Mariasha

It's very normal. Here on the forums it's called bandster hell. Until you start getting your fills and get restriction you appetite will be almost the same as it was before the surgery. You've just gotta hang in there for now and do the best you can to continue eating healthly.

Why would you want it out?? Is it causing you any problems?

Unfortunately the insurance companies can make this process very very difficult. I wish you good luck with the appeal!

Do your research on 1800get-thin. I have seen a lot of negative things posted about them here. I would suggest using these forums to do your research on the band in general and then work on fining a good surgeon in your area.

It could be from the swelling that often accompanies a fill. Keep an eye on it. If it persists after a week of so I would ask your surgeon.

Yes the port can move around. Kepp in mind that your body and skin are also changing as you lose weight.

A lot of people of people report feeling restriction on the third fill. I'm trying to understand how big your fills were. In your post you wrote that you had two fills of .5cc but in your signature it says you are up to 6cc? Which is it?

The tittle of your post makes no sense. The definition of good restriction is feeling full. One of the most common misconceptions I've found that people have about the band is that it is supposed to "restrict" what you can and can't eat. The feeling you are looking for is what happens when your band is too tight or you eat too much! Normal restriction is the feeling of being satiated, i.e. being able to wait four hours between meals without the feeling of starving hunger.

I had my surgery at NYU. I know they have a great support group that gets together there every other week. You may want to check it out.

I'm happy to hear that there is a charity plan for this that you may be able to access! Good luck with that.

Find things to distract yourself with. Stay away from food. The papers I received from my surgeons office advised us to avoid watching TV during the liquid diet stage. They claim that seeing all those images and advertisements for food makes it much harder to avoid them.

Check out the Australia local support board on the forums located here

Would you consider getting insurance for long enough to have the surgery and then dropping it? Not getting in to the moral ethics of that, but it is an option...

I had two weeks of liquids and then two of mushies. But six is not unheard of. You need to give your body time to heal.

If your getting insurance now just for this I believe Oxford is your best option. As far as I know they are the only one's not requiring a 6 month diet in order to be eligible for surgery.

Welcome and good luck with your journey! A couple of points. You need to decide in your own mind if being healthy and a good parent for your child and all the other things you want are more important to you than the mountain dew and the ice tea. I know that sounds harsh, but its a mental process you need to go through if you wish to move ahead with this procedure. If you are going to drink sugary drinks then the band will be of no use to you. Those are empty calories that don't provide you with any feeling of being full. Surely you can make the change from ice tea to something like crystal light that has zero calories. About being able to eat and enjoy food: If the band is properly adjusted you should be able to eat almost anything, you'll just be eating a lot less of it than you did before. I often go out to eat with friends and have never had any problems. You can always find something you can eat. You just have smaller portions and eat more slowly than you did before. One last point. You write that you are scared to give up good food. At this point you probebrly don't even know what good food is. I know I didn't before I had my surgery. I was a food/sugar adict just looking to get my next fix. My tastes have changed so much now. After doing the liquid diet before and after the surgery and then slowly transitioning back into normal foods, my taste buds changed during the process. I try foods with new spices and flavors that I never had before, and I enjoy them. When I try to taste some of the sweet sugary things I used to eat, I find I can't even eat them. Regular iced tea is so sickly sweet, I have no idea how I ever drank that stuff. You'll also find that once you are no longer starving hungry all the time, you'll actually enjoy trying new foods, and you'll be able to put the time and effort into experimenting with new and healthy foods. Hope I answered some of your questions. Feel free to post any more you may have.

Satiated is exactly what you are supposed to feel. If you feel tight or in pain it means you've eaten too much.

Well done! Keep it up!!

Guys, this is a thread from 2005. There really should be a system put in place where after a certain amount of time you can't respond to old posts. Who are the admins here and how does one contact them with a suggestion?

How much exercise are you doing?

Wish I had done it sooner. No regrets here.

Ask your surgeon. It would be irresponsible for one of us to answer that question for you.

I'd say ice cream is probably one of the worst thing someone with a lap band could eat. A ton of calories, and provides no feeling of fullness. No thanks. I'm avoiding that stuff like the plague.

Too tight. Go get unfilled. You should be able to eat most foods.

Not all self payers are low BMI. Many of us just don't have insurance or our insurance doesn't cover lap band. I was self pay and had a BMI of 58. I don't know about other surgeons but mine will definatley band you even of you are under 35. I imagine that most surgeons would. If you are paying yourself what reason could they have not to?