Hello all! I was banded on April 10th, and so far i have had NO problem eating anything. Is this a good thing or a bad thing. Also, I was wondering, when I have my first fill, will I be able to eat solids?:smile::thumbup:

The period immediately post op until you get your first fill is for healing, not weight loss, however you should really be on a liquid or mushy diet right now to allow your insides to heal. After your first fill you should gradually build up again from liquid to mushy to solid foods. you have had an operation on your stomach so should treat it gently.

I hope you are saying you CAN eat anything, not that you ARE eating anything!! Did your doctor not talk to you about what to eat post-op? Most of us were on liquids/mushies for a few weeks after surgery. Your band needs time to heal in place before you start solid foods.

That said, you probably will be hungry until you get a few fills and get some restriction. Like someone else said, the band is just hanging there kind of like a belt around your pants that's not been cinched up. The fills will eventually cinch it up but until then, it's going to be willpower.

Check with your doctor about what he/she wants you to be eating. Best of luck to you.

What the others said....

And... don't get your hopes up too much about that first fill. It often takes more than 1 fill before you get restriction. Some doctors are very conservative with fills. My doctor gave me 3cc on my first. 3cc on my second and then 1cc on my third. That is one of the most aggressive fill schedules I've heard based on the other posts I've read.

My second fill I felt restriction for about 1.5 weeks then it loosened up. Now with my third fill I'm crossing my fingers that I keep my restriction.

It is not uncommon that after the swelling goes down to feel hunger. Hang in there and talk to your doctor about fills. Every doctor seems to have a different take on what the right fill schedule is.

what do ya'll mean by restrictions?

My question is what do you mean by eat anything? Do you mean anything that your doctor has put on your allowed list? Your post indicates that you have not even been banded 2 weeks yet. I can not say strongly enough how important it is to follow the dietary restrictions during the healing phase. You can do great harm to your band and to yourself by ignoring these.

Your Dr. didn't explain restriction? It is when your band is tightened to a point where the amount of food you eat is decreased. I didn't get good restriction until my fourth fill. You will definitly know when you get it.

When I said I could eat anything I meant, mashed potates, ground beef, sf pudding, refried beans, ect. I did find out that eggs are not for now.

Good explaination above. For me, restriction is eating a small amount and feeling full. Also, if I continue to eat (bad habits that are slowly dieing I PB.) Once I got restriction it was amazing how quickly I started to learn... no, no, this is they way you eat now. Really we should all try to start to modify our portions before we get to restriction, but that is easier said than done.

Anymore, the portion sizes I used to look at and say. 'Nice appetizer' Now I look at and go :thumbup: no way I can eat all that.

But the key thing I didn't really grasp is how long this takes.

My journey has gone like this:

The research and picking a doctor period. (2 weeks)

The insurance period (Self Pay so skip this one)

The testing and approval with the doctor period (2 weeks)

The dreaded pre-op diet. (1 month)

The surgury. (easiest part by far for me)

The healing (You are here, but about 2 weeks, every one is different)

Fills and finding sweet spot (3 months cross my fingers)

Not sure what is next, I hope it is the finally I'm loosing weight period!

Wish someone would have laid it all out like this for me. Probably someone did and I just didn't see it.

One thing I will say is the place has been a constant during the whole process, and I consider it to be help.

Edited April 23, 200917 yr by mlafentres

i was banded in december of 2008. i just got my second fill a few days ago. i still feel like i want to eat more than i should. its a struggle of will power for me because i dont think i have the right amout of restriction.

i can eat anything....steak, bread, raw veggies. etc. i have never had anything get "stuck" yet. however my doctor put it best when she said "just because you can doesnt mean you should" that is how you get an obstruction. it just takes one time for you to have to go back to surgery!!!

I'm the same way. I'm just over three weeks post op and everything I've tried has gone right down with no problems. But if I eat past full or too fast, I definitely know it froma pianful lump in my mid-back and burpy gas. When I read about all the people on here who have real problems with a lot of food, I feel lucky. But then again, I think it may be a bad thing because I eat things I shouldn't without any real consequences....I'm afraid to go back to old habits. And willpower is not my strong suit...if it was, I wouldn't be here taking about my lapband!:thumbup:

I was banded on January 15, 2009. Last Friday, April 17th, I had my fifth fill. I am finally "restricted". It is so great when it finally happens but you have to remember that it is a process. I was really getting discouraged and was dieting as well as I could and now it is way easier so just hang in there.

You really need to do what your doctor says and know that you will get there eventually.

Good Luck to you,

Debbie