Weigh2Fat

You are describing exactly what I've been going through for the last 3+ years. The first 3 years of my lapband were perfect. I went from 265 down to 180. At my 5'9" height, I was very happy with the weight. The band was perfect. Then out of nowhere, it just started closing up. The band seemed to get tighter every day. I was vomiting just about everything until finally I couldn't even keep water down. The DR did a major unfill and I had a barium swallow test which turned out fine. The band appeared to be in place. So they let my band rest for a few months (+20 lbs) and then slowly started filling it up again. Once I got back to my sweet spot I'd be good for another few months and then the vomiting would start again and over a couple weeks would be back to being totally closed off, (at least that's how I describe it.). When it's so tight that I can't even drink water and keep it down, the reflux is horrible and painful. It starts with pressure in my chest and between the shoulder blades (gallbladder tests have been done and were fine). Then only thing that stops the pain is vomiting. And the bile builds up so bad. Such a nasty feeling. I have been living with this cycle for over 3 years now of unfilling (gaining 20-30 pounds), gradually filling (losing 15-20 pounds) then I'm good for 3-5 months and then the same vicious cycle. I loved my band the first 3 years. It was perfect for me. Seriously considering a sleeve but afraid I'll have no relief options (unfill) if the reflux continues. Let me know what you found out and if you got your issue resolved.

My experience has been wonderul. It all depends on your expections and your eating habits pre-band. If you have a sweet tooth and love to snack, and don't have much self-discipline, the lapband is not your answer. You will be able to eat right around it. M&Ms, chips and ice cream go down just fine. If your problem is portion control and you don't see yourself as a sugar freak or snacker, you'll do great. I eat about 1/4 of what I used to at meals. I stay full in between so I don't ever really need a snack to get me through. I'm 65 pounds down and KNOW I could have never down this without the band. I still have about 40 to go but know I will get there. I'm only losing about 3-4 pounds each month now and that's just fine with me. I feel so much better and just recently was able to say good-bye to the large lady sections in the stores. I LOVE the selections available now. And I hit 199! Haven't seen that weight for 13 years. That was cool! So be honest with yourself and really look at your eating habits. If you are determined, the band is a huge help.

I'm 6 months post-op so this was my first banded T-Day dinner. I was a little sad going into the day because this is my favorite meal of the whole year. All my favorites. And I have really good restricition right now so I knew the feast of years past was not going to be possible. But God loves me. It was like the flood gates opened and I was able to eat a little bit of everything, albeit much slower. It was delicious. Turkey, potates/gravy, green bean casserole, dressing, etc. And I allowed myself the day with no guilt. Even had apple pie and ice cream for dessert. Today I was 1 pound up but back on track. Had my protein bar for breakfast and soup for lunch.

Totally normal. It was 3 months post-op and 3 fills before I felt restriction. Until then, I had NO trouble eating meat, pizza, pasta...anything and everything. Most people will gain some weight back during this time, but try to keep following the diet plan your DR put in place. The restriction will come, but now's the time to practice changing your eating habits. And during the Holidays I'm sure it will be more difficult. But hang in there! It does work.

The same happened to me. I had to increase my calories. Make sure you're getting 1200-1500 good calories each day. If you're under, you won't lose. If you can't get that much food down, use protein shakes or soups get the calories and protein in.

You're fine. I have the realize band also and it took the third fill to get good restricition. The first really didn't do anything. The second did for a about a week and then it seemed to loosen. The third was great. And I just went in this past week and they added only .2 CCs. Just a bit to get me where I wanted to be. I have about 7.75 in my 11cc band and am really good right now. The weight loss has started up again which is nice to see after about a 2 month plateau. When you go back, they will probably start doing fills of only .5 - 1cc. The closer you get to your sweet spot, the more cautious they need to be with the fill amounts. Good luck.

It took me three fills, total of 7.5 in a 11cc band, to be in a good spot. Before my last fill, I could eat any and everything. The hunger wasn't as intense, and I didn't have the desire to overeat like I used to have. But anything would go down...pizza, steak, sandwiches, bread sticks. Now after my 3rd fill, I really have to watch what I eat and really pay attention to the signals. I know when to stop now. Eating 3 simple meals, and if i need a snack I stick to a protein drink or a yogurt. Be patient. You will reach your zone. It's just so different for everyone.

I remember mine being sore for a few weeks. I couldn't sleep on my left side for about the first week. Then it was OK, but a little uncomfortable. I know for the frist few weeks I thought, 'Wow...I don't know if I'm going to like this tugging feeling I have around my port". But that totally went away after about 5 weeks. You can't see mine but it's very easy to find by pressing down. The two fills that I have had were easy. I'm about 2 1/2 months post-op and love it. Still need at least 1 more fill for that perfect restriction. Hopefully this Thursday's fill will do the trick. Good luck!

Hey FarmGirl - This is SO good to hear. I'm almost 3 months out and have had 2 fills. 3rd fill is 1 week from today. I have only had about 3-4 instances where I've felt the tiniest restriction. But other than that...NOTHING. I can eat anything. Pizza, chicken, steak, pork, pasta, breads. All without even chewing and chewing. (I try to just for the practice, but it goes right down without). I'm maintaining my weight by trying to watch my portions but it's getting hard. I'm ready to get to that sweet spot and start losing again. How many CCs did it take you? I'm at 6 right now in a Realize band. I'm sure that next week's fill will put me there or close. Good Luck!

OMG!! YOU DON'T KNOW? But I go to your posts for the answers to ALL my questions? You have NO idea the anxiety I have now! LOL I'll be sure to ask my DR next week. But I agree, it just doesn't seem logical. I would almost think you may be very tight after a fill and then have it loosen up after a couple week. But not get tighter over time.

YAY for Mexican food! I agree with RestlessMonkey - moderation is key. Not deprivation. I still go for Mexican and order chicken fajitas but only eat the meat and veggies. I skip the tortillas. I also divide it out before I start eating and limit myself to about 1/3 of the fajita mix. I know this may change when I hit my sweet spot. And I'm fine with that. I'll still eat Mexican. I just may have to switch to a ground beef taco or something. Whatever I find I can eat, I'll still use the concept of portion control.

Hey RestlessMonkey (or anyone else) - Can you explain why the fills don't kick in for a couple weeks for some people. I have a friend that's been banded for just over 3 years and she always said it was about 3 weeks after a fill before she felt the restriction. I had my second fill 2 weeks ago, at a total of 6cc and still don't have much restriction. Everything and anything will go down. But today I finally felt it. I was starting to think the thing was broken. I know I"m not at my sweet spot yet and anxiously awaiting my 3rd fill next week. Just curious as to why you don't feel the restriction immediately after a fill.

12 MONTHS!!! Oh, that would make me cry. I have to wonder what the benefit is to waiting that long. I would think out with the old, in with the new same day would make more sense. Back to the origianl post - I have a friend that was banded almost 4 years ago and she has not had any problems. Still good restricition. No slips, flips, etc.

Paisleypea - That's good to know about the 7cc average. I just had 2cc added on Thursday for a total of 6cc. I can feel the difference between the original 4 and now the 6 but still not quite there. I'm hoping that the next fill will put me where I need to be to start losing again. I've been maintaining, but haven't lost any since the first fill.

Surgery on Wednesday and back to work on Monday. I have a desk job with a very short (30 feet) walk from my parking spot to my desk. Any sooner would probably have been too soon for me. I was still moving pretty slow on Monday, but felt good.

Pain really wasn't an issue for me either. I even got by without any of the gas pains that people talk about in their back and shoulder. I agree with the 'too many situps' feeling. It's not really pain, just sore. I came home same day. Surgery was at 7:30 and I was home by noon. The liquid lortab made me dopey and tired, but I could still manage to get dinner for the family and do some light cleanup stuff. Slept most of the day and day after. Every day was better. After 5 nights I could sleep on my left side again which was great. I think it took about 5 weeks to get past the tugging sensations that I felt around the port if I stretched or turned a certain way. Now I don't feel anything. Just a little restriction if I eat certain things, but I've only had 1 fill. Very ready for the next fill to get some good restricition and start losing the rest. Good luck!

When you look at the stats, Compare Adjustable Gastric Bands - LAP-BAND vs. REALIZE Band, they're so similiar. Either one is going to give you the same results based on how well you work with it. I chose Realize and am down 36.5. But my DR was comfortable using either band. He still offers both to his patients because he sees the same results with both. Good luck.

No bad story here either. It couldn't have gone better. And I didn't have to stay overnight. From check-in to check-out was about 6 hours. No gas pain, no shoulder pain, just a sore around the incisions, but the liquid med did the job on that. It was all so worth it.

I had the same feeling. It went away after about 3 weeks. I think it's caused by the swelling pulling on the stitches around the band a little. I'm sure yours will go away too after you've healed a little more. I'm just over 5 weeks post-op and don't have any of the questionable tugging, pressure feelings that I had right after surgery.

I don't think my surgery could have gone any better. It was exactly what I was hoping for. I arrived at 5:30 for a 7:30 surgery. My best friend (who was banded about 3 years ago) took me since the DH needed to be at work. Check-in was swift and off to the one-day surgery floor. We waited about 10 minutes and then I was called back for pre-op. Lovely gown, lovely socks! Once I was changed, they let my friend come back and sit with me. Lots of questions from the pre-op nurse. She was fab! Then in comes the anesthesiologist! He was adorable! My only thought was, "This poor boy is going to have to watch my flab bouncing all over the place". Then came the shot in the belly - heparin. I don't mind shots but I remember thinking, 'Ouch'. Later came a shot of Versed. Not sure why I needed a sedatvie cuz I wasn't nervous at all. That stuff is like a ruffie! My friend was taking videos on her blackberry of me singing. I don't remember ANY of this. It was hysterical and a little creepy watching the videos later and not remembering any of it. I do remember them coming to get me around 7:45 and I remember rolling down the hallways and into the operating room. I was asked to lay my arm out and then BAM..I was out. I woke up in the recovery room with a nurse asking me how the pain was. I told her I really didn't have any pain, just a little tender. She gave me some pain med anyway. It was 9:05 so the surgery had to have gone really fast. We left at about 11:30. I don't remember if I stayed in the recovery room the whole time or how I got my clothes back on. On the way home we stopped to pickup up my liquid lortab. That stuff was great. Take it as prescirbed for the first couple days whether you need it or not. I slept most of the first 2 days with very little pain. I could walk around the house just fine and even bend over and pick things up, it just took longer! Everyday was better. I think about 3 weeks and I felt fully recovered. No more tugging or tender spots. I had a great surgeon, great nurses and no surprises. I have the Realize band and have had 1 fill to date. Still waiting for that magical restriction. Hopefully with fill #2 in a couple weeks. Good luck to all! I recommend this to anyone who is looking for an alternative to the yo-yo dieting.

I was banded on May 27 and had the same tugging feeling. Mine did go away after a few weeks. I'm guessing it's just the swelling from surgery causing a little tugging on the spots where the band is stictched down. I'm sure yours will go away too after a few weeks. I'm just over 5 weeks out and don't have any discomfort.

It was a hard chose for me too. The stats are nearly equal. Realize is just a bit better on slippage and port-flip problems, so that is why I chose Realize. I also like that the port is not as prominent. My friend's port (lapband) can be seen easily, my Realize port does not show and can barely be felt. I'm only 5 weeks post-op but so far, no problems. My first fill went fine. No problems finding the port. Just looking forward to my second fill so I get a little more restriction. Either will give you the results you are looking for. Good Luck!

Hi Felkatz, I can't believe your DR told you that you had to buy them there. Must be some good kick-back for him. Buy them anywhere but just read the labels well. Make sure you are getting all the Protein you need in a day without the extra calories.

I agree on waiting. If you do get a fill and can't get the same amount of calories in, starvation mode may kick-in and you may stop losing weight even on less calories.

I had my first fill on Monday 29th. I was on liquids and mushies until Wed. Then I was so excited to try eating real food to see how much restricition I had...NOTHING! I know it will come, but I was hoping for just a little! Oh well, two more weeks from today will be fill #2 and maybe that one will show some restriction. I'm just ready to start losing again. Good luck!