I am confused on "restriction" - my doc says get a fill when I no longer have restriction. But what exactly does this mean - restriction as to how much I can it, or how well I can eat? I'm only 2 weeks out and I can eat big bites and not even chew that much (I'm on mushies) and I can eat fast, but I an't eat a large amount so am I restricted or not?

The only true restriction I have had so far was right after my surgery before the swelling went down. I haven't had any since, so ironically I just have to "diet" until I get a fill :-)

But I am pretty sure most bandsters have little to no restriction before their fills.

I heard that about pre-fills, but is restriction the amount you can eat or is restriction on how you eat (slow, chew well, etc) b/c I can gulp down food but I can only eat a small amount so do I fill or not?

Laura, you are very newly banded and still healing. This is the time when your body is healing. You will be able to read many threads here that will tell you just to let your body heal right now. If you lose weight or have restriction it is a blessing because most bands are 'on vacation' until you get the right amount of fill. Your restriction here may just be the post surgery swelling. You are also just eating mushies which go right through the band. Until you start eating solids you may not see any difference.

Most dr will not give you a fill until 4-6 weeks after surgery. You will go through many more phases before you are ready to talk about fills. Please do a search and read other threads on this topic.

I know I can't get a fill for 4 more weeks, I was just confused on the term "restriction"

but is restriction the amount you can eat or is restriction on how you eat (slow, chew well, etc)

Both. When your band is tightened properly, you will have to eat more slowly, chew carefully, and you will get full on less food. That is down the road now.

Right now your diet is mushy and it should be. The food you eat should go on down with minimal "restriction" so that your stomach doesn't have to work much while you are healing. If you have food up top, your stomach will squeeze and spasm to make it go on down past the band. This is fine once you are healed up, but is NOT okay right now.

I promise, you will know all about restriction after a fill. It's a whole new world but not one for you to experience just yet.

I waited 3 months before my first fill because I was restricted from the get-go. Most folks get past the healing stage (6 weeks) and feel like they can eat anything anyhow anytime. Sounds like you will be in that category. The restriction you have right now is making you eat less, but with no discomfort. You are fortunate.

Your diet is also an issue. Right now you are on mushies and they go right on down, and they should. Once you are on a regular diet and eating hard protiens first, then veggies, then carbs, you may feel a big difference then. Just wait, though. Heal up for now.

Does that explain it?

That helps alot. I know I am weeks away from a fill and I am healing and all that but I just don't want to end up being one of those people who puts off getting a fill when they need it.

I am only 4 weeks out from surgery, so I also understand your questions. I am thinking it might be that until you experience it, you won't really "know" it??? For instance, I couldn't really relate to something being "stuck" and the pain from that. The other day, I ate a couple bites of a blueberry muffin, which by the way, I was sort of mourning at the time because right then I really wanted like 4 or 5 muffins, not 1!! Well, after a couple bites of the muffin, it got "stuck" and hurt like crazy. I have read that drinking doesn't help, but since I haven't had a fill yet, I figured it wouldn't hurt, so I took a couple sips of coffee to "soften" it??? It hurt worse. The only thing I could do was try to concentrate on my cleaning project I had been doing and a few minutes later, it was gone. But now I understand "stuck" LOL!!! Live and Learn???? Karen