I got the lap band over a year ago and since then I've felt hungry AND full after I eat. THe pouch fills up but the stomach below still growels, it's the most miserable feeling ever and I really want it removed but my doctor has flat out refused...does anyone know a good doctor that might help me remove this miserable thing!

Growling is not hunger, it's air in your stomach. Hunger is controlled by a nerve at the top of your stomach, in your pouch.

Anyone will remove it, just call any bariatric surgeon.

I got the lap band over a year ago and since then I've felt hungry AND full after I eat. THe pouch fills up but the stomach below still growels, it's the most miserable feeling ever and I really want it removed but my doctor has flat out refused...does anyone know a good doctor that might help me remove this miserable thing!

You don't have to have the band removed - all they have to do is take the Fluid out. Takes two seconds!

When I FIRST got my band, I kind of had the full/hungry feeling, but it went away. My stomach makes LOTS of noise, but that doesn't mean I'm hungry, and when I'm hungry that doesn't mean it's necessarily making noise.

But, if you are miserable, definitely do something about it. At the lease, have it unfilled while you are looking for a surgeon.

I am unfilled and don't think I should still be feeling restriction that creates that feeling. I have had my band for more than a year and it's never gone away. My doctor keeps telling me it will go away...but he also says my constant shoulder pain for a solid year is from ingesting things that are too hot or too cold...like I hadn't tried room temp water, and fasting for a day because he said I was eating too much...I don't know...

See a different doctor to have it removed if your surgeon refuses. I wish you the best of luck.

If your doctor is refusing to help you, find another doctor. You pay your doctor, so if he's not doing his job, fire him. Call the office and ask to have your medical records ready for you to pick up. When you go pick them up, be sure to tell them you wont be coming back, and why.

I totally understand what you're talking about.

When I was first banded, when my pouch was full, I was full. But after about 13 or so months, I began to experience my pouch being full, but beneath my band being empty...and I was starving.

It's not a unique situation.

Lots of doctors will remove your Band. Some will do it for free or 1,000 if you are converting to a different surgery. If it's a plain removal, I'm not sure what the costs would be.