Newly Banded

Hey everyone. I am new to this site and had my band placed 7 days ago on August 3rd. I was just wondering if there is anyone out there with a "sucess story". Everything I have been reading online has been negative. Even if you have had a bad experience I would like to know why you believe things have gone wrong. Thanks!

There are definitely success stories on the board. I'm sure those people will post at some point. 

I had a bad experience due to the band damaging the Vagus nerves and diaphragm. Part was surgeon error and part was just the band doing what it does to some people. I made the mistake of leaving the band in when it quite clearly should have been removed immediately. It did quite a bit of damage in a short period of time, unfortunately. 

Best of luck to you. Be aware of the complications. It doesn't mean you'll end up with them, but it's important to know what to look for. Don't over-tighten your band... it's one of the worst things that you can do and it will almost guarantee that the band will need to be removed at some point. The best thing to do is to use the band to curb your appetite and follow the healthful eating plan your nutritionist should have provided for you. You may experience "stop signals" such as hiccups, pain in the left shoulder, salivating... do not try to eat past that point. That's a hard one! Your body is telling you to stop and it's best to listen. 

Wishing you the best. I hope you have nothing but success. 

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

Hi Brandy!

You need to stay in the positive.  You have just been banded so embrace your journey.  Find a band support forum that is all sunshine and rainbows.  SERIOUSLY.  It is what I would do.  I am not saying to ignore any issues nor prevent what you have control of.

If you were pre-op I would have discouraged you from getting banded but now that you are banded, try to follow all of the rules and do your best.  You cannot worry about what may happen because it has not happened.  Many of us were happy when our bands worked and when we had the weight off.  I have no regrets even if I had to play it out the same way I did again.

All Best,

Leila

The band is a tough way to get weightloss..., I had mine for 6 years.

Most of the time we were friends (my band and I). I had no complications in the first few years, except for the constant struggle to find the spot that was not too loose or too tight. What was hard is that our bodies fluctuate, so what is loose one day can be very tight the next. It's an intricate dance, so keep up with noticing what feels okay and check in VERY regularly to make adjustments.

It all went wrong for me when I got too tight and ignored it because I was teaching and it was too inconvenient for me to take a day off to go into th city every time I had a problem... Suddenly, vomiting and severe GERD became the new normal and I let it go too far. That resulted in a hernia, build up of scar tissue and damage to my esophagus. 

But you can come here and read lots of stories of success and failure, so that you know what to look for, and when to seek help. Follow the rules to a T, and when something doesn't feel right, run, don't walk! to see your doc, and I am sure you'll do great.

Congrats on your decision to take your life back :)

hi i am new to here & am planning to do it soon but am searching for a good dr in nj & plz tell me how is it do u feel pain after u put it & did u loose on ur first week i need help :( & i want someone to encourage me badly as am so scared thank you

I had pain the whole time I was banded since it damaged my Vagus nerve system. I had the band removed in 2005 and still have lingering pain from the damage. 

No, I did not lose in the first week. Most people don't. It takes time to recuperate after surgery. You will have to experiment with getting proper restriction with the band. You must be healed before having saline injected into the band to "activate" it. It's not a fast process at all. There is no malabsorption component with the band, so it's all diet and exercise that will cause you to lose weight. You will (hopefully) be given an eating plan and you'll have to experiment to see what foods you can tolerate and which ones will cause you to "get stuck." Breads are usually a no-no for a lot of people since they tend to gum up and not pass through the stoma well. If you get "stuck," you may experience what's called, "sliming." You produce excess saliva and retch until the food that has caused the episode has passed. You may have swelling after one of these episodes and you'll need to stick to liquids for a day or two afterward. 

You'll want to avoid vomiting with the band as it can cause a slip. There are medications that can help with nausea. Your doctor might prescribe one for you.

I don't recommend the band due to its high failure rate, personally. You might want to consider reading the revisions forum for more information. 

Hi,

I will be getting banded in September and I was hoping to hear positive stories too. Truth of the matter is, most people who have success are not likely on these forums. I have foundthat tthe only good ones I could find are mostly consultants/reps for the company. There are a few here and there that show there progress. There are some good ones on YouTube.  But keep in mind many of the people may not have told everyone around them, so why would they tell the world? 

That is just my expectation of the 'success ' stories. They are too busy loving their lives. Lol...  Good luck!! Wish you all the best!

Hi Brandy!  I am banded 8 years and lost 90 pounds.  Have about 40 more to go, maybe 45 if I pu****  I had a bout with cancer and let it slide for 2 years.  Other than that I have had no problems. I love my band and it has changed my life.  I got the band when it was new and first came out.  I would probably opt for a sleeve if I had to choose today.  But I don't!  You made your decision and now relax and enjoy the journey.  Bette will be along with her success story soon enough.  Follow your doctors advice.  Most of us long term successful bandsters are no longer on the boards.  We are following each other on fb and out enjoying and living our lives.  You will be doing that too.  Good luck! 

Hi, Brandy and everyone else.  I am new to the site as well and I was banded 6 days ago on 8/31/15.  I have been reading this thread and want to say, "thank you!" for the positive vibes you all are sending out.  I have been researching and looking for posts about individual people's experiences.  Most of them very negative and discouraging.  Not good when one is looking for support and encouragement from these sites and forums.   There are some that posted that had their issues but did not put it out there in a negative way and followed it up with words of encouragement.  Again, thank you!