I was banded 2/14/2006. My hightest weight was 256 and then last summer I was down to 176. It truly felt great. But I lost it because for whatever reason my band tighted on its own and I could not eat hardly anything for a while. Maybe 4-8 weeks. Then I got hooked on ice cream and then sometimes that would not go down. I was so unhappy. I was happy I was loosing but it i was miserable and starving. I had to get an unfill. Then I could eat much better. But from STARVING to eating again was not a good thing. I have done this 2 to 3 times going back and forth. Receive Fills(then band tightens up again after about 3-4 months) then Unfills...(feels like I am still on that rollercoaster)......Not sure why my band never feels just right. I very rarely have that full feeling after eating too. Why do I never have the full feeling everyone talks about?? So now I find myself eating those big portions,( I do try to eat healthier but fail at that a lot too) I am going in 2 weeks to get a fill but working really hard to change by lifestyle and eating habits up till that day comes. I started walking at lunch and at my son's baseball practice, cause I do not like where this is going (now I am at 209) and I know only I can change this horrible cycle with God's help and your support. I do like this website for support cause my doctor's support groups are too far away for me. I have found a couple of groups locally but sometimes their are conflicts with my son's sports, etc.....I hope to accomplish what I began back in 2006.

Oh you can do this!! I just had an Un-fill after about 5 months. My band started to tighten all on it's own. I was shocked. I had 3 nights of acid reflux and in I went to the Dr.'s Office and I am still very tight. They know it too because they did two barium swallows. I stayed the same weight for 4 weeks. I was having a fit. If you can get OFF THE ICE CREAM it will help you to lose. Plus it will clog your arteries and slow you down. Once in a while but the high fat stuff will slow your metabolism down and it is high in empty calories.

Thanks for your support. I have worked really hard this week trying to make a life change and I got on the scale this morning and I have lost 3 lbs. I am working so hard to control the portion of my food. I have read so many times how good is controlling me. I realize this is just one week but it's a beginning for me. I am happy to see I am headed the right way. I just pray God continues to give the patience during this slow process and to give me the strenght to keep eating small portions and to stay away from fast fry foods and ice cream......it is so hard when you fill hungry within short periods of your meals. I am trying to just eat fruit for snacks. At the baseball field I have been taking round whole wheat bread with turkey, low fat cheese, lettuce and mustard sandwich to munch on to keep me away from the concession stand! This is a CHALLEGE for me!!