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Dear L.  I can sympathise.  I had my surgery July 08 in Mexico.  I lost 17 lbs almost immediately just with the liquid-solid transition.  Lost no more while trying to find someone in my area who would do my fills (out of country surgeries and no one wants to touch you).  Had a fill done in Dec 08 and had some sort of reaction (possible overfill of band) which resulted in my having to have the band completely emptied.  A barium swallow showed that the band was properly located and I was okayed to have a fill April 09-the fill wasn't enough and I lost nothing.  Had another fill done June 09 and it started off great-I had a real hard time eating any breakfast, lunch was a bit of a struggle and I could eat a decent size supper-but I could eat.  As the month progressed it got to the point where just drinking was a struggle and I could only eat about 2 tsp of certain foods at a time-I was able to lose 45 lbs between July and Sept.  At first I felt a little weak and woozy but over time I wasn't hungry anymore and felt pretty good.  My throat made a constant gurgling sound and I felt nauseous after every bite, indicating that the band was too constrictive.  In Oct 09 I went back in to have a bit taken out of the band and again the doctor thought there was a problem with the position of the band.  Again the band was completely emptied, x-rays and a barium swallow were again performed.  I have still to visit the doctor who does my fills to review the results, but my family doctor says the swallow indicates that the band is in it's correct position but there is a problem with my esophagus.  Blood work that my family doctor asked for indicated malnutritian-it was hard to believe that I still have 45+ pounds to loose and  could be considered malnurished.  I have gained back 10 lbs of my lost weight between the last empty and now.  I'm still waiting to make an appointment for another fill.  Those few short months (between July and Oct) didn't give me much of a chance to get into the "habit" of eating the smaller portions needed to lose and eventually maintain a healthy weight (I was so suprised to actually see and experience exctly how little a person needs in order to live at a proper weight).  I still have a hard time keeping myself busy with non food oriented activities as my life had always revolved around food and I still think of it constantly-like a security blanket.  I'm scared constantly that that weight is going to come back on with a vengence and bring it's friends-I worry more about what I put in my mouth now than I ever did when I was going through the never ending parade of diets and weight loss gimicks.  Unfortunately it seems that while the "good" foods like whole wheat or vegies & fruit get stuck, the "bad" stuff  like chocolate and chips seem to go through just fine.  It is a constant struggle, sometimes I think it is worse than what I suffered before I started to lose the weight.  Having a taste of having the weight coming off is huge-it's a motivator-but it is still really scarey.  You wonder if you deserve it and you wonder if it's worth all this work.  It is and it's not easy, I don't think it will ever get easy.  These fills take alot of fine tuning so stick with it.  Even with all the trouble I have had, I would do it again in a heartbeat and encourage anyone to do this.  I think that more is needed post op to help us out-trying to do it ourselves is impossible after years and years of doing it all wrong-we need support to form new habits when it comes to diet choices, exercise and even the mental health issues that arise from having your security blanket taken from you. I'm not sure if this kind of help is given to those of you who were able to have your surgeries closer to home, but I know that it was a huge drawback having my surgery in Mexico because this was not even an option-something to think about if anyone is planning to have surgery outside of Canada.  Stick with it & hopefully you've found a doctor who is willing to work with you-I've heard some horror stories.  A fill will help but do take it slow by starting with the fluids again and working your way up.  This fill might not be the only one you need, like I said, it is a fine line to find that perfect level.  Good Luck, D2