I am brand new to this site. I was banded in Mexico by Dr. Ortiz (great experience) in Feb of 06. I am from a small town and have not had a support system. I have only lost 40#'s and have not lost anything in the past month. All of a sudden, over the last week I can't seem to stop eating!

I have had two fills, the first one didn't seem to restrict anything and the last one was 2 1/2 months ago. This one was pretty good and gave me quite good restriction, sometimes too much and I couldn't eat at all but still didn't lose wt. It still restricts well until about 2 pm everyday. Then I go nuts. I am craving mostly sweets and carbs. I have gained 3#'s in the last week. :cry I am pretty bummed. I am starting to feel like I cannot do this and for some reason I am emotionally locked into being fat for life! I started to increase my exercise today to twice/day. Any suggestions?

I also notice that my joints and muscles ache a bit for the past two weeks.:faint:

yes you can do this and welcome to this site. I am also new to this site and have found it a great support. You say you cant lose your weight and have gained maybe you need to cut out your sugars and try a healthy shake or fruit to give you a natural sugar boost. I have ahd my band 6 years and lost and gained and i know its all down to what i eat. You really only need to exercise 3 times a week for an hour or every day for half an hour that could be why your muscles ache. Well keep trying and dont give up as you will look back and go wow what a long way i have come.

Thanks I really appreciate your encouragement. If you have had yours for 6 years, you must be an expert at this!!! Very nice to meet you! I am better today and the cravings to eat have subsided somewhat. I haven't figured out what trigures that tho. Am curious how much you had to lose and how long it took you to get there. I know I am impatient but have seen others on here who have lost 100# in a year so I thought that would happen for me. It will be a year for me in February and so far only 40#. If I know it will come off, I can live with that. Is it always a constant struggle to keep it off?

Welcome lovatofish

Great to see you here...good luck! Keep us posted on your progress.