Bethannwd

Wow.....your post really rang true for me. I had my band put in 4/30/08 and have only lost about 7 pounds. I have had 6 or 7 fills and still feel as though I can eat as much as I want and only stop because I know I should. I agree with "I said No" that the band seems to work great with terrible eaters, but if a person already eats moderately healthy, the results are not as great. Because of the minimal amount of weight I've lost and the lack of restriction I feel, my doctor had me do a barium swallow under flouroscopy today to see just how tight my band was. Well, it was pretty wide open and he put in 2.5 cc to get it to a place where it is reasonably tight. Maybe your doctor would be willing to do the same. With the flouroscope, the dr. can see exactly what happens when you swallow food/liquids and how fast the band allows emptying. I'm hoping this new restriction will be a key to helping me finally start losing some weight. I wish you the best and encourage you not to give up. Talk to your doctor and see if together you can come up with some strategies to help your band do what it is supposed to do. Beth

Thanks for starting this thread. I was banded on 4/30 and have struggled with whether to share my surgery with my children. Their ages are 25, 22, 19 and 15. The 19 and 15 year olds are home right now. They both struggle with their weight. I don't want them to feel I've taken the easy way out and that they have no hope with managing their own weight without surgery. My daughter, 19 I think is a bit suspicious. So far I've told them I had exploratory surgery to look at this lump in my side, which is true. The surgeon did look at it to make sure it was fine before putting on the band. Anyway...I'm so conflicted. We are a very honest and open family and I don't like hiding this from them, but I'm afraid what message it might send them. Beth

I was banded on 4/30/08 and have been having the same disturbing symptoms you have described. I actually feel worse today. I have the "I think I want to burp, but I can't" feeling, pain in my lower left abdomen, pain in the middle of my chest that feels constricting, back pain opposite the chest constriction,pain in my shoulders and neck, and other odds and ends of discomfort! I hope this is over soon. I'm in grad school and I need to finish a final paper this week and I can't sit at the computer because it just hurts too much!! It's encouraging to hear that I am not the only one experiencing all this. I know it will be worth it soon! Beth

Hi, I'm new to the forum and have so many questions. This seems to be a great place to ask questions and get support. I must admit I have mixed emotions when reading the posts. Some are so encouraging that I can hardly wait to get banded and others frankly scare me. I wonder if this will finally really work for me after over 30 years of dieting with no permanent success. My question is...Can you feel the band? How do most people feel after surgery? How soon will I be able to resume normal activities? What is the biggest challenge to being banded? Thanks for your help! Beth