Misinformation?

I just found this forum, so I'm pretty happy. Last night I was really bummed out about this whole lap-band surgery I had 6 weeks ago. I lost between 12-15 lbs so far, and that is excluding the fluid I had the day after I got home from the hospital. That is the difference from what I weighed in at the hospital before the surgery until now. I did attend all the information sessions with my surgeon, went through the whole process, and throughout the whole thing no one ever once said to me that you might lose some weight initially, but you probably won't see any weight loss until your 3rd fill or so, which you probably won't get until between 3 and 4 months post-op. That weight I lost, I haven't lost a single pounds for the last 4-5 weeks. I'm exercising, really watching my calories, and nothing. I had expectations that the morning I went into the hospital would be the day my life changed, and guess what, it hasn't, and it's been a major disappointment. Had I known this would be the way it would be I wouldn't have told anyone I was having it done. It's very discouraging when people ask things like so, did you have it done? Are you losing any weight? I knew it would be a slower weight loss, but 5 weeks without losing a pound? I did have my first fill a week ago, but it's really not doing much at all. So, I'm going to hang on in there (not like I have any other choice) and wait until I get to my 2nd and 3rd fills and hope this works. If there was one thing I would tell potential bandsters it would be, and this is not just my experience but it's rampant all over the lap-band boards and the people I have met in my surgeon's waiting room, is that don't expect this to be something that will even begin to really start anytime soon. You are going to need more patience than you ever had, and you should sort of look at your day of surgery as a starting point to a long process instead of the day your life will change. I would also tell people NOT to binge before surgery and put on 10 lbs thinking they will be gone in an instant, because if I hadn't "let myself go" pre-op, the 12-15 lbs I have lost so far would have put me in a different number range which might have made me feel a little better. The people who are losing tons of weight with the band are, in MY opinion, much harder to come by than those who are struggling to get past 15-19 lbs 5 months post-op. These are things I wish somebody had told me. Gonna hang tough for now.....Good luck

Stephanie, Almost all of the information out there about Lap-Band weight loss rates, talk about 1 - 2 lbs. loss per week. At present, you are averaging about 2.5 lbs. per week. So, you are ABOVE average. Also, most information out there on the lap-band boards out there mention that the first 6 weeks after surgery are about healing, not losing weight, so if you do lose in that 6 weeks, consider it icing on the cake! I know it can be very frustrating, but like you said, just hang tough, try to be patient, and be as aggressive as your doctor will let you be with getting your fills, so you can get to a good level of restriction as soon as you can. The band WILL NOT work without restriction. Do you have your appointment made for your next fill? If not, call NOW, because a lot of offices take at least 10 days if not longer to get an appointment, and when you go in for your next fill, don't leave without making another appointment for your next fill. You can always call and cancel or re-schedule the appointment if you need to, but if you don't have the appointment made, and realize after a couple of weeks that you need another fill you will have to wait ANOTHER couple of weeks before you can get an appointment. Anyways, keep your chin up, TRY to be patient (it's hard, I know) and keep on making choices that are good for you! I wish you the best in your continued journey! Allison

What is a fill? Thanks Tonya

I'm truly sorry you didn't do your homework prior to your surgery. You have a top-notch surgeon but you can't expect surgeons to spoonfeed information. There's just not time. Surgeons expect patients to do the research. The most basic research of the band would have made it clear that the band isn't likely to do much until you're properly adjusted and that can take 3-5 fills. When properly adjusted, the ideal rate of loss with the band is 1-2lbs/week on average. ANY loss during the healing phase and prior to proper restriction is a bonus and not to be expected. This is posted frequently everywhere I've ever seen about the lap-band...it's not some industry secret. I generally recommend at least 6 months' intensive research prior to considering even setting up a surgical consult. Take this time now to catch up on the information you should've gotten for yourself prior to committing to WLS. At least with the band, not knowing the basics won't make you sick, unlike some of the more invasive surgeries where a lack of basic knowledge can land you in the hospital. Nancy Lap-band -156 Oh...and I "only" lost 12 lbs my first 2 months...but I knew that was normal.

"Take this time now to catch up on the information you should've gotten for yourself prior to committing to WLS." Nancy, honestly, what a rude response. You know nothing about me or my research on this subject, and to say I obviously didn't do my homework is such a load of crap. I'm sorry, I only spent the latter part of a year researching this, and guess what, my surgeon never mentioned that nor did I read that. I'm sorry the info I read wasn't what you read. I didn't discover the message boards until about 3 weeks pre-op, and then I got a small hint about the proper restriction. I don't expect the doc to spoon feed me anything, but that's a pretty big piece of information that was NOT mentioned in his introduction seminar in the room with 25 people. All that was said is it was slower than bypass, not that you wouldn't lose until you got a number of fills, and that could take 4 months or more, and that's not a universal formula, either. I know people who have lost 70 lbs on 1 fill. And guess what, if it was so widely known there would NOT be all these posts everywhere about this very thing and people wondering if it's normal and being discouraged. Let me guess, NO one did any research? That fact is not one of the selling points to this surgery. I'm not saying anyone intentionally deceived me, and everything I read about the band that was a surgery site or anything like that didn't mention it. There was no grand disclaimer anywhere saying "be patient, you probably won't lose an ounce for about 6 weeks after you have WLS." Just because you are a veteran at this doesn't give you the right to talk to me in such a condescending holier-than-thou tone, and I really don't appreciate it at all. You have obviously had a very good experience with the band, so not quite sure why you would be here on the WLS REGRET BOARD if not to berate people who talk about stuff like this. Thats' why I posted here and not in the lap-band forum. Or maybe it's so you can try to encourage people who feel this way? For future reference, I'm not interested in your brand of encouragement if this is how you do it. In any post I have ever made that you have responded to it has been quite unpleasant. This is supposed to be a supportive environment, and not one full of people pointing fingers and saying you should have done this, or that. Forgive my ignorance oh Lap-band Queen. You stay on your side of the board and I will stay on mine.

Hi Stephanie . I'm really sorry it's been such a slow start for you, it must be a dreadful letdown after getting yourself all psyched up to get through the procedure and stuff . Personally I've paid very little attention to Lap-Band information as I've known from the get-go that it was not a good procedure for me. In the several years that I've been on the WLS journey now (details are in my profile), I've talked to four surgeons. Two of them said right up front, "There is no way I can guarantee you that you will ever lose a single pound OR that any weight loss will be maintained. Everyone is different and there is an extremely high degree of personal responsibility involved." The other two said no such thing. Oh how I wish every surgeon could be so clear as those two were. Hopefully you'll start to see more consistent results a little further down the road, as you get to a fill level that's good for you, and when you're all healed up and really seeing "your body" at work, not "your body still recovering from an invasive procedure." Just imagine what it'll be like a couple years down the road if you do settle into the pound or two a week, consistently! I seem to recall reading someone's story about getting a revision to a different procedure (probably a DS, since that's the procedure my reading is focused on) because the Lap-Band was a total failure for them. It was some kind of anatomical/odd healing problem, IIRC. If this does continue to be a problem for you, be assured that there are many reasons for problems; it's not automatically your fault. Do you have some kind of 3d support system available to you?

Elizabeth, thanks for the words As for the 3d support system, I do have one, but if they aren't a lap-bander they don't get it and if they are they seem to have the same experiences that I'm having. All I can say is that I have been going to the gym at least 6 times a week for the last 2 weeks and maybe it's making a difference of half a pound or so...insane. But I'm hanging in there...thanks -Stephanie

Wow, that must be CRAZY MAKING . My impression of the LapBand, though, is that it works beautifully for quite a lot of people once it gets going.....But it takes time, time, time. Take care that you don't injure yourself in your workouts as you're trying to get things moving, k?

Sweety you do know that muscle weighs more then fat right? Do you ever measure yourself? Because one time I tried exercising 5-6 days a week for 2 months, I didn't "lose" anything either. But I did noticed my legs, butt, hips, stomach were a lot slimmer. I should have measured myself. But not seeing a scale victory discouraged me and then I found out I was pregnant. So I stopped. But I think if I had of continued it would have worked out, I would have seen a weight loss. The more muscle we have the more fat we burn, but the more we have the less we see the scale going down, since it weighs more. I hope everything works out for you.

ONe thing that I have learned as a bandster is that b/c our bodies work "normally" it is going to respond "normally" to the weight loss, calories....anyway, I would suggest seeing a nutritionists, one hard thing for us bandsters that is that sometimes we tread a fine line of losing and not losing when we are restriction calories and exercising at the level that you are. My OB, who you would think as a doc would have great success, has a VERY hard time losing unless she UPS her calorie intake or REDUCES her exercise...GO FIGURE! Since learning that I know that I have that issue when I plateu...it is usually due to my lack of calories and too much exercise...sometimes I take a few weeks off from exercise and then bam...weight starts falling off, or I eat more protein and again it falls right off! But, the best advice I can givce is to journal every calorie you eat and total protein and exercise for a week and then take it to your nutritionists and see where you are truly at, that is what they are there for! GOOD LUCK! BE BLESSED! Rachel