No restriction. Whatsoever.

[ocbutterfly 0]

ok, like a BAD BAD BAD Bandster, I decided to push the envelope and test my limit.

I'm about 13 days post op and on Fri I decided to see how much food it would take for me to feel full. I ate... in my opinion... a lot. I was able to eat chicken [grilled on a BBQ] just fine. Beef jerkey just fine. Pretzel Thins [ i was scared to try but did so anyway] just fine. chips and Salsa...just fine. I even drank Water with the food and still nothing! I just would feel full, not overtly full.

WTH?

Nothing's been stuck and I've had no urge to puke when I was eating and drinking what I thought was more than what I was permitted to.

It's freaking me out to the max! Granted, I did not eat all these things at one sitting, it's been throughout this weekend because Soup and the shakes have driven me crazy, but still. I was expecting to not survive without puking or feeling some sort of pain....

Not a darn thing has happened. I'm going to share this with my Surgeon tomorrow [Mon] and see what the big deal is....

I want a fill, but am not allowed to have one until about 4 weeks from now :puke:

my little experiment is OVER. But I found this to be so strange.

Has anyone else been able to eat just fine so soon?

BTW, I was supposed to start on soft Proteins [i.e. eggs, cottage cheese and lunch meat] on Wed.

[dfav3412 116]

don't test your band, you are asking for trouble this early in the game. fyi: throwing up can cause slips that is why they put you on Clear Liquids, liquids, mushies, then solid. You will be hungry before you get your 1st fill. Do your protien shakes, sugar free popcycles, Jello, pudding, Soups etc whatever you have been instructed to do. You will survive.

[trishfish 1]

sorry to be blunt...and I may get fried for this....but WTH are you doing?! are you trying to 1) sabatoge yourself 2) get a slip less than two weeks after surgery or 3) completly ignore everything you have read and been told by your doctor?

I get frustrated at posts like these...sorry. but there are guidlines for a reason...FOLLOW THEM!!!! and please don't come back crying in a few months that you haven't lost any weight.

[OneYearLater 14]

I'm assuming that you haven't had anything filled in your band yet (some people have doctors that will do a slight fill during the surgery). Without the restriction you probably won't feel full. It's just your stomach the same size with an unfilled band. You CAN usually eat pretty much anything ....the question is SHOULD you? The amount of time that doctors say to eat the mushy food progressing slowly to more solid food isn't so much for the weight loss part of the process, but is to give your stomach time to heal.....eating things like that (harder foods like pretzels etc) probably isn't good for your stomach when it's still in the healing stages.

When I first was banded, after about 4-5 days, I was STARVING and felt like I pretty much could eat ANYTHING. I'm finding that the more i'm following what my doctor told me to eat (TONS of Protein, low carb, no breads or pastas) the less hungry I am feeling as time goes on. I haven't had my first fill yet

[reverie 49]

sorry to be blunt...and I may get fried for this....but WTH are you doing?! are you trying to 1) sabatoge yourself 2) get a slip less than two weeks after surgery or 3) completly ignore everything you have read and been told by your doctor?

I get frustrated at posts like these...sorry. but there are guidlines for a reason...FOLLOW THEM!!!! and please don't come back crying in a few months that you haven't lost any weight.

Blunt but very true. Eating all you did so early on wasn't smart at all. Your surgeon should have told you that restriction (rarely) happens at the time of surgery. Often several fills are needed to reach that point. Until then it's up to you to eat properly..not "test" your band to see just what you can tolerate.

[koreabandster 1]

Why would you test your band? You've been given a set of guidelines from your surgeon to follow for a reason. Maybe you need to think about the reasons you decided to 'test' your band. You might want to think about the reasons you overate.

Everyone has issues dealing with head hunger, and learning to recognize the reasons we overeat. If we don't work out the reasons for our overeating then we will continue to sabotage ourselves. It's been said here a million times but it's true.... the band is just a tool. You can eat through the band and because of this you need to make healthy choices. Unfortunately the easiest food to eat with a band is also the worst type of food. You have to make the right choices when you are eating otherwise IT WON'T WORK!

It may take months before you experience restriction. You need to be prepared for that. I am four months post op. and I am down almost 50lbs. I am not at restriction yet after 5 fills and 10.3ccs in an 11cc band. I have lost most of this weight through diet and exercise.

It might seem that people are getting at you, but that's probably because we have all slipped up at some point. We know how this works and we also know that it's totally possible to fail even with a band. You really need to work at it and you need to be patient and take one day at a time. Don't worry about how quickly the weight is coming off, just know that if you stick to the rules it will work.

[hocuspocus 0]

I too have no restriction. Have not vomited, pb'd, slimed etc. Everything goes down fine. I just eat less of it cause I get full quicker. I have no fill in my band yet and am 2.5 weeks post op. Went to see doc today and he said I probably won't lose any more weight until I have a fill which will be 6 weeks post op.

[Beachbunny 5]

Why do people not follow the guidelines? i was so afraid of doing the wrong thing, i was strict with myself. Slips happen if the band does not have the time to heal!

[ElfiePoo 109]

From the other side of the fence...My doc had me back on regular foods at 14 days post op. I know others whose docs had them back on regular food 3 days postop. So, based on that, I don't see a problem with the fact that you were eating regular food.< /p>

It is not unusual to be able to eat postop just as you did preop until you have some sort of restriction in your band. Depending on many factors, you may not have restriction for months. My suggestion would be to start making good choices now and trying to eat reasonable proportions. Don't just eat because you can.

.

[BetsyB 9]

My doctor is one who has his patients on pureed solids on Day 3.

Solids, per se, are not a real issue postop. Testing the band to see how much you can withstand is really problematic behavior, though.

Very few people have restriction so soon out of the gate. Very few people feel much restriction even after their first fill.

Brace yourself for a significant period of time without restriction. If you're lucky, you'll be an exception, and feel more restriction sooner rather than later. But realistically, it may be a handful of months before you feel that the band is contributing to your loss.

In the meantime, it would be a really good idea to work on the mental half of the equation. Yes, you will be able to eat things, perhaps almost limitlessly. That does not mean you should.

Use the time during which you are striving for restriction wisely. Learn to make choices that will promote loss. Will you be hungry? Probably. Do it anyway.

PS--I am not sure I'd share the results of your experiment with your doctor. Mine was willing to do fills early IF I was compliant. It works far better, IMO, to say, "I've been eating X amount, and am hungry within X minutes; I'm sticking with your plan, but am really uncomfortable" than to say, "I've been breaking every rule you've given me just to demonstrate to myself how useless this band is--and now I want you to fix it."

If you demonstrate noncompliance, you may find it much, much more difficult to establish and maintain a good working relationship with your doctor. And because it's a long-term relationship from which you wish to derive a certain outcome (his cooperation in helping you achieve restriction), you might want to rethink your approach.

Edited October 11, 2010 by BetsyB

[susan hoffman 0]

I agree, we didn't go through all the testing and 2 weeks of liquid Protein Shakes to be more abusive to our bodies. I was "banded' on 8/18/10. Had 1 fill and 1 week away from my 2nd fill. I do feel more hungry and "less restricted" but I am not going to go backwards. I watch my Protein intake and try to take in veggies, salad and no bread and junk. I am trying to change my habits and thinks to feeling this is for the rest of my life and not a shortcut. I need to feel healthy and well for myself and my family. I'm 56 and want to be an adult finally in all respects, it was time to grow up for me.

[stateofzen 46]

If you're going to test your band, the band will fail. There is always a way to "beat" the band, whether now this early when you don't have restriction (neither do I-- get my first fill in another week, maybe), or later when you can eat slider foods like ice cream even when you have restriction.

The band will help you, but you have to help yourself first. Don't fall into the trap I've seen sometimes of believing that "if you could do it on your own, you wouldn't have gotten the band!". While that is true to some degree, we absolutely cannot rely on the band to do all of the work for us or even most of the work, especially in the beginning.

Do it one day at a time and you can get there-- I've seen evidence around here of bandsters who have done it, so that lets me know I can too-- let them be an inspiration.

[ocbutterfly 0]

Ok.

Thanks for everyone's opinion's/lectures, but I just want to be clear on one thing. I was not gorging myself silly or eating huge amounts of food.

On that note, I'm back doing what I had been doing [shakes].

[YouGotBiggie 0]

Yeah I am 3 weeks post op today. Like My Doc told me, The band right now is just in place. I have a little restriction but not much. It doesn't take long for me to get unfull. As long as I eat slow I can eat pretty much anything I want. Slider foods I could grub down on. I don't and eat the correct amount but I could.

[tmfritts 0]

HI! Unless your band has fill in when you had surgery, you won't have any restriction. The restriction you feel right after surgery is due to swelling. Now that you are healing, the swelling is going down and you are able to eat. You just need to be patient and wait until you get a fill for restriction - and even then you might not have much restriction. It takes a few fills to feel restriction for any amount of time - it's different for different people. Just be patient and don't try anything stupid!!!