DELETE THIS ACCOUNT!

The reason people with the band aren't allowed soda is because it's been directly linked to slips. The soda passes through the band into the lower stomach immediately but carbonation expands. When the carbonation expands in the lower stomach it can push upward and cause the band to slip. When I was in having my surgery, the woman who shared a room with me was in for a revision. She had been regularly drinking soda and her stomach actually prolapsed up through her band. She also gained 40 pounds because of it. No carbonation for me, ever. It's not worth a slip or additional surgeries to fix it.

I actually did have to take a test! Meeting with a nutritionist was mandatory, and after I met with her, I had to take a test showing I understood not only what the surgery entailed but what would be expected of me after surgery. It covered the surgical procedure itself, what to expect after surgery, what eating guidelines I should follow, and even how to avoid to slips. The test was a combination of multiple choice and true/false answers. Any that you answered incorrectly (and I did a few), you met with the bariatric nurse to go over that particular information again. You could not have surgery until you took this test and the nurse giving it signed off on it.

You are only 4 weeks post op and not even back on real food yet. The first 4-6 weeks after surgery are for healing not losing, so the fact you were able to lose anything at all is great. Most people don't lose during this time period and some even gain a little. As for being full, don't ever expect to feel "stuffed full" with the band. It is not what the band is made to do. The band is made to make you feel satisfied (aka not hungry) with less food for longer amounts of time. Being satisfied and being full are not the same thing. Also, please keep in mind it will likely take multiple fills before you have restriction. Until then, it's up to you to control your portions and make good food choices despite feeling like you don't have a band at all. Many call it "bandster hell" between surgery and restriction because it's very difficult for many to stick to band sized portions when they don't feel like they have a band at all. Be patient, it will come, in the meantime just keep making good food choices and stick to band sized portions.

Jean, I agree and wonder about the same thing daily. It blows my mind how uninformed people are about the band even after surgery. I feel like I see and answer the same questions over and over, and it's all questions that should've been addressed by their surgeon before ever being wheeled into surgery. I can't help but wonder, are the surgeons out there just operating on anyone who can pay their fees and not telling them what to expect and do after surgery? Or, are there this many people who don't bother listening to what is told to them by their surgeon? Either way, it's extremely concerning. When I first came on here back in January, it scared me reading about so many band failures and complications. Now, I realize it's not the band failing or causing complications, it's the people failing and causing complications out of ignorance. It's not good at all. A lot of people are hurting themselves with their lack of information.

I agree with the others, at the hospital the nurses will take care of you. You'll want him home that first day you're there.

Yes! Isn't it wonderful? Before I couldn't even make it to the entrance of a store, now I can walk the entire mall many times over without a problem. It's awesome!

Good luck, you'll do great! Be sure to let us know how it goes

I was back to my normal schedule 5 days post op. I was feeling fine by 7 days.

Yup we all have our moments of "oh heck". I would be willing to bet when all that happened, you weren't even hungry, right? Head hunger is so hard! All you can do is start over tomorrow. You'll be fine btw, I'm currently sitting here with a plate of sliced cucumber because I have such bad head hunger I could eat a house, So, I'm grazing on a cucumber so it won't mess up my eating guidelines.

You look awesome!! And that's only 4 weeks post op? That is outstanding! Congratulations!

I struggle with this so bad. I started out a 7x and am currently in a 2x, but I have so much lose skin I look like a Shar Pei. I tend to wear longer baby doll style tops to cover my hanging tummy skin and make sure all my sleeves reach my elbow to cover my saggy arm skin. It sucks to drop sizes and still be so self conscious about lose skin, but I'll take the lose skin over the pounds any day.

wow amazing and inspirational video, congratulations!!!

The above poster is right, it doesn't matter how much you money you owe their office, it is against the law to withhold your medical records for any reason. If you go and sign the release documents they HAVE to give you your records. If they don't, they could and would be in serious trouble. I am very sorry you're going through all this. The simple answer is, yes, you most certainly can get back on the bandwagon after even years of falling off it. If your band is in good condition and in place, it's as simple as returning to the doctor and beginning the fill process again. Really, that's the beauty of the band. Unlike Gastric Bypass and the Sleeve, people often stretch their reduced stomach back to their pre surgery size by chronic over eating, leaving them with no options except going back in for another surgery like Band over Bypass. With the band, we have the ability to simply get fills again and start over. It's pretty cool, when you really think about it. See if you can find a new surgeon to help you and definitely demand your medical records from your old one. Make sure they are aware of the fact you know it's against the law to refuse and are more than willing to report them accordingly if they don't comply. Good luck to you, we're here if you need us

If I were in your shoes, I'd go back to liquids for 24 hours and see if that doesn't fix the problem. Overeating can stretch the pouch and really irritate the band, causing the stomach to swell. A 24 hour liquid diet can more often than not take care of the problem by giving the stomach time to recover. If you still have the pain even after 24 hours of liquids, then I'd call your doc. Best wishes.

The more Protein you eat, the fuller you'll feel for longer. Even using a non-flavored Protein powder to mix with other foods might help you considerably (I know unjury makes one). Hang in there, I know it's hard but I promise it does get easier.

Imagine my shock to see my name in this post LOL! Just something to point out? It really doesn't matter which surgery you choose because in the end, it's always up to you to do the work. I very firmly believe I'd have had the same results no matter which surgery I chose. Cazzy lost over 200 pounds in one year!! This whole thread is people who've lost over 100 pounds!: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/topic/15875-who-has-lost-over-100-pounds/ I'm not the only one, I promise you. There are a lot of us, it just happens I'm during my journey so you see me around here more. But if you look at that thread of people who've lost over 100 pounds, that thing is over 60 pages long. That's a lot of people and most have met their goal and out enjoying their lives rather than posting here.

Hair loss isn't specific to WLS surgery but all surgery. It's the body reacting to all the drugs they pump into you during it, specifically the anesthetic. Every time I have surgery my hair thins for a month or two after but then always goes back to normal eventually.

One, always listen to your gut. If you fear something else is going on with your body beyond the band, then listen to it and get it checked out. It's always better to be safe than sorry. As for the band, bad food choices can effect your entire body, including your hair. It sounds like you're dealing with head hunger far more than any physical hunger- which is far harder to deal with. I know I seem to ask myself daily "am I physically hungry or head hungry?" More often than not, I am head hungry and have to grit my teeth and wait for urge to eat to pass. You're not a failure. A failure is someone who eats horribly and too much yet still gets on these boards howling how "the band didn't work for them". You realize where you need to make some changes and are honest enough with yourself to admit it. That's not a failure, that's being human and learning from your mistakes. We ALL do it. Hang in there, you're on the right track, just stick with it

Hi Ashley and welcome! My heart goes out to you. I started this journey over 400 pounds too so I know first hand how crappy life can be when you're morbidly obese. My biggest piece of advice is to research it thoroughly. Having Lap-Band or any other WLS will require you to change your eating habits to healthy ones for a lifetime. A lot of people even greatly benefit from counseling to help them overcome the mental aspect we've had so long with over-eating. I am copy/pasting a bit I just replied to on another thread to explain how and why I got the Lap-Band surgery: I knew I had to do something. I watched my kids' grandmother die when she was only 55 years old. She was a morbidly obese chain smoker who died of congestive heart failure. I too was a morbidly obese chain smoker and her death terrified me because I knew if I didn't make drastic changes, that would one day be me. I quit smoking over a year ago and then started getting serious about researching WLS. I also happen to have Multiple Sclerosis. I can't cure the MS, but I figured I could take a lot better care of the rest of me so I'd at least have a fighting chance against this crappy disease. Having MS is bad enough, the last thing I needed was to have a bunch of obesity related (preventable) illnesses like Diabetes and high blood pressure, too. Originally I was scheduled for Gastric Bypass, but at the last minute, I canceled. I just couldn't justify rerouting perfectly healthy organs irreversibly without first trying something far less drastic and reversible. So, I started researching Lap-Band and I knew it was the one for me. I had surgery 6 1/2 months ago and have lost 122 pounds so far. I can't begin to tell you how much losing this weight has drastically improved my quality of life. I still have a lot to lose but I know I'll eventually get there. For me, getting the Lap-Band was the best decision I've ever made for myself.

Congrats on your weight loss! My family wasn't (and isn't) apologetic for eating around me. But, I didn't and don't expect them to be. I am the one who let myself get so fat I needed WLS surgery, not them. I got it straight in my head early on that this was my battle and I couldn't expect them to sacrifice foods they enjoyed because of me. I mean, by the grace of God, my kids have very healthy relationships with food. Both are the ideal weight for their sex, age, and height. I'm not going to make them give up their occasional treats just because I have to.

You look AMAZING!!! Congratulations, you rock that bathing suit, you totally deserve it!!!