still not losing after 4 fills

I have more than 9cc in my band.  I would never have imagined that it would take that much to get me to good restriction, but it did.  I don't get a signal to stop eating, just a full feeling.  When ur band is tight enough it will help you feel full.

Take care,
Rachel

Rachel,

I really would like to talk with you because I am having the same problems you was having. I am soooooooooooo frustated right now I don't know what to do.
Talk with the doctor and they think I am crazy but it has been 17 months since I had my surgery and I have only lost 4 pounds. yes, before surgery I lost 25 but since then nothing. I have been up and down the scale and to the doctor for fills and paying all of this money for what?
On top of all of that I have Acid Reflux so bad that I hate to sleep at night...

Please help me.............

Make sure you are not eating any processed foods.  If you are, you will have a difficult time losing.  Are you following all the rules?  Are you getting full after eating 1/2 cup of food?  Are you drinking soda or sugary drinks? 
I had problems before I started eating healthy.  Now, if my band is tight enough, I lose weight  because I'm eating healthy foods that don't slide thru the band like processed foods do.

I'd love to help you.  Please, tell me about yourself..

Congratulations on your perseverence!  If I get stuck along the way, I'll come back and re-read this entire  thread as inspiration and keep trying. Thanks for sharing. :)

That was my hope for reposting this...to inspire someone who might be in the same place I was when I first posted over a year ago. 


 

 Great thread!  I am SO bookmarking this!!!

I've had 6 fills and an unfill.  I had 8.5 cc in my 10cc band and that was too much.  My attending overshot my green zone (apparently mine is teeny tiny) and I couldn't keep anything down.  So I saw her in the ER on the 8th and had 2 cc removed.  So I'm back to 6.5 cc.  Sigh.

This thread is great for those of us who are frustrated.  Totally gives me hope that this pesky thing will kick in and help at some point.

I've changed a lot . . . no more fast food, very rarely eat pasta or bread . . . no diet sodas . . . fewer processed foods.  But there's still a long way to go.

Until the band decides to start working (I'm at 7.5 months now, post op), I'm just going to try to remind myself that it's 20% band doing it's job (when it does) and 80% ME.  

Thanks for sharing!
Denise

I don't know if anyone responds to this thread anymore, but I just wanted to thank Rachel for sharing their story with us because I cannot describe how let down I feel with my band right now. I have 7.5cc's in my band out of 10cc's and I am still not getting the proper restriction. Weight loss is very slow, and I will be lucky if I can lose 20lbs within the next 6-7 months if I keep continuing at this rate. I just wanted to say that you have made me feel so much better about my band journey knowing that it took you over 9cc's to reach the restriction level that you had been waiting for. It gives me that much hope, and patience that I need.
I do have one question, if you are still around on the threads...how is your restriction level now? and how has it held up?

Thanks,
Melissa

Hey Melissa,

It is NOT just you!  I've had 7 fills (plus one unfill) and I'm not quite there yet.  I understand completely how frustrating it is.  My clinic is not as supportive as I'd like.  They keep referring to their Protocol, which seems to change as the wind blows.

Like their protocol says fills every 4 to 6 weeks (I only had 2 fills 4 weeks apart, the rest have been 6) and then they started saying the farther out you get from surgery the farther apart the fills should be. ???  Seriously?  Even if the band is not working?  

So I'm ravenously hungry (as in stomach growling hungry) at least 2 times a day because my band is not helping like it should and then I am so starving that I over eat.  Or snack.  If they think that 3 meals at 4-6 oz and no snacks will subsist me, they are insane!

I haven't lost any weight in about 5 months.  I've gotten so tired and frustrated from being chronically hungry (my stomach rarely growled like this prior to surgery) that I have no energy or drive to exercise.  I just scrape myself out of bed, go to work, come home and go to bed.

I think I'm within a cc of being at ideal restriction, but we won't know until February.  Now they're scheduling me 8 weeks apart.  UGH.  I'm seriously considering switching to a different practice where the staff has some compassion.  That'd be nice.  Now I just get, "Sorry, The Protocol says..."

Most people are lucky and things go pretty smoothly.  Then there are those of us who take forever to get to that elusive green zone and are floundering.  Hell, if I could diet and get to where I needed, I wouldn't have had surgery.  

Here's to hoping these things start functioning soon!

Good luck and feel free to PM me any time you need someone to vent with! 
Denise

Sadly I have to admit how happy I am to know that other people like me are out there! lol It sounds so bad to say, but I really felt so alone and out of the loop. I wish I can eat a cup of oatmeal with half of a hard boiled egg for breakfast. Instead I can eat 3 egg whites, 2 strips of bacon, whole wheat weigh****chers toast and maybe some potatoes to go with it...and feel just right after i eat it, not full and I could probably take a few more bites but I stop myself. They are spacing my fills further apart as well..now i have to wait 6 weeks because I am on the verge of getting too tight...not in my case! lol My next fill is mid January and I hope I can get in sooner...they may not let me though. Ugh. My weight loss has been at a 2-3 pound gap for about 3-4 months now...I have been stuck in the 190's for a very long time let's just say that. Thanks for the reply!