I have failed my band - SUPPORT GROUP

[Tabithan 19]

Thank you!

I have a fitday account too. It's been so long since I logged in that they have made a lot of changes to it. LOL

Better get going on this webkat!!! :bored: Did you record what you ate today???

Working out every day to me is the goal of getting on the treadmill for 5 minutes (to start). I have pain before I ever get on it. So, it's a real struggle just to talk myself into doing that much. The most important thing I want to accomplish is to create the habit. I was at work for 10 hours today, plus a commute, but I WILL go down and get on the treadmill as soon as I'm done with this post.

I think this is a GREAT GOAL - Soooo - Did you make it on the treadmill yesterday and today??? Spill the Beans, webkat!!!!!!!

I thought I was doing good on my food today but when I logged my foods I found out some horrible news. The very delicious 20 oz butter rum eggnog latte that was packed with 24 grams of Protein was also packed with a whopping 849 calories and 47 grams of fat!!!! Holy crap!!! I had no idea it was that bad. That's why journaling every bite is so good for me. I won't do that again.

oooh No - I truly just cracked up over this. 849 calories?? in that lil drink???? it is amazing how they load up on calories to make "food" taste good. I'm a little afraid of eating out nowadays because it can ruin my WHOLE day - in fact it has in the past - just last week - but it all turns around as "OK" if you get back on track right away. Did you record the latte on fitday?? LOL -

I had a trainer once who told me that it takes 2 days for "fat" to stick on you - that is, two days of bad eating - that if you have a good week and one bad day and back to good eating for another week, it should fall off right away - I wonder if he was right!!!

I'm right there with you. 1 cup uncooked rice was 2 meals tops for me. Now if I eat rice I get too stuffed and can't eat much my meat. When I eat the right foods, with no liquids, small portions can last for a long time. Even liquids last longer than they used to. Yeah for the band!:eek:

I'm so glad you are here - we can do it webkat!!! Your motivations seem to be in the right place!!!!!!!!!

[Tabithan 19]

Hi Everyone!!!

I worked out today as well - Went for spin class this AM - wooohooooooooo - I didnt work out as hard as I could, but at least I went. Now I want to go for Tae Kwondo tomorrow. I'm loving the variety.

OKAY - I just OVERATE and FEEL LIKE I WANT TO BURST plus I feel so GUILTY!!!!!!!! My friend and I went for lunch at chilis and I ordered the salmon guiltless drillm - only 480 calories and quite tasty - I also had some Soup. I ate about a quarter of my meal at lunch then came home and ate the rest, a few minutes ago. I REALLY overdid it. What is worng with me sometimes?? where is the self control???

How was your day today, fellow strugglers? what are your WEEKEND GOALS?

I have to go for a "birthday dinner" on Saturday. IN preparation for the calories, I will work out on Saturday AM and really try to eat limited calories throughout the day - veggies that take a LOT of SPACE but are low in calories, to leave me with AMPLE room. What is your strategy when you know you will have to eat POORLY on a certain day? I failed miserably at eating our last Thursday and Friday, and I really do not want to REPEAT!!!!!!!!!1

[Tabithan 19]

Hi SKHOP,

Welcome to our GROUP. I am so glad you joined us and I truly believe that if you committ to this, you can make it work.

SKHOPP - I will give you some TOUGH LOVE, and I hope you are okay with it. I received some tough love as well, before I recommitted to the band, so I am passing on the favor!!! :eek:

Your story reads EXACTLY like mine. I had surgery, and had one post op visit with my surgeon, then literally never saw him again. My fills were always done by the nurses. To be fair, I think they were very competent.

I went in for numerous fills, and never had restriction. In fact, prior to my port readjustment a few weeks ago, I was filled at CAPACITY - 100% filled - yet, I could eat meals just as big as my friends - occassionally I felt the pressure, sometimes I didnt.

Just like you, I went in for a barrium swallow and some xrays to ensure I didnt have a fill. Through this entire time, I thought my band had slipped or this damn band was not working. Or maybe, the pouch had expanded.

REALITY TIME:

a) You may have just confessed to us (unwittingly) that after you broke dr's orders. got your fill today, then ATE solid food, hence you knew you had no restrictions. It sounds like may not have followed the doctors orders - SAME THING I ALWAYS DID - since the docts recommend a liquid diet for a short period, maybe a day or two, after getting filled.

:bored: It sounds like you may be eating around the band. Have you considered tracking your calories? It is amazing what you can find out with this - perhaps you are eating 3000 calories a day - very easily done, even with the band. Just takes poor food choices.

c) Based on the quantities you can consume, is it possible that your pouch has stretched??? I think there may be a chance and you may want to explore this with your surgeon. If your pouch has stretched, or if you continue overeating and putting pressure on your band on a regular basis, your band could SLIP and you could lose your tool. This is a bitter pill I had to swallow. If your band is stretched, the solution MIGHT BE getting a complete unfil, going on liquids, then mushies, then solids in SMALL QUANTITIES to get your pouch to deflate. I think you may want to consider this and discuss with your surgeon. I have heard of quite a few people that have had to remove the fill from their band for a few weeks, then get a small fill, to get back on track.

Prior to my band readjustment about 3 weeks ago, I had NO restriction, despite being filled. After my readjustment, the dr removed ALL the fill, and only put in .25cc. I also had to go on PURE LIQUIDS for 3 days, then MUSHIES before solids. By the time I got back on solids, I had the all ELUSIVE RESTRICTION. I am amazed that our story sounds SO SIMILAR.

It doesnt sound as if you have a leak, because you did not mention that the quantity of saline decreased from fill to fill - so that is the good news.

QUESTIONS FOR YOU:

a) Are you really ready to recommitt to your band? to use it as a tool?

:drool: If you are, what will you do differently? Are you willing to try drastic steps such as an unfil for a few weeks if your dr is okay with it?

c) Are you willing to follow band rules which includes measuring ALL your foods (to control quantity) and eating for 20 minutes?? its interesting but the feeling of satiety for me does not come until about 20-30 minutes after a meal - that is when I feel either satisfied or OVER STUFFED - you may want to try this strategy.

d) What are your goals, to help you accomplish this?

These are just my NON-MEDICAL thoughts and speculations - in the end, I think the discussion with your doctor will help you get the RIGHT answers!!! :w00t:

I feel your pain because just 3 or so weeks ago, I WAS IN YOUR EXACT SHOES - I didnt even have to chew food thoroughly and it would go down - Now, I have restriction, and I am losing weight - which tells me that YOU TOO, can do it.

We support you SKHOPP - thanks for joining us and PLEASE, keep venting and more importantly, keep taking action steps to move you in the right direction, in bandland.

Edited December 11, 2008 by Tabithan

[webkat 0]

Hi, skhopp!

I'm glad you got a new Dr. You should have a Dr you can trust and feel good about. It's always best when you take control of your own health care and not just settle.

Personally, I highly recommend getting a fill under fluoroscope with the special lap band needle. (I have a post on my blog with a picture: Watch Me Shrink )

It does seem odd that you have no restriction, especially if the put 4.25cc in your 4cc band. I would hate to speculate as to what problems you may have, but I think it's a pretty good guess that something is wrong.

Something you can do on your own, while you are getting Dr stuff straightened out, is the 5 day pouch test: Surgical Weight Loss 5 Day Pouch Test

Please keep us posted. Wishing you the best.

Kathy

[webkat 0]

How was your day today, fellow strugglers? what are your WEEKEND GOALS?

What is your strategy when you know you will have to eat POORLY on a certain day?

Good job on the work out!

I had a good day. I did my exercise last night as promised and will do it again tonight as soon as I get off here. I feel pretty good about that. I tracked all my calories yesterday and today at fitday.com. I posted here. All three daily goals done.

Something that has helped me in the past with eating out and events is to plan ahead what I will have. A lot of restaurants have their menus online which makes it super easy to plan ahead.

Heading for my exercise. See you tomorrow.

Kathy

[skhopp 0]

Tabithan - thanks for your opinion. I agree, I have NOT allowed my band to work to its full extent. In the back of my mind, I've always expected the band to be that perfect miracle for weight loss that I long for - even though I was told time and time again, that it is only a tool.

What is this "port readjustment" that you speak of?

I am ready to commit to my band, to use it as a tool. And, the first thing I'm going to do is stop drinking carbonation (yes, I do this too, even though I'm not supposed to) - I know that it can stretch the pouch, and allow the band to slip - and that may be what has already happened. I am sooo scared - I hope that I haven't screwed up the surgery by not listening to doctor's orders. I need to drink more Water, eat more healthy foods, and exercise (I don't do that either). I really have never followed the lap band rules since surgery - I've always made my own rules - and thus have not had any successess. I am really down on myself right now - but I needed to hear those things from you. I am okay with being told the bitter facts, because I know that I am not doing what I should be doing, and doing what I shouldn't be doing. I am writing this on the verge of tears because I went thru so much (just as all of us have) to get the insurance approval and then the surgery itself, only to hang onto old habits.

Could you tell me what the 5 day pouch test is?

I have written down what I consume, and tracked calories -- for a day or two. And then I stop doing it! Why???? I don't know why.

And, yes, I am willing to take drastic measures - such as an unfill, or whatever the doctor suggests.

I just hope that whatever the problem is - it can be fixed without any other surgery.

I just don't understand how I can go from moderate restriction to NONE with a fill? Makes no sense. But, I am really questioning seeing this new doctor, as opposed to the nurses that are trained to do these fills. And, another thing, I was surprised the new doctor didn't have me try to drink Water before leaving the office to make sure I wasn't going to have any problems! My surgeons office ALWAYS did that, even with a .25 cc fill.

I think I made a huge mistake by trying to save myself a lot of travel time.

Thanks for your time! Steph

[annjones 3]

This is an awesome thread! We learn from our failures and obstacles. I'm not banded yet but every bit of information, both good and bad, helps me to prepare.

Thank you for your posts and stories.

Good luck to everyone

[Tabithan 19]

This is an awesome thread! We learn from our failures and obstacles. I'm not banded yet but every bit of information, both good and bad, helps me to prepare.

Thank you for your posts and stories.

Good luck to everyone

Hi AnnJones - Yes, PLEASE PLEASE, learn from our mistakes!!!!!!!!!!!! I wish I had someone else's mistakes to learn from when beginning my lapband journey. It's interesting but when I look at my VERY FIRST thread at LBT, it was during my month of surgery - march last year and it was titled "breaking the dr's orders." In that thread, I talked about the fact that I wasnt following the dr's orders about liquids and had moved on to solid foods. Someone cautioned me on the thread that if I didnt get back on track right away, I was setting myself up for failure. How PROPHETIC THEY WERE!!!

Congratulations on your journey towards getting banded - my advice - please follow ALL the dr's orders however tough they seem, excercise, and find a way to transfer your addiction away from you.

GOOD LUCK!!!!!!!!!!

[bayougirl 1]

Hello everyone,

I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one that is in this position. I just knew that when I got this surgery that I would be a "Results not Typical" person! Little did I know! I had surgery on Dec 26, 2007 and to date, I've lost 54 pounds. Very disappointing to say the least. I've had more trouble with the fills and have had to have ALL the saline removed and start back over on more than one occasion. The week of Thanksgiving I suddenly could not keep food or drink (not even water!) down at all and was throwing up anything I tried to drink. I went to my surgery center and found out that my band had slipped.

I admit that I have eaten some things over the past year that I shouldn't have, but for the most part, I have eating habits DRASTICALLY different than I used to which is why I'm disappointed that I haven't lost more weight. I decided to join you guys in hopes that we can support and encourage each other because we didn't pay all this money to not be successful.

I am going to start making small goals for myself and take the advice of measuring out my food and start exercising more so hopefully I can get on track!

[crzytchr 3]

bayougirl, what did they do about your slipped band?

[bayougirl 1]

They removed all of my saline and put me on a liquid diet for a week (which was miserable because I was on vacation in NYC during this time!) and then now I'm on a soft food diet until this coming Monday. At that point they will see if the band repositioned itself or not. I can't afford another surger to correct it so I'm praying that it will correct itself and if it has then they will slowly start filling it again.

I've not understood a lot of what has happened. I got a fill and then 3 1/2 week later was when I couldn't eat or drink the week of Thanksgiving. I hadn't done or eaten anything different from my normal routine and they can't tell me what would cause me to start getting sick and not being able to keep anything down. I've been a little aggravated at the knowledge (or lack of) at the place where I get my fill.

I'm trying to stay positive though!

[skhopp 0]

Well, I have spoken with a nurse at my surgeon's office. She believes that the doctor on Monday, that gave me the large fill, has "blown" my band. I have chosen to go back and see one of my surgeon's partners on Wednesday, Dec. 17th. Nurse says he will evaluate me and determine what testing needs to be done, and if, in fact, the band has been "blown", it'll need to be replaced. I am soooo pissed at myself and at that doctor - for pretending to know what he was doing. He has never done a lap band surgery, but gives fills -- that should have been a red flag. Moral of the story - go the extra mile to get experienced treatment. Because now, I could be facing another surgery. Arghhhh!

[webkat 0]

Could you tell me what the 5 day pouch test is?

I just don't understand how I can go from moderate restriction to NONE with a fill?

Steph

The five day pouch test is a five day eating plan that lets your stomach shrink back to it's natural size and then tells you if you have enough restriction and how big your pouch is. The plan here: Surgical Weight Loss 5 Day Pouch Test

There's really three possibilities why you have no restriction. 1. You've stretched your pouch and are eating foods that get through the band. 2. They never got the saline into the port. 3. There is something wrong with your band.

I hope your Dr is at least using the official lap band needle. They are expensive, something like $15-$20 each, so some Drs opt for the cheap $0.30 needle. But there is a difference. Regular needles have a hole at the end and can core a small section of the port out, allowing leakage. The official lap band needle has a hole on the side so that it splits the port but doesn't core it.

Are you by chance in the Seattle area? My Dr's office is awesome. If you have a lap band you can find specialized Drs here: Lapband.com - LAP-BAND® System - Find Certified Surgeons in Your Area

This is an awesome thread! We learn from our failures and obstacles. I'm not banded yet but every bit of information, both good and bad, helps me to prepare.

Congratulations! Getting my band was the best thing I ever did. I just wish I would have rearranged my life a little more around it. It's kind of like the Biggest Looser. They spend months away from their family and are dropped into a situation where they have to super focus on their weight issues. The lap band does that for about a month after surgery. Much like going home after the Biggest Looser, after that month you have to figure out how to cope with the stresses of regular life again and not fall back into bad habits.

Wishing you the best!

Hello everyone,

I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one that is in this position. ... I've lost 54 pounds. Very disappointing to say the least. I've had more trouble with the fills and have had to have ALL the saline removed and start back over on more than one occasion. The week of Thanksgiving I suddenly could not keep food or drink (not even water!) ... I decided to join you guys in hopes that we can support and encourage each other because we didn't pay all this money to not be successful.

I am going to start making small goals for myself and take the advice of measuring out my food and start exercising more so hopefully I can get on track!

Welcome! Congratulations on your 54lb loss, even if it was accidental that's cool. Imagine how well you'll do when you get back on track!

Our stories are so similar. I too have had issues with fills and even had an unfill because I couldn't swallow my own saliva. It stinks but it's just a small set back and shouldn't prevent us from still doing the bandster lifestyle.

So, are you ready to recommit to your band? What are your specific goals?

Kathy

[bayougirl 1]

Oh no!!! I hope you get better news than expected!

[Tabithan 19]

Well, I have spoken with a nurse at my surgeon's office. She believes that the doctor on Monday, that gave me the large fill, has "blown" my band. I have chosen to go back and see one of my surgeon's partners on Wednesday, Dec. 17th. Nurse says he will evaluate me and determine what testing needs to be done, and if, in fact, the band has been "blown", it'll need to be replaced. I am soooo pissed at myself and at that doctor - for pretending to know what he was doing. He has never done a lap band surgery, but gives fills -- that should have been a red flag. Moral of the story - go the extra mile to get experienced treatment. Because now, I could be facing another surgery. Arghhhh!

OH NO, steph!!! I am SOOO SORRY TO HEAR THIS - But hopeful for the best - hopefully they will test the band and it is not blown - my hope is that it is something minor that can be easily corrected. Please keep us posted and in the meantime, try not to indulge in food out of frustration. We food addicts love to turn to food - I find myself wanting to eat when i am happy, sad, angry, excited - every emotion.

I am keeping you in my thoughts and please update us. Did the dr's office advice you to do anything different "in the meantime?"