you (hopefully)...i've heard lots of people make the same observation. And it's terribly convenient to be able to get by with smaller meals. If you're in a hurry a 'meal' might be as simple as a Protein bar or 2 scrambled eggs. Pretty cool if you ask me. Saving tons of money not eating out, that's for sure!...it's a waste now.

Best of luck to you!

Hi Suzie! I just had my Lapband Surgery on July 24 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. I identify with everything you are feeling about restriction. I see my surgeon this Friday and will be able to share more after that appointment. I was 232 lbs. (5'7" Heighth) since 7/13/07 have lost 18 lbs. on high-protein supplements. The supplements do keep me full. I do get hungry, but then have a supplement - tomato soup or crm of chicken, hot chocolate, pudding and orange/fruitpassion drink. I feel better after I burp up air after I eat alittle. Then, find can eat alittle more. Wish you well. Sounds like you're right on track.