Realize band 18 months ago-only 8 lbs lost-am I the only one?

I had the Realize band put in 18 months ago. The day of my surgery I weighed in at 300 lbs....This morning I weigh 292 lbs. I have 7.5cc in my band, I can't/don't eat bread or pasta. I OCCASSIONALLY have a glass of sweet tea but mostly drink water (flavored with Crystal light). I eat according to the guidelines given to me by my doctor and for some reason I have only lost 8 pounds in 18 months. I have an appointment with a new doctor on March 25 to see about getting the bypass done. I just don't know what else to do. I don't think I could handle another fill as it is right now I have to be super careful with everything I eat otherwise it gets stuck and I usually end up vomiting it back up. Anyone else experience anything like this with the band? I feel like such a failure

My doctor's scales show 20-25 lbs lost.  I had the Realize band surgery 2/17/09.  I lost slowly even in the beginning and it took a long time to get restriction - December 09 to be exact!  I went to the gym regularly from May to November and lost 6 pounds.  When I went in Dec. for fill I had actually gained a few pounds.  I've been so discouraged.  I do have complications of Diabetes - and I'm now 63.  I was able to get off diabetes medicine, incl. insulin from soon after surgery  until November.  Now I'm back on all meds.  I felt great for the first few months.  Now with the blood sugar problems, I feel tired again.  After my last fill in March my surgeon mentioned doing a different surgery.  My  Endo declared the band surgery a failure for me based on the diabetes control and wants me to have bypass.  I too felt humiliated and very much a failure.  Just like all the other attempts to lose the weight...

I had an UGI to make sure the band was in place - it is - and when I took the film to my surgeon and they weighed me I had lost 4 pounds since I had been there 4 days before.  Of course, my surgeon thought that was great but I now had too much restriction so he took some of the saline out.  I'm now 8.9 in a 9cc band.  He wants to wait now to see how this works before removing the band and doing a different procedure.  In the 4 days between appts I had researched this site religiously and had decided I do want to go with a different WLS.  I don't want to lose weight with the band and still have diabetes.  That is my main reason for doing the surgery.

When I mentioned to the office staff that I felt like such a failure, they told me that a lot of the banders end up revising.  I mentioned that I wish the doctor had helped me more in the beginning to decide which surgery would be best for me - they said they weren't allowed to suggest which surgery to perform.  I feel cheated of a year!  I certainly don't think that one surgery fits all - we're all different ages with different needs and complications.  I can't help but feel cheated of a year! 

On the other hand, my sister-in-law has lost more than 90 lbs since May with the Lap Band.  I wish you the best and everyone else *****ads this that is having a similar experience.  Please share.

My band surgery was 11 months ago. I lost 30 pounds easily and soon resorted to familiar sabotage patterns. I have good restriction but I have to admit that I simply have not made the necessary lifestyle changes. I've viewed the band as a magic bullet rather than a tool and I'm very annoyed with myself. I'm also a little scared. I know what I need to do - regular exercise for one - and now I need to do it.

Good luck to all of us.

I was in your shoes and can totally relate. I had the Lapband for 6 years but knew after the first year that it was a total failure and a big waste of money...especially since I paid for it out of pocket! I revised to the RNY 4 months ago and couldn't be happier. I know that the Lapband has been a sucess for many people, but it's not for everyone...unfortunately I had to learn the long way and wasted 6 years of my life...Good luck to all of you!

Hugs,

Given your BMI, I think you'd be much better off revising to the DS.

Instead of RNY, I think you should look into a revision to the VSG (vertical sleeve gastrectomy) or DS (duodenal switch), depending on if you want malabsorption or not. The RNY will give you the same stoma issues (stuck food, etc) as you're having right now. I haven't had any problems like that with my sleeved stomach, and the VSG and DS use the same sleeved stomach. Plus, they have equal or better weight loss results as the RNY.

The thing about the sleeve is that it is merely restrictive.  If one restrictive procedure doesn't do the trick another restriction procedure isn't going to do the trick. :o/

I had mine Dec 23rd 2009. I already have 9.2 ccs (I have an 11cc band) and feel barely any restrictions. I have only thrown up once. I have only lost 6 lbs since surgery. My dr tells me one in 10 fail. I think I am the one in 10. I already want to revise. I totally relate to you!

Yeah I have had the lap band for about a little over 2 years and have only lost 29 lbs, I lost 14 lbs on my own b4 surgery. I'm glad insurance paid, I want a revision soon.

You are not alone - I have lost a whopping 4 lbs since my surgery date of 2/11/09.. and believe me, it has been an emotional hell for me. Hearing my DH tell me that he knew this would happen just makes me so angry.

I lost more weight pre-op than I have post-op! :( Disappointment.