Restriction.....

marieze · September 3, 2007

I have a few questions about "restriction". I am not banded.

O.K. When people speak of "being at proper restriction", I know they can only eat a small amount and are full. Are there other physical feelings of "being restricted". For instance, after a fill, do you walk around feeling "tight" in your abdomen?

For some reason, when I hear about "restriction" it sounds like something that would be physically uncomfortable. Is it?

After a fill, do you feel bloated?

Just trying to "get in touch" with the physical sensations of things:bounce:

Marieze

GayleTX · September 4, 2007

Very good question....it is hard to understand until you have a band inside of you.

No, you don't feel a thing as far as the band or it's restriction. (I'm not sure, just guessing, but I'm assuming there are no nerve endings where the band is stitched to your stomach.) Anyhow....restriction doesn't affect you until you put food in your little pouch....the tighter the band, the less food you can hold in your pouch. The sensation comes when you get the very full feeling and your body warns you to stop eating right then!!! Some people are warned with a hiccup, some with a sneeze/drippy nose - has to do with the pressure on the vegas nerve, I believe. Some people don't get a warning and they have to measure their food until they are practiced enough to judge how much they can comfortably hold. (And some of us just go ahead and overeat, the food backs up into the esophagus....... and then we throw up!!). This is all one reason that the band is a very good wls choice for people who are 'volume eaters'....not necessary addicted to sweets, but just simply eat too dang much!! With the band you can't do it. Hope that makes sense. Someone else may have a better explanation.

LapBandit · September 4, 2007

For me, being "tight" or "restricted" is purely a sensation felt during eating. It's when I feel restricted from being able to eat another bite.

I have never felt my band around my stomach. I forget it's there, including during fills. Now, my port area sometimes feels a little tender following a fill just from the pressure from the surgeon pressing to find the port. But, that's like a two hour sensation immediately post-fill...same discomfort you'd feel if someone just pressed on your belly for any other reason.

I was worried about what it would feel like to have all that stuff inside me...band, tubing, port but luckily it doesn't feel like a darn thing! I can feel my port if I press on my belly, that's it.