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Hi, I was on this topic also. I had my surgery back in 8/2010. I didn't have the results I wanted. I'm still not at goal. Partly my fault. I didn't have much restriction, I could still eat a whole sandwich bread & all. Even though my surgeon did a great job. He was very, very conservative in his fills and dealing with his office staff was unbearable for me so I stopped going . In November 2013 I decided to look for a new surgeon so that I can finally meet my goal. The new surgeon did a swallow test & said that I didn't have much restriction at all. Now the problem is that I'm very tight . I've had more pb'ing than I've ever had. If I eat 1 bite of chicken & forget to do a small bite & chew thoroughly , I'm in the bathroom choking and finding like many bandsters that the junky stuff goes down fine. I was never much of a junk eater though. Since I got that fill . I am down another 20 lbs. I would really like to be & should be at goal now. I suspect that most that were in this thread are at goal & happy. I wish they would come back & tell us where they are & how they got there. Thankfully I haven't had any mechanical problems with my band & I hope I never do. There's so much complaining & putting down of the band on here. I don't come in as much as I did before it changed over to this new site.

I would love to do this. I have support group at my hospital. (NYU ) but they are too far away and at 6:30 pm. That time is inconvenient. I'm not at goal but would love to be a co leader. I've won awards for public speaking.

Good lookin out ! I'm gonna stock up on these when I hit Target. I'm always struggling to find something to eat that's protein packed. And easy.

I'm with your Dr. Before I did anything drastic barring your band hasn't slipped , I would ask for a complete unfill just to give yourself time to do more research. Let my band calm down & then eventually start to fill again , slowly. I'm over 3 years out & have still not met my goal. I started at 267 and now at 222. My lowest was 215 but then had a regain up to 240 because I didn't have much restriction & was just tired of my surgeons tiny, tiny fills and the nasty attitude of his staff so I didn't see him for about a year. I could eat whole sandwiches, Cookies and I was drinking alcohol. All of that was my fault. I transferred my records to a new surgeon that gave me a barium test & saw that I didn't have much restriction . He gave me the fill of life . I'm now very restricted and am back on the losing side but it's very slow. I think because I'm not getting much sleep. The band is not easy. I doubt I'll have another surgery if it eventually fails but I'm a testament to the fact that wls is not the easy way out. Ive worked harder with this than I've done any other diet ever. I wish you the best and hope you get this worked out.

This whole thread was very encouraging to me. I'm also one that was banded about 2 1/2 years ago back in aug.2010. I lost very slowly and got to the 50lb mark and then started back with some old issues like depression and having drinks on the weekend . Not to the point of drunkenness but I have learned that 1 drink bloats me and my weight loss stalls. The last time I went to my surgeon back in March for a fill he said that I must be eating Cookies and ice cream which offended me because I am not a sweet eater at all. I'm one of those rare people that does not even like ice cream. So after that because of what he said & I was still the same weight I missed my next appt and have not been back since. Now, I'm afraid to go back because I'm up about 10 lbs now. In the meantime, I was dealing with a little marital discord and recently learned that my sister has the big C. So I want to go back but if I get a lecture I know it will further discourage me. I hate to use my sisters severe illness as an excuse but I'm thinking if I go back and explain to him that I have been severely depressed because of dealing with these issues he may cut me some slack . I want to be a success with my band more than anything so much so that I have considered going back to WW or even doing HCG.

Im about in the same boat. I was banded 8/2010 and lost 50lbs after that. I have been at a standstill ever since then. I need to lose another 50lbs to reach my goal. I'm at good restriction I think so I really cannot each much. My surgeon is very conservative with fills so I'm about 5.5 in a 10cc band. I don't think I need another fill because if I eat too big a bite or too much I will be stuck. I just had a stuck episode and had to bring that back up (which I loathe) This band was my last resort. I never thought I would have to do another diet other than living my lapband lifestyle but I have to admit here that I have even tried to do homeopathic HCG to quick start my losses again and I resent having to do that. I hope more people post here with some suggestions or maybe the OP @Shannon will come back and share what her Dr. told her. I need all the help I can get.

I haven,t been on the site for a while now but I came in looking for a little advice about how I'm feeling and the post from readytochangein2011 is exactly how I feel. I've been banded since 8/2010. My Surgeon is very conservative with his fills. I'm just now at 5.8cc in my band after over a year and a half. He does make up sit in the waiting room after a fill and drink a glass of Water. I was fine after this last fill with the water in the office but now I notice that I can't eat much at all. I feel I'm in the green sone. I have no reflux or heartburn and I'm not as careful with my bites and chewing thoroughly as I should e.g I had 1 chicken wing yesterday. I don't eat the tip and I don't eat chicken skin but that small piece of wing had me stuck. I had a small bite of a burger today (no bun) and was stuck. I'm wondering is that a problem? I feel fine other than that and I know I have to be more careful with my eating . Just wondering about others experiences.

I think alcohol and not exercising as I should have contributed greatly to my slow losses. I have found that alcohol stalls my weight loss. If I drink on the weekend I can count on not having a loss that week no matter how well I have eaten. Since I recently stopped the drinks on the weekend my loss has picked up a bit. So try to monitor yourself and see how your body responds to the alcohol. I have found that in all the many different threads about this topic different people do different things and some can drink regularly and have no problem whereas others like myself just can't mix alcohol and dieting, sadly. I can go for a cool vodka and Crystal lite right now. I had to put it aside for now though I want to reach my goal at last.

Thank you Monica for your response. I lost my original response. I am just like you I am not losing the way I wanted but thanks to my band I do not gain the way I used to. We went on a cruise in November and I only gained 2 lbs. I promptly lost that when I returned home. You've done great in losing 100lbs. We don't see ourselves as others see us so even if in our eyes we're moving slow. Others can see we are moving along. Someone mentioned to me on Sunday that I was looking thin too. Thank you again and KUTGW. Dee

Hello everyone, I have not been on in months. I stopped posting here because I was not getting any feed back at all and at the time I really needed the support so I went elsewhere. I have not made goal yet but lately I have been on a roll and like Lap2fab I'm hoping to make my 2 yr surgiversary my goal date. Well, hopefully by 8/12 I will be at goal and maintaining . I take comfort in the fact that most Drs say that you will only lose 1/2 your excess weight in the first year. Even though I was hoping to lose it all in year 1 it just didn't happen. My Dr. gives very conservative fills but I must admit that a lot of it has been my lack of discipline too. This past year I have indulged in too many weekend drinks and I have not exercised consistently. This lap band really does require a lot of cooperation and it is not the easy way out. I wish you all the best in the new year. I probably won't be back because I really got no support or feedback on this thread even though I was one of the first here but I really do wish you all well as we continue this journey. I'll check back when I meet goal.

Beautiful, if I could see stuff like that on my walk I'd be out every morning. I live in NY . Nothing but cars and buildings , people rushing to and from and folks out walking their dogs and cleaning their front yards. Great idea for a thread. Dee

I'm the same. I can see it very visibly but no matter how much I lose I know my tummy area will never be seen in public, ever.... so if it doesn't bother me I won't bother it.

I'm having the same problem. I have no energy at all. i would love to exercise as much as possible but I just have no energy at all, so I will be checking this thread for suggestions and I will ask my surgeons office when I go for my 2nd fill. Dee

Very encouraging post for a change. You are beautiful too. congrats!!

Hey!!!! Congrats on the baby Boy. I love baby boys so precious. We don't have any children but when my Sister got pregnant I wanted her to have a girl so badly but she had a boy and he was so much fun and funny and loving and just the light of our life and then she had a girl and we loved her too but she was a girl with all of our little attitudes and fussiness. Glad to hear from you too. I'm fine just distracted with people and things but still trying to get back on track. Haven't been 100% yet but I will not give up. It's not that easy once your off plan to just fall back in line. I am trying to eat my protein so this morning I had a pc. of turkey and I also had my first PB episode...Ughhhhh!! I ate too fast and too big a bite and tried to do everything to make that go down but it had to come up. I will be successful with this band no matter what. Thanks for caring.

Hey everyone, I'm back ...this last month and a half has been filled with distractions . We had 2 sets of unexpected guests and 1 set that we did expect. The last set just left on Saturday afternoon and then we had to run off to a retirement party. I am so exhausted but happy that I can now get back on my plan and concentrate on me and working this plan. I told my hubby no more guests this Winter. I have been way off plan because of being constantly on the go and eating out and entertaining. I have been eating stuff that's not on program but thanks to the band I can't eat much so that saves me. I have had a few cocktails too . I bit the bullet this morning and got on the scale and was surprised to see that I have not gained a pound. I'm planning out my meals and getting back on plan 100% hoping to catch up with everyone else. You girls are rocking it and losing like crazy. I'll make an appt for my 2nd fill tomorrow and get back to losing. Dee

That's good. I'm glad you were not offended. I did read that you LOVE Mustard, continue to enjoy it. In the meantime this silliness has overtaken Jessica's thread so I'm out and won't be back. Sorry for the hijack Jessica. Dee

Wrenbird no need to be offended. We were only going by what you said in your first post where you clearly said that you don't measure your food because all you eat is a bowl of lettuce and some whole grain mustard and then later you eat a stick of celery or an Optifast shake. What you said there is clearly not enough food for most people and is clearly not a healthy way of eating for most but as you said your Dr. (:blushing:) has approved your way of eating so if you and he like it that's all that matters. Dee

You're very welcome Christina. Hope you feel better today. It will. Try to walk if you can I heard that helps a lot and take some Gas-X chewables if you can. Feel better today ladies. Dee

Ok, that's good when I had surgery I could only have clear liquids at first like broth , Water, clear lo cal drinks, sf Jello. Thankfully, I was not hungry at all so I just sipped my water and lived on CL and Diet Snapple. That's when I lost my most weight. After a couple of weeks the hunger started to kick back in. Don't worry about the eating just make sure you sip your water or drinks to keep yourself hydrated. In the next few days you may feel like a bite or two . Like my Hubby says "it is what it is!!" Enjoy your weekend and feel better. Dee

Wow, this was shocking to me and I have read your response but still that is a very sparse diet. I hope after your unfill you can have more Protein and variety. You won't last like this but on the other hand yeah, I use to eat like this too when I was 22 and desperate to lose. That's what bought me to being at this point in my life having to have WLS to control my weight. I wish you the very best Wren. Dee

No, you don't have to force anything down. That would go against the purpose of the band. Enjoy this time where you are comfortable with not eating much because that will be over soon . When you're able to start your mushies you can eat your Protein and drink your Protein shakes. Did your surgeon tell you to have protein shakes now? or should you just be having clear liquids anyway? Different surgeons different directions. In any case relax you'll be ok.

They mean well, but that's funny because that's how I can tell I'm losing or have lost some over night. I look at my fingers and if they're not puffy I know I've lost or haven't retained Water.

Right now you should be chillaxing, healing and taking it easy. You just had surgery give yourself time. You will probably be not hungry and not be able to take in much for a while. Your stomach is all swollen so you can't take in much anyway. Give yourself time. Keep some fresh Water near your bed and sip on that constantly to keep yourself hydrated. When I first came home from surgery I also was not hungry and I loved that feeling for a change and I basically just had water and Diet Snapple or Crystal light. You have time to worry about getting in your Protein and Vitamins and all that stuff. Relax!! Dee

I was coming in to say this ^^^. At 5'4" and 250 lbs you may not feel morbidly obese but you are. I am 5'2" and 250lbs and I didn't feel or look like a morbidly obese person meaning I was not round I was shapely and had a waist but just big hips and thighs and a gut and spent a fortune on clothes to hide my fat. However, I was morbidly obese and still am. Check with your insurance right away and proceed. Dee