The way it was explained to me...The radiologist is looking to see anything grossly wrong with the band, ie: erosion, complete malfunction, problems with the tissue around the band.  They are not usually trained to look for the angle to be off, or proper placement.  Your gastro doc can help with that.  

And yes, I dealt with what you are dealing with.  Severe GERD and reflux, when I laid down at night if I was not elevated I would wake up to stomach acid coming up into my throat and mouth.  My radiologist said everything looked fine.  My gastro looked at it and said everything was terrible.  Just sit tight and be patient.  Stress does not help the situation.  Try to stay hydrated and continue drinking water to flush your stomach and keep the acid away from the areas that are stressed.

I HAD A SLEEVE IN 2010.  YOU WILL LIKE IT OR SHOULD I SAY LOVE IT.  MY BEST ADVISE IS GET INTO A GOOD SUPPORT GROUP.  BE ACCOUNTABLE.  KEEP TO THE BASICS.  EAST PROTEIN WITH EACH MEAL ALWAYS.  I ALSO GOT A FOOD BUDDY.   STAY POSITIVE... LITTLE BY LITTLE INTRODUCE A NEW GOOD HABIT ONE BY ONE.  (THAT IS WHAT A SUPPORT GROUP IS ALL ABOUT. )  ASK FOR HELP!  LOVE YOURSELF RIGHT WHERE YOU ARE.  

GOOD LUCK

ANNA

Hi! I am 8 (almost 9) years out!  I have had issues but overall I have kept off (and on, and off again) over 100lbs and I love my band.  I would say to learn early what your limits are, listen to your signals. All of our bodies are different.  

For instance your stomach is a muscle during our days and just with life in general our muscle tighten and loosen.  For me the mornings are tight, if I am stressed or get anxiety (when you usually would LOVE to eat) I just cant or I will pay for it. 

You need to be gentle with yourself and your band, you will eventually make it really mad, either you ate too much, what you ate (even just one bite) is not going down etc.. Lean how to get through it and remember that just because you may feel okay you really need to give your band and stomach 24 hours to calm down meaning go back to soft, or liquids. Dont ignore warning signs, I honestly think some peoples bodies do not like foreign objects in them and the band makes some peoples bodies to try as hard as hell to get it out.  So if you get heart burn if your shoulder hurts etc.. go see your doctor and be persistent. 

You will be hungry, really hungry maybe for a while until you learn to recognize your full signals, take a breath, remember eating is not an EMERGENCY, you are not STARVING, but you have conditioned yourself to eating massive amounts of food so your body needs to get used to a different level of food and until then you will be hungry.  

Yes fills help with this, but learn how to fill up your upper banded tummy with food that sticks around.  I have tons of tricks (for after your first stages).

Learn what yogurts keep you full, how to cook or boil an egg to get the most benefit, learn what types of cheese sticks around (none for me! It sucks).  Learn what nuts and veggies and even fruit keep you full.  For me carrots, almonds and apples with the skin on make me super full not stuck full but right before that feeling and they take a while to go down. 

Dont go out to eat until you can trust yourself (I still rarely eat out).

Keep in mind this will not end, you will never be able to eat "normally" so you really need to concentrate and figure out and remember what works and doesnt.

Plan your meal times and food, never let yourself get too hungry (after your initial phase) that is when I get into trouble! I end up not chewing correctly and or making poor choices.

Yes food is an addiction, but EXACTLY like smoking or drinking it boils down to a choice about what you put in your mouth.  We all need to breath and all need to eat, and all need to drink.  MAKE THE CHOICE to eat and drink in a manner that best benefits you!

Everyone is busy, no excuses.  I have three kids (3, 4 and 9) all girls, I work full time, I cook breakfast, prep lunches, and cook dinner and take "care" of my husband nearly EVERY day, I also clean a house with 3 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms and keep my plants on my patio. I have to be fully dressed for work every morning and I PLAN MY MEALS! And I walk 5 miles a day!  I have to get up at 4:30 am and probably dont sit down much till 7pm, and go to sleep at 9:30 every night.  If I can squeeze in the time to make my meals, and make sure I have healthy options around nearly anyone can do it. 

The band sucks! We dont loose weight right away sometimes and people judge us, but let me tell you the judging NEVER stops and you can do nothing about it all you can control is yourself, how you feel, and the choices you make.  

Keep in mind that life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react, learn to control your reaction!! (a quote from someplace but I have no idea where!)

Good luck, you can do this

8 years out and over 100 down here, a few issues but the best advice I can give is to relax and dont over eat! Learn the signals and dont pu****

Good luck

It's true that diabetes is better treated by the bypass or sleeve. However, I am type 2 and am off 2 oral medications and insulin with the band after losing 90 pounds. Just on metformin now.  I still have about 50 to go and expect to be off everything by then.