Hi everyone! I am so excited to have found this app! The info on here is great! I am 25 yrs old, have struggled with my weight for as long as I can remember and I'm excited to be making a change! My surgery is scheduled may 4th so about 3 weeks away. I had a couple questions though:

1). How do you avoid this painful burping I keep hearing about? Us it from the food you eat or how fast you eat?

2) do I really have to give up drinking from a straw? Putting my mouth in a cup kinda grosses me out

3). I have heard about how people gain back the weight, but don't understand how that happens? I thought the band was supposed to restrict u from eating too much? If you start to gain you would need to get another fill to fix that right?

Thanks for your help and I'm excited to be on this journey with everyone!

- Andrea

I have had my band for 2yrs, and I have never had painful burps, I have had painful swallowing if I haven't chewed well enough. I have not used a straw since my surgery because the excess air can cause bloating (as told to me by my surgeon) and I don't want to risk it. I bought myself a travel mug to sip from that no one else uses so that eliminates the gross factor. And lastly, you can easily gain the weight back. The band does restrict how much you eat, but not what you eat. If you continue with a poor diet, high in sugar and carbs and processed foods, the weight will not come off.my surgeon reminds me at every visit that the band is just a tool to help with dieting and exercise, it is not a cure for obesity. You still have to do the work. Good luck,I hope all goes well for you!

Debbi221: Good info about the straw, I hadn't thought of that.

Andi525: How are you doing?

Hi! Honestly I could be better, have very little restriction right now, waiting for my 2nd fill, gained 3 pounds since surgery, but down 11 lbs since surgery on may 4th.

Don't be so hard on yourself. It usually takes a few fills to actually get to good restriction. It is hard when you don't have restriction and you are still hungry. It will get better. The band does not instantly work. It is a tool that has to be tweaked in order to work properly. I remember how frustrating those days were.

Best of luck!