Lap Band Gain - So bummed

I had lap band surgery about 2 years ago. I plateaued at 30 pounds lost.  That is it. I can't seem to lose more.  I am at 6 cc in a 10 cc band. (any more gave me horrible heartburn)  The worst part:  I feel I am eating more. 
  If I have stretched my pouch, how do I get it back to "normal" and restricted?
  If I haven't stretched my pouch, I am so lost and confused. Why am I not losing any more? Over the holidays, I actually GAINED.  I feel like I am not losing to go back to my starting "plateau" weight.

Has anyone had this problem? How do you pick yourself up and go on, without feeling like a huge disappointment?  

This seems to happen to a lot of people around the 2 year mark, I'm so sorry to say.  It's a tough one... you don't want your band to be too tight, like you said. 

 
Does your doctor know about your issues right now? Did you have a fluoroscopy X ray to determine whether your band is positioned properly still? The only other thing I can suggest is to amp up working out and see if it boosts you over the plateau. But, I know, easier said than done.  My band never worked properly. I couldn't eat solid foods at all, no matter what. I've since had the band removed and regained all the weight I lost. My metabolism is so screwed up that I could workout all day and still not lose weight, I think.

I feel for you! I've seen lots of people at about the 2 year mark complain of the same problem. I hope you can get it resolved.

Take care,
Nicci

You may want to post on the Lap Band forum (if you haven't already) and hopefully you will get more responses that may help you.

Good luck

 I feel bad for you.  I'm sorry that you haven't  had more success.  I really don't think it's you, I think it's the band.  I had the band for only two months before it was removed in an emergency.  I felt hungry already in that 2 month period.  I would get full quickly then feel very empty quikly, even though I followed the rules.  I ended up with the sleeve & it turned out to be an amazing improvement for me.  I love it.  I feel full & satisfied for much longer than I did with the band.  Especially when eat the right kind of food like dense protein.  Nothing gets stuck.  I still have to make good food choices, but I truly believe the sleeve is a much better tool.  You might want to consider a revision to the sleeve.  I am down to 247lbs. today.  I started at 327 before my pre-op diet & I was 312 lbs, the day of surgery. I have lost 80 lbs. in 5 months.  Good luck to you!

Probably time to see your bariatric surgeon to see if you should get a fill/unfill.  Since you mentioned stretching your pouch, you probably need a fill to keep you from being hungry between meals.  You don't mention any complications, such as GERD, PBs, etc, so more than likely your band is fine and will work, once it is filled appropriately. 
Unfortunately, many doctors and their staff do not educate patients enough about the requirements of a band post-op...lots of follow up and adjustments are necessary from time to time to achieve consistent weight loss...
Go to the lap band forum and repost, I know you will find a lot of support there....
Steph

I'm actually in almost the same boat as you.  I was banded in May 08 (almost 3 years now) and I lost 50 pounds in the first year without trying too hard.  After that, the scale never moved.  Recently, I gained back 25 pounds...HALF of what I lost and I wasn't even down to anywhere near my goal weight to begin with.  

I'm now at 216lbs and very unhappy.  The lapband just doesn't seem to work, at least not for me.  I feel like I'm on a diet and, like before WLS, diets didn't work for me either.  Unfortunately, my doctor refuses to perform a revision on me because my BMI is not high enough anymore and I'm not "sick" enough (no diabetes, sleep apnea, etc). 

I, too, feel like a huge disappointment.  I'm very sad, very frustrated, and not really sure what to do.  My wedding is in 6 months and I was so hopeful that I could lose at least the 25lbs that I gained back but I don't really see how.  All I can say to you is, try talking to your doctor and maybe see if you can do a revision or what else you can do to try and lose weight.    It's honestly not you or a stretched pouch, it's the band.

I wish you the best of luck and I hope we both find a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

Edit: I don't want to sound like I'm ungrateful for where I'm at.  I realize I'm not hugely overweight but it'd be nice if I could stop gaining and start losing again!

 Hi, first I must say that my failures are my own.  I haven't given up in myself, weightloss surgery or my band.  Had cir****tances been different, no longer insured, my comments would be different and not on this board.  However I have gained some of my weight back but I have also stopped exercising like in the past and eat more.  Looking for a happy medium and some balance.  Most do this once they reach goal I am trying to do it now.  Working toward getting to goal by November but I'm just going to have to shell out the money to make sure my band is doing what it's supposed to do by getting a upper GI, fluoro or something.  Then go from there.  I know I need to work harder and get my body going.  I'm disappointed but determined.  I post daily and try not to lie to myself.  Wishing you well Scooby and the rest of us too,
Z