TKW

That is too bad. My brother is a Big Big Boy 6'1" and weighed over 500 pounds. He didn't have a problem. There are different size bands. Wonder it your surgeon had the options available. I wish you the best. I think you should try again. I just love my band, it has helped me so much. Good luck to you

People look at this differently. I personally, eat what ever I want. I try do make health choices, but sometimes you just "need" a sub. I don't think there is anything wrong with that. I am a calorie counter, and as long as I'm in my 1200 range, I consider it ok. Good Luck!

Sometimes your stomach can really swell up from a "stuck" episode. Can you drink liquids ok without it coming back up? Can you eat without it coming back up. If you can drink and eat and keep it donw, you probably did not have slippage. I have had one or two stuck episodes where my stomach just was not right for a few days.

You got a little more than you bargained for. Mercy! Here's wishing you nothing but good luck in the rest of your journey!

When I get stuck it happens immediately. I know it 5 seconds after I swallow, and it is painful. Are you "sliming" ? I always produce an enormous amout of saliva when I get stuck. I think perhaps you are just too full? If you were stuck, you'd know it!

Banded 1 year & 2 weeks. Down 130 pounds! 100 more to go! LOVE MY BAND!

Get an unfill... you are on the road to failure and or band slippage. You need to find the exact right spot... IT'S THERE. Get a little taken out!

Well, I have ever been married, but I know how different I feel (like a new person) and that things change. He loved you fat and you loved him when you were fat, is that gone? I think you owe it to yourself, your husband and your children to try to re-spark your marriage before you do anything drastic. I wish you luck!

Not one little bit. Tools were designed to be used. That''s why we drive cars, use the dish washer and put the laundry in a washing machine instead of beating it on a rock! I must say, you should be very proud, you have done spectactular on your own and I can see why you are questioning it. The choice is yours to make but I'm not one bit ashamed of my decision. Good Luck to you! Keep up the good work!

Cookies(100 calorie pack), and a dairy queen when we come home from the lake Sunday nights. ( I just can't pass while everyone else has one. Can't do it. Humph) But... I'm living life, with the band, and succeeding. So is it really cheating? Do I feel guilty. Nope!

I was EXACTLY like that. Was losing 10 pounds a month but was eating way more than 1 cup of food. I ate healthier and exercised and drank my Water, I had restriction but just did not get full on 1 cup of food. I just went with it cuz I was losing. Then all of a sudden I had a month where I only lost 2 pounds. It had been a few months since I had a fill so my Dr. gave me one. WOW!!! There I was, could barely eat a cup. As a matter of fact I had to have some taken out a couple of weeks later. Now I am so at my "Sweet Spot". I really thought I had great restriction all along and would just be a person who ate more than a cup of food. I was never really concerned about it cuz I was losing but I was worried the weight loss would stop. It really was just a matter of waiting to get to the right fill level. It will happen. Keep eating healthy and making good choices. The 1 cup will come! Anyway it did for me. Good Luck!

One year - 127 pounds, not one complaint, not a single problem. Sure I have issues once in a while. I've been stuck a number of times and thrown up but ALL because of my own doing. Once I "really" learned to eat SLOW and take SMALL bites, that issue went away. I can eat anything, bread, steak etc. if I eat it correctly! I agree, this is a place to put your issues and complaints out there and hopefully get a helpful suggestion from someone, so you do read a lot of negative stuff and when you are in the process it can seem overwelming. Wouldn't give my band back for any amount of money!!! Good Luck to you!

The band is only 1/3 of the equation. You need to "choose" the right foods and make sure you are exercising. Without all three of these things, I, personally, don't think the band can be successful. Yes, you should be able to eat "the good for you food" without getting stuck. If you get stuck a lot that pushes you to the "not so good for you foods" cuz they go down easy. I agree, if this is the case, you may be too tight. Don't get discouraged. The band works... but it is up to you to make it work. I have discovered it is a very tempermental thing! Best of Luck to you!

I am post op 1 year and 1 day. I could eat way more than 1/2 cup up until 2 months ago (4th fill - 5.6cc). Now I am lucky if I get 1 cup in at a meal (which is what my dr's recommendations are. ) 1/2 cup is not much food. All dr's have different guidelines. But until you are at proper restriction you are probably going to be able to (and want/need to) eat more than that. I was eating 1 1/2 - 2 cups of food until i reached my "sweet spot" Make good choices and you'll do fine. Make sure you are honest with your dr when you go for fills, let him know if you are hungry or eating more than he suggests. That will help him adjust your band properly. Good Luck To You!!!

Every fill for me was a new learning experience. I have finally discovered that I can eat ANYTHING, if I eat it slow enough and it is a small enough bite. It takes me a full 1/2 hr to eat but that just happened with my last fill 2 months ago. I have pretty much learned the right speed and size over time, I don't really have to think about it anymore, it's just normal for me now. I didn't think that day would ever come.

My life has changed so much in 1 year. Thank you Lap Band and all my lap-band friends on here that have helped me so much the past year. Couldn't have done it without you. Now.... 100 more and I'll be happy! (who am I kidding... I'm already happy!) Continued success to us all!!!

Your post it haunting me.... LOL! It took 2 weeks for my insurance to approve me, it was a piece of cake. My only co-morbid was High Colesterol. I think you should try your insurance, $8500 is a lot of money. Even if it takes 6 months. I can't imagine spending the 8500.00 if you can get your insurance to pay for it, little lone pulling it out of your retirement which will cost you 10% penalty and 28% income tax. That's almost $12000.00 Ultimately, it's your decision. Good Luck

Can be very painful. Have you ever swallowed too big of a bite and it hurts like hell all the way down? That's what stuck feels like but it lasts a lot longer! It will either eventually go down or you will throw it up. It can actually get lodged so tight that you have to have fluid removed to get the object to go through. Some people say papya enzymes will disolve it others say pineapple juice will break it up. I have learned that I can pretty much eat anything, bread, pasta, steak etc. as long as my bites are small and i eat really slow. I've been stuck a lot, it is very uncomfortable. I usually end up throwing up.

Wow... only one right answer in my book (unless you have lots of extra money laying around) INSURANCE.

I get leg cramps if I don't drink enough water.

nope, doesn't give me the full feeling either. But.... if I feel the need to munch on something It will help curb that some.

I agree, too tight is almost worse than too loose. When I had my 4th fill I was super tight, I found myself at the Dairy Queen a lot because it went down good and I would justifiy it because "i had hardly ate anything" that day. I realized what I was doing and after 3 weeks got an unfill. I am a year post op and now "get" the "eat your protien first". I get my protien (3oz) in and a few veg and I'm full. No desire to eat more. All the "rules" they give you, I find really do hold true. They are what make the band work. I sort of scoffed at them at first, but the longer I do this the more sense they make. Eat your protien FIRST, DO NOT drink with a meal. These little rules all help the band work. Get back to the basics to get back on track! You can do it!!!!!

It will stop eventually, I thought there was something alive inside me wanting to get out! But it wasn't the least bit painful???

I have gotten to the point where I can go to things that revolve around food and do fine. I eat, get full, it feels the same as before (almost). Anyway, I don't miss eating more because I'm full/satisfied. We have a place at the lake so there is always food an drink every weekend. you just learn to adapt, it's not so bad. Very tough when you are just starting out I know, Good Luck to you!

Here's what I know. The lap-band has worked perfectly for me. I have consistently lost an average of 10 pounds a month. I am almost 1 year post op and have lost 117 pounds. The band does 30% of the work for me (restriction) 30% is healthy food choices and the other 30% is exercise. My personal opinion, you need to do all 3 of these to be successful. Why the negative northerners, I have no idea.