Tomorrow I am calling my surgeon to find out how to get the band removed. I have tried staying positive, but I give up! At first all was wonderful, didn't even need the pain meds after the first couple days. But I cannot get the hang of eating, I cannot find idiot proof recipes anywhere. I have no support, and I regret ever doing this. Yes I have been losing wait, but it feels the same as if I was just dieting and starving myself. I never feel full. My doctor and his staff are no help, and neither is the so called support group that helped me get the surgery. Thanks to all who have answered my questions before, but I truly am defeated.

How long have you been banded? Getting used to it can take a while and getting to a point where you are not hungry takes a number of fills .

Ask your questions on here. Find a buddy if you can and if you are really getting no support from your surgeon and his team then find another practice that will give you support.

You have just gone through the huge process of being banded you don't want to go through another surgery now to take it out just because you haven't got the hang of it yet. Be patient and you will achieve the results that you desire.

If you want to pm me I am more than happy to answer specific questions.

It may seem hard at the moment but YOU WILL get there.

All the best.

You have to do what you have to do for you but here is my two cents....

Don't give up... Don't beat yourself up. You are not defeated, you just need the right support. Go online and search for local support groups- other then where you had the surgery... Use this site more (looking at your statistics, you haven't been on here much... 5 posts since May... thats not enough to get support, use it, use us! I find it super helpful... Go to therapy...

It looks like you've only been banded several months... If you are losing weight, whats the reason to remove it? Its not hurting you to keep it there. You may need to get filled more. But even with that, from what I understand, its not just the band tightness; its the mental process. Sounds like you are stressing yourself too much.. Its NOT a diet. Eat normal foods, just in moderation. And are you REALLY hungry or are you just wanting to eat? (I have only been banded since September but realized a couple days ago that I have been eating more because I wanted to, not because I was hungry... So now that I am aware of that, I will monitor myself more). As far as recipes... screw recipes, cook normally. Just eat less initally and if you are still truly hungry- give yourself some 15 minutes then eat more.

And... you got the surgery already, which seems to be successful for you for the most part... why would you want to get another surgery to remove it and possibly set yourself up for failure? What if you remove it and you have NO restriction and CANT diet and lose weight and risk gaining back all the weight you did lose? And do you HONESTLY believe you can lose weight and diet without the band? Obviously it didn't work before you were banded, because if it did, you wouldn't have needed the surgery to begin with.

I was told that it takes 6 months to a year to really get a grip on this process...

You just need to gather your thoughts, build up your motivation and inspiration and start all over again. Start fresh... Don't think about whats been happening... Tomorrow, is a new day.

Edited November 3, 201015 yr by danide

I had my surgery April 15, 2010, so almost seven months now. It is hurting me to keep it in. I don't know the exact dates but I have been complaining on here and to my doctors office about pain for a while. I have even had a fill since complaining and they just told me that it can take up to a year to fully recover from the surgery. Well now for about a week I have been having heartburn. It was a little at first, but yesterday I worked the voting polls and I had heartburn virtually all day, had to pop tums like breath mints just to make it through the 15 hours. All I had to eat yesterday was rice cakes, because I was scared if I ate anything else I wasn't going to be able to stay and do the job I promised to do. Not trying to be graphic, but for the past couple of days I have been sick to my stomach, and yesterday that also kicked into overdrive. I have been having diarrhea (also why I was scared to eat anything yesterday). Even as I am typing this, I just woke up not 15 minutes ago, I feel the heart burn coming back. I haven't eating anything. The worst part is this. My daughter has been told that she had pneumonia, we had it treated and since she plays sports her doctor is being very cautious. Well after checking and seeing that it was going away she has it again. So I talked to her doctor and they have now sent me out for xrays to see if I have pneumonia from the surgery. I am still waiting on results should get them today or tomorrow, but if I do have it I probably have had it for almost seven months and my surgeon was not concerned enough to find this out my child had to be affected for anything to get done about it. How is this making my life better? Yes I have lost weight, but not due to the band making me feel full, because I have literally been starving myself. I am really hungry most of the time, I do acknowledge that sometimes it is head hunger but mostly not. But I have just went back to what I used to do that worked when I was taking fen phen, I weigh everyday and if I gain a pound or I stay the same I eat less and before all the pneumonia talk I would hit the gym harder or an extra day. I know I risk gaining the weight back by having it removed, but I am miserable, and depressed and the more I read, because there are more people putting info on slippage up since I had the surgery, it seems like now the band has slipped. And I almost hope it has so he has to remove it. I just don't know if I can do this for the rest of my life.

If the band is causing you physical pain all the time and making you sick then maybe you should be evaluated to see if removing it is the best option. Everyone cannnot tolerate having foreign objects in their body. I think that is explained as one of the complications of surgery. Hope it turns out well for you!

I don't want to belittle your pain. I do wonder if you were seeing your Primary Care Physician who would perhaps have looked into your health issues. Surgeons in my experience do their 1 or 2 hours of work and then move on. They expect that someone else is going to manage the after care. I saw my doctor once after surgery and my next two appointments were handled by a Nurse Practioner.