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Well it's day five i have to say i really go back and forth on the hunger scale some times i am thinking this isn't so bad other times i would do anything for some food. The sugar free popsicles actually do help. Not usually a big popsicle eater but it sure helps you get thru the hard times. I have read on here that the first three days are the hardest then it's gets easier. Still not the easiest thing i have ever done but definetly not the hardest either. I was scared to death about the pre-op diet more that i am about coming up surgery. I am having surgery Dec 30th. Anyone else out there with this date?

Sorry for the trick but I wanted to say thank you to so many posters who have heard it all. Wishin you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. May we all continue to lose and maintain our goals. And thanks again everyone. Cheri

I was banded in July of 2011 -- best thing that has ever happened to me!!! I have lost about 40 lbs thus far with the band (had previously lost 20 for a total of 60) and this is wonderful. The weight comes off slowly for me (compared to others) and I am very happy with this. I am feeling better than ever and am very proud that I have succeeded at weight loss. My Dr., Scott Bovard is also so very proud of me and continues to tell me, the band is a tool, you are the one doing the work. Any way, Merry Christmas, the gift of good health!

I would say I am at restriction. My surgery was about 1 1/2 years ago and I am a slow loser. Today at work and when I went to another building there was a information meeting going on in the lobby. Cookies for all. When I came out of my meeting that gathering was over but the cookies remained. I was still full from lunch (from 2 1/2 hours earlier) and while I could have eaten them (head hunger) the full feeling I had from the band helped me tune out that head hunger voice. I packed up about 6 cookies and brought them back to several of my coworkers. So for those of you wondering what the band would do for you. Ask yourself if you came across a bunch of cookies a couple hours after lunch would you be able to keep on walking? While the band won't stop head hunger it will help you say no. Think of it as a boost to your built in willpower.

Good luck to you on Wednesday. I'm having my band and plication on Wed too in NY. I'm feeling very similar to you. But we are here now and we are doing this!!!! Together! :-)

I have had tastes of things because I would rather do that then overdue it later. I lost weight over thanksgiving and I had a little of everything. The lab band does not have to make your holidays different, you just have a little less

Im sorry to hear that hope all gets better. Thats exactly why I dont understand people when they say my doctor said not to drink soda but can I. He said to not drink alcohol can I? He said not to do this or that can I? If he said not to do it then dont test your band. Its for a reason people. No one realizes also when you over eat you are forcing the band into the wall of the stomach which equals erosion. If he tells you drink decaf then do it. I dont miss coffee, alcohol, or soda. You have to learn its not about what you want but what is best for you. We all need to take a lesson from this and do what the doctor says to do and not ask everyone if its okay to do this or that when your doctor told you not tooooooooooooooo

Good luck!!!!!!!!! Awesome

Yes you have to sit up with the needle in so you can drink water and he can remove if he has too while your drinking. Every fill I have had has been sitting up with the needle in. Pain? No I never had pain where was the pain because the needle isnt in your tissue its in the port.

Hi, I will try not to make this too long, but for those of you who know me, I'm not good at making a long story short. I got my band in September 2008. No restriction after surgery, none after my first fill, and none after my second fill. I got my third fill on December 18th, and boy was that one different. I thought I was a bit too tight, but because I had my surgery 750 miles from my home, it was the holidays, and I had a vacation to Las Vegas planned, I did not go get an unfill. I could keep liquids down and some foods too, but I had many PBing incidences. At first thought it was because I was not taking tiny bites, chewing enough, and taking time between bites. Then I just figured there were some foods that I was just not going to be able to eat. People said you could eat the same foods only less of them, but I was having problems with some. All this time while trying to adjust to the new tightness/restriction, I was NEVER really feeling full. I would stop eating because I knew I should, or because I was afraid of getting stuck.... but not because I had that full feeling that I had read others talking about. This week I read a post that has opened up my eyes and hopefully changed my lapband journey for the better. A wonderful lady (Bullwinkle) had a post that was my EXACT story. She had been struggling with fills/tightness/restriction and not feeling full for 2 YEARS. She explained it to me and oh my gosh - it made soooooooooo much sense. I am so very grateful to her. When I had no restriction, the food I was eating was going right through my pouch and into my stomach - I could eat anything. When I got that third fill, I had restriction. My band was tighter, and the opening to my stomach was smaller. When I ate bulkier foods/solids, they would often get stuck, and I would PB. From the research I had done and the posts I had read, I figured this meant my band was too tight. I didn't want to get an unfill, because I thought I would just go back to being able to eat everything. Bullwinkle explained to me that what I needed was another fill. Sounds crazy... right?? Well.... the opening to my stomach was smaller, but not small enough. When I would eat those solids, they were getting into the hole to get stuck, or coming back up. With another fill, and the hole becoming smaller, the bulkier solids/proteins will have to stay in my pouch because they will not be able to fit into, or through, the hole to my stomach. They will eventually make their way through, but not quickly. She said for the first time that she is feeling full. Like I said before, I had done plenty of research before getting my band and read LOTS of posts on here, but just had not come across this explanation before. I thought I was at my "sweet spot" but was not feeling like there was anything sweet about it. I was beginning to have doubts about whether I would ever get to that place where I could eat without PBing all the time, feel full, and have the band work for me like I want it to. I hope this will help someone like it helped me. I have a fill appointment and a flight to Houston scheduled for the 15th of April. I am excited and will let you know how this turns out. Again - my thanks to Bullwinkle. Take care!!!! Becky