Appetite and fear of stretching pouch

[band29 0]

HELP PLEASE!!!!! I was banded a little over 3 weeks ago and have a big appetite!!! I read about all of these people that dont want food and feel full all the time, WELL I am the opposite!! It is very discouraging because I fear that I am going to stretch the new pouch :-((((( I get my first fill next Thursday and I am hoping it helps. I just wonder how I would know if i have already caused damage to the pouch or not.

[54Shirley 105]

No because it's empty. That's why your Hungry. Drink Protein shakes, they help kill the HUNGER BEAST !

Once you start getting filled it will make a small difference. This is a fill by fill experience. Each time it gets a little better.

Don't give in or up. Do some Protein, and it should help.

Shirley.

[vlp1968 83]

I don't think you have anything to worry about. Right now your band is empty- so food is not sitting in the "small pouch", it is going right down into your "big stomach". Also the stomach has a lot of give to it, it is my understanding it would take months of evereating to stretch the pouch. I hope your first fill does it for you, it took me 3 fills to feel any restriction. Good luck!

[band29 0]

Thanks for the info and support!!!

[Desert Blossom 4]

HELP PLEASE!!!!! I was banded a little over 3 weeks ago and have a big appetite!!! I read about all of these people that dont want food and feel full all the time, WELL I am the opposite!! It is very discouraging because I fear that I am going to stretch the new pouch :-((((( I get my first fill next Thursday and I am hoping it helps. I just wonder how I would know if i have already caused damage to the pouch or not.

Hello there. I felt exactly the same way at that point of time. I was so hungry and the first fill helped a bit...for a while. It wasn't too much of a difference and I looked forward to my second fill. I finally felt quite a difference with the second fill. They told me that right after surgery, your stomach swells. As the swelling goes down, you feel hungrier. Then you need Fluid. We were also told that as you lose weight, you lose fat around your stomach too so you will need to be adjusted at different points. I don't know. I've heard so many differing factoids about lap band life. With each fill, you should feel less hungry. The nurse told me it's kind of a guessing game and they are conservative with each fill to try to avoid putting me in the red zone. I drank a lot of Water trying to fill myself up. I also had healthy Snacks (yeah I know we shouldn't have snacks) sometimes to tide me over to my next meal. This tends to be my routine when it's close to fill time. Hang in there! It's not an easy time but you'll get through it.

[Desert Blossom 4]

>>>I just wonder how I would know if i have already caused damage to the pouch or not.

Oh also, it's not as easy as it sounds to stretch your pouch. I was worried about damaging the placement of the band especially after I'd eaten too much or too quickly and was in pain. They said it would be very dramatic pain and I'd have to go right in if it slipped. At my first fill, they had me do a barium swallow to check that everything was okay. I'd had a few regrettable episodes of eating and was just fine.

[NJGirl32 43]

Your pouch is fine-don't worry! I am in the same boat. I feel like I never even had surgery (appetite-wise). I pretty much resigned myself to the fact that I will be dieting 'On my own" for the first 2 months unless my first fill magically does the trick. It seems it could take a couple of fills to get it right. It is a difficult period of time "Bandster Hell" indeed. I'll tell you what works for me. I have set times I eat and I can't eat unless it's that time. I eat at 8am (before work). 1pm-lunch, 6pm dinner, and then I have a big snack at 9. You could program Snacks like Jello or yogurt if you want. Having set times really helped me.

Let us know how your first fill goes-I will be VERY curious to know if it helped with your hunger. Don't forget you might be on shakes for 1 day after. Good luck to you!

[Hydun2 0]

i'm about 3 weeks post op and feel the same way. As a matter of fact i just heard my stomach growl. I eat small meals about 5- 6times a day which is what my dr told me to do. I also found that sometimes just getting up and moving around helps. I'm not sure why that is, maybe my stomach knows i'm getting bored and is trying to trick me into eating.... I get my first fill next week so i'm pretty excited about that!

Good luck! I'm sure you'll be fine, just eat lots of protein!!

[vlp1968 83]

Your pouch is fine-don't worry! I am in the same boat. I feel like I never even had surgery (appetite-wise). I pretty much resigned myself to the fact that I will be dieting 'On my own" for the first 2 months unless my first fill magically does the trick. It seems it could take a couple of fills to get it right. It is a difficult period of time "Bandster Hell" indeed. I'll tell you what works for me. I have set times I eat and I can't eat unless it's that time. I eat at 8am (before work). 1pm-lunch, 6pm dinner, and then I have a big snack at 9. You could program Snacks like Jello or yogurt if you want. Having set times really helped me.

Let us know how your first fill goes-I will be VERY curious to know if it helped with your hunger. Don't forget you might be on shakes for 1 day after. Good luck to you!

I eat at the same times every day too, at least for the most part. I include a healthy snack and 3 meals. That way, I can spread my food out across the day and not let myself get too hungry. Also just keeps me feeling in control.

[Toast4U 6]

I'm so glad to read these posts! I'm four weeks post-op and don't feel like I have a band either. Fortunately, I read enough posts on what to expect so I've been trying to be patient. However, it's always a relief to read about others that are in the same phase that I am. Once I get my daily Protein in, I eat healthy and try to eat in moderate portions. I don't get my first fill until June 25th. Ugh! What I find most frustrating right now is everyone who knows that I had the surgery seem to be looking at me like they expect the weight to be melting off of me like those who have had gastric bypass surgery. I also have a few coworkers who feel the need to ask me every day what I'm having for lunch. Sheesh! The angel within me says they are hoping to get healthy lunch ideas, but the devil within me keeps whispering that they are being nosy and trying to find out if I'm adhering to a diet plan. Ha Ha!!!

[HeatherinCA 10]

food doesn't really sit in the pouch anyways for more than a minute or so.. don't worry. Just keep track of your calories I eat a good amount of food too. Trust me, it'll be really uncomfortable if you over eat WAY too much.

Also yes, the fills will help with your hunger, that is their job.

[mannapanda 0]

I'm so glad to read these posts! I'm four weeks post-op and don't feel like I have a band either. Fortunately, I read enough posts on what to expect so I've been trying to be patient. However, it's always a relief to read about others that are in the same phase that I am. Once I get my daily Protein in, I eat healthy and try to eat in moderate portions. I don't get my first fill until June 25th. Ugh! What I find most frustrating right now is everyone who knows that I had the surgery seem to be looking at me like they expect the weight to be melting off of me like those who have had gastric bypass surgery. I also have a few coworkers who feel the need to ask me every day what I'm having for lunch. Sheesh! The angel within me says they are hoping to get healthy lunch ideas, but the devil within me keeps whispering that they are being nosy and trying to find out if I'm adhering to a diet plan. Ha Ha!!!

I'm feeling the same way about how people are 'watching' me. The weight for me came off pretty quickly at first, but now that I'm on the maintaince diet, it's not coming off as quickly. I had my first fill a couple of weeks ago, and at that point I seemed to be full with just a cup at meals. But lately I seem to be feeling more hungry and able to eat more. They didn't put in much for my first fill b/c it seemed to be doing okay. I was glad to find this post b/c I too was worried that I had stretched out my pouch. I'm anxious to get my second fill and have a bit more put in to help curb my hunger and ability to eat more. I'm doing okay probably 80% of the time on my own, but it's that 20% of the time that my will power sinks and I eat more than I should. Trying to stay focused and remembering where I came from (35 lbs. lost so far) and that I am still losing, just not as much as before!

[jen120 23]

I know how you feel...3 weeks post op and I dont feel any real restriction. I am doing my best to follow the nutritionists guidelines getting in my Protein daily and trying to stay under 1000 calories. My stomach growls all the time, especially at night and in the morning. I am tracking everything I eat and plan to start exercising next week.

Hang in there...