four years later and i'm still a fatty :/

it's been a looong time since i've been here but i found my way back. in 2008 when i finally officially started dating my husband, i lost my best friend. she hated him, and she immediately replaced me. i cut off all ties with her, because i did not want someone in my life who couldn't be happy for me or who could replace me so easily. well, i was jealous of her too, she was going to have lap band surgery. luckily for me, about a year later i had surgery too. the difference between us now is huge, in that she looks like a saggy bag of bones and well, i'm still 300 pounds. i had an old mutual friend tell me once that she couldn't keep anything down, which of course means her band is too tight. i vowed not to do that to myself, i didn't want to suffer that misery just to be happy with my appearance. today, i've been thinking about her. part of me wanted to get in touch with her just to ask how many ccs she has in her band, and how much her band could hold. but i refuse, she is in my past for a good reason.

my pre-surgery weight maxed out at 364, and i actually had to lose weight to get the band. so i went in at 344 the day of surgery. i managed in two years to drop 100 pounds before i got pregnant with my daughter. i was a size 16, the smallest size i have *ever* been (inluding when i was a kid, was a size 20 by the age of 13) and i was starting to be happy with the way things were going. i didn't have my band unfilled, because my doctor didn't want me to gain too much. well, i still gained 40 pounds and it was as if my band no longer existed while i was pregnant.

here i am, my daughter is now going on 11 months and the little weight i dropped while nursing piled back on quickly. my band mostly only is tight in the mornings or if i go long periods without drinking any water (which is almost never, given i drink a lot of water) and that's it. i am i believe half full, although in my case it feels half empty.

my question is, do you think i just need more of a fill to get back to losing? i work out every day and over the past few weeks of working out and counting calories ****ep it around 1600 a day) i have only lost 5 pounds. i feel like such a huge fat failure and it's so depressing. i had surgery so i could finally be where i want to be health wise and i feel as though i am really no better off, just a lap band failure

Many new Moms have come here to say their bands don't work after pregnancy.  I would go back to your surgeon and find out were you're at.  I would ask to have a scope rather than Upper GI to see what is going on inside.  This can tell if you have a slip, erosion or esophagus problems.  If that looks good they can remove the fluid to see what is left in it and go from there.

going back isn't really an option for me my surgeon is located in tijuana and i simply cannot afford to go back. i see a doctor in corpus christi (about an hour and a half away) who has reasonable fees to see him but i dk if there would be anything he could do if i need something fixed. i have no insurance (work part time at a tiny credit union) so i'd have to pay out of pocket. my grandfather financed my original surgery, and i doubt he could help me out again given he won't even help me with my tuition at community college. i do want to see my doctor in corpus tho, he could maybe check. sometimes things do feel off in my stomach but it's not all the time.

You probably should get in to at least discuss a fill with a doctor.

As for your exercise regimen, you are like me: I've been working out 4 or 5 times a week, about 75 minutes a time with a mix of cardio and weights, and have only lost a couple of pounds in 6 months. But I DO know that I feel a lot stronger and some of my clothes are fitting better, so I know that there has been fat loss and muscle gain.

 

Well, here is truth.

In 2006 the US long term stats finally started rolling in.  In the world of wls 5 years is considered long term.  Then it takes another 2 years for the numbers to be counted, calculated, peer reviewed, and published.  Those stats came out in 6/08.  The numbers were not good.  It's always been known that for higher BMIs the band is not a good option.  Today we know it really isn't a good option for anyone.  Bands are a short term, poorly effective method for weight loss.  Many doctors won't even place them anymore, many hospitals won't place them anymore, heck... entire countries don't place them anymore.

When someone is a higher BMI they typically have metabolic problems that the band just isn't going to fix.  You need the hormonal chain reaction in the gut altered and that isn't done with a restrictive only surgery.  That is done with bypass or better yet, DS.  Bypass gives you about 6-18 months to lose all your weight and overhaul your eating habits before the metabolic issues kick in again.  DS gives you a lifetime of malabsorption unlike bypass and the metabolic fix doesn't just end as it does with bypass.

Most people can expect to lose about 50% of their excess weight.  The higher the BMI the less excess weight you can expect to lose.  Let's be generous and say you can expect to lose 40% of your excess weight.  I have no idea how tall you are so I am going to guess your ideal weight is 150.  That means you have about 214# total pounds to lose.  Figuring in 40% of your excess weight can be lost (on average) with a band that would leave you at losing about 85# and you are done.  Still morbidly obese. Again, these numbers have been known for over 5 years now.  Any Google search will show you this but you can't look at band mill websites.  You have to actually look at the science- peer reviewed journal articles.  Don't read what you want to see, read it ALL.

One of two things are at issue here.  It takes a LOT of calories to carry around an excess of 200#.  Either you are eating more than 1600 calories a day or you have metabolic issues and are metabolically challenged.  I suspect it is a combination of both.  Assuming you are an average type person as far as how tall you are 5/5, you would be a BMI of 60.6.  For the AVERAGE person with no metabolic issues just to maintain your BMI your BMR would suggest you have to consume around 2400 calories JUST to maintain your weight.  Not losing and not gaining, zero exercise.  

http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/

There is a heck of a difference between 1600 and 2400 calories a day.  Yet at your BMI I would expect to see metabolic issues.  Thus, my thoughts that it is a combination of more than 1600 calories a day and metabolic issues.

So you can keep your band and keep playing the band game or you can get the surgery type that you really needed in the beginning.  Honestly, I don't know why surgeons band higher BMI people.  99x out of 100 it is setting them up for failure.  My surgeon does the same darn thing.

My suggestion... ditch the band, get a surgery type that is right for you http://DSFacts.com, and ditch the white carbs.  Cut every single one of them out of your diet.  No flour, sugar, rice, pasta, or potatoes.  Lose weight and get your life back.

It does not matter what anyone else has in their band.  They could have 1cc and be obstructed yet you could have 10cc and have zero restriction.  It is not a one size fits all.  Everyone is unique and the number of cc's ANY other person has in their band means absolutely nothing about what YOU need in YOUR band.

I feel you on this. I had mine done in NC and moved to arizona. The dr i talked to out here three years ago tried to talk me into a sleeve. I said no. If your band is too loose which it sounds like it is find a dr who will work with you. In az they generally wont touch patients who had the surgery done in mexico. So be mindful if you here that they wont see you. Go in get checked. The band is merely a tool not a miracle surgery. Believe me when I say that the other surgeries fail just as often.  We all go back to our bad habits and comfort foods. Go in see a dr and recalibrate yourself and why you got this surgery to begin with. This is a whole lot less expensive than converting to a different procedure and starting all over again. You need to have the resolve to work with your band. You can do it. 

 

Not true.  I am from Arizona and Arizona is one of the best states to have aftercare if you did not have your band done by that surgeon.

Orris/DeBarros in Tempe

Berger in Flag (I think that is where he is, I forget)  It is either $100 or $200 but... he does fills under fluoro

There is a Nurse Midwife that is banded and she goes to Mesa monthly to do fills/unfill ($100) or if you can't wait you  can to go her office in Heber, AZ anytime of the month. it will take me time to remember her name, you can PM me if you need it and I'll find it.

For emergency care Juarez and Fang in Phoenix but not routine aftercare.  Just emergencies.

Dr. Arellano in Mexicali, MX for maintenance or emergencies and he is 55 miles west of Yuma, AZ towards San Diego.  Three hours from Phoenix.  I don't recall the fees but it's not more than $200 for fills under fluoro.  Probably less.

Who in the world did you surgery without making sure you had aftercare first?  They should be helping you find aftercare if you move.

Statistically speaking other surgeries do not fail as often, not even close.  50% of banded folks have to have their band removed in the first 2-6 years.  How many bypass do you see needing to be taken down the way the band is taken out?  It's rare.  Bands have the worst wl stats of all surgery types and before you even go there, I don't make the rules, I don't create the stats.  I just report them.