imb316

First, I don't understand how some people write that they have restriction and can hardly eat without vomiting and yet they only lost 10 lbs. in a year???? Not to brag, and I know it's not healthy but I can't eat hardly anything without vomiting and I have lost 73 lb's since February 2008. Second, Since I have not been eating and getting proper nutrition I have noticed that pieces of my teeth - maybe the plaque? - have been falling off. Has anyone else had any dental problems due to weight loss? THANKS!

Why is there such a thing as bandster hell. I was banded on 12/31/07. Had my first fill on last week and will have my second fill tomorrow. Everyone says that the first 4-6 weeks is for healing not losing weight. But why don't the Dr's tell us that we have bigger bands (10cc) than those that got banded a couple of years ago? My mom had a lap band done and had a restriction right away but her band is a 5cc band. I had NO restriction even after my first fill. Most likely I am driving my Dr crazy but I am not a patient person. I did not go through this surgery because I am able to control my eating. I NEED this band to WORK for me. What is the use of going through all this and psyching ourselves that it is worth it because after the surgery we will not be able to eat and then after we feel physically better (one week in my case) we realise that we can EAT ANYTHING. Is it only me. Is that fair. I think we need to get the word out and make sure that they put fills into a 10cc band right away. If they know we will not have restriction in a 10cc band why do they insist on leaving it un-full so we then have to take a day off from work, find childcare, pay for parking (NYC) just so we can get a fill. And on top of that they ony give a little fill so then you have to go back. Why can't they fill you, wait till you have a drink, if there is no restriction, fill you more? When they are trying to sell you on the surgery they don't tell you that even after the surgery it might take 3 months until you feel any restriction. I know I am rambling on but I find this so frustrating. I am not a patient person and I want this damn thing to work already.

Now that I am banded (12/31/07) and have lost over 70 lb's I started having this problem. I cannot help but get angry at my husband for overeating all the time. I find that I have become a policeman and detective with him as well as my kids. It is not that I think I am better than them it's just that I know how much better I feel now and I want them to feel the same way. I just get so mad when I come downstairs in the morning and see all the food my husband ate late at night. I tell him I want to help him but his response is "you have been fat all your life" and now that you had the surgery you think you can tell me what to do. It's not so much his weight but the reason I had the surgery was because I noticed that my kids were learning my bad eating habbits and I did not want them to suffer the way I did as a young child. How do I get my husband on board and stop eating junk in front of the kids. I feel that I cannot do this on my own but I cannot convince him to stop. The fact that I lost weight has made me completely INTOLERENT of his or anyone else overeating. Anyone else have this problem?

I know exactly how you all feel. I had my surgery on 12/31/07 and was feeling exactly like you. I had 5 fills with-in 8 weeks and still had no restriction. I kept going back to my Dr like 2X a week for a fill and saying how I feel like I have no band only scars. She made me promise to stay and drink 2 cups of water after my fill and the proceeded to fill me to the point were by the time I got to the waiting room I was choking on my own salive! I went back to the room where she was waiting and she said I knew you were coming right back - now do you believe you have a band. She then took some fill out (RELIEF) and since then about 2 months have passed and I have had amazing restriction - I have 8.5 in a 10 band. So hang in there - you should not have to use will power - once you are at the proper restriction. Sometimes I wish I could eat a slice of pizza but I am glad I can't.

I was just wondering if anyone else has experienced this. I already put a call into my Dr and am waiting for a call back but I am very nervous. I vomited last night and this morning when I woke up my stomach my stomach really aches. It is very tender to touch and hurts when I laugh or cough. It feels like I did 500 sit-ups and I did none!

I was just wondering if you are newly banded and if you have good restriction. The reason I ask is because I used to drink almost every night and once I got filled and finally had restriction (6 fills) I am not able to drink. The alcohol burns my stomach and I always throw up from it. I am probably too tight but since I am losing weight and had to give up drinking I am sticking it out!

I asked what days the Dr is in doing fills. I then said I would come in and wait until he could do mine. I told the nurse it was ok if I had to wait a few hours.

I am a smoker, I know..., lately since I lost a lot of weight I've noticed that when I go outside to smoke men who pass by often ask me for a light. This never happened when I was heavy.

I also have Oxford and as long as I had a BMI of 40 or higher I was a shoe-in. I got approved in three days.

Was this past summer I went with a friend to a water park with our kids and I told her son I would go on the tube ride with him. He looked at me and only as a 6 year old can he said - but what if you pop it - meaning the tube!

when I eat something I know is bad for me and then someone points it out I get mad because I know I should know better.

I drove my Dr. crazy saying I can eat anything even after 3 fills.... Then at my 4th fill she listened to me and said OK I will give you a bigger fill but you must drink 2 cups of water b-4 you leave the office. By the time I got to the waiting room to drink the water I was choking on my own saliva and in terrible pain. The nurse brought me back in to the Dr and she said - So do you believe you have a band now? She quickly unfilled me a bit and said she did not close out the computer after I walked out b-cause she knoew I would be right back!!!! Anyway, I still had one more fill after that and now I am a great restriction and losing weight.

Maybe the reason some people on this site say that the band is just a tool... you need self control.... is because whenever you tell someone you had weight loss surgery they automatically say something like OH YOU TOOK THE EAY WAY OUT... The bottom line is that if you have proper restriction then the band does make you lose weight because you CAN'T eat. I mean, I still want to wolf down a pie of pizza when my kids stress me out or eat like a pig when my friend took me out for my birthday and I still wanted to get buzzed when I went to the bar with co-workers but the fact is BECAUSE of this band I COULDN'T. Does anyone agree with what I am saying?

If you are newly banded and waiting for restriction do not sit around and wait 4 weeks until you can get your next fill. If you do not feel restriction, call your Dr after a few days and say I need to come back in. Fat people always feel they are not worthy but we are. If you had lap band surgery and went through all that trouble and pain you deserve to have it work for you ASAP. Don't take no for an answer. Say I am eating way to much and I am here because I don't have self control.

I read all these threads from people who say you should have self control etc. and I read about alll these people who are not sticking to the post op diet and feel terrible. The facts are that until you have restriction, 5 fills in 2 months for me, you will eat like you did before after you blew your latest diet. I beat myself up because I ate everything less than a week after surgery. Now I wish I could eat, well not really. Other than a little soup maybe some cottage cheese I can't eat much with-out getting stuck. Not that I am complaining. Just be patient and push for your fills, Remember if you are to tight you can always go back and get a slight unfill. All this banter will not mean a thing once you are filled and the band is working as it should. TRUST ME you won't be able to eat sweets or pizza or a hamburger....

I had my surgery on 12/31/08 and after 4 weeks I demanded a fill. After the first fill I went back every week for a fill for a total of 5 fills until I finally had restriction. My Dr. is very understanding and I was always honest and told her how much I was able to eat. This only prompted her to give me a fill not to reprimand me. Drs. that do this surgery understand that we do not have a lot of self control. Just tell them that you are getting discouraged and feel like you went through all this for nothing and you MUST have this work for you after all you went through to get it done!

I came to this thread looking for validation for not following the rules. The bottom line is if you look at most of the threads a large majority of people are eating pre-op and post-op and everything is just fine. Obviuosly you should follow the Dr's rules but if you can't then don't beat yourself up. We are all in this boat because we have issues with food consumption.

I can only speak from my personal experience bu my suggestion would be DO NOT SWEAT IT! At this point it is just like you never had lap band surgery since you have no restriction. I spent soooo much time obsessing about how much I could eat etc. and believe me I ate just like I had no band, and then BOOM once I had my 5th fill I could not eat! My advise is to just enjoy knowing that very soon you will be on your way to amazing weight loss. Since I have good restriction I have not been hungry at all and have lost almost 10 lb's in 2 weeks. Everyone who has a NEW larger band has gone through this exact same torture. I thought I was never going to be like the people on this thread who are not hungry, can't eat etc. I really thought the band was not going to work for me. Everyone says to do this and that to protect the band and to have self-control blah blah blah. If we had self control then we would not need to have major surgery correct? Also, they say this is a tool - well the tool can only work when you have restriction, and trust me once you do you won't have to battle this weight thing any more - I tell it like it is-

If you had proper fill you could never overeat trust me!

I found that once I had good restriction I could NOT drink anything carbonated.

I was banded on 12-31-07 @ NYU in NYC. How are you doing? I have had 5 fills already and am still hungry a lot. I have to learn how to eat protein etc. I was eating all the wrong foods - liquids - which I now understand slips past the band and then you feel hungry right away, ANYWAY I just ordered from Amazon weight loss for dummies and another cook book for people with the lapband so hopefully I will gain some insight and make this thing work for me.

It's only been 2 months and I have no regrets but just last night I got home from work late because of the weather, my nanny left the minute I walked in and the kids were driving me batty because the storm knocked out our cable and all I wanted to do was eat the pizza that was on the counter. So at that moment I wished I could eat and got very frustrated. I guess in that moment I realized how I turned to food to cope with stress so that just re-affirmed why I got my band so I no longer regretted it.

There must be some data about when the first lap band surgery was performed.

After 3 fills I finally feel restriction although I am VERY hungry. My question is this, when you have a band and your stomach growls is it suposed to be a more pronounced experience. I mean I feel like my stomach is turning! Just wanted to know if this is unusual.

I also had a fast track banding experience. 6 weeks from general meeting to surgery date. I want to make this band work for me since I was not able to maintain long term weight loss on my own. I to struggled with what will the DR think, like that I did not drink only fluids after my first fill etc. My friend who had the surgery 5 years ago told me to just be honest and let the Dr know what she needs to do to make it work. I had my first fill - NO restriction- I went out to dinner that night and ate a full meal. Went for my 2nd fill 4 days later - same thing - I went back a week later and fessed up and demanded that the Dr make this thing work for me. After my third fill I finally have restrictio. We went through this surgery because we needed the help of the band. If the band is not set to work, why not let the Dr know.