surgury date 11/3 now my friends are saying that lap-bands make you throw up alot??

NOT TRUE!!! If you throw up even a little with the lap band you are almost definitely too restricted and should see your surgeon immediately. Vomitting can cause band slippage and is NOT normal. Perhaps your friends are talking about PBing (productive burping) or sliming which are phenomena that can happen if you eat too fast or don't chew your food well enough. They are ways your body tells you to adjust your eating to fit your food through your stoma. If you work your band the right way the band will work for you. (You can get better info from experienced bandsters on the Lap Band forum - check it out if you haven't already). On a side note, I see that we have the same surgeon! I love Dr. Vernon and am really excited about my surgery scheduled for 10/20. If you ever want to talk, email me. Best of luck, Caeli

Candy I have not had to throw up in the 9 months since I had surgery. I do PB, but that is just not the same thing. If you eat to fast or don't chew enough food can get "stuck" in your stoma and your saliva will back up your throat. Sometimes the food will go down and sometimes you will PB or productive burp. This means the food in your pouch comes back up. But there is very little of it and it has no bile. It looks and tastes just like it did before it went down. The process takes just a few seconds. This only happens when you have done something wrong so you soon learn what not to do. Richard

Hey Candy, my wife had a band the Friday before Memorial Day. After 2 fills, she is only able to eat an egg, and she has retched a couple of times, but she is still getting used to her new pouch. She is down over 30 pounds, so you really lose the weight with that surgery. She went back to work 3 days after the surgery, and I would highly recommend it as a less invasive way to lose weight. The only down side for her is the extra doctor appointments for the fills. Each one is a half day off from work, but other than that, it has been a very positive experience for her. On a side note, I had LAP RNY in April. I can now eat 4 ounces of meat at a sitting. I see how people can gain their weight back after RNY as you need to alter your eating behavior. It is so easy to stretch out your stomach if you are not careful. With the band, especially after a fill, you aren't going to be able to keep down a 12 ounce prime rib and a bag of chips. One year out of RNY surgery, you could eat this much and the weight would come back.

I'm willing to bet that your friends have not researched this as much as you have. Maybe you could find some online info that you can email to them so that they will have a better understanding of what you're going through.