Are you finding....wishing I wuld have done it too!

hey all

I have not posted here in a while.

On the 28th of this month I will be 6 months post surgery and I have lost about 22lbs.  Yes that is not alot of weight, but I have not done all that I could to lose this weight anyway.  I am so damn upset over it.  I just feel like a big a$$ failure.  I am not exercising and I am not eating right .  I find that I can eat just about anything so that is what I have been doing. 

But I wrote this because I have referred alot of people to my doc for the lapband surgery and I am finding that those people are opting for the gastric sleeve.  And with their weight loss results I am so wishing I would have done it too!

Have any of you had regrets about the surgery...wishing that you would have done a different procedure?  I am ready to have this removed and do the sleeve myself!

No, I love my band. 

Yes sometimes I wished that I would have opted for a different proc because I have lost 65 lbs with the band but I have had to work HARD to get that off....sometimes I wished I might have as well lost the weight by myself without the band because I do lots of excercise to try to lose more weight, (this year percisly I have had to start working out 5 times a week so that I can start losing again...in a 6 month time frame (no fills btw) I managed to regain 11 lbs again :/ ) ...its an embarrasment for those people that know that I have the band and for them to see that I have not lost more weight with it....so to save all the questions about why havent you lost more and so forth I am kicking my a$$ to lose weight again...yes sometimes I feel that the band is not any help anymore...at first yes but I guess I have gotten "used" to it now or something....I know someone that got the gastric bypass and in 3 months he lost the weight that I lost in a year.... (what a bummer) its discouraging but I cant afford to have the band taken out and having the other proc done... :( I would just hang in there and try new methods to try to lose the weight....Good luck with whatever you decide....

No, I do not regret my surgery.

I suggest you consider speaking with a counselor about your non-compliance issues.
You are not likely to find any surgical solution until you are ready and willing to do the work.

The sleeve is no magic cure --- neither is RNY or DS or Banding ---- they all require your cooperation ---- until you work out why you are unable or unwilling to eat right and do some exercise, going through another surgical procedure seems pointless.

I hope you will find a way to make your band work for you -- and not keep looking for things outside of yourself to do it.

 Good advice you gave this newbie bandster back in August:

"The number one indicator of success with the band (in my opinion and my surgeon's opinion) is the ability to comply with your surgeon's instructions.

If you cannot be compliant with the diet, you are in for a long road of discomfort and dissatisfaction.

You will find ways to eat 'around' the band, you will not lose weight --- "

Tami

Yep everyday! I didn't know anything about the sleeveback then. What really irks me is my surgeon now does the sleeve but now my ins. doen't cover any WLS. So maybe someday I'll be able to get it done. I'm seriously thinking about getting all the fluid out of my band so I can eat more meat and veggies and fruits. I would always suggest the sleeve over the band, just my opinion.

Had I known then what I know now I NEVER would have gotten the band!!!!!!!!!!! It has been completely WORTHLESS! Complete waste of money!!!!!!!!!!!!!

No. But I went into it with very realistic expectations. I knew that I would have to do most of the work myself. All I wanted was something to provide me with an on-off switch (which i don't have naturally) and i knew that the food choices would be entirely down to me.

Kate

I had my revision surgey done only 9 days ago, my only option was to get a band over a failed bypass, or get a super invasive DS procedure that I couldn't afford, everyone else at the clinic I was at was getting the sleeve plication, so far the lady I met has lost 10 pounds and I have lost NOTHING... I am a self payer so I understand that if this doesn't work for me it will be an embarrassment to me as well. Putting my life at risk just for this to not work is really pathetic... If its about cutting back on calories to loose weight that concept has completely gone out the window. I am on a strict liquid diet that I am sticking to, Ive got to be eating less than 1000 calories a day and I have lost NOTHING!!!! WOW.. I would love to tell you that its my fault but I can honestly say that I am doing my part and sticking to the diet that they gave me 100%.  I have to be honest and tell you that so far this has been somewhat of a let down... I don't know what the future holds but if I am comparing myself to the others who had the sleeve, the sleeve seems to be a better procedure hands down. :(

Hi there,

At 6 months out I was at about the same weight loss as you are -- but I had a pretty good idea ahead of time, that's where I would be. That's one of the reasons why I chose the band.  And I got there by eating right and exercising most of the time. So, in my opinion if you are not eating right or exercising it's a real miracle you've lost what you have so far.  My guess is that getting a sleeve and continuing to not eat right or exercise would produce similar results to what you've had with the band.

In spite of my success with the band, there are some occasions I do wish the weight was magically gone -- quickly without any work from me.  Just the other day I sat in a meeting with a lady from work that had gastric bypass. She had her surgery 5 months after I did and she lost every  ounce of her excess weight in about 6 months. And I'm still plugging along.  She sat there so slender I could hardly believe how fast the pounds dropped right off her -- one week she even lost 15 pounds!  Sure I was sitting thinking I wish I had a surgery that caused me to loose it all so fast.  BUT then I really thought hard about it and remembered why I chose the band route and those reasons all still apply today and I'm happy about my choice and my progress.