Been banded for 2 years and still can eat what ever and as much as I want. Lost 40 pounds after surgery and have kept that off, But stuck at current weight. I eat and it just goes thru. I have been to the doctor and there is just a small amount left to fill. I AM VERY DISSAPOINTED. its not easy when you never feel full WHAT CAN I DO? Its been two years and this sucks.

hi lsv,

I'm so sorry to hear your having issues with your band.

I really don't have any advice for you, only that sometimes it just happens that the band was not right for you. I know that's probably not what you want to hear, but in your case it just might be so.

You're right, that really does suck! But just so you know there are many of you out there. I might be one of them too. I love my band, but the truth is I'm doing 95% of the weight loss on my own. I'm constantly in pain from my port and eating, my band's tightness fluctuates from one end of the spectrum to the other (no middle ground) and it's VERY FRUSTRATING! I still get really hungry most of the time and I have to fight the urge to constantly eat.

It's really really tough. I'm coming up on paying off my bills and getting some money and I'm starting to seriously consider some kind of revision again. I lost almost 60 Lbs since surgery and over 100 total. That's great, right?? Well, here's something that many don't think can happen after getting banded... I gained over 20 of those Lbs back!! The cold hard fact is that 60 Lbs was due to the post operative restrictive eating plan. I have really struggled ever since. I still have to lose 80 Lbs max!! I was banded over a year and a half ago even.

I am on my way back down again which is great... but seriously - I'm kinda doing it all on my own.

I just wanted to chime in and let you know that you are not alone.

I don't know if this would be a factor or not but... After reading on the threads I came to realize there are different sized bands. I have to admit to being more than a bit disappointed that I had not been informed of this preop. I asked my surg. consultant (does ANYBODY ever see their dr.after the 1st consult and a nod to you on the date of surgery... I swear... I could have sent any fat chick in with my ins. card and he would not have known the difference! ok.. I digress!).

ANYHOW... I asked to find out what size mine was and how much it could hold. I was told before surg. that the new bands can allow almost indef. fills and up to 16 fills. Not nessiarily the case (unless they do it 1/4 cc units). There is a small that holds 4ccs and a larger that holds 16ccs. I'm not sure if there are inbetween ones or not. I have the small one so hoping it affords enough restriction as time goes on. My point is, could it be that your band is the wrong size for you and therefore simply does not offer enough restriction ? It might be worth looking into? Good luck!

You should go in for a fill. Sometimes, when you're getting close to a full band, but not quite, just a small fill helps. Personally, my band has more fill than normal. My doctor did it under fluoro with a pressure fill. Even at that, I'm only at my sweet spot. No pb's, sliming, indigestion, etc for me (not that I'm complaining, I'm very thankful), while others can't tolerate half as much saline fill as I have. We're all so different, and hopefully a little tweaking will get you to the point where you feel restriction.

Also, from what I understand, you can expect a small amount of seepage of Fluid over time, so you might have more room for a fill than you think. Make sure your doctor pulls out the fluid that's in your band to check (if he doesn't regularly).

Good luck, and let us know how you're doing.