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You most certainly can do it! Anyone can! The difference between those who succeed and those who fail are the choices they make. You do have to change your eating habits to healthy ones to be successful. Not a diet, because diets are temporary, but a complete food habit change for a lifetime. This is where a nutritionist is extremely useful. I know mine helped me tremendously. You also will have to understand the band as a tool, not a magic fix, and understand what is (and isn't) supposed to do. The band is supposed to satiate your hunger on less food for longer periods of time. It's not supposed to physically stop you from eating anything. On that same note, it will also be up to you to control your portion sizes. Just like everything else in life, it's about choices. You have the choice to succeed.

I use the Lose It! app for my smartphone. It has a huge database, including restaurants and a bar code scanner feature. I've used it since the day I got home from the hospital and it's helped me tremendously.

I think it's a matter of personal preference. What works for one doesn't work for all so you have to make the decision best for you.

There's a number of people on here that have Lap Band with the plication, so far all I've spoke to love it.

That's awesome!! Congratulations!

I hate to tell you this, but you won't get a consensus Everyone is so different and varies greatly. Plus, we don't all have the same size band either, which also makes a difference.

That's wonderful!! Congratulations and heal up soon!

Usually blood tests, possibly even a hair strand test. Hair strand tests show it in your system much longer than a blood test does because hair absorbs what we put in our body.

Heh well this was awhile ago, I've actually lost over 30 pounds since this was originally posted. I eat 1000-1200 calories a day, careful to get all my Protein, stick to a cup of food or less per meal, and I walk 2 miles at least 5 days a week.

I know scheduling is rough, but you need to make going back to your doctor for a slight unfill a priority. A band too tight can lead to slips and worse complications. You definitely don't want to mess with that.

Yes, they usually require it to be unfilled before surgery.

Exercise is great, but are you restricting your calories too? Do you stick to a cup or less of food per meal? Do you track your calories? Have you seen a nutritionist at any point? These are all questions to help you figure out where changes are possibly necessary. The bottom line is, weight loss is simple math. If you're burning more calories than you consume, you will lose. If you're not losing for the last year then somehow you aren't burning the calories you eat. The only exception would be if you have a medical problem causing the issue. Definitely keep your follow up appointment. It's crucial you do. Also, you say: Perhaps you're expecting the band to do something it's not meant to do. The band isn't supposed to stop you from eating anything. It's not even supposed to give you a full feeling. The band is only supposed to keep you satiated on less food for longer periods of time. It's up to you to limit your portions to a cup or less per meal. Here's an excellent link to better explain it: http://drsimpson.net/fills/Lap-band-eating/lap-band-not-restriction/lap-band-and-restriction.html There is much you can do, but the best starting point is seeing your doctor and getting back on track with his help. Best wishes to you.

Wow you look so handsome!! Congratulations on all your success!!!

I was told to get in a minimum of 60g of Protein a day. However, I don't do the whole low carb thing, so I have no problem getting in all my veggies too. I also take a Multivitamin daily. I think it's really important especially when eating such limited calories.

The sip of juice may have been what brought your food back up. Besides the fact most of us are told by our surgeons not to drink during meals and to wait 30 minutes after eating to drink, a lot of us simply can't because if we drink while eating the food will come back up. PBing is productive burping. It's not the same as vomiting because it's not violent and doesn't involve the stomach retching. It's essentially burping the food back up gently.

Yes, it actually can be very harmful to leave your band where it is. It can go from being a slip to a full blown complication requiring removal. You don't don't want to mess with that.

It sounds like you PB'd rather than actually vomited, and I would be willing to guess you ate too fast and/or too big of bites. Try taking smaller bites and pausing between them, it should help resolve stuck episodes. Please keep in mind the band isn't supposed to physically stop you from eating, the portion control will always be yours to do. So, look for satiety not a full feeling. It definitely takes some getting used to and there's quite the learning curve. When you're in the Green Zone, you can be satisfied on a cup or less of food and not hungry for at least 4 hours. Best wishes.

Most surgeons don't do a first a fill for 4-6 weeks after surgery. A big part of that is to give your stomach time to heal and for the swelling to go down. Being as you're only a week post op, you likely still have considerable swelling and definitely some healing to do. Right now is too soon to tell if you need a fill or not. Over the next couple weeks as you heal, you may find your hunger returning full force. Or, you may be one of the lucky ones who even after healed you still don't need a fill yet. Only time will tell. Give yourself time to heal then worry about fills. Best wishes to you

It will very greatly from doctor to doctor, you should check with some surgeons near you to find out.

You're doing AWESOME!! Congratulations!!

This happens to some people on a high Protein, low carb diet. Definitely talk to your doctor and see if possibly your food guidelines need to be changed for your specific needs. This is actually one of the reason I don't limit carbs. I did Atkins years ago, which is almost no carbs, and my cholesterol went through the roof and I ended up with a very bad kidney infection from a build up of Proteins. Best wishes to you.

Unless you've had a bad reaction to pain meds in the past, I honestly wouldn't worry about taking it despite your husband being gone. They normally only give you Lortab or Vicodin after Lap-Band surgery and neither are horribly strong. Base it on your past reactions- did it knock you out? Did it make you feel stoned? Unable to function? If no to those- then take it. Get a stool softer like Colace to help with the bathroom issue. Take it every single day until you go. It's not a laxative so there's no harsh stimulants to cramp you up. Constipation after general anesthetic is very, very common. If you're really in a lot of pain, you may even want to try an enema or suppository to get things going again. Feel better soon!

Until you're back on solid foods and are at minimum 4 weeks post op- don't worry about not getting enough calories and don't worry about the scale. The first 4-6 weeks post op are for healing, not losing, so I'd put away the scale entirely for now. Concentrate on staying hydrated and healing. Best wishes.

I have an alarm set on my smart phone to remind me to take my birth control pill, so I just take everything then at one time. I take multivitamin, Vitamin D3, and Biotin.

I'm sure it's from a lack adequate nutrition and all drugs given to you at the hospital. I had a headache the first 2 weeks after surgery. Once I got all the drugs out of me and started getting some better nutrition, they did finally go away. Drink lots of Water, it will help flush all that stuff out of your system faster. Also, be sure you are taking a good Multivitamin and are using a quality Protein Shake. Also- are you still on prescription painkillers? As odd as it sounds, those can actually cause headaches in some people too. Best wishes and feel better.