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If you are throwing up daily then it could be one of a number of things. Eating too big bites and not chewing properly - but you have already stated it is not this. Not waiting long enough between bites. Eating too much Eating foods that do not agree with your band e.g tough dry meat, foods with skin etc. Once you have eliminated all these then the only other thing that it is likely to be is a too tight band.Either that or a slip but we won't consider worst case scenario's for now. Once you have figured out that you are doing everything right then you need to go back to your Dr - you probably need a small unfill.

I also thought that being in pain and vomiting 3 x indicated a problem.

Pandora type charms are quite popular but how about. A new lipstick A massage or beauty treatment A new CD/DVD/Game or whatever you are into New shoes/bag Or maybe a special trip away when you reach a certain goal.

No not really. I started off at 74 kg and was 70kg on op day - 2/6/2009 I lost:- Month 1 - 5kg Month 2 - 3kg Month 3 - 2.1kg Month 4 - 1.6 kg and that is where it sort of averaged off. If you look at it the loss is slower than if you have a huge amount to lose but it comes off steadily. I had hit 54.2kg by Dec 2009 , went overseas for 6 weeks and came back at 55.1kg. Not bad considering I didn't diet on holiday.Since then I have lost a bit more and now weigh 50kg. Has it been hard? Yes and no. Yes when for some reason food that should go down doesn't want to and I end up stuck or PBing. No because I haven't really had to diet which makes it far easier than any weight loss attempt previously. Would I go back or do i ever wish I hadn't had it done? HELL NO! I eat a well balanced diet with food from all food groups . Yes I eat junk too but not all the time and in small quantities. For me junk is things like chocolate or cake, I have never been a big fan of fried, greasy foods, McDs etc. There is something I should do but don't ( probably shouldn't confess this) but - I don't exercise. Yes I have done some in the past - Bollywood dancing,bellydancing etc but I don't really enjoy it and living in a small country town it is difficult. Do I have the perfect body? No. My stomach is not flat and perfect like all those airbrushed models in the magazines but I look pretty good with clothes on! And I still have a problem getting jeans. I need an Aus 6 (US2) to fit my legs and butt properly but I can't do them up around my middle. If I buy an 8 (US4) they are saggy and baggy around the butt and legs. Remember the journey is different for everyone. Some people have issues with hormones and insulin resistance etc and they struggle to take the weight off. I was told by my specialist though that having a low BMI meant I was more likely to lose 100% of my excess weight.The band is designed to help you lose approx 60% of excess weight and if you lose this amount the surgery is considered successful. It might seem a low % but they have to take into account that some people will not be as compliant as others and this will affect their success. The main thing to remember is that the band is not a magic wand it is a tool. You are still in charge of what you put in your mouth. The band helps to control hunger but people eat for many reasons other than hunger. If you choose to eat for these reasons the band cannot and will not stop you.Never think that the solution is to keep getting your band tightened. A too tight band will stop you from losing weight as it will stop you from eating healthy stuff but the high calorie , low nutrient food will slip down really easily.

So you had 3 different surgeons and 3 lots of issues? That is scary. Did you ever find out what went wrong the first twice?

I think the band changes the longer you have it. It is easier to eat foods that in the beginning were an issue. Also once you have been banded for a while you do not have the excitement and the motivation that you had initially. You have said it is head hunger and this is probably true. You need to work out why you eat and what you can do instead. Is it because you are bored, stressed, avoiding something etc. Can you fix it by taking up a hobby, going for a walk, painting your nails etc. It may be that you need help from a professional to find out why you want to eat when you are not hungry and how to handle it. Also have healthy Snacks at hand for when the munchies strike. A small handful of nuts, a piece of fruit, homemade veggie Soup etc will help to satisfy the urge but without causing the damage that biscuits,chocolate,crisps etc will. It is easy to eat when you are not hungry, I can vouch for that as it seems to be something I have been doing a lot of lately. Nothing like being forced to stay at home, take it easy and not exercise to make you want to keep running to the fridge.

It sounds as though you are still too tight. Alternatively it may indicate a slip or something like that. This is serious , you need to go back to your Dr and get it sorted out ASAP.

Because the grass is always greener on the other side? Because we always want what we don't have? Because we can always theorise that the other choice would have been easier? Yes the sleeve does have advantages (and some disadvantages) but it is still only a tool. If you want to lose weight you have to make the correct food choices and exercise. It is possible to eat around a sleeve the same way as it is a band. Eat slider foods or eat frequently and you won't lose weight. The main advantages with a sleeve are that after the surgery you don't have to keep going back for fills and it is not as easy to get stuck. But if you read the sleeve board you will see that some people still struggle with hunger and other issues. I think most of the problems with the band or any of the other WLS are that people expect them to be a miracle cure. They think that once the surgery is done the weight will magically fall off with no effort on their part. Often these unrealistic expectations are because they did not do sufficient research or because their Dr did not fully inform them before surgery. Whilst we would all like that perfect solution it does not yet exist. We can pick our tool and then work with it, recognising it's limitations to ensure that we achieve the best possible outcome. i feel sorry for those who are struggling but I would also caution against rushing into another procedure (unless your band has slipped, eroded etc) in the belief that it will solve all your problems.

Is it possible that the vomiting is from the meds they have him on? A lot of people react badly to morphine based drugs and also to anaesthesia. Did the Dr put Fluid in the band? If he did then he probably needs to take it out as for many people it causes problems at this stage of the process.Usually if people have problems at this stage it is because of post op swelling combined with fill being put in too early. The solution to that is to remove the fill which is a really simple procedure. Does your Dr have a lot of experience with the band? Has he had problems such as this before? It would seem strange that the stitches around the band were removed unless they had been put in incorrectly to start with. I also haven't heard of anyone having fat removed as part of the band placement procedure.That is not to say it doesn't happen. Hope it gets sorted out soon .

Great.

It is very unusual for a diet 3 months post op to consist of soft protein only. Your Dr obviously has a very unusual regime compared to the majority. Most people at this stage are able to eat normal foods as tolerated by them.

If these are the only foods that you can get down then you are too tight. You should get some fill removed so that you can eat healthily as otherwise you will end up putting weight back on But well done meats are a problem and you should not expect to be able to get them down with a band. Tough, dry, overcooked meat doesn't work. Lean, tender, juicy, succulent meat should work. Choose moist cooking methods over dry cooking methods. Slowcooking works far better than grilling etc.

If you have no restriction then you should be able to choose to eat what you want. Obviously you should be making healthy choices. There is no point in going and deciding that you can eat anything just because you are not restricted yet because by doing that you are setting yourself up for failure. You should choose foods that are not full of empty calories. Have some Protein - maybe lean chicken or a small piece of steak etc. Have some vegetables e.g. a salad . NB when I say salad I mean something with lots of fresh raw veggies in and no protein. Not a mixture of Proteins and creamy sauces with a token sprinkling of lettuce. Something like Beans is also good. A small portion of carb if you want. I would avoid the beer and have a glass of wine or something like that and sip it slowly. You need to get into the healthy eating habit now, you already have your band, you do not need to wait for some point in the future when you think you may have restriction. Planning on cheating is not good. Planning on adapting and enjoying a situation by making positive healthy food choices is good.

I can eat just about everything except dried apricots. Dry meat such as grilled chops also give me problems.

If you go onto the sleeve board you will find some negative posts there too. The grass is not always greener on the other side. You have the band what you need to do now is work with it. It is a tool to help you lose weight , it is not a magic wand that will do it all for you.

I had the same thing yesterday morning. I had an abdominal hysterectomy 5 weeks ago. Woke up and it felt like something was caught on my underwear. further investigation revealed that it was a stitch about 2 inches long poking from the end of my incision. These stitches are supposed to dissolve but sometimes they don't. I cut it close to the skin as it was really annoying as it was catching. I am sure your Dr will be happy for you to do the same. Just don't cut too close and afterwards cover it with a bandaid if it is still annoying you. Don't panic. And yes it looks and feels exactly like fishing line.

If you want to eat raw carrots grate them.If you eat them in chunks you could get stuck so badly that it requires an unfill - I know a number of people this has happened to.

If you are a virgin and haven't done anything else that would involve sperm coming close to your vagina then yes you are fine. However remember that heavy petting and ejaculation close to the vagina can also cause pregnancy.

I was going to post on the thread the other day but couldn't find it. I was also wondering how everyone was doing. It seems very few of the people that were part of our group are still actively posting.That may mean that for them the band is now a minor part of their lives and they are just busy getting on with life. Lets hope that most have been successful and that noone has encountered any serious problems yet. I have been at goal weight for a while and am maintaining without any major problems. That is in spite of eating far more junk than I should have done in the last month as I have been stuck at home , recuperating from a hysterectomy. I am also going to credit that for my latest 2kg loss. I know a uterus doesn't weigh that much but I have no other explanation as to why my weight would suddenly have dropped. It's not like i have been for a fill or exercising or anything. I haven't been allowed to. If you want to friend me on FB fine (just don't mention the band publicly as a lot of my friends don't know or have bands and don't want others to know). user name lynn defoe

Been there, done that. It's a good feeling isn't it?

I've had 2 C-Sections and am 5 weeks post abdominal hysterectomy. For me the band was easier than any of these although everyone is different.In fact I think i must be lucky as I seem to sail through surgery. Supposedly after the hysterectomy I should have been feeling pretty bad and I feel fine. I got banded so I could eat like a normal person, normal people eat cheesecake but they also know how much to eat and when to stop. If you eat cheesecake every day it will be a problem, if you have it occasionally then it won't. I eat bread, usually toasted but I won't attempt Subway. Trying to eat a sub would probably leave me stuck . It is just too much bread. I wasn't starving on the liquid diet as I made Soup (yes made not bought) and added things like lentils, chickpeas to them before liquidising. This was done at the suggestion of my dietician as it increases the Protein and makes it more satisfying.It is hard but not as hard as you think it will be.

Relax. Your feelings are all perfectly normal. A BMI of "only" 33 is still pretty big. It falls into the obese category. And realistically if you don't do something about it now you will wake up one day with a BMI of 40+ and then losing the weight will be even harder. The initial post op diets seem crazy but what gets most of us through them is the fact they are finite. Each stage only lasts 2 weeks. And the focus at this stage is healing not weight loss so technically you don't have to get hungry. You can eat more liquids or mushies without causing too much of a problem.After that it depends on what your Dr recommends but you should be able to eat "normal" food. OK I know that normal differs from person to person but if you focus on fresh, whole foods rather than processed junk then you are 90% of the way there. Good luck and imagine how great you are going to feel once you achieve your goals.

Never heard of a bra making a difference before. If taking your bra off really helps then i would think that the problem is with your bra, not your band. It must be too tight and causing discomfort. It does sound as though you may be a bit too tight. You should be able to drink without a problem. I would go back to your Dr, discuss it and possibly get a small amount taken out.

That means that you are too tight. The band is designed to work best with solid proteins not mashies and protein drinks. You should get some fill taken out as being too tight can lead to all sorts of problems.

Yes the point of the band is to help you feel satisfied on smaller amounts. Therefore there is no reason why you should need to stop going to these events. Eat a small portion of healthy food and then spend the rest of the time chatting to and enjoying the company of your friends. You don't need to go into hibernation and stop living just because you have a band. If you are worried about the food that will be on offer then take a dish that you know you can eat. Once you are past the liquid/mushy stage it should become a lot easier.