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I know how ya feel, sista! I am still in the process and am at 6 cc, and I can still eat anything I want without restriction. My restriction comes in when I see that I cannot consume what I used to be able to consume. This has been humbling, and has SLOWED ME DOWWWWNNN! It has mentally taught me that I need to work with my band, not against it. It has slowed me down by me being more cautious about what I want to consume, and realize that this is a journey. Hang in there!

Congrats! I have a 10 cc and just had my 4th fill. I'm at a 6 cc but find that I have no restrictions. I am losing weight slowly but surely, but I feel like such a pig because I find that I am still hungry ALL OF THE TIME! I'm trying to drink more water to curb the cravings; wondering if this is more mental than anything? Anyway, I have another fill coming up on 3/18. Gonna see how I can handle this, but if my cravings keep up and I find that I'm still hungry, I will go in sooner. Best of luck!

Awesome! Congrats! I am really proud of you for taking up this journey and starting fresh. I met someone a few months ago who also has the band, but never had it filled. Remember that the journey of a thousand miles begins with on step! You are gonna do well!

Hello! I had my surgery on 4/11 and had horrible complications afterwards due to the pain meds that I was on. I am now feeling a TON better and have an appointment on Thursday! I'm so excited to start this journey. I'm supposed to get a fill on that day, so I feel that my weight loss journey is barely about to begin A few times before and after surgery, I really started to regret my decision to get the lap band. Now, I am SO thankful!!! Last time I checked, I was down 26 pounds since my pre-op! I'm proud of myself!!!

GRRR!!! Went to get my fill today and OUCH! My surgeon had a hard time finding my port and kept having to poke around to get it. He told me that this is not that uncommon, but that it will be easier to find the port as I continue to lose weight. He wants me to go back on Monday to start fresh and see if he has a better time finding it. It wasn't excruciating pain, but lots of pressure and very uncomfortable. Has anyone else heard of this?

Who else out there is scheduled to be banded in April? I am scheduled for surgery on 4/11!

Hey all, I'm a month out of surgery and I am dying for a fill. I have absolutely NO restriction, and it feels like I didn't even have surgery. I'm hungry ALL of the time! I've felt like I don't even have the band. I'm sure I've gained the weight back that I put off. I was really beating myself up about it, but I know I'm not the first nor the last to go through this. I want to get a fill already so that I can get help cutting my ongoing hunger. Yesterday I started feeling a pain near my port area. It's nor like excruciating pain, but it's very sore and feels like a pulled muscle. I was on my belly watching TV, and when I rolled over, I felt pain. Is this normal? There isn't really any pain today, and no pain when I press on it. It was just while I would be on the bed that I was feeling that way.

Seriously...Gas-X did NOTHING for me! I took milk of magnesia and it worked WONDERS!!!

@@Bandista Your comment came at the perfect moment, as I am having such a low day. I am in the middle of moving, and am having problems right now. The move + still being fat + slowly healing + I want to eat everything on the value meal but can't + mean comments = very sad me.

Feeling a little frustrated and down today, which has also caused me to not be disciplined with eating. I've had family members who are saying, "She must be drinking sodas again because she hasn't lost any weight!" And last night someone close to me said, "You're not getting a fill until May 28th? You could easily put all your lost weight back on!" Another person said, "You lost the weight, but it looks like you're putting it back on!" The worst was getting a message from someone I really love and he said, "I can't wait to see your transformation into beauty!" Is it just me, or is that kind of rude? He's always focused on beauty and skinny people, and when he said that, it made me feel like the Ugly Duckling. Yesterday's appointment didn't go well. A stitch was popping out and my surgeon had to go in there and cut it, and pull it out. OUCH! It was bleeding like crazy and hurt like hell. Today I'm sore, but my incision where the port is looks a lot better.

I planned on taking a week, but I ended up having some really bad reactions to medication and didn't actually start healing until the 2nd week, which forced me to take 2.

very normal. i was like that for the first week but by the 2nd week i was doing better.

You can do it! Have faith in yourself! No one is perfect, but we're all on this journey together! You have people here who are cheering you on and want the best for you!!! Hugs!!!

We're opposite, but alas, still, bowl movement changes after the band. I've always been regular and digest my food about 45 minutes after I eat. After being banded, I was plugged up for days and had horrible pain. I took milk of magnesia and had a milk shake (doctors orders) and that really loosened my digestive system up. I've never had to take anything to have a bowl movement, so this was a first. I guess this band brings about many changes.

No way! Aw! I'm so glad that this advice helped! I finally feel like I am helping someone else out by being on this forum That stuff is SO NASTY, but within an hour it started to release some of the pain that I had. I'm so thankful that it has helped you!

@@prettyandbrwn Wow, you already had your fill? How many weeks after did you get yours? Thursday I go in for my fill (3 week mark). My port site has healed well and I'm hoping it doesn't hurt! @@JustWatchMe Wow! You really gave me some encouragement! Thank you for posting. I really do feel that this is all so much willpower up until I get my fill. I haven't felt that my band has helped me like I want it to, but my surgeon said that it is because I have nearly no liquid in my band. I'm really excited to really START this journey and put this baby to use. Some moments I feel that it is working, and other moments I feel that it isn't. I stepped on my scale and it went up a few pounds I feel no restrictions, and am hoping that changes when I get my fill.

@@JustWatchMe I feel that I've come a long way mentally through all of this. I've learned that I'm not perfect (which is why I'm on this journey), and that if I fall, I need to pick myself up and keep moving. My journey has had many highs and lows and I wanted to be upfront and honest from Day 1 on this website. I want others to be able to read my story and say, "If she can do it, so can I!" At first, I was so discouraged reading so many stories of people on here who do everything cookie-cutter perfect. I'm not like that. I screw up, and I find that I am way too often harder on myself than I should be. I'm learning that this is a trial and error process, but the important step is to NOT GIVE UP! @@relief57 Yay! We are band sisters! So good to meet someone who was banded the same day as me. I'm really struggling right now because I have absolutely NO RESTRICTIONS. I can eat anything, which is kind of frustrating. My doctor said not to worry, and that it is because I have little to no liquid in my band. It doesn't even feel like I have a band, and the only way I realize that I do is by the incisions on my tummy. I can drink Water without taking breaks, and I don't really feel that I get full like I thought. I got on the scale and realized that I gained a few pounds back. I was really angry with myself, and someone yesterday told me, "Looks like you already put back on what you've lost." I was so irritated, but told myself that I will not let this defeat me!

i was in the ER for dehydration and when i went to see my surgeon, i was way behind on calorie consumption. he wanted me to start getting something in my system ASAP. i joked around and asked, "even diet soda?" he said that if i had a drink of diet soda, then i needed to shake the bottle to get the carbonation out of it so that it was flat.

@@2muchfun She might be. I have my first "officially scheduled" post-op on May 1st, which is the 3 week mark. My surgeon's secretary called and said to expect a fill.

@@lifeguardmgr you're so funny! that's exactly how i felt during my first week. i started to regret having this, but when i went to my doctor's office (because i felt so yucky0, i stepped on the scale and it made all of the difference. hang in there! it won't be like this forever

honey, you have to get rid of that mentality. like @@2muchfun said, you just paid for your doctor's vacation. i also felt like that and didn't want to call, but i realized that i have insurance and this is what the nurses and doctors are for. i utilized the 24 hour nurse hotline, and also called the on-call doctor. i am thankful that i did, because i ended up having to go to the ER over dehydration. i felt the chills and crazy body temps just like you are mentioning. you really need to utilize your doctor!!!

i had tortilla soup and it was amazing. i did not have any restrictions when i had it, thankfully.

I couldn't understand how people would write to take gas-x, because i took the strips and NOTHING helped. what helped me (finally) was taking some milk of magnesia, and wrapping my legs around a BODY PILLOW! holy smokes, that was a lifesaver for me!!!

that sounds pretty normal. at first i thought mine was hunger, but it actually ended up being gas. i had diarrhea the first few days, but then i got plugged up and the pain got even worse. i took milk of magnesia (YUCK) and that really helped with the gas pain. good luck and hang in there.

week 1 was hell, but mostly because my body had a funky reaction to the meds i was on. also, i wasn't consuming calories and once my doc changed my meds, i was able to consume calories and get more strength. by week 2, i felt like i was really starting to feel better. i have just started my venture into week 3 and i feel like i never even had surgery! i feel great, but i have to remind myself that i DID have surgery. sometimes i will try to bend down really fast and then my tummy hurts where my port is at.