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No one can predict how you will react. Your best weapon is good preparation and lots of information.Read as much as you can, go to the support groups, ask your Dr lots of questions.Some people have issues some don't. Often the ones that have issues are the ones that were not fully informed prior to surgery so they didn't know what to expect. With regard to fills be aware that your first one will probably be between 3 - 6 weeks after surgery depending on your Dr.It is unlikely that you will get perfect restriction after your first fill - that can take months. Although some Dr's fill aggressively the slow and steady approach is considered to be safer and leads to less problems in the long run. During this period you may get hungry, you may not lose , you may even gain a little weight. Stick to healthy food choices and try to cut out the junk. It is better to eat more of a healthy food than carry on eating rubbish. And yes if you are consuming less energy than you are expending you should lose.But if you eat slider foods such as icecream, milkshakes, chips, crackers you won't. Do your exercise and most importantly remember the band is for life it's not a quickfix.

I also find the support groups invaluable. Nothing beats being able to talk to others that have had the same experience. You probably learn a lot more from them than you would from your Dr.But if you can't get to one then you have to look at other options. This process does get easier.They say that it takes 12 weeks to form a new habit so the longer you do it for the more natural it becomes.Before you get restriction you may still get hungry but as Cathy has already said if you are hungry eat a healthy snack. I think that what you eat is more important than how much. Rather eat a bit more of something healthy than a little bit of junk. And 17lb in 17 weeks is great. The average is 1 - 2lb per week so you are losing what you should be.You didn't put the weight on overnight so you can't expect to lose it that way either. Remember slow and steady wins the race!

Colorado, Plain I am in total agreement with both of you. I do find it scary how many people seem to be under or misinformed. I also find it scary that people think the band is a magic wand that will just make the weight fall off. My experience has been a walk in the park compared to what some people here are describing. I had my initial app with my chosen surgeon. My GP had refused to refer me and I hadn't attended any seminars.I asked some questions was given a book and then booked my surgery date and other tests. I read the book. Found a local support group which I went along to and asked lots of questions. That was probably one of the best things I did as i gained a lot more info than I would have otherwise. I found and joined this forum. Then I met with the dietician who explained the diet. At that stage I was thinking hell can I do this but I cannot say that I didn't know what i was letting myself in for.I was informed that in between meals I would get hungry but that I should just drink and was also told that between fills as the restriction wears off I could also get hungry.I had my final preop app with the surgeon where I asked lots more questions. he told me that I asked a lot more than most people but he was happy to answer them. They were questions that i thought of from being a member of this forum and the other group. The op went well. Minimal pain that was easily controlled. Driving the next day back at work a week later. Did I get hungry? Trying to remember................... I am sure I did but it is something that you soon forget. At the time it is a struggle but it is for a finite amount of time - there is light at the end of the tunnel. When I was hungry I drank broth, ate sugar free jelly, diet mousse or something else that was allowed on my list. My fills have been slow which is fairly standard practice here in Australia. It is not a money making thing - it is believed that filling too soon or too aggressively is one cause of band slippage. I have had 5 fills so far for a total of approx 3ml in a 10ml band. I can eat everything just a lot slower and a lot less than previously.I still eat bread(toasted), meat, chicken, rice, vegetables, Pasta............ Sometimes I get stuck but that doesn't mean I don't eat that particular food again it just means I remember to eat it slower and chew it better. I DON"T DO Protein shakes - shock horror. I get more than enough protein from the well balanced diet that I eat. I'm not on atkins or WW or any other DIET! My weight is coming off slowly but it is coming off. Rather slow and steady than not at all. I tend to lose .5kg then not lose for the next 2 weeks then lose again. At the moment I am averaging a loss of 2kg(4.4lb) a month. Many of you probably wouldn't be happy with that but I think its great. I live a normal life, eat normal foods and am losing.I have approx 5kg (11lb) to get to my goal. So yes bandster hell can be awful but it ends. You can't go backwards only forwards so work with what you now know. If you take it one day at a time it makes it a whole lot easier.And adjust your expectations. realise that prior to restriction you may not lose and may even gain. the band is for life it's not a quick fix.

The Dr decides once he/she opens you up. They use the correct size to fit your anatomy.They no longer use the very small one which was approx 4cc (I think) unless they have old stock that they are using up! The current Ap bands are approx 10 and 14 cc and then there is the Realize band which is a similar size.

You won't get the stuck sensation until you have had some fills. Prefill you are normally able to eat anything. Getting stuck can be because of eating too fast, not chewing properly, too big a bite, eating too much or some food that YOUR band doesn't like.Before being filled we practice small bites etc but I don't think we get it entirely right until after we have been stuck and experienced for ourselves! I read about getting stuck and was convinced that i would be able to eat properly so that it would never happen to me! Of course I was wrong and have experienced it a number of times.

I don't count calories or anything else. I don't do protein first or low carb ar anything like that. I don't use protein shakes.I eat the same food as I have always done just in smaller portions. Breakfast is normally a poached egg on a slice of wholemeal toast. Sometimes I add a slice of smoked salmon. Lunch depends where I am. I will have a wrap, toasted sandwich, tuna and crackers or leftovers. Dinner is some kind of protein - chicken,meat,mince whatever with veggies and a carb. So I might have spag bol,curry and rice, roast etc etc I don't have a huge portion and usually leave some on my plate. For snacks if I am hungry I will have tinned fruit, greek yogurt, a slice of cheese, diet mousse etc.Occasionally I will have a small piece of chocolate such as a Freddo Frog but I no longer have large choc bars on a regular basis and i don't spend my life with my hand in the fridge like I used to!

I would go to the appointment , see the Dr and follow his/her advice. You may have been prefilled at surgery. You may need a small fill or you may be fine as you are. I have read of others that felt like you do, didn't get the fill and a week later were starving as the post op swelling had all gone down. So the best is making a decision in conjunction with your Dr.

I've noticed that this site seems to have changed a lot recently. A lot of the "older" more experienced bandsters seem to be MIA.It's a concern as there are lots of newbies who have lots of questions and it seems to be newer rather than experienced people answering these questions. It's frustrating as they have a lot more experience and I am sure would have far better answers than those of us only banded a couple of months. Obviously there are still some experienced people around which is great but a lot are noticeable by their absence. What gives??????????

Maybe you are drinking too many calories. Try stopping the protein shakes and see what happens.

I would suggest you speak to your Dr not your dietician. It is important though to trust what your Dr say's even though sometimes it may be hard. Remember the Dr is the expert and we can't pick and choose which bits we like and which bits we don't. Yes bandster hell is hard but eventually you get to the other side. Most of us have enough reserves that we are not going to starve! I was advised to have a couple of serves of skim milk a day which helps. Also try things like OXO in hot Water, I find when I am hungry that makes a huge difference. Plus there is low cal jellyetc. Don't tough this out on your own - speak to your Dr.

Hi, difficult to say if you will achieve it or not.In the beginning you tend to lose fairly quickly, then it slows down a bit and of course there are the dreaded plateaus.If you work on 1llb a week which is the low average weekly weight loss then that is just under.5kg per week. you may lose more - you may lose less. A lot will depend on how you stick to the eating recommendations, how much you exercise etc. And don't forget there is a period after banding before you reach your optimum fill level(sweet spot) when you may not lose at all because at that point you don't really have any restriction. Where in Vic are you and who is your Dr. i live in Ballarat and was banded in June by Peter Nottle.

I'm surprised that the diet pills are actually still working. Most of them lose their effectiveness after you have been on them for a while. I managed to get down to 53kg about 5 years ago taking Reductil. I regained and was prescribed them again. The second time they made no difference whatsoever. I got banded in June with a BMI of 32. My BMI is now down to 25 and I have another 5.5kg to lose to reach my goal. I would get banded again in a flash. I wish I had done it years ago instead of all the other things I tried. Only you can decide, in consultation with your Dr, if banding is right for you. But don't let the fact that you have a lower BMI put you off. The sooner you stop taking the diet pills the better as they are really not good for you. A band is a far better option than continuing with those.

It is possible that even though you are only eating small meals you may be eating the wrong foods. If the small meal is high in fat/calories then you won't lose. I think you should go back to your surgeons team and see what they advise. Maybe the Nut can look at what you are eating and give you some advice. Maybe you are too tight and eating high cal slider foods. The best thing to do is try and find out why you are not losing before you go through more surgery. It may turn out that the lapband isn't working for you and you may need a bypass. But you should only consider that oce you have got to the bottom of the problem

It sounds like you are too tight. 5 -7 bites at a main meal is not enough. If you have some fluid taken out you will probably find that you can eat more at your main meal i.e the good nutritious stuff that you should be eating and then hopefully you won't be filling up on slider foods such as chocolate bars.

In this instance it would have been far better had your Dr not checked the fill level because then he could not have forgotten to put back in what was taken out. By only adding this situation could not occur. I'm wondering how this could happen as when I have had fill drawn out the amount that they intend adding is already in the syringe and the whole lot then gets injected back in without the needle being removed.

Can you order shakes on line? Or do they have any Meal Replacement diet type products over there as those are the same thing. If not then for your liquid phase stick to Soups,juices(fruit & veg) for Protein drink milk. My nutitionist also advised adding things like lentils, chickpeas etc to soups to increase the protein content - obviously you have to puree the Soup to make it liquid. After your liquid phase you don't need to worry about Protein Shakes anyway. Although using them seems to be a big thing in the USA its not something that is recommended here in Australia. it is perfectly possible to get more than enough protein without having to use shakes and powders. Hope this helps

Oops. Just noticed my spelling mistake in the title and it won't let me edit it. Obviously this should read recommended!

I went for a fill today ( my 5th) and was told that they will no longer be taking the fill that is already in there out to check the amount as it is now believed that this can affect the pressure in the band. Has anyone else heard this? I didn't question why but it seems to make sense.If you blow a balloon up and then deflate it and keep repeating the process it makes the balloon weaker. So I imagine something similar may happen with the pressure in the band. It does go to show though that they don't know everything about the band yet - they seem to be constantly discovering new things.

That is something that I have been wondering as well..........

I didn't realise that it was possible to be born with acid reflux.

Its a good idea to take measurements. I took mine preop and have done them once since then. It gives you a huge boost to see how many cms you have lost especially when the scale isn't moving.

I am glad that you eventually went to see your Dr. It is scary to think that you have had a problem for a year and not done anything about it. We have to remember that we are important and look after ourselves. I hope that everything goes well from now on.

I can still drink wine no problem. It is one of the things that I am able to drink whilst eating as it tends to be sipped slowly rather than gulped so there is no way that the band will help you to deal with this issue. I agree that it is something you need to address prior to surgery.

I made things like tuna lasagne.Really soft and easy to get down.

Sliming or productive burping are basically the same thing.They can happen if you eat too quickly,too big a bite, don't chew properly or eat too much. The food gets stuck which generally causes a huge pain in your chest or at least that's what happens to me. I believe some people may not have the pain or may just feel pressure. Your body starts producing extra saliva to try and help the food go down . You can't swallow the saliva so you cough or spit it up. It tends to be thick like slime -hence sliming(slimming is what we are all trying to do)LOL.Sometimes the food comes up others it may eventually go down.Sometimes it is resolved quickly others it can take hours. It is not something that you do every day and once you have done it once you vow it will never happen again. Unfortunately for a lot of us it does happen again as learning to eat correctly is a big learning curve. As time goes on and you get used to your new style of eating it should happen less and less.