I never feel mine either but wouldn't advise it for surgery, biggest mistake I ever made. Spend a little more and get a surgery that really works and isn't so high maintenance.

I'd say leave well enough alone. It seems like every time someone starts fiddling with a decent fill it starts a progression of disaster. I'd say put more effort into using the fill level you already have,I think you should be able to eat a bit more than the first year because you were in losing mode then. You are in maintanance now and should be eating more, you should control intake not the band.

No it isn't normal most people don't lose anywhere near that much! most of us don't lose much of anything until we get some restriction after several fills. Also the average weight loss with the band is 1-2 lbs a week so don't expect huge losses. It takes far longer to lose weight with the band than other surgeries.

Crystal have you tried allergy shots? They did wonders for me for about 5 yrs. Then my lungs got funky, COPD, now I can't tell what is from allergies and what is from the lungs. I do know that feeling of, if I could just get a good deep breathe I'd feel so much better. I also change our furnace filter monthly instead of every 3 mos. like they suggest. It's amazing how quick they get dirty. Here's to technology, maybe someday they will come up with something.

So true! I have COPD and my pulmonary doc has me on generic Zyrtec also. He says it is the best because it handles indoor and outdoor allergies plus doesn't cause the sleepiness so many do. I also use the generic flonase for daily for dust allergies. It can also cause our bands to feel miserably tight. It really does make life more bearable when you have breathing issues whether from lungs or nose or both! And it certainly is the season!

Thanks for the warning! They are so easy to pick up.

Things like that it is a limited amount of time that it is good, I read that it was good for a lifetime. That it would dim the appetite and make you feel full. I was hungry a great deal of the time and rarely felt full or satisfied. No it wasn't head hunger it was stomach growling hunger and I even tried drinking more water to help feel fuller (after waiting the 1/2 hr. to hour after eating). That is was oh so safe, least invasive, and nearly fail proof. As we are finding it's not so safe and is very invasive when it does damage to the stomach and surrounding organs when it erodes. Allergan made it sound like a perfect tool. Now the results in Europe seem to have been more successful and for the life of me and others w don't understand why there are so many more problems with U.S. bands. I didn't got to a band mill, I had an excellent surgeon and lots of follow up care that I took advantage of but my band just never seemed to work the way I'd read. I consider myself fortunate that  my only problem is that it never worked, there are so many who have had serious and even life threatening issues or are living in a hell all their own with daily vomiting and heartburn with either an empty band or no band. The band can be removed but the damage is still there.

Elena, as well as others have had great success and that is another puzzler, why some have done so exceptionally well and others have had nothing but pain and suffering. In my opinion that is another reason to be very careful about getting the band because there is no way to tell who is going to have a good time and who is going to have nothing but problems. The longer the band is out the more issues keep cropping up. Not long ago it was reported the band can cause breathing problems and keep the lungs from working as well as they should. Had I known that I again would not have gotten the band because I have COPD and my lungs are impaired to start with. I imagine the inflamation and irritation from the band can spread over into the lung area, they aren't that far apart.

I'm very happy for the folks like Elena, Bette, Kate and many  others who have had such great success. I also will continue to warn folks that it isn't always a succcessful journey for everyone. I don't post these things to slam or bash the band but to make people aware that there are very real problems and they should be aware of that before making the final decision. If a person decides to go ahead with the band I will support them in every way I can!

Well I "thought" I had researched the band well enough however Allergan lied about alot of the info they published or left out VERY important information. In fact they are now being investigated by the government. I was told it would be good for a lifetime, people joked that archeologists would find our bands thousands of years from now and wonder what they were, not true. They are only good for 5-10 years for the majority of people, there are a few exceptions, but for the most part at 3-5 yrs people start having issues that eventually require removal.

I was also told it would make me feel full after eating about half as much as normal and would feel satisfied for hours, nope, never felt full and was hungry most of the time. Unless I was too tight then I was stuck and hungry but couldn't eat. That rarely happened because I would immediately get some fill out.

Was told should lose 50% of my excess weight, nope there too, lost an amazing 20 pounds! That was the first year then nothing after that.

At year 3ish my band started tightening for no reason, hadn't had a fill in a year or more, so I got 1 cc removed. Then several months later another 1 cc removed because it was tight again. Several months later it was tight again, well by that time I was totally "over" the whole band nonsense and had it emptied entirely. It seems that scar tissue builds up until it makes the band tighter and then one needs at least a partial unfill. I didn't realize until then just how uncomfortable I'd been those years until I was empty and could finally eat healthy food again. Until then I had a great deal of difficulty eating solid protein which is a staple with any bariatric surgery. I actually lost more when empty than when I had a fill because I could eat normal healthy food again.

I could never in good conscience advise anyone to get a band. Now this is my story, I also know others who have had no or very minimal issues with their bands but I know far more who have had a multitude of problems. My advise is research all 4 major surgeries, the band, vertical sleeve gastrectomy, roux n y (bypass) and the duodenal switch. Then decide what you can live with the rest of your life and go forward from there.

Sorry Elena gotta disagree with that one, Ya know I love ya! It may trigger fibro but I don't use aspartame and haven't for years but my fibro is worse now than ever. I also didn't use it way back when I was a teen and it started. There are many triggers for fibro and the aspartame is but one. I know quite a few people who developed it after having the band put in, I think it is from the irritation and inflamation it causes in the body.

In all honesty I can't advise the band for anyone as it is the least effective surgery even when it does work. I would suggest looking at the sleeve if you don't want malabsorbtion. Even better look at all the 4 main surgery types band (wouldn't suggest, sleeve, RNY and DS, then make an informed decision that you can live with the rest of your life.

I don't know if it is different anatomys or where the band is placed but I swear I never ever for a "green zone" feeling. I never felt overly full, just got the occaisional slime episode. I also was still hungry all the time, it had little to no effect on hunger. Of course the manufacturers knew this long ago they just didn't bother to let us know and they fed our surgeons BS and they passed it on to us as gospel truth not doubting the manufacturers. Of course they probably don't deal with alot of liars in their fields because in the long run it doesn't pay off. Now those same trusting surgeons are having to explain to us how they were conned just like we were. I had my surgeon for some other surgeries and know him to be a good honest man who would never intentionally lie. Yet he promised me the band would work and cut my appetite in half an help me feel full for hours at a time. Well not so much! The pressure business only makes sense, you can't cut off part of an organ and expect it to work correctly! Just wish there weren't so many others going thru what you are!

I've been here for over 6 yrs and was one of the biggest band boosters around until at 3 yrs out my band kept tightening (with no fills!) and finally had it emptied to try to avoid any further serious problems since my insurance no longer covers bariatrics. I still help newbies with problems regardless of my now hatred of the band. I will continue to warn people of the very real dangers of the band until the day I die because we were lied to by the manufacturers back when I got mine. In fact the government is currently investigating those very lies! I've known people who nearly died from the band and others who are permanently damaged and their quality of life forever ruined so I'm not going anywhere. I suggest if you don't want to hear us then don't open our threads or block us, but I can guarantee we are here to stay so adjust or block us. We aren't going anywhere!