I am 51 years old and had the surgery almost 3 years ago. My weight loss has only been 45 pounds in 3 years. I guess that I am glad that at least I lost weight, however I really expected much more weight loss to occur with this surgery. I have tried all the proteins and exercise only to find that nothing changed. I do have a slight disadvantage as I have lost most of my upper and lower back teeth due to gum and bone problems, so I have much trouble in making sure my food is chewed which results in having to bring the food back up. Therefore I tend to eat instant mashed potatoes, soups and ground meats. Now, I have noticed that I am having tenderness in the port area and am afraid that possibly infection has set in. I am truly at a loss right now, very frustrated with the lack of weight loss and I know that I have not utilized the band the proper way, but, I feel like there is a great lack of support in my area. No local forum, and meetings only 1 time a month. The doctor who performed my surgery never contacts me in any way and I feel kind of like I have been left out in the cold to fend for myself and then when I fail, everyone says it is my fault. I agree it probably is, but I feel like there should be more follow-up after surgery and a continueing effort by the doctor to track and keep informed of any problems. I guess my doctor intimidates me just a little as he is pretty stern and I am afraid to open up to him. Please help me with this continueing saga!! Thanks for any person that wishes to help. Carol

BOTH OF YOU................... Go get new lab work done. It is possible, even with the weight gain, that you are malnourished and in trouble! Are you still eating protein quantities recommended (60-100 grams dialy), tkaing the vitamins needed to sustain a nutritional balance, verifying the effectiveness of all the post op tools with regular lab work? Your bodies were changed..........FOREVER! Keep up with the program to enjoy those changes. Let me know how you are. PM me if I don't get back in here to read messages quickly enough! Hugs. Vicky

This is my fist post. I had my surgery in December of 2005. I now weigh 120lbs. I have been having a problem with constipation and gas that causes me an awful lot of stomach pain. Does anyone else out there have this problem? Its making me crazy.

I went to see my surgeon after my UGI and the results say my pouch is strecthed - this is what is says "gastric chamber measures 8.3 cm, transverse dimension 7.6 cm and 7.4 cm in maximum AP dimension-immediate emptying of the opacified stomach into the small intestine" and this is just 27 months out

Hi All - I went to see my surgeon yesterday and got the results of my UGI - the hospital hadn't sent over the results yet - but we finally got them to fax it over and the dr and I looked at it for the first time together - well he said - I gotta sit down for this one - the results are that my pouch has streched - when the dr say this he said - " it didn't strectg it exploded :WTF: that did not make me feel good - so we had a good talk and I needed to make sure that he was commited to help me with this revision - he sent me over to the lady who handles the insurance so that she could find out what guidelines I needed to submit to the insurance - as I was with her he got on the phone with the Gastro dr that I had seen 2 1/2 years ago and was getting my appt so that I can get my EDG scope done again by him - I was very pleased that he was behind me and that he seems committed to help me with this PS - I gained another 5 lbs in 3 weeks - thanks for reading - Jo