Freedom!-Moving on beyond the lapband

To make a long story short, I got banded last June 26th,2007. I lost about 32 pounds. Worked out 6 days a week and at times, twice a day when I plateaued. I started voimting alot after my last fill earlier this month about 3 weeks ago. My chest was really tight and hurting. The PA took out the saline and I feel normal. Normal as in, nothing hurts going down my stomach. And that feels good. I have thought long and hard about my band. I would like to get it removed, but insurance will only cover it if it malfunctions, slips or something. Otherwise, I have to pay for it. I don't want anymore surgery. I have spent 75% of my life dieting, hating my body and feeling bad about myself. Last year at the age of 37 I finally began enjoying life outside of my weight. I felt really bad that the band isn't for me. But, everything isn't for everyone. I weigh around 244 and I would like to lose 60 by next year. Like a pound a week. So I am thinkng of rejoining weigh****chers. And this time giving it my all! Before I would get depressed over unrealistic goal of losing 3 or 4 pds a week. I feel alot better about myself. I realize at 38, that life is more than my weight and I cannot sit around the sidelines anymore! Waiting to do this and that whenever I lose x-amount of weight. It is total bondage and I am getting free! Anybody else out there had their band removed and paid for it yourself? Thanks for letting me share my story.

i am not banded yet, hope to be in future, may i ask why it is not for u? and secondy 32 pounds is still great....and u should join, and the best of luck it is a great program..

Let me first say I am sorry about your struggles, but I totally understand!  I was banded in Aug. of 2005 and up until about 6 months ago I hated my band and wanted it out more than I wanted to be thin.  I have great success with the band actually better than most, but I hated everything about the band. I went thru many of nights where I would order an entire pizza wanting to eat then entire thing but getting stuck after a few bites......so I would chew it up an spit it out...until I finished the entire thing.  It was gross but it really helped me with the emotional issues with my band.   Unlike most I have only had 1 fill in all my years with the band, because it has been way to tight from the beginning.  The doctor said I should have never had the 4cc band placed it was way to small for as heavy as I was. I started at 393 lbs and now weight around 200 lbs.  I want to get to about 190 and will be happy.  I also never told many people about my band since I had the fear of failure!  I did not want to be under the watchful eye of everyone!  Now it is frustrating because people always say you must have had RNY and I say NO I did not! So I guess in my experience don't give up.....you will find your peace with the band it just takes some of us longer than others....If I can help at all send me a PM take care jan

Sorry you are having it so rough. I was a multiple joiner (and loser) using WW but then would regain it when I wasn't going or wasn't weighing in. I knew how to cheat the WW program (like not eating on a weigh in day and then going out with a friend right after a meeting to eat). I am banded now as of March 17, 2008 and I am doing okay. I lost fast the first couple weeks but then things have slowed down some for me. I'm at a total of 30 lbs lost and I'm very happy with that. I am competitive so when I hear others have lost even more and faster, I think Oh boy, there must be something more I can do and then I kick myself and say, settle down, this is your life, your body and your food choices.  I did much better after a first fill but I'm not at what I hear friends refer to as a sweet spot of restriction. I get a 2nd fill on June 10th and am hoping to even get more restriction.  I started at 348 lbs and was given the AP-Large or 14cc band. My first fill was 4.5cc's. I am sorry if they placed the wrong size band at time of surgery -- I was told my surgeon would make the call at the time of surgery if I got the AP-Small 10cc or the AP-Large band based on how my stomach size was, etc.   That said, I hope you will hang in there and keep asking for encouragement from others who have a lapband. Have you tried the website www.lapbandtalk.com -- its all lapband patients, there are plenty of those on the website who rant and rave, they share ups and downs, so don't feel you have to be suzy sunshine all the time. Your friends who have been in the same boat will help pull you through. I met a group of local ladies via that web site and we now meet in person at a local mall and they are wonderful support -- more than I could have dreamed -- and I would encourage you to keep seeking support from those who have been there.   Best wishes.

I paid to have my band put in June 05, and paid to have it taken out December 07. I got sick of bringing up 'good' food - I even tried the Atkins diet but couldn't keep the protein down so that was a failed diet. I got reflux, made my diabetes worse and wasn't losing weight after the first 2 weeks. I didn't want surgery in the first place - everyone who has WLS wishes that they could lose weight themselves if they had 'one good attempt', but since I've been fat since the age of 8 logic tells me I need help - and WW isn't it! I can understand you wanting to be free of this - DS offered that hope, and so far its better than I had anticipated. RNY might be a possiblitily too, depends which would suit. The stomach I have now is smaller in capacity than anything I had with the band, but I live on protein all day and never get sick. I don't crave carbs, and I'm shrinking fast. I think all I'm trying to say is just because the band wasn't for you don't give up hope in the future if diets don't work. Sal

Thanks for the reply. Right now I am keeping the band until it bothers me enough to have it taken out. I only feel some pain on my port side every now and then. Which I have always had. I plan to make an appt with my original doctor to see what my options are for removal by the insurance and paying for it myself. This is something they don't tell you at the seminars. And I waited three years before deciding to do this.  At first I felt really bad about the band not working out for me. But I realize I have to do what I can live with. And having reflux and voitming is something I can no longer live with. What works for one person will not work for another person. Weightloss is a journey. This is just one step in the journey to getting to my goal weight.  I will go to my first weigh****chers meeting wenesday evening. I am doing my best to have the right frame of mind. I no longer am looking for a fast 100 pound overnight loss. I can stick with a 1-2 pound loss and by next January I will be at least 50 pounds smaller. Then I can move on to getting a breast reduction and some lipo. I am not here to discourage anyone.I hope that we all find something that works for us to get at a healthy weight and maintain it.

I got banded and did pretty well for about the first year... weight loss was good, consistent, etc... then I started getting reflux... i got unfilled and was told it would get better, so I waited for 6 weeks, and it did abate some, but as soon as I got my first fill, it came right back, so I've now been unfilled for 16 months, which is darn near useless.  I lost 67 lbs in a year, but have now gained back about 10-15 depending on the week.  I now know that I cannot live with the reflux and my surgeon told me the band has to come out, so I'm getting a revision done.  I feel like I was pretty successful with the band, but who knows, maybe I might have lost a bunch then gained it back... lots of folks seem to have that happen.  I just know that since I need to get it out, I'm going ahead with a revision to the DS.  I originally considered the RNY, but think the DS has a better long term prospect for me, even though I'd probably be considered a lightweight (I cant even BELIEVE I typed those words!!)... I dont want to have another WLS... I want this to be my last, and I see so many happy DSers that, really, I'm 100% clear that it's the only way to go.  Since my surgery is a revision of a surgery which was never originally paid for by insurance, I figure I'll be 100 by the time they agree to pay for the revision (read never!).  So, I'm self pay and going for it.  I don't diss the band at all... if it wasn't for the reflux I think I'd have done really well with it... again, who knows long term... but since I gotta pay to get this sucker out now, or else possibly deal with esophageal erosion down the line, I'm going for the surgery I think will give me the best results long term.

Kyle

Hello.  I had surgery a year ago and am having my band out next week.  I was never very successful which kind of surprises me because I thought it would work just great for me.  I spent the first 7 months throwing up daily (my after care was non-existent) before I found out that wasn't the way the band should work.  Finally after a lot of fills and unfills, the people at my surgery center discovered that my stomach is overly sensitive, and that each time they accessed my port to add or check the fluid, my stomach would swell shut.  Then I developed nausea and reflux.  I went to a new surgeon who did testing.  My band was apparently placed way too high, so I never had a pouch, just the lower esophagus as a "pouch" - I also have gastritis, esophagitis, duodenal spasms and gall stones. I wanted my lapband out when they remove the gall bladder.  Insurance has fought me like crazy, even with a letter of medical necessity.  My doctor is doing both surgeries together soon, and I'll fight my insurance until they pay for it. Good luck.

Shotgunchelle, It sounds very much like you weren't ready to get banded to start with. I was told to do everything I could to lose the weight before surgery because surgery is a last resort. When I got to the point where I knew without question that I couldn't do it with WW or dieting on my own, I was ready to accept WLS as my last and final option. I hope you succeed where I could not. All the best to you.

Judy,

Did you my read story at all? It took me 3 years to decide to get the band. 3 years of research and seminars and doing almost every program to lose weight. We are all told to do what we can to lose weight before surgery. We are all told the same thing: surgery is a last resort.  But it is not the last resort. There are tons of people who have had gastro and gained it all back. There are people who have several revisions and surgery is not sucessful for them. It is not a final option.

shotgunchelle