I have had the lap band for almost 2 years now and am still having difficulty eating anything other than soup. The soup has to be pure broth, no chunks of anything. I have trouble sleeping lying down for weeks at a time. I constantly feel like anything I eat is going to come back up (or does). I have lost weight but not what I expected for what I am able to eat now (or lack thereof!). Does anyone have any suggestions or has anyone experienced these issues...and know what I need to do to get back to feeling normal? I'm afraid to losen the band in fear of gaining weight as a result. Any suggestions are appreciated. Thanks!

Get an unfill or partial unfill until you can eat again. I say this out of experience. I've been banded 3.5 years and almost ALL of last year, I was miserable. I wasn't eating solid food and found myself eating sugary stuff because I was hungry and couldn't eat stuff like chicken, etc. The "rub" is that ALL of last year, I only lost 26 lbs and was miserable. My band was too tight and it took me months to figure it out. I got "used" to living on zantac and feeling miserable with my eating. The good news is that on Dec. 14 I was totally unfilled because my stomach was so irritated. I'm now moving back up in fills and am having my third one next Monday where I will have some real restriction. Because I feel better, am eating lean proteins and salads, etc., again, I have LOST 10 lbs since 1-1-08...that is WAY better than last year!!! I was SO afraid of gaining weight and the opposite is true. I will confess that there were days I ate a lot and some days I've totally "white knuckled it," to not gorge myself, but even when I did pig out, it was FAR less than I ate when I was pre-band. DO go get evaluated and with the right plan and support, you will not gain...in fact, I'll bet you will be like me and lose!!! A tight band is MISERABLE as you know!!!! Good luck!