You need a fill and eat a regular-portion plate of food? Or is it just going down and I don't have to worry? Ideally I know I should control myself, but I feel hungry all the time. I'm just trying to figure out what if any damage I might be doing while I wait for my appointment next Tuesday.

No, it doesn't hurt at all. After a year with my band, I would get stuck occassionaly, but that's if I ate something like bread or rice, or didn't chew well enough. After a time, I found if I waited about 5-10 minutes, I could just keep eating and it would feel fine. I wouldn't gorge myself, but I felt in my mind that I was probably eating more than I should. My meals were roughly 1.5c worth. However, I lost weight. 93lbs to be exact!!! BUT.....

Little did I know that I was stretching my pouch and eventually my esophagus. Here I am, two years to the day that I had my surgery, and I've been told my band has to be removed and that it's causing a potentially life-threatening condition to me. The doctor stresses to me that it's not my fault (I have the success of the weight loss to back me up that I did do what I was supposed to), but that the band isn't proving to be what it originally was thought for a long-term solution to weight loss. I'm devastated. Completely and utterly devastated that my band is failing me.

If your clinic/dr. doesn't use a fluoroscope when performing a fill, you will have no idea what it's doing to your body. I can't stress enough that you WILL NOT FEEL pain and you will NOT be stuck when you are stretching your pouch & your esophagus. Eventually you will probably come to have the gurgling toilet drain sound followed by the nightly reflux. That is when there is trouble.

Anyway, I just thought I would put my two cents in. Good luck, everyone!

Well that's a little more than scary? You describe exactly how many of my meals take place. However, I do take what you say with a grain of salt. We're all different and I think that some of us/you have much more elasticity in the stomach than others because I was in a lot of discomfort this mornng.

Going in now for an unfill.

tmf

Right, we're all different, but our bands perform the same function. Really, I think the key is the X-ray. Other than having moderate reflux, I had no clue my band had slipped. I think of all the people who get huge fills at a time, and aren't losing, they must have serious stretching going on.

Anyway, I hope your unfill helped. And btw, I'm not here to scare anyone, but I was VERY pro-band for two years, and now I'm learning more about the complications that are starting to occur with long-time usage. It's dis-heartening. I love my band. I was on the fast track to a heart attack and now I think I'm in much better shape than I was.

-t

If you look at the Allergan site or Lapband you can see that the maximum weight loss actually occurs between month 15-3yrs. I'm in my 16th month...I've lost 81 pounds I wish I could have lost 100 in a year but reality is that it still will take time shedding these pounds even with exercise. In happy with the results as I'm almost in a size 12 and I'm healthy! Hang in there. In ready for a fill next week but also worried about the reflux stuff. Doc says don't wait too long for fills when you are out of the green zone.

Oops for Delilah88...hang in there

Right, we're all different, but our bands perform the same function. Really, I think the key is the X-ray. Other than having moderate reflux, I had no clue my band had slipped. I think of all the people who get huge fills at a time, and aren't losing, they must have serious stretching going on.

Anyway, I hope your unfill helped. And btw, I'm not here to scare anyone, but I was VERY pro-band for two years, and now I'm learning more about the complications that are starting to occur with long-time usage. It's dis-heartening. I love my band. I was on the fast track to a heart attack and now I think I'm in much better shape than I was.

-t

Well, it sounds like having reflux of any sort, should have been your first clue that something was wrong.

I'm sorry this is happening to you, but I think you need to accept part of the responsibility, and stop trying to scare others.