Hi, I know I am late to this post too, but I just wanted to say I had the lap band (which I thought was safest too) and it failed miserably and could have killed me. Before any fill, there was almost no difference from before surgery. So I barely lost anything. So I told my surgeon at my fist fill (he was 2 HOURS AWAY--not my current surgeon!) to FILL IT UP!!! I mean, its not working at all, you gotta fill it. He filled it a lot, like I asked.Then the weight DROPPED OFF. I really couldnt eat much at all, and if I ate like 3 bites too fast, GOD it hurt so bad. I was never hungry. I felt like a skinny person. I lost 75 lbs. I looked like a model. I really needed to lose like 100. So, I got used to the pain, and cheated a little with high calorie drinks (because of the pain, these calmed me and felt good, after a while!)So this was 2003-2004. Life was good. I thought I was "healed"! Then, little by little (and I was VERY GUILTY of not very good maintenance cause my doc was so far and I thought, well, if it aint broke, dont fix it...) I started gaining, and gaining, and GAINING....Finally late in 2006, I gained half back. So, extremely depressed, I decided to investigate. After many upper GI's confusing my surgeon and unfilling not working, he did a routine endoscopy, and found 60% of my band had eaten its way inside my stomach. (erosion). Emergency surgery, same day. Cancel cruise vacation. Fix gaping hole in stomach. ICU. NIGHMARE. He saved my life. How lucky I am to be in the "<1%" of people with erosion. Yeah, RIGHT. I think its way more than that! So now I am getting a revision. I want DS, higher long term maintenance. If not, I will get the RNY. I just dont want to be someone who has to get 2 REVISIONS down the road! The band was great, but to me, looking back, it really is NOT a permanent solution. Good luck with everything....

Wow, I just found your post....I haven't had surgery yet, I'm still researching and will go to a seminar next month. Your posts and everyone who posted after you made me realize something I just never thought of.......... It is about a relationship without food and you are mourning the loss just as if food was a person and that person died! When you put it in that perspective you can see how food has become your "mate" so to speak, I just never thought of it that way.... I guess it really is an addiction! I hope you will come on here and write to your hearts content until you feel better and get past this. I hope that you will consider getting counseling too because that will really help you. For me reading this has put food into a whole new catagory. Let me explain. I divorced my husband while my daughter was fairly young and within 6mos. I was married again. At some point in the year and a half we were married he abused my daughter, I left him and turned him in. I knew that my daughter's life was way, way more important than this man I had married but the hard part came when I had to think of life without this man. I truly loved him, I loved him so much HE was like an addiction too me. Here I was in the middle of this situation with two people who I loved with all of my heart and I had to choose to believe one of them...Of course like I said I chose my daughter but that didn't mean even though I hated that he had hurt my daughter that the love in me for him had died it was still there and I had to learn to deal with it. I didn't deal with it for a long time but the fact that I loved my daughter and would die for her kept me away from him....he was a really bad person, evil, and sick and had he not abused her I'd probably stayed with him because my love for him was blind. So I guess what I am trying to say is that when you compare food addiction to other types of addictions or situations where you could be hurt it makes sense that you would not want that in your life even if you have to hurt awhile in order to heal and you will heal but it just takes time! Like other additions, I think the best way to begin to heal is to talk, talk, talk....you've got to get it out there and talk about it because that makes you feel better. Something else you might consider, everytime you feel bad about having surgery take a dollar and stick it in a jar somewhere and once you have gotten past this point in the process, count your money and go out and buy ya something new:) I wish you the best of luck! Kellie

I agree with the previous posters regarding frequency of eating; twice a day is NOT enough!!!  Your body will think it is STARVING and hold onto every last freakin' ounce.  Eat 4 to 6 times a day - SOMETHING.  It would be best if that something had some protein in it.  It does not have to be a huge meal; maybe half a banana and some natural (sugar free) peanut butter; turkey and cheese roll-up, just get SOMETHING in every 3 hours or so. 

This is from my surgeon's nutritionist. Good Luck!!!  I plateau frequently as well, but when I look at the overall picture I am still losing and happy.  

I want to start by saying that the band is a great tool (keyword TOOL) for many people it just wasn't for me.  I do regret not taking the time to research this further.  I told myself that I would not cut my insides, therefore, I would not even consider anything but the band.  I was denied by my insurance but I was determined to get it no matter what, so I took a loan and had the surgery.  I will be honest I did not follow the rules all that well, however, from the beginning I was always able to eat a lot more than I should.  So I started getting fill after fill until I finally got to that "sweet spot" everyone was talking about.  Well even then I was able to eat a lot of food and every time something gets stuck it hurts like hell.  I have way too much weight to lose and in my opinion this is good for a lighter person.  I am addicted to sweets and the band certainly did not prevent me from continuing to eat ice cream and all the sweets I love.  This has been my downfall.  I am like a drug addict when it comes to sweets.  I only lost a whopping 22 lbs since surgery, 6 of which where lost the 2 days before surgery I was on clear liquids.  The band is just a tool.  You will still have to diet to lose the weight.  I have a bigger addiction than I thought and cannot feel like I am on a diet or I'll fall off track.  I love protein but I like things high in fat, such as; pork, beef, salmon, full fat cheese, etc.  You really have to limit the amount of calories with the band or else it will become a tool to help you maintain your weight.  Based on my eating habits and addiction to food I fell that the DS would be better for me.  This is why I am trying to get a revision soon.  If you have more questions don't hesitate to contact me. 

Well I am talking on my experience.  I was a self pay with the lapband.  I will say that I believe the band is not for everyone.  It certainly wasn't for me.  I have found that it is very easy to cheat the band.  I am now looking for a revision to DS or even RNY.  If you want more info send me a PM.