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Glenda, you have not wasted thousands of dollars. I know you read my blogs and have heard me preach about this being a tool. I also had wonderful ideals that I would never have to watch another calorie in my life and had hoped that my band would tell me when to stop. But I have come to realize that the band will do all of those things but only if I listen and stick to the plan. I hope and pray I never have to have another fill, I like being able to eat just about anything I want these days, know that I have to be accountable to my self. I have restriction and I am in the green zone. You can do this, and it does take a lot of will power in the beginning until you get to the sweet spot but once there it is easier but never forget it is still you managing your behavior not the band it is there as a friendly reminder when you do something really stupid. Like eat to fast, not chew or over eat. The one thing I have to be careful of now is not drinking while eating, in the beginning I did this very well but the longer your banded the easier it is to slip back into some bad behaviors. Good luck and keep blogging. Diane

Congratulations on your sleeve! I too had many people tell me I didn't need to have surgery, but I felt in my heart it was the right thing to do for ME. I weighed over 250 and had lost 50-75 pounds multiple times, and never been able to keep it off. I am so happy that I followed through and had the surgery! I am 5 months post op yesterday, and have lost 90 pounds so far. The weight loss has slowed down considerably in the last two months, and I still have another 25-30 pounds that I would like to loose. BUT if I never loose another ounce, I am happy, thrilled and perfectly satisfied with how I look and feel now. I have NEVER been this thin in my life, and I am loving it. I went from a size 26-28 to a 12! My goal is to be in single digit sizes (8; 6; 4? would be wonderful). But if I never loose another ounce, I am happy! Even better than how I look, is how I feel. Most of the time I have loads more energy than I did prior to the surgery. I have been able to go off my cholesterol meds, my high blood pressure meds, my arthritis meds and my allergy meds (I still don't get that one!) and my diuretic. I am left taking only Nexium for acid reflux and a stool softener. I feel great. I swam all summer for exercise and am now starting a walking program since it is to cold to swim. Take heart. You WILL feel better soon! I think we all had some buyer's remorse initially. BUT it get SO much better! You're in my prayers!

This is still new to me so the best I can do is tell you to keep your head up....don't get dicouraged ( I know easier said than done ) And Diane is right. You are in my thoughts and prayers.

Congrats on your sleeve! I know it is hard now, but once you are able to see the true benefits of the sleeve (new clothes, tons of compliments, feeling great), you will know why you did this. Crying is completely normal with all the hormones that are released from the fat cells. You will see very soon why the sleeve is so awesome! Best wishes.

Glenda, I was banded about two weeks before you. To date I've lost about 50 lbs and haven't had any fills. This isn't bragging, I just don't have any hunger. I was starving to begin with, but as I went along on 900 calories, my hunger began to wane, and now it's very manageable. I could eat the back end off a cow if I wanted, but don't. There is a year between surgery and the last fill. If I tried, I could gain 100 lbs in that time, but I started this to lose weight (for health reasons) and I'm not going to waste my last chance for anything.

Glenda - it truly takes a WHILE sometimes to get restriction - I was banded 7/5 and i've had 4 fills - and this last fill at the beginning of November was the first time i felt ANYTHING in there - and i'm still not at restriction or the green zone. I am hopeful i'll hit it in December with my 5th fill. The first few months of a bander's life is labeled bander hell for a reason - you've been banded but there's no restriction yet - so you are flying without a net. Some lose, some gain, some maintain - but no doubt it's pure will power until you hit restriction. Speed of hitting restriction depends on lots of things including how aggressive your surgeon is with amounts of each fill. I do wish you restriction soon and best of luck on your journey!!!!

Jennifer, believe in your self. Yes this is hard, and I think we all thought this would be our saving grace and all knowing answer to life long diet frustrations. But the one thing we all still bring to the table after lap band surgery is our behavior. That bad behavior you refer to is not going to change overnight just becasue some doctor put a band around our stomach, it takes time. As for self control, none of us have it. If you took my band away todo, I know I would gain weight. I struggle daily with making healthy choices and rewiring years of bad behavior. Holidays coming up and lets just all admit it, it is going to suck,,, If we let it. I appreciate your post and getting out frustrations on paper costs us a lot less calories than a snack. This has been my hardest conquest, learning not to eat when I am furstrated or worried. You can do this, and do not reqret telling others, that is our one thing that makes us stay accountable to ourselves. As for your friends telling you to use self control, sadly they are correct but you are also correct if we had self control we would not have a band around our stomach. I call my band insurance, it is that little extra I have to pay ever day just to make sure I have a safety net and a healthier life. You can do this, think of this as a small road block. Best of luck and know we all believe in you and know you can be successful.