Not EVER feeling full 😢 (conversion lap band to bypass

[Cara Mia 0]

Hi so glad I found you.
I converted from 10 years of a lap band (lost 130 pounds) to bypass late January. (Medical necessity to remove lap band - eroded esophagus/lung aspiration). Lap band stops one from eating too much and I always felt full.

Does the feeling of “fullness” (not dumping) ever exist with bypass???

I was told that I may not be losing ANYTHING and even have days when I gain because I am on purées and EVERY calorie/food I eat goes down. It was suggested that when I take the plunge to “real, chewable food”, my body will only take in a small amount (like the said in all the brochures “that you may not be able to eat more than a fistful of food at a time”) and so I will lose weight instead of gain. Does that sound remotely right???

I am starting to wonder if this was worth it. I would love some suggestions from people are “getting it done”. Hugs to all - Cara Mia

[The Greater Fool 2,071]

Everything varies by the individual so YMMV.

The explanation that pureed digest better than food makes no sense to me. Pureed is only slightly finer that chewed food and that difference would not affect digestion or absorption. RNY bypasses a small portion of your intestines, the part that does some of the heavy lifting of nutrient absorption. So you absorb less calories, pureed or chewed the malabsorption is pretty constant.

You leave a lot of information out that would make giving a specific guess at an answer for your situation. You say you lost 130 on the band, but don't indicate how much more (if any) you have to lose. The smaller the weight you have to lose the slower the weight loss generally is.

Fullness is going to feel different than with the band. The band was at the top of the stomach, so food backed up basically in your esophagus. With RNY you have a small pouch that dumps directly into your intestines, so 'full' will be lower than you are used to, and it will empty out a bit quicker, or perhaps more correctly, easier.

Follow your plan. I would doubt your plan says 'eat until you feel full' but rather 'eat this much of this' or 'eat these many calories, grams, whatever of that'. Feeling full is a cue to stop before you've completed the meal.

For me, feeling full happens when my pouch isn't thrilled and says enough is enough before I've eaten my meal completely. Most often I complete the meal without feeling full. Eating constantly to fullness (and beyond) is what got me to needing RNY.

Bottom line is you have to learn your new situation, the new sensations. Your new reality.

[loridee11 523]

Hi Cara Mia,

I had the band and converted to Bypass in Dec 2019. The "full" feeling will never be the same. I'm actually really glad about that as with my band I had all types of issues. I would get food stuck or throw up on just a small amount when I was filled. Then, I had terrible reflux and had to be unfilled for years, and even then, would wake up choking on acid.

With the bypass, I rarely get either hungry or full if I eat according to plan (for me, 3 meals a day). If I'm off plan, I can get full, but only if I eat more than I need. I am able to measure my food and don't need more than about 6 ounces (over a year out) as long as I eat 3-4 Oz solid Protein as part of that. If I am eating something carb heavy I can eat a lot more so I try to focus on protein like the program says.

Lori