I hate my band...

For those of you researching the idea of the lap band... search deep.   Alot of people say... "You can't feel the band", "It doesn't hurt", "It's like it's not even there", "You're just not hungry"...

In respect to the folks that this has worked for... I haven't given the band a really good shot... mostly because even though I've never found the "green zone"... and even with the slightest fill...I throw up.  I don't get full, but I do get stuck.  As soon as I vomit it all up... I can continue eating.  I'm one of those that just sucks at this whole band thing.  I don't like that I can't eat things that are healthy for me that I like (Grilled Ckn, Broccoli, Cauliflower etc)  Anything that's slightly dry or hard (raw broccoli) I don't even attempt.  I vomit at least once a day...and on bad days... it's everything I eat... however.. I have not lost a pound.   I have no will power, no self control...and I hardly ever feel "full".  I don't think my vega nerve or whatever it is called exists.  Even when I'm having a bad day being tight and sticking/vomiting all day... I'm still starving.  My stomach hurts. My port does this painful little trick where it flips over when I'm wiping... at least once a week... it hurts like the dickens.  My port area is sore 100% of the time and I hate paying the copay for fills ($100).  I won't be doing anything else... I have friends that have done the RNY and are suffering more than any human should.  If I need a revision... which I will know a little something today... I'm going to request it be removed.  This thing will not be the cause of any more of my pain.

 I am sorry to hear that.. I had Lap-Band back in March 09..I have only lost 65 pounds.. I had 2 fills/  4cc's at 6 weeks 4/09 and
.6cc in Aug. 2011. I haven't lost anywmore weight since.. I am happy with what I have lost. I am not getting anymore fills. Right now I get stuck pretty often (I think it is, that I am not chewing enough). but, then there are days I could eat forever.. I just take one day at a time. Right now I haven't had anything major go wrong.. I do read alot of others having so much trouble with the band. I too, may someday suffer the same problems.. I hope not but, we are all different. Like I said Right now I am fine just the way I am..I don;t want to lose anymore weight. I am at 200/210 down form 265 (depending on the day) I don;t need to be 140 like the doctors say or the weight charts suggest. I feel better and I have more energy then before my surgery.. There are days when I get so mad that I can't have a certain type of food or have a soda but, I signed up for this so I must deal with it right. I continune to watch what I eat and how much. I wish you the very Best in whatever you do.. I am sure you will get alot of flack for your posting. But, I am all for telling the Good, The Bad and The ugly about the band. It works well for others and some not so well. Take Care and Good Luck...Hugs.."Lucky"

It's a lifestyle change and a mindset. We are always going to want to eat more than we should. Its battling the head hunger thats the hardest part. Eating such small portions you think I'm not full and sometimes it's valid your not but sometimes you just want to eat because I know i was a huge snacker and I didn't need a reason to eat. I ate because I felt like it hunger aside.. that's the reality of it.. FOR ME ANYWAYS...

You can't depend on the band.. you can only depend on yourself. The band only helps restrict how much you eat but not what you eat so we have to make good choices constantly.. it's like being on a diet forever and if that wasn't realized then it's a hard truth. I say this for everyone.. we all have to watch what we eat.. yes I have days were I eat a pizza or a lettuce wrapped burger but it's not often when I'm serious about seeing the number on that scale go down. I only snack on fruit because I can't over eat in fruit there is not way I can consume to apples. Everyones band is different in tolerating things it takes trial and error .. sometimes you have to cook items and not just microwave them for them to be easier to eat.. I ate a lot of my foods with a sauce to help it go down esp. in the beginning. I would make meat sauce and eat it over some veggies.. stuff like that..

I am happy with my band very happy but I know the realities of having to put forward so much effort I lost 100 pounds pretty easily a little over a year and now I struggle for every pound and I'm very active .. I hit the gym at least three days a week and max of 5 days and I'm losing inches and I'm healthier but it takes effort. I never had surgery for vanity reason I had and have no desire to be a size 5 not that there is anything wrong with that but I have very realistic expectations of my lap band surgery.

I hope you find the revision surgery for you and yield better results.

Good Luck

Thanks for the positive post!   I am getting my lapband done on the 29th of september..  My best friend had her done two years ago and has lost round 100 lbs..  I feel I have gort a pretty realistic exectation of what is going to be like....  But some of these post are really scary me!

 

ugh do yourself a favor and revise to the VSG...dont think just do....

 

- former crapband user. 

Sooo  Im wondering if your having such a hard time because you aren't eating the right things.  Grilled chicke is SUPER hard to eat because it is so dry.  I eat chicken but i buy boneless skinless thighs.  One of my favorite ways to eat them is to boil them until their tender adn then finely shred the meat and then season it with taco seasoning.  Then I make chicken "tacos" with a lettuce leaf and a little cheese and tomatoes and sour cream.

Sometimes our ideas if eating healthy have to be adjusted with the band.  So yes grilled chicken is super healthy but there is no way in hell I am even going to try and eat that.  So maybe you just need to adjust how your trying to eat certain foods.  Instead of raw cauloflower try cauliflower mash.  Try and find adjustments.

 
First of all.............grilled chicken does not necessarily have to be dry. Second of all..........NO her band is not not working b/c she isn't eating the "right things"!

She has never reached the "green zone"/restriction/sweet spot! Now tell me how you get that she is having a hard time b/c she is not eating the "right things"?!

With the slightest fill she vomits. How the hell do you get that it's b/c she is not eating the "right things"?!?!?!

She's starving, her stomach hurts. And you think it's her fault b/c she is not eating the "right things"????????????????

Well statistically ..........your band will not work long term. I hope you get more sympathetic responses than to have someone tell you maybe your band failed b/c you didn't eat the "right things"!

Oh hon I know exactly what you are talking about! First of all you sound way too tight so I'd suggest either get a partial unfill or like myself I finally had to just get it emptied. Life with the band should not be painful or involve vomiting on a daily basis. Even those who are successful don't vomit daily. Secondly please do liquids for a couple of days and let your stomach calm down. Every time you vomit you irritate the band area and it causes some swelling so if you never let it calm down you will continue to irritate it. Now I was eating healthy food before banding and was told this would limit the amount altho I was only eating 1000 calories a day anyway. Now I can go back to the healthy foods since I'm empty.
Over time my band kept tightening even without a fill and I too have to pay for fills and unfills so that's when I decided to just get it emptied before it caused more serious permanent damage. I also never felt restriction, ever! My surgeon says 1/4 of the people never do get good restriction and in fact they are advising people to get the sleeve instead of the band because it is so unpredictable. You might want to check out the sleeve, VSG, forum as very many bandsters have revised to it and been very happy with it. It seems it is a completely different feeling and most are far more successful with it than the band.
Check out the failed lap band board, the revision board and the VSG board they are all full of info for us "failed" bandsters. Myself I'm just waiting till I can get a revision to the sleeve altho it'll be at least 5 yrs till I can even think about it. Good luck and know that you aren't the only one. Please don't continue with the too tight band because it can cause serious problems later down the road!

See if you can get a revision NOW before you are in serious trouble or have done serious damage. 

Hugs! So sorry your going through all this. The band does NOT work for most ppl long term. :-(

Have you joined  the failed band group on here, or the FB failed band group yet?