I was banded on Sept. 1 and going on my 5th week. Will have my 1st fill next week.

I am eating pretty healthy (although I did have a girls weekend and ate a few samples that weren't exactly low fat), but gained about a 1 pound since my lapband (lost 30 pre-op).

But I have a decent appetitie still. I am at the point where foods aren't sticking, I feel pretty good. Yes, I chew slow, and eat some the low fat foods, incl shakes, etc. Try and limit my portions.

Question is this: do the fills make a big difference in your hunger?

You might not get a huge reduction in hunger after your first or second or more (if you're like me), but each fill was a stepping stone getting me closer to where I am now. I eat my doctor's prescribed three 1/2 cup meal plus a healthy snack, and I feel satiety that lasts four hours or longer. So, along the way, each fill helped with portion and hunger control, but I found the restriction to be fleeting. It took me several fills to get to where I am now. For some people it takes only a couple of fills and a lot less saline. Before my band, I was hungry all the time and fighting the urge to snack. Now, I rarely think about food between meals.

I can't wait for the day I don't think about food all the time. Over the last few years I feel like that is all have I have thought about. Consumed my thoughts so much - I would eat when I wasn't really hungry. I am on my pre-op diet now. I feel like I am doing pretty good with it. Still think about food but know I can't eat it so that pretty much stops me from pigging out! I should have my surgery date this week - doc says I will get my first fill at 4 weeks. I am so excited to have something to help me control my own brain.

Cool. I just wanted to hear somebody say it is normal to have an appetite before the fills, and that the fills will make a difference with hunger.

I think I'm doing good, but it helps to hear from others who are going through the same things.

You might not get a huge reduction in hunger after your first or second or more (if you're like me), but each fill was a stepping stone getting me closer to where I am now. I eat my doctor's prescribed three 1/2 cup meal plus a healthy snack, and I feel satiety that lasts four hours or longer. So, along the way, each fill helped with portion and hunger control, but I found the restriction to be fleeting. It took me several fills to get to where I am now. For some people it takes only a couple of fills and a lot less saline. Before my band, I was hungry all the time and fighting the urge to snack. Now, I rarely think about food between meals.

In the exam rooms at my doctor's office they have a LAP-BAND® ad shows the band taming the hunger lion. When I'd get a fill, that's what I was aiming for (well, it was promised to me by that darn ad..lol).

Some of us have more fat deposits around our stomach that others, so as that shrinks the band becomes loose, and others have anatomies that just required more tweaking of the band to get good restriction. So stay diligent with getting your fills, and you should get to a point where your restriction is sustained rather than here today, gone tomorrow.

I had to end up getting a pressure fill under fluoro (my doctor does those fills for Realize Band only, and he uses a gauge to get an exact measurement of fill pressure). It took around 11cc in a 9cc band (:frown:) for me to finally get restriction that didn't go away after a two to four weeks. I was scared I would be the one who didn't get restriction, but thankfully, I have it now. He said he had a few other patients that needed to be taken to the pressure I'm at, but I believe most patients hit their sweet spot at around 7cc to 7.5cc.