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As much as I love my band, I have to say that it's a fickle mistress. It can take several fills to achieve optimal restriction, and then as you lose weight and the fat surrounding your inner organs (including your stomach) shrinks, your band will feel looser so you'll need more fill. Also, restriction can be affected by the time of day, the climate, medications, allergies, hormones, and the position of Mars in the sky. You'll feel more restriction when you're making healthy food choices of SOLID foods, less restriction when you're choosing to eat soft and slider foods (some of which are healthy, like yogurt, but a lot of them are high-calorie and nutrient-poor, like ice cream and potato chips). We're all sick of dieting by the time we have WLS, but in a sense success with the band does involve dieting. Your band can't make good food choices for you, it can't make you exercise, it can't make you say no to trigger foods. That's all up to you. I'm over 4 years post op, 2 lbs. below my goal weight, with excellent restriction, and I still have to work on all of that in order to maintain my weight loss. It's a lifetime project. Finally I have to say: just because you can eat anything or overeat doesn't mean you should. Overeating can indeed stretch your pouch and/or esophagus and it can indeed cause your band to slip. Nowadays self-control seems to be a no-no word, but portion control is up to you, at least until you learn your soft stops. Your band won't ring a bell or flash some lights when it's time for you to stop eating. You have to eat slowly and pay close attention to how you feel as you eat. Soft stops are usually subtle - a hiccup, a sneeze, a sigh, a burp, an urge to clear your throat. If you eat through that kind of signal, looking for your pre-op sense of satiety (what I call "Thanksgiving dinner Full"), you'll go on struggling indefinitely. Success with the band is a lot of work. Although it's possible that you've stretched your pouch, only an upper GI study can prove that. If you go on overeating, it'll just make the situation worse. So I suggest that you make yourself do the evil D word (diet) for a week, pay very close attention to your satiety signals, keep a food log including the times of your meals or Snacks so you can get a handle on how long your satiety lasts, and only then go back to your bariatric surgeon to discuss another fill. Jean

6 months and a week ago, i had no health problems even with a 47 BMI - BUT i felt so disgusting. I hated clothes. I wore things just to hide myself. I knew I had a pretty face but that all others saw was the fat. Today, 6 months after surgery and 88 pounds later, I feel INCREDIBLE. i am all about what i'm wearing, my make up, I feel just plain unstoppable. I want you to know that yes there can be complications. I have experienced none so far (truly this is thanks to GOD and following my surgeon's instructions) - but they can happen. I am very, very sorry I did not do this 10 years ago (I'm 38). But i cannot dwell on that. This is a LIFE CHANGING thing if you let it be. I truly wish all of you the best of luck in your decision and if you have the surgery - the best of luck on your journey. It TRULY is a journey. God bless us all!!!!

Just a hopeful note for all the would be bandsters out there and the newbys. I never EVER thought I'd be posting something like this - I had read others' successful posts and still thought "that's them but i'll never get there". WELL... HERE I AM!!!!! I cannot believe I'm closing in on 100 pounds but it's happening! I'm so, so grateful to every one of you on this site that encourages and helps and spreads positivity. This site is wonderful and a big part of my success, I am sure of it. For anyone wanting my "tips" to the loss - here they are: It took me 5 fills and 4.5 months to feel ANY restriction. I now have 8.5ccs in 14cc band. I do not know if I'm in the green zone but I do have restriction and things get stuck and "hurt" going down when I do not chew well enough etc. This helps me psychologically because it makes me more disinterested in food (i.e., takes the "sport" or "fun" of eating away - which is what got me morbidly obese to begin with). Per my surgeon I'm at 800 calories per day - I stick to this about 85%-90% of time. I have a "cheat" day about once every week to 10 days. I go to about 1200 calories or so on that day. My surgeon and nurse care manager at health insurance both say this is actually a good idea as it keeps the body from plateauing (sp? LOL) by shaking things up a bit. I've hardly exercised - my guilty little secret is that I am waiting to "kick in" the exercise when I hit a plateau which I have not done yet. I know, I know, this is not good - it's my one "bad bandster" issue but I know I'll HAVE to do it at some point either because of a plateau or to maintain once at goal. I tell anyone that asks me how i'm losing the weight about the band (and I educate them on it when they seem interested/ask questions). This works for me because I care way too much what people think and it holds me very accountable - in other words I'd do about anything to avoid the embarassment of gaining weight when others know I had the surgery. Again, this works for me - not everyone. That's about it. YOU ARE ALL TRULY A BLESSING AND I LOVE THIS SITE. BEST OF LUCK TO US ALL ON OUR JOURNEYS!!!!!!!!!!

I 100% can relate. I literally minutes ago told my husband my emotions are everywhere. I'm on day 3 and have a headache and slight nausea the whole time. I cant believe food had that big of hold on me...now its just pissed and doing what it can to make me shove food in. We can do this!!! We have to push through it, we are in it till the end. Good luck!

I know! Depression really plays a huge part of your overall health and I think if I could just get out of this rut I could lose again. At least you are going to the gym. I might get another fill this next week and see if it helps. Thanks for responding. I don't want to be a Debbir downer but I don't know anyone who has had the band done so it help to talk.

2.5 years out and you can hardly see my scars except the port one, most of them are concealed under my boobs! Even the port one is just a thin white line. There are not too many people who get to look at my stomach so it's really not an issue.

I got my first fill today and as of right now can feel no difference.

I was also feeling really gross about my appearance. I was tired of hearing "you have such a pretty face". In my head, I was hearing "you have such a fat ugly body". Its only been about 5 weeks since my surgery and since then I've lost a few lbs, hired a personal trainer and work out 3 x per week. Even though its clear that I have an incredibly long journey ahead of me, I'm feeling so psyched that I've finally started the journey. It feels so good to be doing something about my fitness and my health instead of just feeling horrible about myself. I was not expecting to feel better about my appearance before losing a significant amount of weight but here I am feeling great just because I'm taking action and doing something about it. I'm not sure how I'm going to feel after the first "dreaded fill" but I'm up for the challenge. I already feel more confident and attractive and wore 2 dresses to work this week that I have not been able to fit for OVER 2 YEARS!!

Well, it's been a while, but with all of your suggestions and encouragement, I've finally begun to loose as you can see from my ticker. In December 2011 I finally talked my bariatric surgeon to give me another x-ray to see if my band had slipped. It had not. The nurse practioner would not give me any more fillings. She said that I was at 7 cc and I could have no more even though I had a large band. She said that I wasn't doing my part. I just felt that there was more to the story. The band should be helping me, but I could not even tell I had a band. After getting nowhere with my bariatric center, I went back to my primary care physician and asked for a consultation/second opinion from another bariatric surgeon. My appointment was January 5th. The difference in their attitude was huge. They drew out my filling and found that I actually only had 6 cc, so they gave me another one. The difference was amazing! I could feel the band. Wow! I didn't know that's how it would feel. I had lost my 1st 8 pounds from the Friday before Christmas until I went to the new doctor's office, and that was a huge struggle. Since that day, I've lost 4 more pounds and it is so much easier. Granted I am taking the antidepressent, but I can tell the band is working now. When I eat meat 1st, I can't eat very much. I've been off of sweets since then, and it has been easy because I'm not hungry all the time. I have had no problem saying "No" to sweets - even donuts!! What a relief, not to be craving sweets all the time. The new doctor said that I still have some wiggle room with my band. I'm so glad he took me as his patient. Thank you all for your help.

Carol, you have to take this into your own hands. If you really want to lose the weight then you have to do your part. Most all of us here love food and love to eat all the things that caused us to be the size we have become. We all have to make the choice each day. It is a conscious choice every time you choose to eat whatever and do not use the tool you have been blessed with. We each have to decide what is more important, using the band or satisfying that thing in our head that says "Eat the pizza, the whopper, the huge slice of cake and bowl of ice cream." In just the month and few days that I have not had any of those things and have started eating more healthy and in proper portions I can honestly say that my desire for the other things seems to have dissappated to almost nothing. I bought my grandson who is spending the night some chocolate cupcakes and could care less that they are over on the table. I love this feeling. Perhaps you need to go see you doctor and talk to them about this possibly getting some fill to help you curb your appetite. And are you suffering possibly from chronic depression? I really think you need to see your doctor. This is not always an easy journey but one that is worth every stuggle to see it through.