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Before I got banded I went along to a support group. There was a guy there that was really inspiring. He had told by his Dr that he had to do something or he would be dead within 3 months.He had diabetes, alcohol issues and other health problems. He got his band and continued to inspire everyone at meetings. He lived life to the fullest. Went on a number of cruises and was one of the few people that actually lost weight on a cruise. He was so excited when he could fit into a pair of speedos. In total he lost over 60kg. His health improved dramatically. He never ceased to be an inspiration. Sadly he passed away suddenly earlier this year. The positive here is that he did extend his life by over 3 years and he lived those 3 years to the fullest. Without his band he probably would not have managed to see so much of the world and have such a wonderful time.

It does. WEIRD. I wonder what has changed. I am still using the same computer as I normally do so it doesn't really make sense. At least now I can comment again . Thanks - it was driving me nuts. Hopefully Alex and the admins can fix the problem properly soon.

OK testing to see if that works.

Reading the recent articles about The "Baloney Mass Index" it seems I may still be obese. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-04-04/baloney-mass-index-putting-lives-at-risk/3932090 I am 5' and 51kg. My BMI is well within the healthy range but I am still an apple shape not a pear shape. I still and always will carry my excess weight around my middle. "You could be 5'5", 125 pounds [57 kilograms] and look thin and fit in a dress, but you have so much fat. For someone like me who is obsessed about my weight as it is that was the last thing I needed to hear. My stomach has always concerned me and now it seems rightly so. Although on the other side I have been told by my Dr that it is normal to have some weight around the middle, that it is healthy and that my weight is fine. So what is a girl to do? Ignore the media? Keep stressing? Go on a starvation diet? Have lipo to have it sucked out as that is the only way it will be lost from the correct place? Have a tummy tuck " Maybe the answer is to switch off the TV/Radio/Internet and just become a media recluse. How does this news make the rest of you feel?

There are a number of people that continue to have shoulder pain ( usually left) . It is thought to be caused by some part of the band or tubing putting pressure or rubbing on the vagus nerve. If you do a search on this site you should find quite a lot of threads about this issue. Some people seem to manage to live with it whilst for others it can become unbearable and they may need further intervention to help correct it.

No Toddy, you are 100% correct.

This isn't true. It is possible to get stuck when following the rules. I have been sitting at the table, eating slowly, chewing well etc and still managed to get stuck.

Jen if you can barely eat a few bites then you are too tight. If you are sliming when you drink then it is pretty obvious that you are too tight. You need to go for a small unfill, if you don't you could be setting yourself up for some serious problems . Also as you have found out when you are too tight you don't actually lose any weight.

What do you mean by you are not feeling any restriction? Are you eating smaller portions than previously? Do they keep you satisfied?Are you losing weight. if you can answer yes to these then you do have "restriction" If you are not losing or you are struggling with hunger(not head hunger) then you may need another fill, that is something you should discuss with your Dr

Gall bladder problems are common with weight loss. It doesn't matter how you lose the weight. Sorry that you had to go through the pain and the removal but you are certainly not alone. As to the prolapsed bladder I have never heard of that being related to weight loss and I would seriously question if that is indeed the true cause. Do you have children? Being pregnant and giving birth is the usual cause of a prolapse. There is no way you can sue your lapband Dr. If a lawyer advised you that you could I would be very wary - the lawyer is probably just after your money. Not being American I do not understand the culture of sueing for every thing that goes wrong. Sometimes we need to accept that things happen and that it isn't anyone elses fault. I hope that your insurance co pay and that you are able to solve this problem ASAP. Have you being advised to do Kegels? This is something most women are advised to do to stop this problem occuring although I confess that I have never done them. Good luck

Constant forcing food up can cause your band to slip.But we have to look at the difference between vomiting and PBing. Vomiting comes from below the band and usually involves a lot of force.This can cause problems. PBing comes from above the band, it is not usually very forceful and is unlikely to cause problems. If you are PBing often then you do have an issue. Either you are not eating correctly or you are making bad food choices or your band is too tight.Ignoring this can lead to problems. As for steak - I know how you feel. I have been banded almost 3 years, have a fairly loose band and thought i could eat steak. Well it seems I can't. I spent the evening PBing/vomiting with force and when that stopped and I went to bed I couldn't sleep as I was waking every couple of minutes choking on acid. I was terrified I had slipped my band so I went to emergency. They did a CT scan and partially unfilled my band. Apparently everything is still Ok but it is now being refilled slowly. The thing that usually(but not always) works for me after an episode like this is sucking on crushed ice. It helps to reduce swelling . Hope you feel better soon.

Yes , very positive

You can also try sucking crushed ice. that helps to reduce inflammation and swelling. Andrea I agree that it sucks to be too tight. Life with a band is not supposed to involve medically induced bulimia or near starvation. Life with a properly adjusted band should mean that you are able to eat a wide variety of healthy foods , not be constantly hungry and that you should be able to lose or maintain weight. There are many people on this board that seem to advocate having a really tight band. It may work for them and if it does then great but it worries me that they seem to encourage(push) others into getting just a bit more fill. It makes people believe that there is some kind of Nirvana where they will truly eat minute amounts and never be hungry and never think about food - for most this is not true.

Thanks for the suggestions. Yesterday for lunch I had roast lamb and salad on french bread followed by an apple and it was divine. I had forgotten how good apples taste. Wasn't so good today as I went on a garden group trip followed by lunch. Typical Aussie pub with the usual choices so I had fish. Normally I would only be able to eat 1 piece but today i finished both and had Pav afterwards! However that seemed to fill me up for the rest of the day as I didn't feel like a proper dinner - I ended up having a toasted Hot X Bun! Maybe not a good diet choice but it tasted really good and as "dinner" I didn't think it was so bad. PM - sorry not sure about how to avoid the ups and downs. Maybe some days you are more stressed than others, dehydrated, hayfever affecting it more? You need to see if you can work out a pattern because then it might make it easier to be prepared and deal with it. Denise - that sounds like typical Murphy's Law! Glad you are able to eat again.

You may have a small slip from all the vomiting. You need to go and see your Dr so that he/she can check everything is OK. It is possible that you may need some Fluid taken out so that your band can rest and reposition itself. I have just been through something similar after stupidly trying to eat steak . I got stuck, vomited all evening, stopped , went to bed and couldn't sleep as I kept waking up choking on acid (the whole night) so took myself off to emergency the next day. Had some fluid removed and they did a CT scan to check everything was still in place. I have had some of the fluid they took out put back in and have to see my Dr again in a couple of weeks.

and the first couple of years are like being on honeymoon, and then reality sets in and you just get on with it. Sometimes you wish you and your band had never met. Sometimes you love your band more than life itself And sometimes you contemplate ditching your band for another form of WLS.

I can't stand any of them. I have tried a couple of times and given up. My fitness pal is annoying because it does not have some of the foods I eat and the serves are strange. For example instead of a serving of crackers being listed as 1 cracker or 2 or whatever it will give it in weight - I do not weigh all my food. I have tried Calorie King which has more local Australian foods but still does not do what I need it to do. I think they probably work Ok if you exclusively eat preprepared or convenience foods. I cook and there is no way that I am going to measure and weigh all my ingredients and then enter my recipes. That is too much pain for not enough gain. I am also trying to avoid the diet mentality. I got the band so that I could stop dieting, if I am constantly obsessing over every mouthful and entering it on the computer then that is very much being on a diet. For me my band is for life and it helps me to eat like a normal skinny person. I know what sort of foods I should be choosing.

I also think that there seems to be a competition or race to see who can get the most fill the quickest! Instead of focusing on what their band is doing for them people focus on how much fill they have and constantly want more even though they may not need it. They then end up too tight which is counterproductive. The amount of fill required will change depending on how long you have had your band as well. I am currently in a similar situation to you. I had 6ml in my band and had 4ml taken out about a month ago as I had a complete blockage. I have since had 2ml put back in so am now sitting at 4ml. It feels as though my band is empty! Yet for a long tome 4ml would have been enough and would have given me perfect restriction. So effectively the amount required is a moving goal post and it is different for everyone.

When you choke you can't breath as the blockage is in the pipe that carries both air and food. When you get stuck the blockage occurs at your stoma which is at the top of your stomach, it is much lower.

I don't think this meal is a good indicator of restriction. A big Mac burger is not solid Protein, it is reconstituted meat covered in grease that slides down really easily.You didn't eat the bun and the french fries are also very skinny and probably very easy to eat. I am not a Macca's fan so I don't really know. As to the sundae , your band would need to be completely blocked for that not to go down. Icecream goes down so easily. I think you should stop eating big macs and start eating some proper home cooked food and see what kind of a difference it makes. You also have to remember that at some point your weight loss will slow down or even plateau, especially if you have had weeks where you have been losing 5lb, it takes your body time to catch up. That is not a problem as losing weight is not a race. I still think that you should discuss it with your Dr , making sure you are HONEST with what you tell him, and then take his advice.

Wow - that is a long hospital stay. I suppose the Germans are well known for being over cautious.

I have to disagree. Most people will feel some hunger when they are consuming too little. It is not realistic to expect that the band can assist us to be satisfied and not hungry on an extremely low no of calories. The OP says she feels a liitle hunger - I would say that is normal. She is losing between 1 and 5lb a week , that is excellent. I think she should tell her Dr everything she has told us and let him decide. I certainly wouldn't be begging for a fill if he doesn't think it is necessary. There is always that risk of ending up too tight and that is totally counterproductive.

Think I'll have to look into that

You managed to get through surgery and that would have involved a number of needles/drips etc. A fill is just a walk in the park.

800 calories a day is very low, I would also be getting hungry if that was all I was eating.