Internal stomach swelling?

[agdunkle 3]

Right now i'm 11 days post op and I can eat soft foods. My stomach does growl occasionally to say "hey put a little fuel in here!" but I never feel "hungry". I've read on this forum that people often don't feel hungry at first because their actual stomach is swollen and once the swelling goes down they are hungry unil they get their first fill.

Could my stomach still be swollen? My doctor doesn't fill the band during surgery, so right now I have nothing in my band... I would LOVE to think i'm one of those people that can feel restriction with no fill but I don't want to get my hopes up.

[kab1278 3]

Right now i'm 11 days post op and I can eat soft foods. My stomach does growl occasionally to say "hey put a little fuel in here!" but I never feel "hungry". I've read on this forum that people often don't feel hungry at first because their actual stomach is swollen and once the swelling goes down they are hungry unil they get their first fill.

Could my stomach still be swollen? My doctor doesn't fill the band during surgery, so right now I have nothing in my band... I would LOVE to think i'm one of those people that can feel restriction with no fill but I don't want to get my hopes up.

Hi agdunkle! Congratulations and welcome to the family!

I can't say how long the stomach can stay swollen. I looked on lapband.com for you but nothing that I can find is specific. However, I do know it can be weeks (if not longer) because your stomach not only has a new band to get used to, but stitches were placed above and below the band to help keep it in place (cool videos on lapband.com show a virtual surgery...stiches and all!). And since we can't just let our stomachs sit dormant and heal, it takes longer for it to heal.

Be careful to follow the time frame for advancing your eating because while it may not hurt at that moment, it can cause damage to your healing stitches. I was actually eating ahead of schedule (my oops!) because I read my papers from my surgeon incorrectly. Luckily, it was only things like Cream of Wheat and yogurt, so I didn't mess up my expensive new belly! I was so grateful I didn't hurt myself.

I do hope you are one of the lucky people who manages to lose weight without fills...they are out there! And I am jealous! But just know, fills themselves aren't too bad. The actual, physical fill has taken me no longer than 5 or 6 seconds from needle in skin to pulling it out. Don't be afraid to ask for more anesthetic in the injection site if you need it and stick to liquids and mushies for a day or two after fills as fills usually irritate the stomach and can make it swell a little. My doctor forgot to tell me that! Yikes!

But my #1 advice is always ask your doctor first about pains or things you know are just "wrong". I have seen people come here to ask questions before calling their doctors about pain and even bleeding! It scares me for them. I paid my doctor too much not to put him to work!

Okay...now that I have bored you to death (LOL), I leave wishing you all the luck in the world! There are a lot of really nice people here to help, so ask anything!

Be blessed!!!

Kelley

P.S. I hope it ok that I talked about things other than you asked. No pushiness intended!

[Jachut 487]

I had no hunger, in face I was very UNhungry, and great restriction for 12 weeks after surgery - I never really got hungry before my first fill, which took place at 12 weeks simply because i saw my doc that week and it was a reasonable time to do it. You are no doubt still swollen, 11 days is not long.

When I got an ileostomy last november, it has taken till now for my system to settle from that, so healing does take rather a long time.

[agdunkle 3]

Hi agdunkle! Congratulations and welcome to the family!

I can't say how long the stomach can stay swollen. I looked on lapband.com for you but nothing that I can find is specific. However, I do know it can be weeks (if not longer) because your stomach not only has a new band to get used to, but stitches were placed above and below the band to help keep it in place (cool videos on lapband.com show a virtual surgery...stiches and all!). And since we can't just let our stomachs sit dormant and heal, it takes longer for it to heal.

Be careful to follow the time frame for advancing your eating because while it may not hurt at that moment, it can cause damage to your healing stitches. I was actually eating ahead of schedule (my oops!) because I read my papers from my surgeon incorrectly. Luckily, it was only things like Cream of Wheat and yogurt, so I didn't mess up my expensive new belly! I was so grateful I didn't hurt myself.

I do hope you are one of the lucky people who manages to lose weight without fills...they are out there! And I am jealous! But just know, fills themselves aren't too bad. The actual, physical fill has taken me no longer than 5 or 6 seconds from needle in skin to pulling it out. Don't be afraid to ask for more anesthetic in the injection site if you need it and stick to liquids and mushies for a day or two after fills as fills usually irritate the stomach and can make it swell a little. My doctor forgot to tell me that! Yikes!

But my #1 advice is always ask your doctor first about pains or things you know are just "wrong". I have seen people come here to ask questions before calling their doctors about pain and even bleeding! It scares me for them. I paid my doctor too much not to put him to work!

Okay...now that I have bored you to death (LOL), I leave wishing you all the luck in the world! There are a lot of really nice people here to help, so ask anything!

Be blessed!!!

Kelley

P.S. I hope it ok that I talked about things other than you asked. No pushiness intended!

Thanks Kelley :-) I am following my doctor's guidlines with food, he has no pureed stage and I've had 0 pain since an hour after I woke up! Others will very much like your advise no worries!

[Noturningback15 45]

It took about 2 weeks before I felt real hunger. I was hoping like you it would last a very long time....it came back but now that I have 7.3 cc's in my band I am never hungry again yea! But, I am having issues with just wanting to eat because...so once I get a hold to that I will be good.

[Wheetsin 714]

My two cents...

Since I had my band over 5 years ago, I can count on one hand the number of times I've felt hungry. For me, that has been a very positive side effect. I usually do not eat until late afternoon or early evening, and don't miss it. Unfortunately when we have company, they have to nicely "remind" me that some people still get hungry and might need to break for lunch.

My stomach will growl, but I don't feel hungry. It's just like this thing my stomach is doing - making noises. I used to describe it as having an upper & lower stomach, and the lower one was pissing & moaning but the upper one -- the one that I actually feel -- is just fine.

And usually when I do truly feel hungry, I'm tight as hell and can't eat anyway.

I don't this it's terribly rare for this to be the case. So you may be experiencing swelling, or decreased appetite for countless number of reasons, or you might not have much hunger anymore.

[agdunkle 3]

wouldn't that be wonderful if I was one of the bandsters that was satisfied with no fill.... one can dream right? hehe

keep the personal stories coming please it's very helpful!

[shanrich96 0]

I will be 3 weeks out this Friday and I feel the same way as you. I have started my mushies and have felt full after just a small amount. I notice that I feel that way for a good 2-3 hours, When I do get hungry the hunger I feel after isn't so bad that I can't wait for the next meal. I just hope it stays that way!