What is happening?

[Tonyamarie75 0]

I was banded December 2nd, 2010. I have not lost a single pound in 3 weeks! I am so discouraged! I am hungry all the time and feel like this was a waste of my time and money! I have my fisrt fill on January 18th....I am hoping this will help me eat less, like the band is suppose to do.

Maybe I should have had gastric bypass Any suggestions on why no weight loss?

[Dave_NW 92]

Tonya, the weeks right after surgery are not at all about weight loss. They are about healing from surgery, and getting READY for the weight loss that is to follow. Your frustration is understandable, but you are getting ahead of yourself. Give your doctor a call and ask about what you should expect at this point in your recovery. I'm sure it'll help put you at ease about things.

Patience is very hard to develop, especially with the band. It is not a quick fix. Realistic weight loss will take time. hang in there.

Dave

[FLORIDAYS 3,040]

I was banded December 2nd, 2010. I have not lost a single pound in 3 weeks! I am so discouraged! I am hungry all the time and feel like this was a waste of my time and money! I have my fisrt fill on January 18th....I am hoping this will help me eat less, like the band is suppose to do.

Maybe I should have had gastric bypass Any suggestions on why no weight loss?

Are you drinking enough Water? Are you eating the right foods? I am in no way an expert.... but are you writing down everything you are eating? This helped me stay on track and have a decent loss thus far. My Dr suggests 1000 calories per day is the max I should be consuming to see a steady loss. Remember during this time you have very little restriction so you may be overeating and not realize it.

If it were me I would call and make an appoinment sooner that 1/18! If they cannot get you in... call the dietician who can better advise you.

This is just a bump in the road.... you'll be losing in no time. Best of luck!

[Tonyamarie75 0]

Thank you both! I know I am eating more than I should, but I am very hungry...ALL THE TIME!

Patience is a virtue, I know....

My Dr. is 2 hours away and can only see patients for fills, once a week.

Thank you fro your encouraging responses...it's means a lot!

[Tami_819 17]

Try not to get discouraged to quickly. From all my reading here, sometimes it takes a few fills to reach that restriction feeling that the band gives you. I've had two fills so far & i believe the last one will do the trick. In the meantime, try looking at your current diet. Making sure you are making the right choices will help you a great deal. If you can't go full force on the right choices, start with small steps eliminating one weakness at a time & cutting down portion sizes on the rest. You will get there. Are you using a food journal & counting calories? I know it's a pain in the butt, but that's really helped a lot of us. Also are you exercising?

Hang in there.

[FLORIDAYS 3,040]

Thank you both! I know I am eating more than I should, but I am very hungry...ALL THE TIME!

Patience is a virtue, I know....

My Dr. is 2 hours away and can only see patients for fills, once a week.

Thank you fro your encouraging responses...it's means a lot!

I understand..... this last week in counting down to my first fill tomorrow I have been STARVING. Being accountable to myself and using my new food scale and writing down everything that goes in my mouth has help more than I can tell you.

Actually I have an AP on my Droid phone which tracks it for me so I feel very "with It" LOL

[vickyd 24]

I was banded the same day as you and also went about 3 weeks without losing. I started journaling everything I was eating (800-900 calories a day) and with some advice from my husband I actually increased my calories to 1,000 a day and started losing again (3 lbs since Friday). As others have said, drinking enough Water and exercising are also key but don't stress out too much about it...this is a process for all of us and it takes time to figure out what your body needs in order to lose weight.

Good luck!

[JerseyGirl80 12]

I was banded December 2nd, 2010. I have not lost a single pound in 3 weeks! I am so discouraged! I am hungry all the time and feel like this was a waste of my time and money! I have my fisrt fill on January 18th....I am hoping this will help me eat less, like the band is suppose to do.

Maybe I should have had gastric bypass Any suggestions on why no weight loss?

Hi Tony,

I agree with everyone. The beginning, as much as we want it to be it's not really about losing weight. I was banded Dec 13th and my first fill is also on Jan 18th. I haven't lost much since my post-op liquid diet. I even gained 5 pounds over Christmas & New Years, thankfully 4 of the extra 5 are gone, but I am struggling to lose as well.

I'm always hungry and can eat much more than I thought I'd be able to after surgery. But I've been doing my best to fill up on veggies and Proteins, staying away from the bad carbs, drinking all my Water and not having any liquid calories. I've also been working out when I can.

Hang in there, I'm feeling discouraged myself and I'm very impatient! But we have to give the band a chance to do it's thing before we start regretting it.

[ElfiePoo 109]

I was banded December 2nd, 2010. I have not lost a single pound in 3 weeks! I am so discouraged! I am hungry all the time and feel like this was a waste of my time and money! I have my fisrt fill on January 18th....I am hoping this will help me eat less, like the band is suppose to do.

Maybe I should have had gastric bypass Any suggestions on why no weight loss?

I'm not sure I understand why you feel the band was a waste of your time and money since you have yet to get a fill. You're hungry all the time because the band puts pressure on the vagus nerves which control the stomach from producing ghrelin, the hunger hormone. Some people get enough pressure with just the band. Most of us need some amount of fill. Patience.

My guess for why no weight loss...you're still eating at least as many calories as your current body weight needs. This would be a good time to start recording what you eat in something like fitday.com so you can see why you're losing, stalling or gaining.

.

[Mommyto1 1]

I was banded on October 15 and I can tell you, I was STARVING the first month or so after I had surgery. Some people are lucky and they seem to feel satisfied with only a slight fill, but I wasn't one of them. I had my first fill on November 29 and my second fill on December 20. After the 2nd fill, I felt a little better, but still I'm still hungry (especially at times). Based on what my doctor told me, most people don't start to get restriction until they have 7-9cc's in their band.

Just be patient. It definitely gets better. The first few weeks are the worst, and I think it's more head hunger than actual hunger.

[honk 780]

Not really a magic answer for your problem but I would recommend measuring at least your Protein. Get a digital food scale (one that you can zero out after putting the plate down). Put your food on a lunch size plate, rather then a reg. dinner plate. When the food is gone you're done eating. Tough I know! After 2-3 hours when you are hungry you could have an oz of chicken breast; or a cheese stick, or perhaps a warm drink. It took me 5 fills before I started to have restriction. Others have needed fewer fills. In my opinion this is a diet until you get restriction; which means stopping eating when you still want to eat.

[gotmyeyeontheprize 2]

I was banded December 2nd, 2010. I have not lost a single pound in 3 weeks! I am so discouraged! I am hungry all the time and feel like this was a waste of my time and money! I have my fisrt fill on January 18th....I am hoping this will help me eat less, like the band is suppose to do.

Maybe I should have had gastric bypass Any suggestions on why no weight loss?

I am so sorry that you are going through this. You are in the well known "bandsters hell". I was banded on November 22nd and had my first fill this past Friday. Unfortunately, I am still in "bandsters hell" after a fill of 2.4cc.

Once the swelling from surgery goes away, you no longer have restriction. So, you get hungry. From what I have read, it can take 3 or more fills before you ever feel any good restriction. Until you have adequate restriction, you have to lean on your own will power.

Hang in there and know that you are not alone! Best of luck to you.

[Tonyamarie75 0]

I Just can't say THANK YOU enough to EVERYONE who has commented!

I am very inpatient, and I really thought the band wasn't working.

Does anyone know, when you get your first fill, will you eat less from it? Less hungry?

Hi Tony,

I agree with everyone. The beginning, as much as we want it to be it's not really about losing weight. I was banded Dec 13th and my first fill is also on Jan 18th. I haven't lost much since my post-op liquid diet. I even gained 5 pounds over Christmas & New Years, thankfully 4 of the extra 5 are gone, but I am struggling to lose as well.

I'm always hungry and can eat much more than I thought I'd be able to after surgery. But I've been doing my best to fill up on veggies and Proteins, staying away from the bad carbs, drinking all my Water and not having any liquid calories. I've also been working out when I can.

Hang in there, I'm feeling discouraged myself and I'm very impatient! But we have to give the band a chance to do it's thing before we start regretting it.

[Phranp 46]

Well, I can tell you that with my first fill I felt absolutely NO restriction. I am impatient too so I was anxiously awaiting my next fill which was 2 weeks away. I will say that as soon as I was on solid foods post op I started cutting back. Just little things like only a sandwich for lunch, no chips and Water was my beverage. Then I cut it down to 1/2 sandwich for lunch, etc. Now that I have proper restriction (which came 7 months after surgery) I don't eat sandwhiches at all -- bread gives me too much trouble and makes it hard to get enough Protein per meal. At 18 months out my diet has changed tremendously, but it was a gradual change. I was never a physical hunger person so I cannot speak to your being hungry all the time. My issue is head hunger and, with the band, I cannot binge to any degree ... it will come back up if I do.

The good news is that there are people on this forum who have experienced restriction with their first fill. Not many, but I have read about them here on this forum. Perhaps you will be one of the lucky ones too. If not, do not despair ... patience is a virtue (and I used to say "not one of mine"), and developing patience while waiting for your tool to work is an interesting experience. I suggest that you not conentrate on what you want to happen, but that you concentrate on the things within your control (i.e., changing your eating habits, getting more exercise and staying hydrated). You can do this! Just don't stress yourself, and let your body heal.

All the best to you on your journey!

~fran

[djmixon 1]

Did your doctor put the band in and not fill it at all? Some do that, then you don't get satisfied while you are healing. It would certainly explain your lack of satiety.

My doctor put the band in and filled it as well... for the most part I am satisfied... a new feeling, for certain. While the swelling goes down, I am feeling a little less "full" but it could certainly be worse. Now I just have to stop eating real food while I am still on the liquid diet... THAT is my challenge right now.