Confused and have questions...

[Angelant76 8]

I met with my surgeon team today I am one month post surgery. At the beginning I felt restriction, clearly due to swelling. 2 weeks ago at my last appointment I was advised "the next 2 weeks will be hell" my appetite will return and it's the time I need to monitor how long I feel "satiety" until the next meal. The goal 4 hours. Basically I am able to go the 4 hrs but as suspected I was able to eat over a cups worth of food. I was very cognizant of what I ate. My portions have decreased tremendously and I'm the last to finish eating. Upon weigh in today I was down 3 more lbs since 2 weeks ago. We spoke of fills but I was unsure I needed one because clearly I was able to go the 4 hrs. As suspected I was eating perhaps too much. Clearly because I am able to get it down. I'm told now to stick to the one cup and see how long I can go In between meals. I'm okay with the plan to be honest. Is this normal? Can anyone recall after surgery they being able to consume more than a cup and having difficulty trying to understand if they needed a fill? I am committed to eating only the one cup or small dessert plate worth and seeing how far I can go, but I am ready for the weight loss to start or the journey to finding the "green zone". To date I've lost 28lbs but that includes pre cleanse and post for a month, so 1.5 months. I guess I should be glad I'm loosing and not gaining. Just trying to make sense of this limbo feeling.

[Lolo~t 4]

I'm exactly where you are! Im down 28lbs since my pre surgery diet. I'm hungry all the time, I've had a full about 10 days ago, I still feel like I can pretty much eat whatever I want. ????????

[Bandista 7,466]

Hi there and congraduations on getting your surgery! You, too, Lolo....

My surgeon described a goal of being satisfied with a tennis-ball sized portion (his lingo) for 4-5 hours. I am some one who needed several fills to get there.....in retrospect the time it took was good as I had to adjust my eating habits. I was such a shoveler, etc. Sounds to me Ike you are doing beautifully!

[Bandista 7,466]

Oh, I meant to mention the links in my signature below really helped me; maybe you, too.

[Keeper 218]

@@Angelant76 congrats on your surgery and current weight loss! I don't know that I was confused about whether or not I needed a fill, but I definitely wanted them!

I just had my 4th fill and and I *think* I might be at green. Knock on wood! My fill process has been interesting, for lack of a better word. My first fill was scheduled 4 weeks post-op, and each subsequent fill every 4 weeks. I lost about 8 pounds in a couple of weeks but then nothing. I lost very slowly after that, up until this past month, another 8 pounds. The tech doing my fill was happy with that progress and asked why I thought I wasn't at green yet. My response was basically what you stated. I can pretty much go a few to several hours between meals, but I could still eat larger quantities than what I knew I was supposed to. I also don't eat as slow or chew as much as I know I should. I explained that my band hadn't stopped me. her response was that they didn't want me to have stuck episodes, which I totally get because I don't either, but at the same time, i do want to know my band is working. I am now at a total of 6 cc's in a 10 cc band. These past few days I have had to make myself eat, much like those first few days post-op. I am not hungry and that is an awesome feeling! I am not yet back on regular food so I will see how or if that changes anything, but like I said, my appetite is currently suppressed.

I guess my thoughts are to be patient with the process and follow your doc's orders as much as possible. Every one is on their own journey. I felt like I was losing too slowly, like I would be the person the band wouldn't work for, etc. but now I have lost almost 30 pounds and the weight is starting to come off faster.

Good luck! :-)

[Bigbandbetty 12]

Oh my..... Summary: Banded for 18 months. Up to 2 days ago I had managed to only lose 14lb. I could eat anything really. Got really good at chewing & I guess picking 'easy' food as well and defo pandering to 'head' hunger. Following my fill on Wednesday to 7.5mls in my 10ml band, I can't drink more than a sip of Fluid. If I do I get pain. Not sure how long to give it before I decide that this last fill has made me too tight...... Fluids for a week....is this finally my band working? I don't know. We are all different but this is new territory for me....

[Mommyfrid 12]

I have read the comments here which are nearly a month old now. I'm wondering how the ones who were newly banded are doing now. I had my surgery Feb 6 and just had my first band fill this week. I don't notice any new restriction. I can pretty much eat whatever I want and I too know that at times I'm prob not chewing quite as well as I should have to if my band were tight enough. I started my pre-op diet on Jan 27th. So I'm 7 weeks out from the first day of my liquid diet and I've lost 38lbs. I'm happy with that, but a big chunk of that was pre-op and the first 2 weeks following surgery. My weight loss slowly drastically between weeks 3-5. Then week 6 I lost 4lbs, but I started exercising regularly after week 5 bc I was so discouraged with my weight loss.

So anyway, I had my first fill 2 days ago and I don't notice a difference. He didn't tell me how much he put in or how much my band holds either. Will my dr make me wait until my next appt (in one month) to add more saline to my band? I wish he wouldn't make me wait. My next appt isn't until April 14th. I know people say to be patient with the process, but at times it's very frustrating. So I was just wondering where you folks are now bc some of you were close to where I am now when you wrote these comments. Just interested to see what's coming in the month ahead.