Unsuccessful Lap Band

But you can make it work!!!  You know what the problem is--now fix it!  The fact that you recognize your pitfalls says so much about you!

I've had the band since Oct and I've lost 42 lbs! I have to work on it every single day.  There are days when I literally have to FIGHT my temptations--and I admit, there are days when I give in (a little).  I hate to exercise, but now, I'm running 1.5 to 2 miles per day!  Not because I've grown to love exercise.  No.  Because I'm so psyched about losing weight!

YOU can do this!  Message me if you want my "eating" plan.  Give it two weeks.  See if it makes a difference.  If you can fill yourself up with lean protein and good fats, I bet you wouldn't be so hungry and giving into temptations. 

Let me know!

 
You are just plain mean.

This woman is already beating herself over the head, she's not blaming the band she's blaming herself and you are just giving her another bat to beat herself with.

Perhaps you are fine with the 40% stats, I'm not.  I wanted to (and did lose) 100% of my excess weight and I've been at goal for 4 years now.  When I was 5 months post op I was almost at goal having lost double what you have.

So when you go boasting about your great weight loss to a person struggling and in pain, just remember... you are nothing but mean.

When you have a good year or two under your belt there might be a bit more credibility.  But for now, just plain mean.  Back tracking does no good, an apology would have been more in order.

Hmmm---can you read?  Or are you so enraged with anger that you can't really comprehend what I wrote??

First,  I was condemning the surgeons and their staff for not  fully educating individuals on all the risks and failures (not just the successes) before they have surgery.  I'm convinced that is a huge problem.

Second, if you were really open minded, you would keep reading and would have seen that she and had another exchange, which was very encouraging, warm and friendly which.....

led to she and I communicating privately.  I shared with her what I eat and I tried to motivate her.  She was thankful and no one was insulted or hurt.

But of course, if you bothered to acknowledge my last two points, then that would defeat your purpose of making me look like an uncaring, mean, person.  And God knows, your goal is to try to make me look as bad as you can because I hurt your feelings in more a recent post. 

Its sad and pitiful that you felt the need to look at all my past posts to try to make me look like a "meanie".  Get your facts straight.  There is nothing that I have ever said that is mean or hateful.  I have never called anyone a liar or any type of name, and  I have never belittled anyone BUT YOU HAVE done all those things to me, in this post and on another post because you can't handle any opposing views.

It's grow up time.

 
You know, you are quite the topic of conversation on another board.  A link to what you posted was posted on another board with a "WOW, someone actually wrote this?" attitude.

Yes, I can read.  Of course I have quite a bit more education than you do so I wouldn't start down the path of insults.

You may have been condemning the doctors but the poster didn't feel that way.

I did see, and acknowledge, the back tracking.

I don't need to make you look bad, sometimes posting style does that for you.

You hurt my feelings?  For real?  I wasn't aware.  Next time let me know in advance so I can be fully hurt.

Grow up time?  Darl'en, let's chat in a year or two after you have some actual experience with that band.  You best posting style is insulting people, nothing in the world to do with facts, just one insult after another.  It's really not working for you.  Let go of the hostility and enjoy life!  Life is good!

I am so sorry you are going through this. I too, am a carb addict though I was also a volume eater, too. Many days I only ate carbs and the really bad ones at that. While the band doesn't specifically help with this it was my only option at the time. I determined to make it work no matter what. Complete absitance from them was my choice in order to lose my weight and continue maintaining that loss. Have I done it perfectly? Not a bit! I learned that I did not have to become perfect and in doing so I freed myself from thinking that if I had one of something I might as well have more or that I was a failure if I strayed a little bit. I learned to tighten up again and move on. That freedom gave me the biggest boost of anything. I also had to learn to forgive myself.

Given those things that I learned you may think I rarely battle my carb addiction any more. Ha! From Thanksgiving until the end of Feb. I ate everything in sight, except candy bars. I would have a few good days then my resolve would fail. I gained 20 pounds over my goal weight. When I finally decided to work my program again I had to do the carb withdrawal again but have been doing very well and am down 5 pounds.

You might consider a counselor familiar with eating disorders. Many have found that to be very helpful.

In all honesty, no wls can fix white carbs. Eventually you will have to make the choices in order to succeed. I have friends who had gastric bypass complete with dumping syndrome but when their bodies figured out how to beat that system they had to really change or gain it all back. This most often happens at about 2-3 years out. Some friends have learned to make the hard choices, others are back where they began and are very ashamed of themselves. They find it much much harder to lose this time around. To me that would be heartbreaking. Each wls eventually allows you to eat around it, it time. Even DS though that is harder. Deal now with the things that cause your binges and you might find yourself losing some more weight, or be ready to revise. Just don't rush into it. Good luck.

Carb addict here too. Learning to eat complex carbs. Veggies fruits etc. but trying to see which ones affect me the most. Cannot eat rice well with band and makes my sugar jump high. Potatoes are easy. Working at getting off simple carbs. I have to chew meats very very well and be super patient. Someone told me to try to eat them first and that is what I am doing. It really does seem to depend on the cooking method and protein. In the past I've had band too tight I just couldn't eat it and now it seems tight enough to help but I can eat around the band if I get sloppy. Im one month from my fill and down 8 bait holding steady. Been ill and working on upping the exercise. It does take a lot of work and that is what I did not realize when I got the band. How much work it takes. It is worth it and I continue to take baby steps one at a time.
Hang in there. It's worth the work but takes lots of figuring out your tolerances.
Good luck!

Thanks to all who have expressed support and suggestions. I know I have a "sweets" issue/addiction which I assume everyone is referring to as carb addiction.I have Gluten intolerance which actually is a good thing as far as cakes, cookies, breads, all of which are not always readily available unless I go out and buy Gluten Free. Frozen yogurt, Low Fat Ice-cream dark chocolate are part of my weaknesses. Calories and fat add up even in low fat icecream/yogurts etc's. Being hypothyroid also has made things more difficult, but certainly is no exuse. It just means I need to speed up my metabolism, which is helped with daily physical activity. I was fully compliant initially and completely on board.When everyone seemed to be losing 20+ a 4 months post op, I was down only 12. The most I lost was 15. Over the last couple years I have tried different amounts of fills. I have a 10cc band and the most I can tolerate (and it's pushing it) is 6cc. More than that, I cannot keep any protein down. I still have trouble with solid proteins-chicken, beef even fish. I can eat about 2 ounces so I get very hungry soon after which leads to the snacking. Anyway,as I never acheived any significant weight loss post surg it has been a very difficult road. I think if I intially had some significant results, it may of been easier to forge through. Initially post op I was walking 5 days a week 45 minutes a day and out of being discouraged, I gave that up and then gained 5 pounds. I am not looking for a magic quick fix, however, as I initially posted, I was looking for a jump start. Years ago right after I finished college I decided to go to "diet Center" which requiered daily weigh ins there was virtually no sugar, no diet sodas, only chicken fish and salads. There was even no dairy!I literally had to detox from sugar and felt ill for about a week to 10 days, but then felt great. Yes I was much younger, but once I saw the weight falling off I got more and more motivated.I lost 68 pounds and kept it off for 10.5 years. My big downfall was having a COOKIE which woke up the sleeping demons and pretty soon after 10.5 years my weight came back on to eventually over the years 50 more. I have been reading that bypass tends to initially provide better results, but in the end the stats are the same with gaining weight back. Even my surgeon said I would have definitely lost weight with bypass, but everyone obviously has to still work very hard to maintain. Im just saying that if I were able to experience an initial result it MAY have made my journey different. Anyway, I got back on the Nordic Track Tuesday night and tonight (22 minutes) which is step one. I have an appointment with my surgeon and nutritionist next Tuesday, and I plan to have a serious discussion about my status and see what they have to say. Again, thank you to everyone for taking the time to respond, as the support truly helps as well as to hear others successes as well as struggles!I hope you all continue to do so as it's much appreciated!!

So I thought I would give an update on my follow up with my surgeon and nutritionist in reference to band revision discussion. I first saw the NP who was actually very supportive and pretty much brought up the gastric sleeve revison as a possible option- She was quite upbeat and optimistic and I started to feel some hope. I then met with my nutritionist who has been incredibly supportive in my struggles with the band. She too thought this could be a step in the right direction and said that so far her revision from band to sleeve (or to bypass patients) have done really well. The NP and nutritionist work for my surgeon as well as 5 other bariatric surgeons in the group. So then I met with my surgeon, who seemed to be the only one that was not too optimistic. She seemed to think the longterm results may not be that great as far as continued weight loss. She said there is a window at the beginning of gastric sleeve post op to lose the weight, and if unable to achieve this, the stomach does stretch over time, which then there is no restriction and ultimate failure (weight gain). She said the bypass MAY be more effective, but there are issues with dumping syndrome (which the sleeve does not have).She said she knew that I have been 100% compliant as far as coming into the clinic trying adjustments, etc. She did not say no, but she put a huge damper on the whole concept. It was weird because everyone on her team seemed to be very supportive of me having this px. My nutritionist especially, who knows I am very honest as far as my eating patterns, etc. My surgeon did say she became "a bit soured" about the sleeve after seeing one of her patients (almost 200 lbs heavier than me) not lose much at her first post op. So that was a bit weird. After I left I just cried all the way home, simply out of frustration and disappointment. I am not looking for a quick fix, and know it takes work, but I have no motivation left. I should add I am not dying to have surgery, I am looking for a better tool to help me. Perhaps, I need to accept what Im dealt with and just continue to try and diet??

 
You know what?  WLS is like a pair of really cool shoes.  You can look at them, admire them, think how great they would look on but it isn't until you put them on and wear them for a few miles that you find out if they are really a good fit.  The blisters that form, the bruises... sure didn't look like that was going to happen.

WLS is a lot like that.  It's really hard to tell which one is going to work for you until you try it out.  I'm a grazer but I made the band work for as long as I could.  I just changed what I grazed on.  I didn't get it removed because of my grazing, I got it removed because it wasn't a right fit for me.  Just like those shoes give us blisters, the band did that to me.

Check into other surgery options.  You already know restriction alone isn't a good fit for you.  So what about DS?  It's radical, I'll grant you.  But it works.  I'm not a fan of RNY, too high of a regain, too many potential complications to make the risk worth the benefit.  But DS... grazing is not only okay, it's encouraged.

Just something to consider.