I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again:
The lapband is to help control your hunger allowing you to diet without feeling deprived.
It is NOT about preventing you from being able to eat – that is what we call “using the band as a barrier”. When used this way with frequent throwing up (PB’s) you put yourself at risk for band slippage, possibly permanent damage to your esophagus and erosion of your teeth.
When we ask about your level of restriction when you come to the office for appointments, it is for us to determine if (a) you are already too full, (b) if you are trying to eat foods that are hard to swallow, (c) about how much we can safely add to the band. It is NOT about tightening the band until you can’t eat. If you already have frequent PB’s (productive burps), then tightening the band is not going to help you lose weight. In fact, it is more than likely that it will cause you to gain weight since you will then be so tight that you’ll make poor food choices because “they’re the only ones that will go down.
Tightening the band is not how you lose weight. You lose weight by eating three small meals per day made up of sensible, nutritious food with one protein snack during the course of the day. Tightening the band allows you to do that without feeling hungry and deprived. There is no other reason to fill the band.
We will not fill the band because, ” I can eat more than I should.” That is a failure of the person, not the band. Why? Because you should be testing the band not by seeing how much you can, but by seeing how little you can eat and not be hungry again for several hours. If try to eat as much as you can until you throw-up, then you are simply not using your band correctly. If you are losing weight and you are not hungry, it doesn’t matter if you NEVER have a PB. I have patients say they are concerned because despite losing 60 or more pounds, they can still eat bread and that can’t be right. The truth is, that is the best of all.
5. January 2011 at 8:11 pm
Its been like 3 weeks post op and Im starting to eat normal foods, I eat really small portions because Im scared not because I feel restricted. The other day i felt like I had a lot of rice and I could have possibly had more, but I chose not to. Im wondering if my band is broken or something I’m confused is this normal?I know I haven’t had my first fill but I should feel some kind of restriction the band is there…
20. January 2011 at 12:40 am
Most people don’t feel much of a change until their 3rd fill. Also, as we have noted on many posts on our blog, don’t focus on restriction. Focus on portion control and hunger control. Some of our most successful patients tell us that they never feel restriction. They simply stop eating after a LapBand sized portion of food and don’t eat again for 4 hours because their hunger is controlled.
10. April 2011 at 5:18 pm
I have not loss any weight since october 2010 I have been for a fill in november and they only gave me .5ccs this did nothing for me. I have loss inches but not weight loss. I can eat more then a cup of food per meal and I am hungery about two hours after I have eaten. the hunger pains I have are extremly painful and very loud. It almost feels like I havent even had weight loss sugery, but before I had weight loss sugery I could eat all day and still feel hungery so, do I need a fill or is there some thing I am not doing right?
11. April 2011 at 12:30 am
Hi my name is Brenda, this is my experience. I had lost 75 pds and still have weight to lose, but I have not lost for like 2 yrs, at first it upset me but I have kept off the weight that I lost so I am very thankful for that because if I didn’t lose that weight I feel I would not be here today. As for me, it took sometime to not feel hungry as often after the surgery, but in time I began to see that my hunger it lessen. One thing remember it’s chooses, if you are eating foods that are always soft, it goes through the band easier and so you can consume more calories. I find that if I eat foods that are more bulky then I stay full longer. It is very important to get your protein and fiber because it keeps you full longer and not hungry so soon. As for me, I can eat bread at times but I have to be very careful one slice toasted is about all I can eat. I can’t not eat rice or french fries and sometimes if the meat that I eat is not on the softer side like not well done where it is harder to go down, I will throw it up. With me I can go for hours an not eat and sometimes I forget to eat, but still I don’t lose but I am still happy because I wanted to lose for my health and my health has improved a whole lot. Give yourself time, and make sure you do eat like the doctor said 3 small meals, as for me I eat maybe even 4 or 5 small portions a day. So hang in there. From Happy Lapbander