I am in the process of getting the band and I have a few questions for some of you out there. I need some support. I am really scared about having the band. I am worried about the long term. I am 32 and have a BMI of 40. I have high blood pressure and high cholestrol and sleep apnea. I need something to help me lose weight. I have tried every diet known to man and just can't seem to drop the weight. I am constantly starving. I guess my questions are does anyone have any information about the long term affects of the band? Can you feel the band inside? Is this a lifelong deal or a short term helper? Thanks for the information.

I don't feel the band inside me. If I try I can feel my port but with regular movements and stuff I would never know it's there. I believe this is a lifelong deal. I plan to keep mine as long as they will let me.lol. It not only helps get the weight off but helps keep it off too. It is just a tool though. I am learning how to use it properly and so far it is working. It took me awhile on solids to learn how much to chew, what my bite size should be, and what my portions are gonna be. It is possible to defeat the band. Eatting slider foods and drinking with your meal, snacking. You still have to watch things but the band has increase the rate at which I am losing. On the preop diet I lost less than 2 pounds a week. Now I average 3 pounds a week. Just because I feel full after eatting a little. I still get hungry though after about 2 hours. I will keep getting fills til I reach that sweet spot of feeling full for 3-4 hours. I have met ladies that have reached goal but are still using the band for maintenace and thats what I intend to do. The band is kinda a new thing so there really isn't anyone out there who has had it for 30-40 years. I am so grateful I have mine. Losing this weight has been worth all that it took to get the band. I am so excited about what my future holds.

I agree with JeweI that this is a lifelong deal. Not a diet, but a complete lifestyle change. I cannot feel the band inside me either. Sometimes I can feel the port from the outside, but I can't feel anything from the inside. If I didn't get that horrible pain when I eat too fast, I wouldn't even know it was there!

I am 36 and my starting BMI was 42 and I also had mild sleep apnea. I don't even snore anymore. I am 30 lbs away from goal and I can tell you that the band was the best thing I've ever done for myself. I will keep it for the rest of my life (God willing LOL). I have lost 52 lbs with no restriction, so honestly, if you use this as a tool and work with it, honestly you will see results.

Lots of luck to you on your decision. This is a great forum for support, so you're in the right place.

I agree with JeweI that this is a lifelong deal. Not a diet, but a complete lifestyle change. I cannot feel the band inside me either. Sometimes I can feel the port from the outside, but I can't feel anything from the inside. If I didn't get that horrible pain when I eat too fast, I wouldn't even know it was there!

I am 36 and my starting BMI was 42 and I also had mild sleep apnea. I don't even snore anymore. I am 30 lbs away from goal and I can tell you that the band was the best thing I've ever done for myself. I will keep it for the rest of my life (God willing LOL). I have lost 52 lbs with no restriction, so honestly, if you use this as a tool and work with it, honestly you will see results.

Lots of luck to you on your decision. This is a great forum for support, so you're in the right place.

HI to the above poster. When you say you have lost 52 lbs with now restriction does that mean you haven't had a fill and still lost that much weight? Isn't that unusual?

HI to the above poster. When you say you have lost 52 lbs with now restriction does that mean you haven't had a fill and still lost that much weight? Isn't that unusual?

I have had one fill (on Jan 14) and it was my TOM and was already swollen, so I guess he didn't give me much. Needless to say, my portion sizes are maintained by ME right now, not the band. I have another fill next week, so hopefully it will help me get fuller on a smaller amount of food so I can lose the rest of this weight LOL!

Good luck to you!

I look at the band as a lifelong deal too. I can't imagine being able to control my weight this well without its help. I don't feel the band inside me at all.

One thing that you might find interesting or comforting to know is that, if you get all of the fill out of your band, you can pretty much eat like you did before the surgery. I would never want to go back to doing that, but knowing the option is there is a little comforting somehow! Not sure if that makes sense.

I've been blogging since before my surgery -- feel free to check it out (link below) if you want to read about one person's experience with the band. I have links in there to a bunch of other good blogs -- it may help you to read them and get a sense of what it is like!

Best wishes,

Catherine