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You are supposed to commit to seeing your surgeon at least once a year for life postband. I am 2 and a half years out and am thinking of scheduling an appointment. I still try to go once every 6 months - I like the reassurance that everything is OK. It is possible that you may need a small topup fill. The band does lose a little liquid/loosen slightly over time. As to what else he can do for you i am sure he would be the person best placed to answer that.

That sounds sensible.

Difficulty being able to take deep breaths would make me concerned that this was something else and not just a case of having overeaten. I would be going to see my Dr ASAP for a check to ensure that everything is OK.

any kind of fruit or veggies that are soft cooked and mashed up.

Everyone is different. I can still eat a sandwich - sometimes. I always eat wholemeal, grainy bread and find it easier to eat if the sandwich is toasted. Most of the time I can only manage half a sandwich. Or I might do an open sandwich. 2 slices of bread is generally way too hard for me. Wraps are easier but again I would normally only be able to eat half a wrap. As for something like a Subway sub - I wouldn't even dare to try.

Yes I think it is different for everyone but I also think a lot of people have expectations that far outweigh the reality. I think a lot of people have ended up too tight by not recognising that they already have restriction. In some ways it seems to be like the Quest for the holy grail or the fountain of youth. People keep chasing some mythical goal. If you work with it then every fill makes some kind of difference. And you are right people do run back for unfills far too quickly. When you have a fill you need to readjust your eating habits, get used to your new normal , make sure you are chewing properly etc. Give the fill some time to settle. If you can't get liquids down then yes you are probably too tight(unless it is because you are stuck). But if you go for a fill and then discover that something you could eat before the fill gives you problems then readjust. Cut it out for a while, take a smaller bite, chew more, wait longer between bites. Most of the time that fill will settle and you will adjust. But most importantly people should not be depending on "restriction" to make healthy choices for them. Unfortunately it can never stop you eating chocolate!

I would say that is a very bad move. I know people who have done exactly what you are intending to do and they have gained weight and been unable to lose it again. If your band is not too tight and you are currently able to eat a wide range of healthy foods why mess with that? If you had a pacemaker you wouldn't have that removed because you needed a break. If you had an artificial limb you wouldn't leave that at home because you needed a break.If you were an insulin dependant diabetic you wouldn't stop taking your insulin so why should this be any different. You have a medical condition(obesity) which has been cured or controlled by your band. You can't just switch it on or off when you feel like it as doing that causes a recurrence of the condition.

I also wonder what some of these people are expecting. They say they never reached restriction that their band was either too tight or too lose. What do they think restriction is? It is not having your food choices limited. It is not only being able to eat healthy foods. It is not something that will stop you from eating Cookies, chocolate, icecream etc. It is not something that will make correct food choices for you. What it is or should be is the ability to eat a small portion of recommended foods and that keeps you satisfied for a fairly long period of time. That could be 3 hours it could be longer. Some people can manage on 3 meals per day, others need a healthy snack in between. If you are not hungry then it should be easier to not constantly graze but because grazing does not come from real hunger but from boredom, or stress or some other reason it can't stop it. Your head has to do that. So to me if someone says that their band has not helped and they have no restriction that would mean that they could eat as much as they wanted in 1 sitting( of any food whatsover), without taking small bites and chewing slowly, that it would not cause them to get stuck and that they would still be hungry soon afterwards. That I find very difficult to believe.

This is what the band is designed to do. It does not and should not affect your choices. What are you expecting your band to do? If you are still eating a lot of high cal, low nutrition, slider type foods etc then of course the weight is not going to come off. In order to lose weight you need to create a calorie deficit. You do this either by eating less than you expend or increasing your activity levels so that you expend more than you eat. If you are continuing to eat the same types of food that you did prior to banding then you are probably still consuming a lot more calories than you use on a daily basis and you won't lose weight. Fills won't make any difference until you start playing your part properly. You have to make the healthy choices and eat the correct types of food. Stop expecting the band to do everything for you and realise that it is a fabulous tool/aid when used in the way in which it was designed to be used. Then you should start to reap the benefits.

Yep i am always cold too. Well other than on days where it hits 40decC. Not having all the excess fat to keep you warm makes a big difference.

That must be so frustrating. It also proves( for me at least) that even with the best intentions most of us are not able to keep the weight off without that additional assistance. I am sure once you have the bypass you will soon be back to a trim healthy you. All the best.

Lots of bandsters have problems eating stuff like bread. If you have been cleared to start solids by your Dr you should go slowly and try to pick foods that hopefully won't give you too much trouble. Moist meats, fish, dark meat chicken, veggies, grains etc and remember to eat slowly, small bites , chew well. Also take a break between bites to ensure the last bite has gone down properly. Chest pain when eating normally means that you have eaten too fast, not chewed properly etc. Sometimes its because the food is stuck. Now that you have a band you have to relearn how to eat and find out what foods you can and can't tolerate.

Oh really? It's not is it? Well if that is true how come so many people didn't lose the weight by themselves when they hit a BMI of 37 but instead they kept gaining until they reached a BMI of 40 or in some cases 50 or more? I don't know who you are but I think you have a hell of a lot of cheek to come here and tell people that it is not that hard to lose weight. Yes it is and guess what it is even harder to keep it off. So if you have managed to lose weight and keep it off without a band or any other type of help bully for you. Most people on this site have been struggling with their weight for years, they have tried to lose and keep the weight off by themselves but have eventually realised that they need some kind of surgical intervention. If you don't have a weight problem and you don't have a band or have had some other form of WLS then I suggest you go and preach about how easy it is somewhere else!

Chicken is good and healthy when you are on a diet but it's not so great with a band as you have discovered. The dark meat is easier to eat than the white and it is also better if it is cooked using a moist cooking method or with some kind of sauce. Don't give up on chicken just try different ways of cooking it.

My BMI was 32 but in Aus we have a different system.

If it has been stuck for 2 days then I would think the only option would be to go and see a Dr. The thing is they normally remove some of the fill to let the blockage go through but if as you say you have no fill then this probably won't work.Maybe they put some fill in at the time of surgery so it may be possible to remove some. You may be swollen from trying to vomit etc and the best thing to reduce swelling is ice. Try sucking on icechips and see if that helps. It is not an instant cure but for me after about an hour at the most I seem to have success. Papaya supposedly works but not for everyone, I have tried and it does nothing for me. I am concerned that maybe you have a slip and if that is the case then you definitely need to see a Dr as it is not going to sort itself out. Once you have this sorted out I think you need to take a good look at how you are using your band. It does not sound like you are using it the way in which it is intended to be used. I certainly don't think trying to push something stuck through with meat or chips is the way to go! Hope everything is OK and you get some relief soon.

2 years and 7 months.

I am gobsmacked. It seems that no matter what some people say some other person will manage to take it the wrong way and get offended. People have made comments on this thread in a nice , polite , respectful manner and they have been "blasted out of the water" . Sometimes I think people should walk away from their computer, take a couple of deep breaths, think again and then maybe even wait until the next day before they post anything!

I think it is perfectly normal to have these fears and start second guessing our decision before surgery. It is a case of fear of the unknown. Rest assured you will enjoy food again. Not in the same quantities and probably different foods to the ones you are currently eating but you will enjoy them. Any foods that you give up you will discover that you don't really miss. And what is even better is that being slim, sexy and healthy feels far better than any food ever tasted.

All the best on making the decision and taking the first steps to a new you and hopefully a longer, healthier life.

The green zone is a moving target. You get a fill and for a while it is just right. Then as you lose weight the band loosens up so you need to go for another fill. Also as honk says small amounts of the liquid evaporate over time. But it's no big deal. It is quick and easy and it is also good to be able to checkin with your Dr and be assured that everything is OK.

I had another NSV today . I live in the country on 5 acres so my neighbours are not close enough that I bump into them very often. Today I stopped to get the post out of my postbox which is at the end of our rd. My next door but one neighbour pulled up behind me and we both got out of our cars.I said hi and asked how she was. She said fine and asked if I was the new person that had just moved into the street. Now I know I haven't seen her for a while other than waving as we drive past each other but she seriously didn't recognise me. When she realised who I was she was gobsmacked and told me how amazing I looked and asked how much weight I had lost. This is the second time this has happened in a couple of months. the same thing happened when I saw one of my other neighbours at the post office. It's amazing how fantastic something like this can make you feel.

I don't think my opinion is more valuable than yours but what I do try to do is present facts in a balanced manner without scaring the crap out of people.If you read the original post I made on this thread you should be able to see that that is what I have tried to do. On the other hand whenever I get an email notification with the name formerlyfluffy I know before I even read it that it will be some kind of antiband rant. It is obvious that you have had a bad experience with the band, however that should not mean that you try to turn everyone off having a band. Bands have been very successfull for many people. My father had a very bad experience with hip replacement surgery. So bad that he was reoperated on many times and came close to dying. Does that mean that I should now advise people against having hip replacement surgery as they may be the unlucky person that has something go wrong? You are also keen to promote the sleeve yet it appears that you don't yet have one.Maybe you should hesitate to sing it's praises until you know for sure that it is as wonderful as you think it is. When it comes to statistics one also has to be very careful of the source. It is a well known fact that the same set of statistics can be manipulated in such a way as to prove whatever the person using the stats wants to prove.When searching on the internet lots of different stats can come up for the same query. There are also far fewer people on the VSG board than on the band board. And you would probably be pushed to find any other than Tiffykins that has been banded for more than 2 years. So yes some have been through both surgeries and have found the sleeve more to their satisfaction, but the question is will they still be happy in 2 or 3 years time? It has frequently been said that there is no one size suits all surgery. It is important for each person to look at themselves and evaluate what they are and aren't prepared to do in order to achieve success.This decision combined with the advice of the Dr should be the best guide. Sometimes however mistakes are made. people with bands discover they need the malabsorption from a bypass, people with bypasses discover how to eat around it and decide to get a band over bypass etc. There is no one size suits all absolute solution. But the best way to make an informed decision is with solid facts rather than scaremongering.

I don't know one person that has lost no weight with a band. Yes there are lots that do not lose as much as they would like or put it back on but the same is true with the other surgeries as well. The problem with the sleeve is that as it has only been around as a stand alone procedure for a couple of years we do not yet know whether the majority that have it will stay successful or if they will also regain. What is obvious from reading the sleeve board is that there are people who are struggling, who have not lost as much as they would have liked , that still struggle with hunger etc. Fluffy we know that you for some reason have not been successful with the band. This seems to make you bitter and determined to put everyone else off having the band. Whether you mean to or not you come across as some kind of missionary trying to convert people away from the evil band. It would be better if you posted your opinion in a way that outlined facts and did not come across as so judgemental. Trying to scare the c@@p out of people who are struggling to make a decision is not helpful.

This has been raised many times in the past. As this is a band board most of the replies that you get will be proband. If you asked the same question on the sleeve board most of the replies will be prosleeve. A lot of the decision comes down to whether or not you are committed to constant follow up visits to the Dr. If you are happy to do that then you will probably be successful with the band, if you are not then you are probably better off with the sleeve. As far as I am aware both surgeries are successful although the sleeve as a stand alone procedure has only been around for a couple of years so really long term results are not available. The sleeve has a higher risk of complications initially - the band has them later on. Both surgeries have a "honeymoon"period where it is easier to lose weight. The further out from surgery you are the easier it becomes to "cheat" and regain what you have lost.