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Here's what to expect: You're laying there on the table, you lift up your shirt, your doc may have you do a half-situp to make your abs solid (easier to find the port that way). Then the doc will bring out this ENORMOUS needle that's like the size of your head and you're going to want to panic and hyperventilate from the size of the freaking thing. Honestly, just close your eyes and turn your head away. When the needle enters your tummy, it feels a firm pinch with someone with fingernails--you'll feel it, but it really doesn't hurt much at all! The doc probably won't find the plastic in your port right away, so he might have to jab a little or wiggle the need around until he finds the right spot. Even that doesn't hurt really; it mostly just feels weird. The whole thing should take less than 20 or 30 seconds. Then the doc will put a band-aid on you, have you sit up, and ask you to take a sip of Water. Always take a sip of water at the office to check on the tightness of the band; if you can't swallow a decent chug of water, then the band is too tight. And that's it! That's what you should expect. What's REALLY strange is that the fills actually get significantly more painful as you lose weight. You wouldn't think so (because there is less flesh to go through, right?) but OMG, the last two fills I got my eyes really teared up from the pinch/pain. I miss the first few days when the fills didn't hurt! LOL! I hope that's not too much info; I just like to let people know what to expect, for better or for worse! :-)

I also have a Realize Band, and I also have a dislocated port. I believe that the port was improperly installed since I had surgery, but it wasn't really noticeable at first. Each port is attached to your body (usually your abs) with four little clips. You can kind of envision where they are located by looking at this pic: Anyway, with me, since surgery I believe 2 of those clips were improperly put in. This caused problems accessing my port; the first 4 or so fills I had, the nurse practitioner didn't get the liquid into my band at all because the port was crooked. (Later I started demanding to get my fills directly from my surgeon, and he was able to work around the crooked port.) Now I'm 2 years from surgery and I have been investigating the best way to get my port replaced. You'd be surprised at how many different options there are out there for a port revision! Last week I popped a 3rd clip on my port, and let me tell you, it's REALLY noticeable! (super big picture....click on it to see my port sticking out) http://www.phoenixrevolution.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/IMG_4888.jpg The danger of this is pretty obvious: when you've lost a lot of weight and have less fat to protect the twisted port, it can very well erode through your skin and pop out. I encourage you to discuss a port replacement surgery ASAP. Deal with it now before it becomes a problem. Hope that helps a bit!

Well, you ARE feeling restriction so the fills are working. And you're feeling tightness and having puking episodes, so we doubly-know that the fills are working. If you're not losing weight my first thought is that your diet is off; can you schedule a time to meet with a nutritionist to go over your food journals? If you give us an idea of what you are eating, that will help us figure out if it's a food thing or something else going on. What you are experiencing is very unusual, so don't stop trying to figure out what's wrong and how to fix it!

Yup! I am a patient of Dr. P at Ellis Hospital's Bariatric Center. I reached my goal weight and am indebted to Dr. P for all his help and support. I definitely give Ellis a thumbs-up! They also handle all the surgery scheduling, insurance nonsense, etc., so all I had to do was literally just show up for all the pre-op, surgery, and follow-up visits. They made it really easy.

Hi there Just Trying! I'm here to help in any way I can! My name is Christine and I live in the Albany, NY area. (I was in Rancho C. last September for a wedding though. Beautiful area!) I am 2+ years out from surgery, have lost 100+ pounds, and reached my goal weight. I have been where you are at! I'm happy to help in any way I can. You can email me at Sherazade96@hotmail.com if you prefer. Ask away! (And don't feel like you're losing your mind!!) Cheers! Christine

Hi! My name is Christine and I live in the Albany, NY area. I can help answer any questions you might have! I was banded a little over 2 years ago, lost 100+ pounds, and reached my goal weight. I've been exactly where you are at! Let me know if you have any questions. You can always email me at Sherazade96@hotmail.com. Cheers! Christine

Thanks Catemc, I'll try that.

Jersey, your "holes" or stitches sound just like the ones I have.

Oh, I'm so glad that I'm not the only person who was banded in February and who still doesn't feel any restriction yet. I had 1 fill last week and I don't feel any difference at ALL. (2.5 ccs on top of the 2 cc's or so given at surgery) I haven't lost any weight at all since surgery. I'm getting really frustrated and dejected....I really wanted to see some results, even if they were small. I go back for my 2nd fill next week. Maybe I will see a difference then? I'm worried that maybe my band slipped or something? I am probably just paranoid, but I just want to see some results.

Hi, I don't know if this helps, but I had pain after surgery too, but the pain went away ENTIRELY. It always hurt when I bent over or moved my abs in any way. This healed up, I'd say in about 4 weeks or so. I hope you heal up quickly!

Hi, I could use some advice. I was banded on Feb. 27th. I lost 26 pounds prior to getting banded, and ZERO pounds since getting banded. I had my first fill last week. I am scheduled for my 2nd fill next week (2-week increments). (I have a 10cc band. 2 ccs were put in during surgery. Last week they gave me 2.5 ccs.) I have not lost any weight. I don't feel any restriction. I have had a problem 3 times now where I didn't chew properly and the food kind of got "bottled up" and I had to burp a lot until it got moving again. I have been making moderately-healthy food choices....fish, steamed veggies, low calorie foods and drinks. I cut out diet pepsi entirely, which was a HUGE feat for me. I don't seem to have ANY problems with food choices; what I mean is, I have no problems getting some foods down that others seem to, like carby items. I have not gotten into my full exercise routine yet (prior to surgery I worked out 5-6 days a week) but I'm starting to bicycle a little after work and will start getting back to the gym this week. I wish I was losing weight, but I'm not wholly surprised that I'm not, since prior to surgery I ate well, exercised regularly, and only GAINED weight. I'm starting to get worried that maybe my band slipped? When should I start seeing weight loss? What should I do differently? I know I need to start exercising more, but that'll happen gradually, starting this week. Does anyone have any advice? What's going on with me? Why isn't this working?

I thought I would stop by and say hello. I've been enjoying reading through this forum and reading up on some of your experiences. For example, I had no idea that I'd pretty much never get to drink diet soda again! Fascinating! Anyway, I got banded on Feb. 27, 2009 so I'm about 9 days into this. I started my Medifast pre-op diet on January 2nd at 224 (I am 5'2) pounds and I have lost 24 pounds so far. I'm only a pound from my "triple digit rollover!" I've a had a little history with yo-yo-ing weight. I was pretty much large all my life, but when I was 21 I decided to go to a doctor and get some help. He put me on a medication diet (Phentermine, Adipex) and I lost 50 pounds! I felt the best I have my whole life. I then moved to New York to go to graduate school and moved away from my doctor and started to gain weight gradually again. I tried SO HARD to keep the weight from coming on. I went to the gym 6 days a week (combination weight training and cardio). I had a personal trainer. I watched what I eat. I counted calories, carbs, fat, Protein, etc, like a maniac (kept everything written down in my food journal). I saw, oh, six doctors to try to find someone that would help me, to no avail. I tried everything I could to lose weight the "normal" way, the healthy way. No matter what, the weight just piled up. Finally, I asked my regular doc if she would recommend Lap-Band surgery, and she said yes since I have tried everything else to try to lose weight. I just barely scraped by on the minimum BMI requirement (40) so the bariatric center accepted me, and my insurance agreed to pay for it too! Like I said, so far I'm 24 pounds down, and I'm feeling VERY HOPEFUL that this will help me finally lose weight and embrace a life and lifestyle that I desperately miss. I am extremely active and love all kinds of sporty things like volleyball, rollerblading, mountain climbing, hiking, canoeing, etc....my weight gain has kept me from enjoying some of these things that I want to do. Hopefully this will be a year of change for me! I look forward to getting to know everyone here!! Here's a pic of me just for general reference:

Thank you all very VERY much for your feedback. Your comments are really helpful to me! I'm relieved to know that what I'm feeling is somewhat normal -- that's a relief!!!! The ab binder idea is a great one. I find that the pain in my side is better if I hold my stomach with my hand, tight. (I look like I'm holding a pregnant belly half the time!) I think I will give the ab binder a try....I think it would help. (Smiles -- I am SO SORRY to hear about your husband. How terrible!)

Hi, can someone give me some feedback? I had my lap band surgery 8 days ago now and I am wondering if the pain I am feeling is normal or not. The pain is where the port site is. I'm extremely bloated there. It hurts nearly all the time, even when I'm laying down flat. When I bend over (like to sit down, pick something up, etc.) it hurts like a mo-fo. Is this common after 8 days? I'm almost wondering if the port has flipped or something?? I'm not sure because I don't know what it's supposed to feel like normally! (All my stitches are healing well. They don't hurt almost at all. I don't see any signs of infection at all....knock on wood. It's just an internal painful feeling.) Any feedback would be appreciated. I don't know if I should call my doctor to complain or not. My pre-surgery follow-up appointment isn't for another 5 days and my painkillers have already run out (I asked for a refill and they said I shouldn't need it refilled so they refused).