Bad Day

[nikkinikole 3]

Its a bad day!!! Just had surgery on the 14th my appetite is bk and it brought friends! I'm so hungry right now n I didn't think I would feel this way with this band inside my body! I'm miserable all I can think about is hw hungry I am

[PattyGirl66 1,243]

Hi Nikki, hang in there girlie! I am not banded yet but honestly I know the hunger feeling oh so well. I am trying to lose as much weight as I can before the surgery. I have 1 small meal a day and the rest I drink broth with Protein Powder in it to jump start my weight loss. I am sooo hungry, my belly is growling. I don't know if its in my head or what. I drank so much Water. I am about to eat another sugar free ice pop and hope that helps.

[Allison0927 329]

you're in bandster hell which you've probably already read about. Mine lasted until my 5th fill or so - about 6 months after surgery. Here's a trick i used to get me through until i had real restriction: I sipped a little Water in between bites of food. I'm telling you - the combo of the water and food made me feel FULL - on way less calories. It worked for me - may not for everyone. I told my surgeon all about and basically he said whatever you're doing is working so i'm not going to interfere....

[DELETE THIS ACCOUNT! 12,703]

you're in bandster hell which you've probably already read about. Mine lasted until my 5th fill or so - about 6 months after surgery. Here's a trick i used to get me through until i had real restriction: I sipped a little Water in between bites of food. I'm telling you - the combo of the Water and food made me feel FULL - on way less calories. It worked for me - may not for everyone. I told my surgeon all about and basically he said whatever you're doing is working so i'm not going to interfere....

I don't doubt the water worked for you, but drinking while eating is one the few things they tell you specifically not to do. The reason being it washes food through the band too fast, not only delaying the full response but making it possible to eat more than you should. I definitely wouldn't recommend drinking while eating to others, especially since many seriously hurt their weight loss efforts by doing that.

[shues138 35]

Bandster Hell stinks! I don't know if your MD wants you to eat a certain amount of calories but what helped me was instead of having 3 meals a day, I had six small meals a day to get me through it. For me, the mushies was the worse part of bandster hell it seemed like that food just went through without a problem!

Also, it seems like you are probably in the mushie stage now (I was banded in 2007 so I forget how long each stage was post op) but once you start eating firmer Proteins you'll feel a little better.

I also agree with the other post in regards to drinking with eating, it's a good idea in theory, but in a real world situation, especially someone who is so new to the bandster lifestyle, it may lead to bad habits down the line (who knows though, because I'm not the OP lol). I don't drink with meals, I drink up to the time I have a meal and I wait an hour after but I don't drink with my meals, I have had plenty of stuck experiences before thinking it was okay to eat and drink with the band, kind of like negative re-inforcement lol.

Good luck with your journey!

[angbutler0712 30]

Hang in there.. I've been where you are and it's NOT fun. I really didn't feel restriction until my 4th fill, almost 5 months post op. It's going to be a hard road while you fight through this.. but think of how far you've come already! One of my biggest mistakes was thinking that once the band was in, I was done! Weight would just magically fall off.. I was oh so wrong and it really contributed to my negative mood swings and my negative feelings towards the banding process.

Finally for me, I'm starting to see the positives now. Took a while, but it eventually came.

Eat as much Protein as possible. At this point, your band is probably wide open.. no fill.. meaning your stomach is pretty much the way it was before. So there really is no "food sitting in your pouch" phase yet. I'm sure for some people there is, but I didn't have that and have many friends with lap band that also didn't have that experience right out of the gate. I ate and drank as I did before surgery and I even did it together against my doctors orders. But like Allison said, it helped me feel full and being a food addict, it was the full feeling I was looking for. Now like shues said, you don't want to form bad habits. Once you start getting fills and feeling restriction, drinking while you eat can cause harm. At this point, I have no choice but to wait at least 15-20 mins after I eat before I can take a drink. If I try drinking sooner, I usually end up throwing up.

Listen to you body. If you're hungry, have a snack. Look for low cal, high protein. I also add a scoop of protein powder to my fat free yogurt to give it a boost of 20grams of protein. Super satisfying.

Good luck to you.. and try to stay positive.. i know how hard it is, but you've already come SOOOO far!

[waitingpatiently 250]

I found that between meals I will make myself a slushie using crystal light and New Whey Protein (tastes like koolaid) I mix 2 crystal lights with 1 Protein shot and add about 28 oz Water. I then blenderize icee to a snow cone consistency and pour the drink over top of it about a 1/4 at a time= about 45 calories and 11 protein. I sometimes do one between Breakfast and lunch and then sometimes after dinner.

I will use a spoon to eat the crushed ice. It usely takes a good 30-45 mins to empty the cup. The added protein keeps hungar at bay and the sweetness makes me feel like i'm having a treat.

Keep trying different things...hopefully you will find something to help you get through the day.

[daisychains7 427]

Omg, I was about to make the exact same post. I am two weeks post op and am starting to feel hungry all the time. I started soft foods a few days ago. I am having 3 meals (about 3/4 cup per meal) and 2-3 glasses of milk a day and still hungry. My meals are Protein rich but literally within 2 hours, starving again..

I think I am going to need to start having yogurt or a couple pieces of deli meat in addition, but I don't know if that's ok?

It's driving me crazy! My first fill isn't for another few weeks.

[honk 780]

Omg' date=' I was about to make the exact same post. I am two weeks post op and am starting to feel hungry all the time. I started soft foods a few days ago. I am having 3 meals (about 3/4 cup per meal) and 2-3 glasses of milk a day and still hungry. My meals are Protein rich but literally within 2 hours, starving again..

I think I am going to need to start having yogurt or a couple pieces of deli meat in addition, but I don't know if that's ok?

It's driving me crazy! My first fill isn't for another few weeks.[/quote']

At 2 weeks you should not eat deli meat that's a solid! If you do have a snack have broth or yogurt.

[daisychains7 427]

At 2 weeks you should not eat deli meat that's a solid! If you do have a snack have broth or yogurt.

my Doctor said its okay for me to have at the soft foods stage. I shred it up and put an Italian dressing on it. Have had no problems getting it down.

[honk 780]

I highly recommend shredded chicken/tuna from a can instead of deli meat. Deli is a solid and not soft/mushie. Other mushies to consider Low/No fat cottage cheese (available with pianapple or herb), and ricotta.

[nikkinikole 3]

Thanks so much for the support guys! I'm still hungry n getting off wrk thinking of sumthing I can eat tonight.,, my stomach is calling for chicken n mash potato

[bigenuff 302]

Protein protein protein(chicken fish protein bars) !! That's the only thing that worked for me.u can do it good luck !!

[Allison0927 329]

To be clear it is not possible for me to eat and drink at the same time... Since hitting restriction. That was all before I hit restriction and it was with my center of excellence bariatric surgeon's blessing as there was no pouch and no food to wash through a pouch (i.e, open stomach - no restriction). It was small baby sips of water. This gave me a full feeling on much less food. Worked very well as I lost steadily through bandster hell with little exercise but sticking to the calories.

[erin313 44]

you're in bandster hell which you've probably already read about. Mine lasted until my 5th fill or so - about 6 months after surgery. Here's a trick i used to get me through until i had real restriction: I sipped a little Water in between bites of food. I'm telling you - the combo of the Water and food made me feel FULL - on way less calories. It worked for me - may not for everyone. I told my surgeon all about and basically he said whatever you're doing is working so i'm not going to interfere....

I was told if we drank with eating it would just wash the food out of the pouch. You are the first person I have heard say this. I would like to know if this has worked for anyone else.