I've read a few posts where someone was getting debanded because they couldn't take it. The complaints were general and about the loss of food.

Before you have the surgery you must know the quantity of food you eat will decrease. So for those food addicts, if you are not ready and willing to face that demon...don't get the surgery.

There are so many risks involved with surgery....that you know. But many go thru withdrawal from not stuffing their faces with food constantly like they did preband.

I can say this because I was one of them. When you use the lapband system, you will not be able to eat a whole pizza, a bag of chips, and a 2 liter soda. You may can have a bite or two, a few chips, and a few swallows of soda...but that even will come with time.

Halfway thru my weightloss, I thought I was going to die. I hurt everywhere. Pneumonia wouldn't leave me alone. My muscles hurt, I was fatigued and couldn't get out of bed due to weakness. Dizzy spells found me. Anger/hostility/...happens when I diet and it was horrible with the band.

I knew this in advance of my surgery. I made the decision to combat my obesity and use the most common sense tool out there...the band.

Now, this was just my experience and that of a few others. You will find others here who didn't go thru that.

You may be one of them...but just know it could happen. Have a game plan in place BEFORE you are banded. We spend so much time on pre and post op, things to buy, etc..... take some time to plan out your weightloss- how it affects you.... a plan of action for your family if you get fatigued, hostile, etc.

It was rough on my family...but hey...it's only temporary. All the years I suffered, and my family suffered due to my obesity....1 year is all it took...one year of hell. That's so worth a lifetime of a healthier lifestyle.

The only times I"ve suffered low energy are during times of very tough training in race season. When i'm trying to do 15kms run I find it really hard to replace the energy I've spent - I eat carbs but I really cant carbo load or have a lot of carbs after a huge run like an unbanded person could. chocolate is very useful for that :tounge_smile:

I've never felt better and I felt better within the very first weeks.

I also dont find I've gone without ANYTHING, nothing at all. I eat what I want but the fact that I can eat it in small quantities only gives me great JOY, not misery.

I've never had any trouble at all with any foods or lack of energy. I would say I never had one moment of hell.

I will admit I had ONE moment of hell. True hell. I had been on post-op liquids for a VERY long time (my doctor is very conservative in the healing phases of the band), and I still wasn't able to lift my babies who were about 17 months old at the time. I was missing them (I held them on the couch, but I couldn't carry them around like before), and I was SO freaking sick of liquids.

But after recovery? GOD I LOVE MY BAND! Not a SINGLE moment of hell. Not EVER. I don't miss stuffing my face with food. I don't miss the 71 pounds I've lost. I don't miss being the biggest person in the room. And I LOVE my new jeans much more than I love food.

I also love that I've never felt deprived of anything -- I eat what I want. Well, I kind of miss chicken -- that doesn't go down so easily. But, if I lather it in enough marinara sauce, it goes down okay. But yeah, I had some candy at Halloween. I lost 3 pounds. I ate pie at Thanksgiving. I lost 2 pounds. The weight is falling off of me like mad and getting my band was the BEST thing I ever did for myself.

I will admit, though, I was never one to eat a whole pizza. I did, however, have a massive carb addiction and was a "grazer." I felt hungry ALL the time. Now, I have to remind myself to eat. If it wasn't for my husband, my poor kids would probably starve because I forget that "normal" people are hungrier than I am! haha!

No hell here. Plenty of energy, too. I am so very, very sorry that some people have hell with the band, though. That SUCKS. :biggrin:

OMG I do this too. I cant figure why my poor kids are bugging me for some breakfast at 10 am! I get annoyed because they're begging for food at 4pm. I dont cook dinner till 8pm coz I'm not hungry, lol. I forget that they arent banded and they're growing (pre-adolescent boys and a five year old girl).

quick question... vegas.. you said you didnt feel like you had energry.. did anyone else feel that ways???

Yes, that's true for me. When I cut back on my calories and junk food (remember I'm an addict) I went thru withdrawal symptoms really bad including fatigue. Some days weren't so bad but others were killer.

And I've read many others also feel tired, weak, or a lack of energy when they dramatically cut down on their food consumption-calories/sugar/carbs...whatever.

It doesn't happen to everyone, but does happen to many.

Whew! Glad those days are over. My 39th birthday is next month...and like Valerie B. for Jenny C- she went thru a New Year's w/o thinking about her weight and now she's doing it for a second time.

I hit goal in 2008 so this New Year's of 2009 finds me not thinking about my weight, either. Oh, I still step on the scales from time to time but it's great not having to diet anymore!

Well I guess I was/am the lucky few so far. I am not in hell... I am in heaven! I haven't had 1 pain that wasn't associated with healing post op, had 3 fills (was numbed for all of them) I don't diet, I have a ton of energy, I sip when I eat (even tho not spose to) and I haven't been ill this year. I went from on the verge of taking insulin to having no signs of diabetese in 8 months.

I would recommend this surgery again and again.

I'm starting week 6, I haven't had any fills yet. I have more energy now than I have ever had in my life. I'm already off of 2 meds, I feel good, I look better and my attitude towards life is better. My body is clean and even though I'm healed and not restricted, I eat right and I get full really quickly. I can't imagine what it will be like once the band is filled. I dropped 3 lbs since this past Sunday.

I agree that it takes being emotionally prepared for the surgery. I wasn't ready a year ago, but this year I went in prepared to change and I did. I would recommend it to anyone who was 100% committed to the change, but I wouldn't recommend it you aren't.

since this post has been resurrected, i thought i'd point out that the original poster was wayyyyyyyyyyy overfilled (by her own admission)...

dont get overfilled, you will be able to eat a proper amount of food to where you are not 'torturing' yourself.