LAP-BAND Surgery Forums

I was amazed.... Painless and quick. Dr.Bass here in SW Florida is amazing. Talked with the nutritionist and got great encoragement.... My appetite disappeared almost instantly... I am feeling on top of the world.!!!

So I'm 10 days post op and cautiously optomistic. I've read a million posts from people who hate their band passionately because of sliming and PB and being hungry. Usually they are a couple years out or more. Question is, no matter what other medical reasons, we, the overweight or obese, have an unhealthy relationship with food. In your opinion, are these veteran banders (not the ones with slips, etc), getting unfilled because of band failure (its a bad tool) or because of food addiction?

Can anyone tell me their experience with an unfill due to a slip? Could you feel it correct itself? Small sharp pains? Achy/sore feeling? The outcome?

I just had LapBand surgery this week. I am wondering if there is anyone here from Saskatchewan? Thanks!

I was banded 5-15-13 and I'm in the waiting room waiting for my first fill. I'm soo nervous.

I told everyone about me having lap-band surgery. I did not have any bad remarks, to my face anyway. But now everyone has expectations of me dropping weight real fast like tomorrow. Now I am going to have to explain how the lap-band works I guess that could be a good thing it could mean more people are getting informed, but it also is going to be a pain in the butt. Now I'm wishing I would have waited to tell people till they started asking then they would not be sitting around waiting for results. Results that probably won't be to their expectations. Just something I did not consider when I started telling everyone. So just thought I'd share in case anybody is on t…

Ok all, it's been a long time since I've been on here. The lapband was very successful for me and it'll be 5 years next month. I need some 'banded' opinions. I went to the gastroenterologist. See, my whole life I've had problems. I've had constipation for over a decade, I started getting horrible acid about a year before I was banded, vomiting my whole life (never had a fever, would just feel sick and then after I'd feel back to normal). Anyway, I had been trying to keep track of food I had eaten and I was really starting to suspect Celiac disease. I also have Hashimoto's so...I have a history with Autoimmune problems. So I go in after years of pain and I see a dr. H…

Ok I was doing fine on this diet till about 3 now I'm STARVING and this is only my first day have 6 more to go. The 2nd protein shake really didn't hold me over as long as the first one. Can you chew sf gum on this diet? Im trying to stay busy but still hungry.

The past year has been incredible. Struggling for quite a few months in the beginning to get the hang of my band and ever so slowly losing the weight. Many of us have been there. The joy at reaching a milestone. The tears when we do not. I had never really felt successful in life at much of anything and I became so driven to be successful with this. Once I had my confidence up and was getting closer to goal, I took up yoga and began to do that 6 days a week. It was my new addiction. Inside, I was so proud of myself and amazed at the things my body could do after being a couch potato for 20 years. I wanted more. To see more change in my body so I took up bootcamp 4…

I was banded in Oct 2012, and for the past two days I have been so hungry? I have not been doing anything extra or exerting extra energy. Anyone have this happen, or know why this might be happening?

Today marks 9 months of having my band out. What a crazy ride it's been. I was banded on December 2nd, 2009. During the surgery, my band doc repaired a hiatal hernia, which I did not know that I had, as well as a hole in my esophogus, also which I did not know I had. Initially, I saw great results with my band. I lost quite a bit, and felt better than I ever had. Then I began having sharp, shooting pains in my back and middle sternum. So bad at times that I couldn't breathe. I thought it was food that had gotten stuck, or gas pains. It would subside after about an hour, and then every couple of months, it would come back. I went to my lap-band doc, who said it s…

I have heard there is a smaller port now than when I got my band done. Has anyone had a port replacement from the larger to the smaller?

I need some advice on getting off of this plateau. I haven't lost any weight in about 2 weeks. Yes, I know this might not be a major plateau for some, but it is for me. My weight had been falling off at 1-2 lbs a week up until now. I log everything in MFP, I exercise at least 5 days a week. My doctor put me on only 900 calories a day, which seems too low to me. I think that my body is going into starvation mode. I just had a fill on 6/3 and I haven't lost with that. I know that I am not in the green zone yet, because I am hungry every 3 hours and the pounds are just not dropping now. Any advice would be great. I feel like I am following my doctor's guideline exactly, so …

I finally feel like I have the proper amount of restriction. My problem is, my first bite of a meal usually gets stuck for a few minutes. After a few minutes it passes or I will have a PB, then I can eat normally. I talked with my Doctor about it and he said it happens to some people. Has any of you had to deal with this? If so, do you have any tips? I have a 3 day meeting coming up and I am worried that I am going to dealing with this at my business dinners. Thanks

am currently way in the red zone and recently moved to NC the DR I found refused to take ANY liquid out of my band until I had an upper GI then they have some crazy rule that they do fills 1x a month. I travel and the day they do it will rarely work for me. When they did the upper GI (Monday) they said my band was way over restricted and that the radiologist would call the surgeon to see if they could get me in before this Thursday... no call from my surgeons office. Knowing my luck I will go tomorrow and he will not listen to me and want to take too much out. I am in High Point NC and the Dr is Dr Dasher.. does anyone know any Doc's in this area who understand the la…

so I had my Realize band done by Dr. Lauter 4 years ago and have done great... best decision I ever made. Now that Dr. Lauter closed his practice, I need to find a new Doc in Seattle who can do my fills when needed, but this seems to be a huge freakin deal just to get a simple fill done in Seattle. Does anyone have any good reccomendations.... I really have no interest in going to Tacoma, Federal Way, etc, and just want to find a doc in the city, or the east side. Any leads.... let me know. I tried to contact a doc at Overlake, but never got a call back. What about Swedish, etc. ???

Looking for some local buddies! Thinking about a monthly meetup/hike/walk/chat? Anyone out there interested in a local buddy?

Hey everyone...i'm soo upset. I will be 2 months post op on June 16th 2013. My birthday is June 14th. This friday. I only lost 17 pounds. I've been eating a lot of fast food lately. I feel like a failure. I've been telling my mind ok tomorrow we are starting the diet. When it comes down to it i just let my self go. I feel like i have no restraints in my intake. I'm so upset at my self I feel like i've let my self down. There was no point of me going through the pain and i should of gotten the sleeve instead. I feel like a loser. Any advice on to what i should do?

Hello all after lots of complications and pain had to get my bad removed yesterday . It had slipped up way high and was punching up on my lungs and prevented me from breathing . I do regret this happening to me but I am much better now and glad that it didn't go any further then this I wish you all good luck and for future precaution if you feel pain say something and if they say its your gall bladder always get a second opinion and double check your lap band is still in the correct place

Scheduled June 21st, the first day of Summer and my new life. Thought I'd pop in and say hello to fellow June/Summer bandsters. Would love to have a chat thread!

SOUTH EAST MICHIGAN!!! Hi everyone, I Cay I'm 21 yrs old have always been over weight but for the past to years things have gotten worse. When I was 19 I discovered I was pregnant an I weight 193. I gaine 60-70lbs during it an once I had my son I lost almost 40 then ny body decided to gain weight and hold that weight. I am currently 263.5 the sane weight I was when I was 9mons pregnant with my son that was 2yrs ago since the day I realized I gain every oz of weight back I have tried diets up the ying yang an diet pills and workouts. With no weight loss at all. Even went to my doctor for the past 2yrs to try different pills to help me lose weight and did test to find o…

Feeling very discouraged today. I called to follow up on the preauthorization for my band removal, and after placing me on hold, the rep came back to tell me they'd decided today to DENY, on the basis that it's "not medically necessary." This, after the surgeon has said it needs to come out as soon as possible. Apparently a badly dilated pouch, with nausea and vomiting, isn't what they consider "necessary" to deal with. :( Has anyone had success appealing for band removal, with no revision surgery? Especially with BCBS Federal Employee Program?

I am from LR and would love to have some Arkansas buddies! I was banded March 1, so I am still a newbie!

Looking for a lap band buddy in the area...I was banded 6/8/12

Last night I went to the Oakland A's game, which my family is big fans of and.... I fit in the seats! I just sat down! I didn't even think about it until about the 4th inning and I started to realize that I wasn't nervous about which seat I would be in and would it be wide enough for me. The stadium chair wasn't digging into my thighs and rear. I just fit! Even though we tailgated before hand and I had more fritos than I have had in 6 months, I still fit . Oh, and today is my 6 month bandaversary. Down 65 lbs. Life is good. Love my band and my new life . Have a great day everyone!

Hello Everyone, I've had my band for like 6 months now and I'm doing pretty well. Did anybody encounter issues with oatmeal? I don't eat it too often but I do enjoy it for breakfast. A couple of days ago I had a small instant pack which I make with milk and I ate it with no problems. Today I made another pack and had to throw up as I got stuck. I didn't eat it too quickly, nor did I take a bigger amount than normal at one time. I got stuck and waited until it down as I didn't need to throw up. Then I tried again after a couple of minutes and at that time I had to throw up. Maybe it wasn't liquid enough? I always make it with milk. Has anybody encountered that they can't e…

What are you guys using to make your shakes ? I had the magic bullet. I stopped using it because I'm constantly on the go I stand on my feet 9 hours a day and never have time to make a shake. My surgery is hopefully some time in September and I want to get into a routine now because shakes will be such a big part of my diet. Should I just use the cups to pour milk add powder shake it up and go? But when you mix them with Ice it's so much better ! Any ideas? What does everyone else do for shakes ?

8 weeks post op today, 18 pounds down since my surgery. My band was placed unfilled but still I respected all postop directives and I'm pleased with my loss and my level of restriction felt by the band alone. I went to get my fill reluctantly, because I'm quite fearful of getting stuck or having PB/vomiting issues and frankly, I'm fine with a slow loss. My fills are down under fluoscopy and I told the radiologist that I didn't want a dramatic fill, something small, particularly because I travel a lot internationally and do not want to have to find myself seeking an unfill in a place where I have no insurance coverage. He told me something that I found interesting;…

Hi Everyone! I was wondering if any of you had trouble eating certain foods before your first fill? Did you get stuck, PB, etc? Did you have any food restrictions besides the post op diet that your doctor recommend you follow? Also, side question, did anyone burp/hiccup a lot during your recovery phase with the lap band? E.g. while you were on liquids? Thank you

I have been banded since August 2011. I did awesome losing the weight the first yr. I the ended up starting to have problems with my back and had 2 back surgies within 4 mths apart. From September 2012-January 2013 I gained 45 lbs. I started my binging again cuz all I can do is sit around and I feel more hungry with the band in know then I did before. I've had several fills and that hasn't helped. Does anyone have any ideas to help me out please.. Thank You Kim

I'm looking for a new scale I buy them and then they don't work so any ideas please .

Hey guys I had my band fitted in Dublin with the Park West Clinic ... I can't say enough good things about them Price was great and no hassle having it done just pay and go lol x I'm hoping to find fellow Irish Bander's on here for chats on the up & downs of living with our bands ... I'm only 8 weeks banded so still at the learning stages so all advice welcome ...

I know this isn't really relevant to lap band (other than not being able to exercise and therefore not being able to lose much weight), but I'm just curious if there's anyone on here that has suffered from AVN. I've been having a lot of hip pain for the past few weeks and have made an appointment to see an orthopedist, but the doctor I saw at Patient First mentioned AVN as a possible diagnosis. I know it's not terribly likely but I'm seeming to have the same symptoms. I'm wondering what symptoms people who've had it had.

I'm having a hard time stopping myself from eating too much and keep getting full. Recognizing the soft stop is hard. I think I need one more fill. I'm hoping this last one stops my mental hunger. I'm terrified of stretching my pouch. How easy is it to stretch your pouch? I wish I knew more about the lapband before I chose it. They just kind of flew me into surgery and now I'm learning as I go. I still love my band though!

I know your not supposed to but I find no difference when I have water with my meals. I still fill satisfied for 4 hours. Is it because its bad for the band or stretches the stoma?

I plan on having my first fluoro fill this Friday! What I am wondering is if anyone who has been struggling to get into their "sweet spot" "green zone" and then had the Fluoro fill done finally get there? I have had my share of fills and unfills I haven't truly been into the green zone. I am hoping this really helps me! Thanks in advance!

I take a complete B complex the pill is very large and I doubt I will be able to swallow after I am banded , does anyone know of a chewable or liquid ?

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Just over 5 years ago, June 2nd actually, I was banded by Dr Pitt in Columbia, MO. Many ups and downs but I was doing well for the first couple of years. Lost about 45 lbs and then plateaued for a long time. I gradually gained some of that back and went back to my old eating habits. I had no support group to turn to. I went for over a year without seeing the nurse for fills. I guess I sort of figured that this was all I was going to get for my money. Then I moved and that made it harder to get to the support group in Columbia or to see the nurse. Then something happened! I recently had to get a back xray because I was having some serious back pain. The techs and…

I currently "mentor" 3 people, but I came back on here because not only do I want to spread my positive support... But I want to take people along my journey... What do you people think? I wanted to almost have a video blog and invite people to see what happens lol I lost over 100 pounds and I'm thinking of having cosmetic surgery to correct what I cannot fix with the gym. I know a lot of people in our shoes feel the same way... But I don't really know if this is a good site for it.. Should I you tube it? Anyway, I would love to support anyone in my area (long island-NY)! I'm proud to be a banded beauty.. And I'm happy to rejoin this great site!

I went for my first fill today, originally they told me I had 3cc in my band but today they said I only had 2. It was an interesting experience because I was thinking it was only going to be me and the nurse in her office and I would be in and out, but it was a little more extensive then that, my surgeon was there along with the X-ray tech and the nurse, they made me drink contrast and then they filled it with 4cc so I'm up to 6cc. I'm a little confused about that cause my surgeon originally told me that they would only put 2 the first fill. So I am really hoping I feel a lot of restriction cause I felt nothing before and I don't go back for my second fill till Aug. 26 ??…

I was banded on 5/23 so I am 11 days post op. The 3 oz. of liquid per meal is just not keeping me full. I drink a lot of water and have one protein shake a day. This morning I had 6 oz. of yogurt with no problem whatsoever. I'm tempted to move on to some soft foods a little early but I don't want to rush things. I was just wondering if anyone else is experiencing this and how you are dealing with it.

Hi, I was banded June 7 (last Friday) and yesterday had to have an emergency defill of the 3cc primer that was put in during surgery. Doctor said this happens to 5% of his patients and that I couldn't tolerate it and my insides were probably inflamed and swollen. That day I had woken up and after my Breakfast drink I felt that "stuck" feeling and couldn't even take in tiny sips of Water after that. I even started to vomit foam! Soon enough I couldn't breath and my doc told me to meet him at emerg. Some people have said maybe I'll be one of those people that don't need a lot of fills? Although I'm SO happy to be feeling better, I'm bummed that I "lost" …

Is there anyone from Ontario here?

I don't know if anyone else likes to read like me, but I know we must have similar joys and struggles with droid and our bodies. I recently picked up this book, 'Stranger Here', that's about someone else's weight loss journey, and it brought years to my eyes to know that my food struggles are not just mine! It also made me so glad that I opted for the band and not a more invasive surgery. I think it's a great read for anyone on this journey! Best wishes!!

Calling all of Dr. Leung's patience. I just flew into Vancouver yesterday to get a complete unfill only to find out that Dr. Leung has retired and has left his patience out to dry with no support! Where is everyone going for fills/unfills? Any advise would be greatly appreciated! Thanks Suzanne

Hi, I am new and in need of some encourgement. I have my surgery scheduled for my birthday, June 18th. I am having a hard time with the practice diet and not working out like I should. I need some encourgement as I have my next doctor appointment June 3rd and afraid if I don't lose a little they may not let me have the surgery. I just need some encourgement and a push. Can sometell tell me how they got started and give me some tips. Thanks, Robin

First let me introduce myself, My Name Is SarahBellzz, I'm from brooklyn n.y, I'm being banded by dr. Piotr Gorecki @ ny methodist hospital. weight is 203.5 height 4'11, co-morbidities are: Sleep apnea, High cholesterol, and Severe hip arthritis (that doesn't qualify for the replacement it needs b/c of my age and weight) I'm Nervous. to be completely honest terrified. I'm just looking for other people who are on the same path as me, and that understand exactly what it is I am going through (b/c I've always been the fat kid in the corner) I just wanted to say hello, and so far reading everyones posts has helped me mellow out just a bit. I'm trying to use this to find oth…

Scheduled for the first day of summer. Diet starts on the 6th. Anyone else feel like they are saying goodbye to a lot of old friends? (Pizza, bread etc.) I realized I needed to do something when I would actually drive to a few different places to find the limited time mega Oreos.

May 29th I had a total unfill due to a small slip. I was banded Dec 2006. This is the first issue I've had with my band, so I was wondering... Shouldnt I feel hungry? Ive actually lost 3 lbs since the unfill. Does this mean it hasnt corrected itself yet? I'm just worried because I've seen so many people talk about the hunger with an unfill.