cnr1983

I had a prefill during surgery - I'm about 2 weeks post-op and I won't be getting a fill at my next appointment - I'm eating small enough portions and feeling full and at this point, getting a fill would restrict me too much - I didn't get the band to starve and have deficiencies, I got it to limit my intake of food healthily, which is what is is doing currently.

I've had no problem with taking pills - truth is, if you can't get a pill down, then your band is probably too tight. Some prefer it that way but I've opted for a slightly looser band to avoid issues of malnutrition etc. Pills go down fine and I'm not hungry at all so it goes to show - you don't need a super tight band to lose weight.

I can also feel the band, mostly when I'm lying on my back for some reason (I haven't slept on my stomach yet, which has been difficult since it's how I've been sleeping for 25 years). I don't know whether I can feel my port or not, I think what I'm feeling is just soreness.

I'm 9 days post op and have stopped weighing myself - i know I've lost weight, but I don't want to see numbers. Why? Well, a) it's too soon to feel disappointment and because the surgery left me a bit scarred - I found out that I'm resistant to morphine so when I woke up, I felt every ounce of pain until they finally realised I needed a different type of pain killer. So, the last thing I want to know is that it's all been in vain. At the end of the day, we've had our stomachs cut open and a foreign device placed into us, changing the way we feel when we eat. I won't weigh myself until I'm over this period of "oh my God what have I done".

Lap-band is as far as I'll ever go - If it doesn't work out, then so be it. I'd rather be over-weight than have something so drastic done to my body. Lap-band was drastic enough for me.

I told my best friend (didn't even contemplate not telling her) and we're no longer friends as a result. Sad. I guess it's a combination of jealousy and wanting me to be in the same boat as her. I guess what I gained out of it is the realisation that she wasn't the friend I thought she was. Other people have been amazingly supportive, though - funnily enough, it's my thinner friends that have given me the most encouragement.

I'm about 6 days post op and initially, my band was way too tight for me which caused bad reflex and constant 'gurgling' (even though I was on clear liquids). I contacted the clinic and told them that drinking was uncomfortable and they gave me an unfill straight away - immediate relief. My surgeon says you should be able to drink very comfortably, if not - then it's too tight. Funnily enough the band has actually reduced my reflux which was pretty bad prior.

I personally wouldn't do it. Lap-band surgery isn't easy - it can be painful, frustrating and a shock to the system. It's a drastic step and should only be used by those whose weight is seriously affecting their ability to live a normal life. If I was just over-weight (instead of having a bmi of 39) I wouldn't have contemplated it.

Hi Rebecca, You might need to purchase 2 seats - I'm not sure how it works in the US but in Australia if someone can't fit into a regular seat and the plane isn't at full capacity they won't charge you for the extra seat. I'm fine with the seats but being tall means the lack of leg room makes every trip pretty uncomfortable.

Are you sure it's the band that is causing the loss of appetite? Go to you doctor and get yourself checked out, it could be something else. From what I know, the lap-band does obviously decrease hunger but what you're describing is actually anorexia (you don't have to be skinny to be anorexic), which is something I was diagnosed with when I became depressed a few years ago - I couldn't eat and the sight of food actually made me nauseous.

I lost my best friend. We both struggled with our weight and it's something we bonded over for many years but she started to begrudge the fact that I was doing something pro-active to improve the quality of my life and kept referring to the lap-band procedure as unhealthy and superficial which is not something someone 1 week post op wants to hear.

I'm scared to even start the mushy stage - I'm 5 days post op and on my 4th day, I did something quite stupid and ate 2 teaspoons of eggplant dip (it was mushy). Well, it got stuck for roughly 10 hours (staid up all night and waited breathlessly until the clinic opened). I got unfilled and finally, relief. The band was too tight to begin with since I wasn't even getting Clear Liquids down with ease but I thought that was normal at the time. But the whole ordeal has seriously left me scarred to the point that I'm happy to remain on liquids if that means avoiding getting stuck again. I have poor pain tolerance I guess and the whole thing scared me to death.