TheCurvyMermaid

I was banded in June of '08 and had a serious rollercoaster ride with my band, almost from the start. About six months after surgery, I started having problems finding the proverbial "sweet spot." I either had too little restriction and wouldn't lose weight, or I had too much, and would start upon a horrible cycle of sliming, throwing up, and eventually being so swollen that I couldn't eat or drink.

After three years of that, chronic heartburn and misery, I'd lost almost 50 lbs, but I was so miserable that I couldn't take it anymore. I had my band completely unfilled. In the year and a half that followed, I regained all of the weight I'd lost, and I've decided to try it again.

I now realize that I didn't work my band properly, ate the wrong foods, and generally relied on my band to curb my bad behaviours and eating habits. I have decent restriction most of the time, and I can eat most foods. I get stuck occasionally, but I haven't thrown up once. I'm really trying to use my band as a tool, rather than as an internal disciplinarian.