Hi to everyone!!! OK...I was banded on Dec 19th - I am so happy I did it....... However is/did anyone else 7-10 days after their surgery EAT LIKE CRAZY????? I feel like I have no restriction....I am eating out of control....I am scared I have moved my band, I feel like I have had nothing surgically done. I went to a center of excellence and had a WONDERFUL doctor, nutrition classes, support, etc... I have lost 50 lbs (mostly from liquid diet pre-op) and am doing all I can just to NOT gain before my first fill. I feel like a complete failure because I have not/did not stick to the diet prescribed by the nutritionist/doctor. Is anyone out there like ME????? I really thought I had my food addiction under control before I went into surgery.... I guess I don't???? ANY SUGGESTIONS/COMMENTS much appreciated!

I am hoping to have my first fill on Feb. 4th.. I lost 30lbs. on the pre-surgery liquid diet. After surgery have only lost 17lbs. Then last week at the center I was up 2lbs. I was banded Dec.27th. and am not sure if I have restriction at all as I limit myself to 1 cup of food, no breads, no pasta, no rice and scared to eat raw vegatables. And yes I am Hungry!!! By the way how far long between liquids and food? What about soup?

I am with you! I was banded on 12/04 and had my first fill on 1/4. I feel NO restriction and I am paranoid that I will overeat and slip my band! I have been keeping the food amounts low but I think I am eating more than the 5oz my Dr told me I can eat. My next fill isn't until the end of Feb and its all I can do to keep the scale from not going up. I bought a treadmill so I am going to try and use the heck out of it to get the scale moving down again. I'm glad others are going through this too.

I am so glad that I am also not alone in feeling this way. I was banded on Dec 28th and feel just like aprilbene...Like they cut me and stitched me back up. I know I could eat a lot more if I do not watch myself. I have even caught myself eating too much and since I do not even feel restricted I keep thinking something is wrong with my band. Its good to know that this is normal and restriction is on its way. Hope you all the best.

Hugs

Hi there,

Guys, it's a life time of progress, don't expect things to happen straight away. I got banded on Nov 20th 08 and still not had a fill. I had to have an abcess removed next to my port (emergency op) I'm getting my first fill in two weeks. You just have to look at all the comments here to realise that it does happen eventually, you just need patients and trust that the band WILL work. I lost about 10lbs and yo yo'd between that for the last two months, I was feeling down expecting to have lost 28lbs by xmas etc.... Now I've accepted that it's taken 7 years to put this weight on it's going to take a while to come, quick weight loss isn't the answer. Be happy, you've made the biggest move, let the band and fills do the work. xxxxx Lynsay - Scotland xxxx

great post! I'm getting banded on Monday and it's good to hear all this stuff. I want to be real about what to expect and this really does help. I do have a food addiction, but have had to work hard to get that under control before I could have the surgery. Check out their site and look for a meeting in your area, also the post-op support groups are great, I've done some already and was inspired, stay connected! Overeaters Anonymous: 12-step recovery program from compulsive overeating

Hello people!

It is just soooooo nice to find this thread, I am on another wls site but you know if you have a couple then you really can start to beleive what you are reading.

Pre op I lost 20lbs which I am chuffed with. Then 2wks post op I have lost 2kg < 6lbs> I thought this was okay not fab but okay .....:mellow:Well ! ....I can't tell you how pissed I was yesturday when I got a letter from a lady I met in hospital that had the same band on the same day as me she lost an amazing 8kg <17lbs>. Then I thought 'Hold on a min .....My band must not be in the right place.:party: THEN IT ALL HAPPENED....Well I checked all the sites phoned the Doctor- Basically I turned in to a right fruitcake yesturday.... Can't say I am cured because like yourselves I am frustrated at the fact that the op has not given me quicker results.

I had some Reductil in the cupboard that the Gp had prescribed for me six months prior to surgery ...........So I though well if this bastard band is going to take so long I am not waiting to fail . < not that I advocate taking suppressents ; But at 24 stone the NHS said I was not fat enough for them to help - I had to borrow money to pay for this operation and I will be damned if I am going to let my hunger or anything else get in my way.> Armed with that and going swimming once my scars are healed I am hoping that works. I have 30 day supply and my first fill is in two weeks......I have also asked my Gp to arrange a bariam x ray for me to make sure this band is in the right place for my peice of mind. See I was just one plain Lunatic yesturday :frown:.... It does shame me but probably the question that I should ask and will ask is this{ How does the docs or anyone know without doing a scan after op that the band is postioned correctly - What about slippage - I am thinking of chaning my name to LOON in need of facts.}

I hope my unfortunateness unability to lose weight at this point puts a smile on some knowing persons face......Totally unprepared for this phase of the Operation - My own stupid fault should of read and re read .. Oh well !

I can't really tell you how much of a fill to get. It's different for every person and you don't want to be overfilled. It is best to be patient and gradual so you don't risk not being able to get anything down. At my last fill there was a girl in the waiting room for an unfill because she was so tight she couldn't even drink water- then it gets dangerous and you can get dehydrated. I have a 10cc band and am up to 6.5 after 4 fills. I am close to my sweet spot but not there yet. There are people who feel real good restriction with way less than I have in my band and people who need close to 10ccs to get good restriction. It's because stomach's vary in thickness etc....Since it is your first fill I'd ask them to be generous but they usually have guidelines set by the band manufacturer (they are very conservative) for how much each fill should be. I know most doctore don't follow those but most also won't go too far outside the parameters. It may be different in Mexico. When I go in for fills I can't tell them how much I want, they tell me how much I'm getting and,based on what I tell them, they will bump it up if necessary(to a point). My personal feeling, even though I would love to have lost more weight than I have, is that it has been an easier road for me because it has been so gradual. I didn't have to wake up one morning and eat a whole new way. I could eat a little less with each fill and to me that has made the journey easier. Everyone might not feel like that but it is my 2 cents! Try to be patient! (from the most impatient woman on the planet!!!)

Honeyduen, before I was allowed to have anything by mouth I had a swallow test I had to drink a bit of some liquid and the x-ray people checked it out.

Thanks.......I don't feel so bad now! I do think I healed quite quickly from surgery....let's just hope I didn't move my band etc.... Thanks!

kirajh, you said you have a 10 cc band. Is it the mid band? I'm curious because that's what I'm thinking of getting, also in Mexico, but am concerned about finding Dr.s in the US to fill it. Do you get yours filled in mexico or at home?

I totally feel for all of you... I got my surgery last May, and I didn't get any restriction till late October.... that was a long time to go without it, and it was a huge struggle. I still struggle with not losing like I should. I've been trying so hard to lose 2 pounds to meet a goal... and it's not happening. As long as you know you are doing what you should... it will come off, but... sometimes it's sloooooow. However, you are not gaining.... you are getting your body ready for better health. You've got to think of the positivies! Hang in there... it will work!

I'm not sure if it is a mid-size band or not. Who are you thinking of going to? I went to Dr. Ortiz. No, I do not go to Mexico for fills. I got on the phone one day and started calling all the bariatric doctors within a 75 mile radius of me, asking if they did fills on outside patients. After about 30 calls, I found 5 doctors who would do the fills. I picked the closest and the cheapest. Thankfully they were the same doctor. He does a great job with fills but he isn't too aggressive. He'll give fills every four weeks and checks your progress. What state do you live in? I'm in Michigan.

Lisa 717

I had my lap band surgery in Mexico by Dr. Ortiz's office on 12/17/07. I was very impressed with the office and am gald I went there as I saved alot of money. I am scheduled for my first fill on 2/16/08 in Mexico, but am thinking of going to a fill center in Las Vegas, which is closer to my house. There is a link to fill centers in the US on the Obesity Center website if you are interested in looking at that option. My band is a 10cc and I'm curious as to how much of a fill I will receive.

I had my lap band surgery done 2/20/07. I actually gained weight before surgery (I went from 268 to 272 between my last pre-op appointment and just before surgery). In not quite a years time, I've only lost 33 pounds. I have had 3 fills. I had no restriction after the first or second fill and I have moderate restriction right now. I get tired of the dietician (who's quite young and I would imagine has never had weight issues), giving me attitude because I need to be limiting my food intake to "this" much. Well, if I could have limited my food intake BEFORE surgery, I would have lost the weight on my own, just having the surgery didn't change that, at least not without proper restriction. I'm going to schedule another fill soon.

At first, I was upset at having lost so slowly. I didn't want to lose too quickly because I didn't want people to know I'd had surgery (I just don't feel like I should HAVE to tell anyone unless I WANT to, I guess I'm just stubborn). I would have been happier losing about 50 or 60 pounds this year, but even with just 30 pounds gone people are starting to notice and that's really nice. I still have about 110 pounds to lose. I'd like to lose it over the next couple of years. I know it will take more restriction for me to lose it, I just don't have the willpower to fight the hunger on my own, whether it's "real" hunger or "head" hunger.

I guess I will never understand why people (surgeons, nurses, dieticians, etc) can't get it through their heads that if we weren't able to limit our food intake to a small amount before surgery, just having the surgery doesn't make us magically want to eat a smaller amount of food. It's going to take the restriction to make it happen.

I also have a 10cc band and had my first fill on Monday. The doc put in 3cc and I feel nothing. It doesn't help I am PMSing and want to eat everthing in sight:(