By: A Lap Band Patient

There are several members of our bandedliving community going through what is referred to as “Bandster Hell.”  (If you come up with a better name, please let me know.)  What is “Bandster Hell?”  For me it was the most difficult part of my lap band journey.  I’ve learned that not everyone goes through this, but many of us do.  When I talk with gastric bypass or gastric sleeve patients, they are always surprised when I explain that this is often the most difficult and crucial time for a lap band patient.  It’s a time when lap band patients need a lot of support and learn a great deal about how to use this tool.

Here’s how it played out for me.  I had spent years lurking on message boards, trying to find the courage to seriously consider weight loss surgery.  It was arguably the toughest decision I ever made.  I was so confused - Was I desperate enough to have bariatric surgery? How would I approach my husband?  What surgery was right for me?  How do I find a surgeon?  Am I going to fail again....?  These were just a few of the questions I wrestled with as I was trying to answer the question “Is Weight Loss Surgery for Me?”  After years of considering surgery I finally made the decision and scheduled my lap band surgery for August 16, 2006.  I was fully invested and 110% committed.  On the day of my surgery I really wasn’t very nervous.  Instead I was excited to finally conquer the obesity I struggled with since childhood.  My surgery was uneventful.  My recovery was relatively easy.  At my 4 week post-op appointment I was still having some difficulty with soft food and I wasn’t the slightest bit hungry; I was loving my surgery.  About 2 weeks later it hit me - “BANDSTER HELL.”  Suddenly I was fully recovered, and HUNGRY.  I felt like I was on a diet; I was petrified that I had gone through all this for nothing and that I was going to fail again. 

I had attended lap band only support groups before surgery, something I always recommend to pre-ops.  I had heard newly banded patients say things like:

"I had surgery three and one half weeks ago.  I'm feeling pretty good now; I 'm back to normal activities, but I'm H-U-N-G-R-Y a lot.  I don't feel like the band is doing anything for me."

OR

"I'm wondering if my surgeon really put a lap band on me.  I feel un-banded.  I'm worried that this isn't going to work for me because I don't feel anything."

I never thought it would happen to me, but it did.  What I learned is that a lot of people go through this - the period of time when we are healed from surgery, before we have good restriction.  I was told that this was the healing period, not the weight loss period, but to be honest, I didn’t want to believe it.  I haven’t met anyone who does.  I hated seeing bypass patients just breathe and lose weight, and there I was struggling with hunger.  This was a very scary time for me, a pivotal time in my lap band journey.  I went to support groups, lurked on message boards, called Sandi several times a day.  Making sure I had enough protein and fluids helped but the magic didn’t come until I had a good fill and I finally experienced the gift of satiety, the quieting of my hunger, the realization that a small meal actually kept me content for hours.    

I learned a lot by going through “Bandster Hell.”  I learned about getting enough protein and fluids; about building a support network, about staying close to my surgeon, and about how restriction works which helped me really learn how to work this tool.  Like so many things in life, those difficult times teach taught me a lot.