What Does Lap Band Restriction Feel Like??

[Army's girl 4]

I got banded 11/4/11 at which time my doctor put in 2cc's. The first 5 days I lost 10lbs & honesty didn't miss food nor felt hungry which was great.now I'm on day 10 & I'm hungry all the time & I've stopped losing ANY weight!!!! I'm on mushies eating things like kfc mashed potatoes no gravy, sf popsicle & fudgesicles, whey Protein Shakes (4oz) w/slim fast mixed together for flavor, lots of juices, scrambled egg (1) & cheddar/motz cheese cubes. I get my fist fill on 12/3 & I'm really hoping it will restrict me so i continue losing weight. I don't know how to tell when I'm restricted. Can someone please tell me how this feels & what sign & symptoms to look for so I know? I don't want to feel like I'm starving & depriving myself because that leads me to binge & fai.

[xavier 153]

This post-op time where you dont have restriction just sucks and it can go on for a few months especially if your doc is cheap with fills. My doc says if your band is half full or less (5ccs in a 10cc band) you just dont really have the band helping you and until you get there you just suffer!

I am an old bander cruising along easily in maintenance but I remember those days well. These days I have great restriction and I am happily plateaued in the normal BMI range.

Here is good restriction for me: Before noon I usually have a Protein Drink or maybe some cheese because solid food just wont really go down. At lunch I can eat probably a half a sandwich on regular bread that you have at home. I might rip the crusts off because they are a bit dry. I could probably eat a third of a Subway sandwich and not even all the bread from that..I pick some of it away, I have a snack whenever I am hungry (around 3pm) of whatever I want or can find and its about a half cup.If I ate 4 oreo Cookies (bad, I know) I will be stuffed like on Thanksgiving! Same at dinner around 6pm or so I have a half or 3/4 cup of whatever we are having and I feel stuffed. My band is loosest in that evil after dinner time when I am usually watching TV and I do have to exert some discipline not to snack. A glass or two of wine keeps me off the snacking and also I will wake up with bad heartburn (which I guess I deserve!) if I eat anything after about 7:30...

I hope this helps!!

PS I also eat lots of things that are not so healthy and yes, of course I do eat when I am just not hungry! But my band gives me a bitchslap if I try to eat too much at any one time!

[chihuahuagirl 0]

I got banded 11/4/11 at which time my doctor put in 2cc's. The first 5 days I lost 10lbs & honesty didn't miss food nor felt hungry which was great.now I'm on day 10 & I'm hungry all the time & I've stopped losing ANY weight!!!! I'm on mushies eating things like kfc mashed potatoes no gravy, sf popsicle & fudgesicles, whey Protein shakes (4oz) w/slim fast mixed together for flavor, lots of juices, scrambled egg (1) & cheddar/motz cheese cubes. I get my fist fill on 12/3 & I'm really hoping it will restrict me so i continue losing weight. I don't know how to tell when I'm restricted. Can someone please tell me how this feels & what sign & symptoms to look for so I know? I don't want to feel like I'm starving & depriving myself because that leads me to binge & fai.

This is a good question and I hope when I go to get my first adjustment tomorrow I can give you a good answer,

lisa

[Army's girl 4]

Thank you for your replies. That was very informative. I'm post-op 15 days now & haven't lost ANY more weight other than the 10 lbs I lost the first 5 days. I'm hungry often and I can eat just about anything just a small amount of it. I'm not sure this is good or not but I sure wish I wasn't hungry all the time & thatthe weight would continue to come off. I've been going to the gym maybe 4 days outta the week. As for liquids & Snacks, well I work in surgery so I don't really have time to eat or srink every 2 hours. I crave carbs incredibly. My first fill is dec 3rd. How much should I ask my doc to fill me with??

[xavier 153]

Ask for as much as they will give you as long as you can still drink some water! This is a tough time getting enough fill to have your band working for you! I promise in a year you'll be laughing about all these things!!!

[Army's girl 4]

So last night I was able to eat real solid food! I don't feel ANY restriction now & my portions are getting bigger. This is not suppossed to be happening& I'm really frustrated. I'm going to gym on weekends bcuz lately I've been working long hours & I'm just too exhausted by the end of my shift to go to any gym. After cooking, feeding the dogs and going over homework its 8:45pm & I'm beat!! lol I'm really looking forward to getting this fill so I can finally get back to losing weight. Any suggestions in the meantime? The Protein Shakes don't hold me at all & neither do the puddings, yogurts, cheese & etc. I never feel nauseau or throw up either (I wish I would though so I'd be scared to eat). I'm kinda down of this.

[RobinJ 0]

Amy Girl,

Don't get down about not having restriction yet because you will. It just takes a little time. I am assuming you have a 10cc band. If so, I find that restriction for most is between 5 - 8 cc. Although some need less and some need more it depends on the person. I have good restriction at 6.5cc. HOWEVER I remember being really, really frustrated prior to getting to that sweet spot. My doctor kept giving me small fills and I only had a little restriction.

You will know you have good restriction when a small meal feels like you just had a Thanksgiving dinner. I just finished eating a fried chicken salad, well half of it and I am stuffed. I cannot eat anything for the first couple hours of the day. It's even hard to take my medicine in the morning with Water because most days the Water comes back up. Normally around ten I will have a v-8 juice and a piece of cheese. The band gets looser as the day goes on, but there is always restriction. For instance last night I had 5 chicken Mcnuggets (I know bad) and I was stuffed. I find drinking hot tea loosens the band, but most days I just wait for it to loosen on it's own.

Actually you probably should enjoy the less restriction you have now...lol...wait until food gets stuck and you're running to the bathroom because you know it's coming back up. If you can get the doctor to give you 3 or 4 cc's and see if you can drink water. DO NOT leave the office if you can't because if you can't get down water, you won't get down food either. Just try and eat light at dinner until you get the restriction that you need and keep excercising...the weight will come off.

[akfishgirl007 0]

Hi all,

I was banded in April 2010. I have lost about 65 lbs. I have a 10cc band. I just had a fill two weeks ago of .25cc for a total of 6.75cc. After two days of not being able to tolerate Water I went in for an emergency unfill. The Dr. took out half of the .25cc that she had put in. I immediately felt better, but I'm still really restricted. Before this fill I could eat a whole bowl of Soup and even some normal foods. I felt like at times I was eating too much and making too many bad choices and the weight loss had slowed to a halt. Now I can't keep anything down, but hot coffee or tea in the morning. On stressful workdays (just about everyday) I can hardly eat even in the evening, not even soup sometimes. I'm thinking I should have another unfill, but am afraid the weightloss will stop. I'm on the fence; I would like to at least enjoy some salad or something remotely substantial, but I don't want to get too liberal with the food. Is this normal? thoughts anyone?

[RobinJ 0]

Wow I think you should get a very slight unfill...you will not be able to get the calories your body needs if you don't. Also this situation sounds miserable because you are restricted to only a few food choices. Good Luck!!

[klm1648 19]

Hi Armygirl,

I had my procedure done on 11/10/2011. I started week 4 today and went in to get an incision looked at. Since I was already there, the surgeon said that I could go ahead and have my band filled. I was at 1.6cc before and am now at 3.6cc. I feel somewhat nauseous and had a mild headache throughout the day. I can drink liquids and am not hungry. I did have a cup of Soup earlier and felt better. It was a broccoli cheese soup and I only ate the liquid. I was worried before I went in today because I was eating more than I thought a person with a lap band should be, but then I remembered that my band had not been filled for the first time yet. I now it is easy to get discouraged and be hard on yourself, believe me I felt like crap because I thought I stretched my band or just ate too much. Remember, that you are barely one month post-op and your first fill is approaching so stay positive, you lose 10 pounds already. That is great! As far as what you feel after your first fill, all I can say is you might feel some pressure, like if you have already ate something. Similar to the feeling right after surgery but not as discomforting. I had nausea throughout the day but once I had some soup, it went down some. They have me on thick liquids today and tomorrow, soft foods on Saturday and solids on Sunday. I will let you guys know what I am feeling and how different everything is with your first band fill. Good Luck and keep in mind that even though the lap band will help you on what you eat, you also have to face mentally what you choose to eat (I am dealing with this now...) I know you will do great!

- Kat

[Army's girl 4]

thanks KAT for replying to MY post instead of starting your own lol. I guess your right its just discouraging when you see yourself hitting a plateu so fast. Tomorrow I go for my first fill & I'm going to ask for as much as possible, as long as I can drink sips of Water ofcourse. I've actually gained 3 pounds back. In reality those 10 lbs really don't count as "true weightloss" but I was happy to see them go. Funny thing is I felt the same as you in thinking I had maybe stretched my band or was eating too much. Funny how we give ourselves guilt trips. Anyway, I hope your headaches have gone away & your feeling better. As for me, I'm super excited to get this fill tomorrow. Oh confession, I don't walk 30 mins a day because I work in surgery running around about 10-11 hours of the day & once I get home at 6:30p sometimes 7:30pm I check homework, feed dogs, sometimes cook & bythen its 9:30ish & I'm exhausted!!!! I walk the dogs honestly 10-15mins but weekends I do go to the gym & do 45mins on the treadmil or elipticle. I think the worst thing I ate this week was a chic fillet chicken sandwich for dinner, yes with the delicious fries! lol

I'll let you know how it goes tomorrow. Question, will I feel that restriction & lack of hunger immediately after my fill????? I hope so.....

[Army's girl 4]

Okay so I got my 1st fill post-op yesterday of 1.8cc so now I have a total of 3.8 in my band. Honestly I didn't feel much of a difference & even though I was suppossed to be on liquids for the restof the day, I was so hungry I ate about 4oz of imperial rice which is soft runny yellow rice with chicken & cheese melted on it. I was at a kids bday party & was so hungry I had a headache!! Anyway the good thing is that I was full for the next 5 hours. However, I don't wanna feel that hungry because thats when i'll eat the fastest and everythng goes out the window.

Anyone else feel the same?? Is this normal??

[klm1648 19]

Hey!! How is the progress going?

[Maddy1 55]

Everything you all have said is true....its just the experience varies for all of us. I just had a long talk with my doctor because I was confused as to how I should feel. I read comments on here and look for the same experience and wonder whats wrong if I am not feeling that way. I think you have to focus on the comments about eating a small amount (one cup or less) and feeling full for at least 3 hours. I also think the idea of 4 meals a day but still keeping your calories between 1,000 to 1,200 and the 60-80 grams of Protein is good. Focusing on those big things you should do well. Exercise really has to be a part of it. If you think you walk alot during the day, try one of those step gadgets which tell you how many steps you actualy walked. Also journaling your food intake. Honestly, those things have helped me the most. If I lose weight doing that and feel comfortable, I think I must be doing ok. Hope this helps.

[Karma88 7]

I like you explanation. I was banded march 1 2012. Don't have a lot of restriction yet. I feel a Little bit and am trying to really tune in because it's such a little restriction I have To trick myself a little.