DELETE THIS ACCOUNT!

I think u need to discuss with the doctor how u are feeling and what is happening regarding your eating and lack of restriction. I have a size 14 band and am just over 7.25 fill, it does sound like u need more of a fill than u have but the problem is he will only put in as much fill as the Water drink test indicates, a lot of doctors would do the same. It certainly would seem a good idea to request an xray or fill under flouroscopy, here in the UK they never fill using xrays but i see u are in the US so it may well be that u can request it. Asking for a 1cc fill i dont think sounds unreasonable especially as u seem to have little restriction at the moment so i would go for it
My only concerns regarding some of your post are that you say that 'when u feel restriction you are going to want to eat the right things'.. making the right choices on food really isnt about restriction its about your resolve and comittment to making this band work for you. Some people can lose weight eating the same food just smaller amounts others have to change what they eat aswell. I look at the pouch the band makes like a shopping bag , even if u reduce the size of the shopping bag its still your choice what u put in it.. The band wont make healthy decisions for you only you can do that .. I know u probably know this and sorry for having to say it .. I really hope you do well at your appointment today and then maybe u can start again on taking control more. You dont mention exercise at all and that ofc for most is also key to making this band work so get moving if you arent doing any and maybe you can start losing again. I do eat low carb, low fat high Protein and that formula works for me along with exercise everyday .. go for it !

It sounds to me as though you are expecting the band to do everything. You seem to have forgotten that it is only a tool that will make eating properly and less easier. It will not do it for you.

So yesterday was my 6 month ban-anniversary. In six months I have lost 65 pounds and dropped 4 sizes. I am leaving for vacation to Europe in 3 weeks. All of this would not have been possible without my band.
This has not been the easiest journey but I am lucky. Lucky I have had no issues with the band. I work out 4x a week and keep within my calorie limit using my fitness pal.
I am hitting a bit of a wall with the diet I know it will pass. I think I need a fill I haven’t had one since November. I sometimes feel this head hunger is never going to leave me. Head hunger is my biggest struggle. I easily can 4 hours or more between eating and when I starting eating it is like I am starving. I am glad my band lets me know when it is time to stop. I am hoping in the next 6 months I will have this head hunger beat and keep up my weight loss, I am half way to my goal. The band is the best decision I have made ever and I wish I would have done it sooner.

OMG. I'm sooooooo excited! I was super excited yesterday to be out of the 290's (haven't seen that in a long time), so I was down 27lbs since 1/10. Today I got on the scale and said, "are you f**ing kidding me?" My husband yelled whats wrong? I had to get on the scale again to make sure it was right. I'm down another 2lbs! I can definitely tell a difference since my fill on Thursday. I just hope this continues! Kind of pinching myself.
Mags

I'm so sorry you had all these problems, and I sincerely hope you are able to undo all the damage, but that has nothing to do with the band and everything to do with the doctor being negligent.
There are far more people happy with their band than their unhappy people. Sadly, a great number of those unhappy with the band weren't successful because they sabotaged themselves rather than a faulty band. As for those that did all the right things and the band still didn't help? Unfortunately that happens, too. The band is a tool, not a magic bullet, and just like every other WLS out there what works for one won't necessarily work for all.
This title of this thread is extremely misleading, and to be honest, it's irresponsible. This should be titled "don't go to Dr. Glasgow" because your problem has nothing whatsoever to do with the Lap-Band.

For me, the first couple of days after a fill things seem to go down a little bit slower. You may be a little swollen from the fill and that is why you are feeling it. The bread from the crust is prob just sitting in the pouch taking it's time to go through. Sometimes in the beginning it would feel like it took an hour or 2 for things to fully go through, though I wasn't having any stuck issues. I just had a fill this week too and now I am at 6.9. I had a little bit more restriction the first few days, I will see what happens today. Hopefully the restriction will stay and you are close to your greenzone.

Yes there are hundreds of failed bandsters but the successful ones far outweigh them. I'm sorry you have had a bad experience and hope you find a way to become successful in your journey.

Your Dr seems to have been negligent so because of that you advise everybody that they should not get a lapband.
People get organ transplants and their bodies reject them - would you advise them not to get the transplant?
Women get pregnant and die in childbirth - does that mean people should stop getting pregnant?
You can get MRSA in hospital - does that mean noone should go into hospital.
You can have surgery for something minor and end up dead because of a blood clot or some other unforeseen complication.
You can take medication and have a serious allergic or anaphylactic reaction - should everyone give up taking medicine.
Yes you have had a bad experience and I am sorry about that. It sounds as though the NHS or whoever it is in Scotland messed up. That is hardly a good reason to advise others not to go ahead. If you want to caution others maybe you should make them aware of the risks of this particular Dr or the NHS in general.
Life itself is risky. There are no guarantees. Imagine trying to live your life without taking any risks - that life would be no life at all. You wouldn't be able to go outside your front door because you could get struck by lightning or run over by a bus. You certainly couldn't go in a car as that is one of the most dangerous things people do every day. But staying at home is dangerous too, that is where most accidents happen. You could:-
Have a fall
Burn yourself
Get electrocuted
Be poisoned by food, or chemicals or gas or plants
You certainly wouldn't want to have sex as that could involve catching a life threatening STI
You would probably be so bored sitting in your room wrapped in cotton wool to protect you and keep you warm that you would over indulge in food and then you would get fatter and fatter and fatter and probably die prematurely anyway from a stroke or heartattack

Your Post title says "Don't Get A Lapband" when your post clearly has issues with the Doctor. NOT the band.
Very misleading to newbies posting here.

I would think by now you should be healed; I had some seepage on one wound but only for a couple of days. I would suggest contacting your doctor's office and see if they want you to come in to check it out.

well my surgery is less than a week away, scheduled for february 16th !!! Yay I am so excited, before yesterday it was all i could think about! however my aunt passed away whom I was very close to, so now I kind of have that clouding up my brain.
Through all of it I am just trying to stay on track!!
At work today my boss asked me to get him lunch, man, that was hard. I am currently on my pre op diet. So I had to walk in to one of my favorite fast food joints and order him like the worst thing you could order. I am obviously strong because I did it, but definitely hard. I guess i can be positive about that and think well I have lost 7lbs in 5 days due to the fact that I am changing my life away from those bad choices the old me used to make. I'll claim VICTORY on that. Just felt like voicing that.

I had my 2 week post op visit today. My scars are healing very nicely and my 2 week post op liquid diet was cut so this afternoon I started soft food. I am very happy with my progress so far.

I'm feeeeeling gooooood!!! -sings jennifer hudson song, lol)- 41 pounds downnn! What an amazing feeling.

I have an open faced tuna melt for lunch every day, but healthy.
I mix tuna, 2 tbs fat free mayo, and a tiny bit of mustard. I put that on a piece of toasted whole wheat bread. Add a slice of Kraft's low fat cheese, and stick under the broiler for about 2 minutes.
Very filling and 33.7g of Protein,18g of carbs, and 5g of fat. 261 calories total.
I really like it a lot.

I have an open faced tuna melt for lunch every day, but healthy.
I mix tuna, 2 tbs fat free mayo, and a tiny bit of mustard. I put that on a piece of toasted whole wheat bread. Add a slice of Kraft's low fat cheese, and stick under the broiler for about 2 minutes.
Very filling and 33.7g of Protein,18g of carbs, and 5g of fat. 261 calories total.
I really like it a lot.

The level of people's ignorance seriously astounds me. This IS work, it's work for the rest of our lives.
Sometimes I honestly think people lash out at us out of jealousy. They see us losing weight and react defensively and out of envy.This is especially true of other big people. It's like they see us as fat camp traitors because we chose to leave. It's sad, really.
Whether behavior like this is out of ignorance or envy (or both), there is no excuse for it. I'm so sorry you had to deal with that

The level of people's ignorance seriously astounds me. This IS work, it's work for the rest of our lives.
Sometimes I honestly think people lash out at us out of jealousy. They see us losing weight and react defensively and out of envy.This is especially true of other big people. It's like they see us as fat camp traitors because we chose to leave. It's sad, really.
Whether behavior like this is out of ignorance or envy (or both), there is no excuse for it. I'm so sorry you had to deal with that

It's hard to believe that one year ago, I was getting ready for surgery tomorrow. As I feel asleep, I had this terrifying feeling...WHY AM I DOING THIS?! I CAN STILL BACK OUT.
But I didn't. And sometimes I am so proud of myself I get teary eyed. (Not a cryer by nature mind you.)
I had my one-year check up with my PCP last week. It's my 2-year anniversary with her. She asked me if the past year just whizzed by. Well, honestly, sometimes yes. Sometimes no.
When the old habits started rearing their head, time seemed to stand still. When I showed up to appointments knowing that I had dropped, time flew.
So now that one year is under my belt (somewhat pun intended), I can tell you this:
1. If I knew how long the process before surgery was going to take and all the tests I was to be put through would I still do it? YES
2. If I knew the amount of pain that lingered 6 weeks after surgery, would I do it? YES
3. If I knew that I would hit highs that would seem like I could fly like a superhero and have lows that would make me question everything, would I do it? YES
4. If I knew my life would be enriched by the wonderful medical staff I have worked and am working with now if I had just gone with the status quo and given up? YES
5. If I knew that I would learn so much about myself and then have the courage and ability to change those things I could not continue to live by, would I do it? YES
6. If I knew that some would not understand my choice yet I would gain so many advocates, would I still do it? YES
So to all of you are considering, days away from surgery or post op: It was the best choice of my life. And it probably is for you too!
In honor of my 1-year anniversary, I did all liquid today. I just felt it was the right thing to do to honor all of those who have stood by me through thick and thin. (Pun intended!) So would you all join me and raise your Protein shake to all of us who are banders and Celebrate the journey we have all chosen to take and the successes we will enjoy!
Thank you for allowing me to post this!

Are you serious? I can't tell if that's sarcasm or if they really do try to hypnotize you into thinking you've been banded
EDIT: I just went and watched the preview, and holy cow you ARE serious!!
Dr. Oz loses more and more credibility with me all the time. Unreal!!

Not meaning to make this more complicated than it already is, but you also need to be concerned about how you eat what you eat (ie what order). You need to eat our Protein first, a fist or palm size then move on to veggies then if you still aren't full you can eat carbs or starchy foods. I usually have a hard time doing this cause I love sandwiched but I stick to this bread product called flat out. They are low carbs and low calorie. Have fun good lick

My name is Frank and I had my Band done almost 3 years ago, my band anniversary is April 15 I have lost a total of 100 pounds !!

Thank you LBT!! I will take your advice!!

I'm sort of surprised that you wanted solid food the first week after surgery. I felt so horrible at that time, that even Water was difficult. What you are likely experiencing is "head hunger". Are you an emotional eater? When you feel bad, do you eat to feel better? Talk to your doctor and be honest about what is going on, but eventually you will have to work with the band and let it help you lose weight. That "head hunger" does diminish with time, but you have to follow the doctors orders and give it time. It took me a couple of months to start to recognize the difference between "head hunger" (eating to feel better but not really hungry) and "real hunger" (eating for nutrition, grumbling stomach, etc). I hope this isn't too rambling/confusing and good luck with your journey.

Today I had lunch with a friend who had lapband last May. I heard from her in Aug and she had already lost 60 lbs. I didnt even ask her about weight loss today. It didnt matter. She looked fantastic! She was beaming! She's 20lbs from goal. She answered my many, many questions as I prepare for the surgery this March (i hope). It was so refreshing to hear her answers to my questions about the dreaded "getting stuck" NONE; hair loss NONE; Gas and belching NONE; too tight of restriction NONE; food restrictions NONE, just less of everything. It went on and on. She didnt have one complaint! Not one! I asked her what the secret to her success is. She said, "i wasnt going to put myself through surgery, have 5 holes in my stomach and not do it right". She is completely compliant with her doctor's protocol. She eats Protein at every meal, she exercises, she eats slow and stops when she is full. She even enjoys 1 glass of wine a week. She did express what a mental challenge this can be. Your stomach got the band, not your mind....you still need to deal with the mental aspects of food.
Her results are inspiring. Her attitude refreshing! I tried very hard to hear a complaint but there was none. I told her she is a posterwoman for lapband and I pray I have the attitude and success she has!

Hi Everyone,
Just went in for my first fill in over 18 months! I went to a new surgeon and he gave me this article. I haven't read all of it yet, but it's pretty interesting so I thought I would share!
http://bariatrictimes.com/2011/09/22/gastric-banding-and-the-fine-art-of-eating/