missyt

As you can see from the replys there is no shortage of blame. I tend to think of it like this. Medications are helpful to people, but not every medication works for every person. Everyones body is different and responds differently. So that is why doctors will often have to prescribe different medications for different people. Its obvious that the lap band works in some bodies better than in others. It just sucks for those of us that it doesnt work for.

Thanks for responding and sharing your story, It helps me to know I am not alone.

Missyt.....I feel like some of these people are being a little hard on you. If you have had your band for 4 years as you say, then it is likely it has become less effective over time, studies show this. So those of you who are being a little insensitive toward Missyt, I sure hope you never experience what she is going through. Also, it is true that the band works differently for everyone, or perhaps not at all for some. As for myself, I have been banded for almost 6 years. My first year banded I lost 140lbs, and the next year I my band slipped and I had to have revision surgery to have it repaired. I was lucky that the slip was not terrible and did not lose my band. However, the second part of my story is not so successful. After having my band slip and seriously starving for two weeks without being able to keep down even one bite of food, and then having to have surgery again....I was scared to utilize my band properly for several more years. I didn't even get another fill until three years later because I was terrified this would happen to me again. Long story short, I gained all but 20lbs back of the weight I had lost. Those of you who say the band is a "tool", maybe that is true for you, but not for everyone. Looking back I feel like I could have lost the weight without the band. At the time, I gave the band a lot of credit, but hindsight is 20/20. I see now that I was working out at least 6 days a week, and I was eating low carb, low calorie, and so on. There were very few times I felt that "full" feeling that everyone describes with the band. The only time my band became that "tool" for me was when it slipped and I was unable to keep food down, but at this point it was too late, and not healthy. Now I have recently gotten a fill, and under flouro, my doctor says I have very good restriction, however when I eat the recommended amount of food, I still do not feel full. I feel no different than I did when I had the band. I do not drink liquids for a period of time before and after eating, yet I still do not stay full for very long. My fills are almost maxed out at this point. I will be able to have one more, and my band will be completely full. I am not saying the band does not work, but for some people it's not the "tool" that they were expecting. I think some people(such as myself) get carried away with the fact that they had SURGERY, and therefor, they MUST not fail....I paid for my surgery out of pocket, so failure was not an option...which is what somewhat motivated me(among other things) So for those of you who the band works perfectly, congrats...I am so happy for you ....But please please be sensitive to those whose bands aren't working quite as well for them. Of course there are people who totally sabotage their own weight loss efforts by not following "band rules", but in our own arrogance, let's try not to accuse everyone of this.....Thanks

I'm sorry to read that you are unhappy with the band. I've only had my band for about 3 weeks so I'm in no position to judge you or the band. I'm curious .. have you lost any weight since you got the band?

I would say the most I had lost ever was about 28 lbs. This was pretty much right after surgery and within I would say about 6 mos. For the first 2 months I was barely eating any solids at all and was completely miserable.

Once I resumed eating solids the weight stopped coming off and after about 1 year I began to regain.

I do want to mention that I do exercise regularly. I enjoy doing cardio at the gym 3-5 days a week, usually about 35 min and about 3 miles on the elliptical.

I really truly believe that the band doesn't work for everyone. I whole heatedly believe that some people can get fill after fill until they're too tight, but never be able to hit and sort of "green zone" or "sweet spot". My understanding is that doctors STILL don't know the exact science of how the band causes people to stop feeling hungry- since the food doesn't sit in the upper pouch like they used to think, what exactly happens to ring the "I'm not hungry" bell?

That being said, I also think a lot of people get banded without bring told what the band is supposed to do for them. They expect the band to keep them from over-eating, or to make them feel full quickly, or even to make it so they get sick if they eat too much. Doctors tell them this! People don't realize that all it's supposed to do is to make you no longer feel hungry after a small(er) portion of solid foods. So if you get the surgery expecting the band to do something it doesn't... heck yeah you're going to have problems.

So i'm sending you some sympathy, and I'm curious what you expected the band to do for you. Seems even in the past couple of years, doctors have started to explain the results of the surgery differently.

I expected to feel less hunger and be satisfied with much smaller portions. While even before the band I wasn't a person to consume large portions I was told I would only be able to eat maybe 2-3 bites of something and then feel full. I was also told that if I ate small amounts of food 6x daily I would not feel hunger. I can with absolute certainty that even when I was doing Protein drinks for meals and following a very strict diet, I was very hungry. So yes I will say that this "tool" has not done anything for me. People can criticize all they want but if the only difference I feel from the band has been reflux how can anyone say this is a tool for me?

I went through all the classes, the mental health prep, the support group meetings, and the pre-surgery diet. I did not go into this half heartedly, nor did I expect it to work like a magic pill. I expected help with weight loss. I expected that I would rarely be to the point of feeling starving and therefore I can make better choices for food. I expected that small portions would fill me and if I chose Protein first I would be satisfied.

I am now feeling like more of a failure than before the surgery.

Ok If I hear one more person or article say the band is a "tool" I may have to scream. No sh** its a tool but for me its like having a hammer and its missing the head of it. So my band is in place and is pretty full, got it. When they do I feel nothing? No wait I do feel something and its reflux, even when drinking Water. The only time I lost any weight since having my band done 4 yrs ago was when I was on the next to nothing diet. My Dr had me terrified of solid food so I ate broth for 2 months and wouldn't ya know I lost weight...go figure. But was I hungry, more like starved! I never thought more about food in my entire life than when I wasn't allowed to chew a single thing.

I know what I should eat and how many calories I should consume and if I could have done that without any help why on earth would I have gone through surgery? So now I have this foreign body in me that does absolutely nothing! GRRRRRRRR.

Wow, feeling a bit better for getting that out. Thanks for listening.

Hi! I'm here after a google search of "lap band doesn't work." I was banded in August of 2007 in Western MA. The first few weeks after the surgery felt like pure hell. I never expected to feel so hungry after getting the band. I thought that it would be hard not eating anything solid but I never imagined the intense hunger. In the first few months I lost about 15 pounds. After that I slowly went down to almost a 30 lb weight loss. My hunger has never really disappeared, although a different times I would fill up more quickly.

Fast forward to today and my search that led me to this site. I haven't seen my doctor is almost a year. The last visit before today left me in tears because I had gained back about 15lbs and the dr. insisted I meet with the nutritionist. Today's visit was the worst. I have gained back all but 5 lbs since getting the band. My doctor was quite short with me and basically refused to do a fill. He has given me 2 wks to decide what I want to do. My choices are: remove the band, review my handbook and fully commit to the "lap band" diet, or discuss other surgery options. I feel like such a failure. This dr. was not the surgeon who initially did the band but his associate. He stated to me that he doesn't think I was a good candidate for the band because of my hectic life (i have 6 children, and work as a parent educator, also going for my degree). The doctor also told me that I probably couldn't make the time commitment needed to have the lap band work.

Gosh what a rant...sorry. Well that's my story as of today. I welcome and comments and/or suggestions. Thanks