Discouraged

You need to give yourself a break. Stop comparing yourself to bypass folks! That will only make you feel worse. Going into this I thought it would take me 2-3 yrs to reach my goal. That's exactly how it is going for me and I'm perfectly fine with that. My dr is very pleased with my success and reminds me each time "you said 2-3 yrs to reach your goal!" We all have our own experience with the band. This sounds corny, but I'll say it anyway - be happy with who you are and with what you have. You can make the band work and you will drop the weight. I spent a year within the same 2-3 lbs on the scale. The best part for me was I didn't gain beyond that. Just kept seeing the same 2-3 numbers on the scale. It took a while for me to realize my band was doing its part so I had to do mine. I'm dropping again and exercising regularly. I feel great. Hopefully you can find the motivation within you to get back on track and make it work for you. Good luck!

I had surgery a little after you and I find myself not getting the band sometimes either.  I think I'm learning more.  

when they say "little" bites they mean it.  Not little compared to what we used to have but LITTLE like the size of a pea. When I do that I don't get stuck.  It has to be moist.  You have to chew that pea size bite about 20x (tedious).  Then you wait about 30 seconds before you take another piece in your mouth.  It's really hard to learn this, but I'm reminding myself more and more. 

You did the right surgery for you.  We didn't gain all of this weight over night, nor will we lose it that fast.  Try doing the pea size, drinking at LEAST 8 glasses of water, and don't eat sugars or breads or pastas.  YOU CAN DO THIS!!!!!