I went in for my first fill at 6 weeks post-op appt - they put in 1.5 but had to take out .25 because when I was drinking my water I heard gurgling. Okay, so this morning I made a protein shake and it went down but very slow and I did feel tightening in my chest as it was going down. Is that how it is supposed to be with first fill? Does it loosen up after a few days? I read on someone's post that just because it feels too tight at first don't have too much taken out or it will be too loose after several days and will be sorry didn't keep it in - I can't find that post to read it again but does anyone else have any advice? I was down 8 lbs - took 6 weeks but 8 down is better than 8 up. Thanks!

I went in for my first fill at 6 weeks post-op appt - they put in 1.5 but had to take out .25 because when I was drinking my Water I heard gurgling. Okay, so this morning I made a Protein shake and it went down but very slow and I did feel tightening in my chest as it was going down. Is that how it is supposed to be with first fill? Does it loosen up after a few days? I read on someone's post that just because it feels too tight at first don't have too much taken out or it will be too loose after several days and will be sorry didn't keep it in - I can't find that post to read it again but does anyone else have any advice? I was down 8 lbs - took 6 weeks but 8 down is better than 8 up. Thanks!

Ok what you may want to do first thing in the morning is drink something warm or hot to losen up your band.

i know for me i am tight tight tight in the morning and can not eat at all. but If i drink some hot coffee or tea it losens up my band.

Alot of bandsters are real tight in the AM but losen up by lunchtime.

I do not understand why this is but its how a lot of us are.

Afternoon i am able to eat with out an issue. And I can drink cold things. But in the morning no way could I drink something cold.

What you are experiencing is the same thing I do. Try something hot in the AM. if this does not work for you maybe you should get a little more out.

I got my second fill on July 15. The first day i didn't feel any restrictions, on the second i started feeling it. 3rd day on, i was so tight I couldn't really eat, everything, really, EVERYTHING including the Protein Shakes (Ready to Drink kind, not a thick one) would get stuck. It would take about 12 hours for my band to losen up enough for me to eat, so if i wake up at 6 AM, i can't eat until 7 Pm at night.

After a week of not being able to really eat anything thicker than a bleded Soup, I came in to LBT screamed for help, my bandster family told me to drink something warm in the morning to help loosen my band, as a matter of fact, i'm doing that right now....(haha)

I don't really eat Breakfast now, since the Protein shake is cold, and i wouldn't dare eat anything in the morning due to my band being so tight.

By lunch time i could eat a bit, i would sneak in my protein shake at lunch. and then eat some food for dinner....

it had been 4 weeks since my fill and i could still feel the restriction... so i guess it's a good thing. I could eat a bit of well-chewed food at lunch now. dinner goes down a whole lot easier than lunch though.

Good luck to ya!! If you have any more questions, I'm sure your bandster family are more than happy to help~!

Thanks so much for the reply. I was unable to eat anything today - I am really only supposed to have cream of wheat or something similar for 48 hours after the fill anyway but it is such a weird feeling literally not being able to eat - I don't have much desire to eat because I know it won't go down and it wil hurt so takes the food desire away pretty much but I dont want to not get my vitamins and nutrients in. I called and talked to the PA at my doctor's office today to make sure I didn't need some more taken out - she said it would loosen up so not to come in - if I swallow anything liquid I hear gurgling as it goes down. She said after a fill your stomach swells because the band is tighter and takes a few days to get back to normal - I know I always wanted to not be hungry but I am not sure I was ready for literally being unable to eat without feeling pain. After my fill yesterday I felt a slight pain in the left side of my neck - I got that after surgery too so hope that is okay. Thanks again