I was banded on June 6th, so it's been about a week and a 1/2. I feel like I'm always hungry. Am I not suppose to feel full quicker and for longer since my stomach pouch is so small? I feel like I could eat a normal size meal if I wanted. And I'm hungry about an hour after I eat. Is this normal? Someone said that they heard the doctors don't fill the band during surgery. Does the band have anything in it or do they wait for a while before filling it?? I wish I didn't feel so hungry all the time!!!

:confused2:

I was banded on the 3rd. I get the full feeling. However, you need to eat slow and eat Protein first!! No the band is empty until you go for your first fill. My doctor waits 1 month from surgery before he will do a fill.

Good Luck!

Michelle, your initial swelling from the surgery has probably gone down. The band is optimally designed to work when filled. Following surgery, and prior to getting filled, you will most likely not notice much of a difference in your hunger levels from pre-surgery. Right now is a time for healing, not dieting or losing weight. If you do lose any weight during this stage, consider it a bonus. Many people do not lose anything prior to reaching proper restriction, and many even gain. Be patient, it may take 2 or 3 fills before you reach proper restriction. But, once you do you will know it and you will begin to see your new tool help you lose the weight you want to lose.

thank you for such a clear explanation - I have heard people talk about this and was a little confused also! Mer

i was always hungry until my 2nd fill. most likely your band isn't filled with anything yet and it usually takes a couple of fills before you feel restricted. you're in "Bandster Hell". that's when you're banded but still hungry. this is when you have to be patient and practice everything you've read!

now, my bad WAS filled (or primed) during surgery with 1.5cc. my first fill took me up to 3.3cc and i still had no restriction. my second fill took me to 5.3cc and i finally feel restriction but restriction comes at different times for everyone.

i did lose 12 pounds before my first fill and my doctor was surprised because some people don't lose anything during their first month because they aren't filled.

I was banded on May 16th and I still haven't felt that crazy hungry feeling yet. I'm hoping that I don't. I have been able to force myself to keep to a 800 calorie diet as that is what my Dr. recommended at my 3 week check-up. When I transitioned from clear liquids to full liquids I felt a lot better physically and mentally but it wasn't until I moved to the mushy stage that I started feeling really human again.

Thank you all for your explanations. It helps to know what's going on with others.

Off topic, kalipso, how do you get the weight tracker onto your signature? I tried, but it kept telling me "invalid entry" or something. I copied and pasted the url from tickerfactory.com. Did I do it wrong??

I'm almost three weeks out, and can completely identify with your hunger. On day four post op, I felt like I was startving to death. I was weak and started getting migraine headaches. I snuck in the carnation instant breakfast a few days early and felt much better.

Now I'm on the mushies. Thursday I go to regular diet, but in reality I've been pretty much on a regular diet already. I'm never hungry in the morning, but as the day wears on, I'm VERY hungry. The dinner I had tonight was probably not much smaller than what I would have eaten pre-band.

As you can add different and more solid foods, the hunger doesn't seem as bad.

Regarding the signature, cut and paste the other text box, not the the url.

Thank you all for your explanations. It helps to know what's going on with others.

Off topic, kalipso, how do you get the weight tracker onto your signature? I tried, but it kept telling me "invalid entry" or something. I copied and pasted the url from tickerfactory.com. Did I do it wrong??

Michelle, did you check out our ticker tutorial? Here is the link:

http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f5/ticker-tutorial-pictures-41782/

Thank you!!

Susan4794,

That was a beautiful and comforting explanation, and I couldn't have said it better myself. I bet you would be a great counselor.

I, too, appreciate the explanation.

I was banded June 4 and I've noticed that as the days go by, I'm feeling a little bit hungrier and hungrier. I guess that means the swelling is going down! I'm actually still on liquids, so that's a challenge in and of itself. I can't wait for mushies!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I found out on Tuesday when I met with my surgeon for a post-op check up that the band is not filled. She said they wait until six weeks after surgery for the first fill. I'll have to wait until July 17th for the band to actually have anything in it. I feel like until then, I just have to diet so that I can lose a little weight! I'm getting anxious for the pounds to start dropping!

I was also told that I would not be hungry after the surgery, BS!!! The other thing that surprised me is the realization that the feeling of fullness is not the one we are used to but rather a sensation of having something in your esophagus that has only gone half way down. And since you feel like something is stuck- you don't eat anything else, especially if you follow the rule of no drinking while you eat.

I got Protein liquid (clear) fruit punch concentrate (3oz=42gms protein) at bariatriceating.com. I dilute them with Water so they taste like Vitamin Water and it helps with healing and hunger. I am on fulls now so I puree fat free Soup, make fat free/sugarfree pudding, jellow, custard and mush it in my mouth. Since these go through the band easily (and don't feel stuck)- you do get full. Thank goodness.

i was banded on June 4, 2008 i started at 276 and now im 262 but that changes from morning to night or if i drink water etc then ok in the morning . i cant exersice yet due to another procedure i had i am sooooooo frustrated

Whether or not your band is filled at all during surgery will depend on the size of your band, and your surgeon. The small bands I have never heard of them being filled, until 4-8 weeks out from surgery.

Everyone is somewhat different on the inside as we are on the outside. I mean just as we all have 2 eyes, they are not EXACTLY the same, some are big, some small, some close set....you get the idea, well we are the same inside. And even though the surgeon is inside placing the band and looking at what he is doing to the outside of the stomach, even he is not seeing the inside of the stomach to assure that similar placement of the band yields similar results.

The nerves that signal fullness are at the top of the stomach-which is why the old diet idea of drinking a full glass of Water before eating, worked....if only for a few minutes, until the water travelled through! Sometimes the band is placed where it actually puts pressure on these nerves, and hunger is diminished, or your full signal is hit VERY quickly when you do eat. For others, the placement does not connect with the nerve, and it will take a fill to squeeze the stomach down to be able to get that feeling. Yet others----which is actually most bandsters, will require 2 or more fills to get this sensation.

While it sounds ideal to have the band placed where hunger is eliminated or lessened, it does not have any effect at all on head hunger. Where you eat from boredom, habit....or a craving you get from a commercial on TV. That has to be done with willpower alone.

As you go on and you do feel restriction, oftentimes your tastes change. Some from having to chew things so well....highly processed foods, do not chew down well! And also some aversion therapy often takes place....when something causes a PB or discomfort, you just learn not to care so much for it! Sounds worse than it is, you just learn not to want it any more.

As has been mentioned, this time between healing and filling for restriction is often referred to around here as Bandster Hell. I often liken it to finally getting the new car you have been wanting after all this time.....and now there it sits, and you have no gas to go anywhere!!

Some of you will feel hungry, others will not. Some will lose weight before their first fill, others will not. In the end though, when you can begin working with the band instead of working by yourself, it will be easier.

Good Luck to all of you....hang in there!

Kat