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I started at a 40 D, and am now a 34 A/B. My cup size was one thing I would have liked to keep Oh well, I'd take being smaller all over any day Great job on your loss so far, keep up the great work!

I wasn't required to do a pre op diet either. Just the liquid diet the day before. I feel that not doing a pre op diet did not hinder my weight loss at all, and maybe helped to motivate me and get me through the first couple weeks post op. Good luck to you on your journey!

I have had about a dozen fills and two unfills. My 1st fill one month post op was 1 ccs and since then I only get .10-.25 ccs or so. Just a tweak every month to tighten me up a little from the fat pad I've lost with weight loss. I think I am finally at a good restriction level, one and a half years post op and will not need to see my surgeon every month anymore I think I have about six ccs in my band, really not sure lol. Good luck to you on your journey!

i have had many, many small fills. In the beginning I would have restriction for awhile then need another fill. As you lose weight, you may need more fills as the fat pad around your stomach goes away. I had restriction from the beginning with only a 1cc fill, until I lost weight, then needed many more small fills over the last year and a half. I had a hard time telling the difference between restriction, and not chewing well enough and eating slowly. If you make sure you do these things and are still getting stuck, then you may need a small unfill. Good luck to you!

Your story sounds so similar to mine and my daughters that I had to make sure you weren't her I was banded a year and a half ago and gave my daughter the option to start the process so she could be banded when she turned 18. At the time she didn't want to, but after seeing me lose over 100 pounds she decided it was for her. She just finished her 6 month supervised diet and has the psych evaluation left, then time to submit for approval. You sound very motivated and that is so important. I wish you all the luck in the world and hope you have great success!

When I first looked into the surgery over three years ago and found out about the six month supervised diet I would have to do, I blew it off because I didn't want to wait that long. I thought, "I can do this on my own." So after hem hawing for another year or so and gaining more weight, I started my six months of supervised visits. They flew by and all the hoops I had to jump through were so worth it when on November 29, 2010 I had surgery and began my new life. It's disappointing at first, but so worth it in the end. Good luck to you on your journey!

I have seen many different recommendations from surgeons on here, so above all, check with your surgeon. I have seen some posts that say none for 6 months and some say none for a year. I waited almost a year, except for communion My tolerance was very low for awhile, but I have never been a big drinker. Stay away from carbonation and drink a glass of water with every alcoholic drink you have. My favorite is a bloody mary. Good luck to you on your journey!

From day one my surgeon said, "Don't eat if you are not hungry." Well I lost all hunger sensation after having surgery, so I ate very very little. At my one month post op check I told him I was never hungry and only ate once every other day, but was taking vitamins. He told me as long as I wasn't having nutrition issues, like hair loss and other types of poor nutrition symptoms, that I could continue this. I hit my goal weight at nine or ten months post op following this. I never felt like I was being deprived and if I wanted a cookie, I ate a cookie So long story short, I agree that the starvation mode phrase gets overused on this site. When I joined it a year and a half ago, a post like this would have been shunned and some people would have really been upset by this, but it seems to me that more surgeons are starting to give the advice my surgeon gave all along I am not advocating for people to not eat, follow what your surgeon tells you please. I don't want anyone to take what I am saying as medical advice.....it's not, it's just my personal experience. Good luck to everyone with your journeys!

This seems interesting. I will be curious to here more about this procedure as it seems fairly new and long term effects are still not known. I understand lapband isn't for everyone so I hope that you can find a prcedure you are comfortable with and have great success with it Just fyi, I lost all of and then some of my extra weight with almost no exercise, eating what I want, and having only experienced actual physical hunger a dozen times in a year and a half. I can eat anything I want, I may not be able to eat more that a few bites of steak, or bread, but that's all I need to satisfy me. I wish you the best in whatever route you choose!

I am a year and a half post op and have experienced actual physical hunger only a dozen time or so since being banded. I do not miss being hungry at all I love not feeling hungry! On the rare occasion that I do feel physical hunger, it seems to be stronger than before I was banded, maybe that is because I too always had food in my stomach. Good luck to you on your journey!

I agree with Jean. My doctor said that if the port area becomes red, swollen, hot, or all of the above, that the port or the tubing to the port may be infected. I sleep on my stomach all the time and have never had problems like that. Good luck tomorrow at the doctor! Keep us posted please.

You are probably too tight. Get a slight unfill and I'll bet that will fix your problem. I had the night cough with no reflux so I kept blaming it on allergies. I finally decided to get a tiny unfill and it fixed my problem. Either way you look at it, you should probably see your doctor. Good luck to you!

Papya enzymes are found in the vitamin isle. They are really inexpensive and work well. I have seen the pineapple juice advice as well, but havent' tried that. Good luck to you

I eat salads all the time. I usually eat them with no dressing at all, just salt and pepper, but sometimes use Light Basalmic Vinagrette. I just add 1/2 a grilled chicken breast so I get my protien as well. Good luck to you!

My doctor says the same thing as Holly Dolly's. If you aren't hungry.....don't eat. This worked very well for me. I am rarely hungry, maybe once a month, so while I was in losing mode I ate a salad with chicken or something similar to that every other day and took a lot of vitamin suppliments. Now that I'm in maintnance mode, I still take the suppliments, but eat at least once a day. This is not the opinion of most doctors, and I know there are a ton of people that would disagree with what I did and do, so make sure to follow whatever your doctor recommends. By following my doctor's instructions, I hit goal weight at 9-10 months post op and then lost 10 or so more and am maintaining well

I have a neck injury and have been on a strong anti inflamitory perscription for 2 months. I addressed the concern with both my general practitioner and my surgeon. They both agreed that I should take it on an empty stomach and flush it through with a lot of water. I have not had any problems by doing that, but if it did give me problems they said to take a 2 week round of Prilosec. Good luck to you!

I am a year and a half post op and still see my surgeon monthly because I will have good restriction for a couple weeks, then as I lose weight, and the fad pad around my stomach shrinks, I need another fill. My surgeon is pretty conservative with my fills and the most I have ever been given at one time is 1 cc, most of the time it is .25 cc. Last month I was only given .15 cc because I am so close. If I didn't live a couple miles from my surgeon's office and if my insurance didn't pay 100% when I get a fill, I would have asked him to be more aggressive with his fills. I have had a dozen fills and 2 unfills over the last year and a half. Check with your surgeon because most of them include 3, 6, or 12 months of fills in the surgery price. You would still be out a day for the drive, but maybe you can get to a good restriction level in the 1st few months. My daughter is having surgery this summer and leaving for college 7 hours away in a couple months, so the surgeon will be a little more aggressive with her fills Good luck to you on your journey!

I'm a year and a half post op and I have had the same problem for a couple months. Since surgery, I have had virtually no hunger, so I don't usually eat during the day. At supper time I eat with my family and sometimes I can eat a lot and sometimes not much. I have really tried to figure this out, and for one thing, I am scheduled for a fill next week, but I also realized I was gravitating towards easy food to eat. Those were the times I could eat a house. When I eat the right foods, and chew really well, I am satisfied and do better. I also am trying to get a handle on my head hunger again, since I know I am not physically hungry, I realize it's all in my head. Also, I ignore evening and late night commercials, way too many food commercials Great job on your loss so far and good luck to your on your future loss!

I love all the comments on here I always lose from my top half first. I started out in a 22 pant, 1X top, and a 40D bra. I am now in a junior size 9, small or medium top, and a 34 A or B. I am happily married and my hubby says he doesn't care, but if I can save enough, I may get implants and a lift. Buying a good bra is the way to go. Wearing one makes me feel confident enough that my fried egg chest isn't too apparent

Not sure what the technical difference is, but I would say puree is almost runny, like applesauce and mushy is more like lumpy mashed potatoes. Good luck to you!

I think if you are younger it helps some. Yes your metabolism is faster when you are younger, and you will probably have a better chance of your skin returning to normal with out surgery. I was banded just before I turned 34, and I hit my first goal weight at 9 months post op. I was and am horrible about exercising, but fortunately I have virtually no excess skin to speak of. I could certainly tone up a little though Good luck to you on your journey!

I've seen where some people have problems with bananas, and they are high in carbs, but I eat them sometimes. I love bananas and if I crave one, I eat one. I have never had any issues with getting stuck with them, and I feel full after a half of one. Good luck to you!

Here is what I learned, the hard way, many years ago about insurance. We had an insurance where none of our local doctors were included in the PPO. So our insurance paid X amount and we were responsible for the copay and the remaining amount. Not only did I learn this, but I also learned that doctor's offices charge different amounts depending on who your insurance company is, or if you have insurance. Most of the time people without insurance get charged quite a bit less than people with insurance. I didn't realize that I had to pay not only the copay, but the large amount that the insurance didn't pay, until I spent hours on the phone with the insurance company. Needless to say, I quickly switched to an insurance company that had my doctor covered in the PPO as soon as I could. So now that my docs are in my PPO, whatever amount is not approved by my insurance gets written off and I only pay my copay. So with my surgery, I paid a $35 copay for the consultation, and $20 copays for the 6 month pre-surgery nutrition appointments with my doctor (if I had gone to a nutritionist, my insurance would have paid 100% with no copay). The surgeon's bill for the surgery was about $15,000 and the hospitol bill for an overnight stay and all of the operating room stuff was around $35,000. My insurance covered the agreed upon amount, and I had to pay $0. I hope you don't get stuck with the remainder, but that was the case with me when my doctor wasn't in the PPO. I would think the surgeon's office should have told you it was going to be X amount of dollors for you before they did the surgery. Good luck to you!

It's not that healthy food can't go down, it's that you have to work a little harder to get them down. For me, healthy food such as chicken has to be chewed really well, and you have to take your time. I eat a lot of salads with no dressing. Some people struggle with salad, but I don't have any problems. Bad foods like icecream and chips slide through easily, so they are convinient and people may choose them over taking 20 minutes to eat half a chicken breast. I love my band and wouldn't give it up for anything. You just have to remember it isn't a diet, it's a new life Good luck to you!

Some fortunate banders are left with very little to no hunger. I am one of those. I have been banded 18 months and have experienced actual hunger maybe a dozen time since then. I don't know for sure, but I think it has somthing to do with how the band is placed, and what your fill level is. Because of this, I was able to lose my excess weight pretty quickly. I think you are doing the right thing by researching both sides. Me personally......I love my band, you couldn't pay me to take it out Good luck to you!