MelissaGG

For the lady who is having issues with lettuce, try it chopped very fine. I had problems when I firs had my lap band and I hen purchased something from tupperware that chopped my lettuce in a way that made it very digestible. Sad that my band made me so sensitive to eggs, salad, chicken and fish but allowed tortilla chips through very nicely.

Whew! After being infertile for so many years myself, I unfortunately know all about this stuff...hoping and waiting and losing weight and it never happening. Thank goodness for my Dr, I now have a 3year old, love of my life.

I see that you are here and reading responses, that's great and I hope you see that people really do care about what you're going through. We really do want to try and help you, but that's not possible if we don't know the details of your sleeve and starting and current weight along with dates and such! I really hope you'll share this info so that people can help you. Your situation is not hopeless and there are people here that want to help you. Posting and ignoring all of these people that do want to help isn't going to accomplish anything unless you just wanted to vent!

This person did not say she DIDN'T WANT A RESPONSE, she said she didn't expect a response....with that being said....
Dear PrettyVSG, my heart goes out to you....I would be very frustrated & sad & feel regrets too. You are right, I don't have any thing good to say. You are doing all you can having doctors on board trying to figure it out. And personal trainers, I would have thought they would have figured out some way to fool your body to release the pounds.
One way to look at this is not to regain the 50 lbs you have lost. Losing 50 lb's is a big deal, especially w/ the fight your body is giving you.
Hang in there, keep excersing, at least you are getting endorphins. XXXXXX

I'm sorry this hasn't been better for you. I felt the same way with my band and just hope this will work. You may have already done this, but have you had your thyroid checked?

I went to Mumbai, and I think you should read my signature a little more closely! Lol I hate my band. My first band I did lose 100lbs but it was nothing but complications. I gained it all back waiting for my second band after complications required emergency removal of my first. My second band hasn't had complications like my first but it just hasn't worked. I am revising to the sleeve in May.
I believe your question is an honest one but I also see where some of your wording (and apparent double post) would give AussieLady some pause. She's a vet who is very active and isn't quick to call someone a fake. A little respect goes a long way around here.

Gotta use interval traing method. Walk and pick pace up, then run shorter distance and stay in comfort zones but get heart rate up enough, then basicaly repeat that several times, like; split 5,10 or 20 eventualy 30 minutes into walk, fast walk, running spirts, then again, get 30% faster than just walking maybe. Trick is getting heart rate to higher effective level long enough and then it all as one helps build endurance as well.

I have had a million happiest post op moments. I have to say probably the most memorable was when a guy I have known for years, very conservative, very polite, professional type relationship says to me "holy ****, you are HOT!" On days when I feel low, I remember that moment and smile...lol.. I have come along way from the 300+ pound woman who hated to be seen by others.
So, early on, your tummy sensations are not mature. I don't have time to type a novel about this, but bottom line, don't believe the bull that you are somehow not going to be as successful since you are a revision. The REASON for that is bandsters have learned how to cheat... lets me honest... that band trained us to go for sliders etc. If you take that lesson "how i failed at weight loss surgery without really trying" and be determined to learn from it and have a different experience this time - there is no reason you can't rock the sleeve and have awesome results.
I beat the odds - started at 50+ BMI, was banded for 10 years with crappy results... and here I am now... at goal and feeling great. You too can do this and it doesn't matter if the weight comes off fast or slow... steady and smart choices wins at this race.

It is because as long as people can imagine it was YOUR fault they feel safe - couldn't possibly happen to THEM...lol

For the lady who is having issues with lettuce, try it chopped very fine. I had problems when I firs had my lap band and I hen purchased something from tupperware that chopped my lettuce in a way that made it very digestible. Sad that my band made me so sensitive to eggs, salad, chicken and fish but allowed tortilla chips through very nicely.

This topic and discussion are exactly why I joined this site. Everyone is so encouraging and ready to help. I loved reading your story and your information is wonderful to hear 8 weeks out from my revision surgery.
Thank you so much for sharing and congratulations!!!!!

Thank you again so much. I read your story to my husband and I think I won him over with it. At the moment, I am really uncomfortable and I know something s just not right. I will see a new surgeon this Wed and I am hoping that I feel a good comfort level with him. I know I need an endoscopy for sure and I just hope it s soon. I want to make sure that I am in good hands, I waited so long to have my son and finally gave birth at 41. This band was to help me lose in order to fulfill that dream and now I just want to be healthy and live.

Oh and I told my husband that if I had to do it all over again I would have probably got the sleeve not the band. I think he took that the wrong way. I didn't mean if they couldn't fix the band I'd do it. He only tries to make me happy so I think he just wasnt thinking about anything else.

Trust me...you are not alone! There are many of us here who feel/felt the same way! Welcome...

Having a lap band for a decade, I am an expert on sliders so let me add a few to this list...tortilla chips or anything crispy like a potato chip or cracker and the sneakiest thing of all...any sauces or Condiments that we add to otherwise dense food (like chicken for me) that essentially helps the food to slide down better. One of my favorite slider-helpers was sour cream.
Also, my nemesis and what I have had a love-affair with fore 40 years..pasta. No matter how tight my band was, I can always eat Pasta.

Seeing my new surgeon tomorrow. First order of business find out what the heck is going on with this band. I need this uncertainty and pain to go away soon.

Well good news. Got my blood work and everything came back normal so thinking blood pressure dropped causing me to black out.

Was he handsome before he cleared you??
Hehehe...and congratulations!!

All - Thanks so much for your continued kind words.
Lisa - It looks like you are doing all the right things and with your back issues it may be adding stress that is impacting you. Keep doing what you have been and take care of your back. Just think how much worse it would be if you still had those 100+ lbs on. Hang in there!
Melissa - There is hope. I don't know where you are in the process. Have you seen a surgeon and has he/she done any tests. I first went to a seminar for my new surgeon; then went in for an exam. After hearing what I was going through they sent me for an endoscopy and they look at your stomach and esophagus. I really didn't think they would find anything; I thought it was all me contributing to the failure; not following my Lapband surgeon's plan, etc. Well sure enough they found that my Lapband had actually slipped upwards and was essentially choking me in my esophagus - something like that. I actually felt so relieved since for the first time I felt like it wasn't all my fault that I had lost so little with the Lapband and then regained it. That finding helped my insurance to approve the removal of the Lapband as soon as the paperwork was sent in; getting them to approve doing the revision was the tough part and took 3 appeals - you can read on my profile.
Anyway - I hope that you have found a good surgeon and have started the process for yourself. I have one friend who has a Lapband and, honestly she is the only person I have ever met let alone heard of who has kept her weight off 6 years now; she lost 80 lbs with it.
The process can be slow and very discouraging at times when dealing with the insurance company and being forced to wait, etc. but it is SOOOO worth it!

Melissa GG I feel for you because I was in your place with the band too. I was thinner but so uncomfortable. I was throwing up almost daily and waking up in the middle of the night choking on saliva and would wake up hurled in the floor. It was not a good way to live. I had to removed and it had cut a hole in my stomach from so much of the acids. I waited a year to get the sleeve and I was hesitant too because I felt like the Lapband was suppose to be the last surgery I had for weight loss. I felt like a failure. My surgeon told me "you lost weight w the band. You didn't fail. The lap band failed you and is making you sick". My quality of life was compromised. With the sleeve there are definite sacrifices but you can eat a lot of stuff you want later on in small portions.
I wish you peace of mind on your decision and a healthy recovery with whatever you choose.

Melissa,
I did not have the band but I can tell you I felt the same exact way about turning to surgery. I also have a 2 year old and 4 year old and the idea of surgery really scared me. I justified the risks of surgery by the benefits of a longer and healthier life to be with my children. However, after reading through a number of posts on this forum from people who experienced leaks, (iggychic who is a great resource) I am not sure I would make the same decision again and risk losing my life. The sleeve does one thing for you - makes you feel full fast which limits your intake. I am glad I had it done and didn't have any complications. I am also glad I was networked so well professionally with the surgeons at Dartmouth where I had it done so I could get the "skinny" (no pun intended) on knowing who to perform my surgery. I do clinical health research so it made the process of info gathering easier.
I suggest you might talk to a therapist about this? I honestly feel like some of the best decisions I have ever made were with the help of a therapist who could help me lay out all of my concerns in a logical way and make an informed decision without any other influence. While not all therapists are unbiased, it's the only option I can think of to help you sort it out. Wishing you all the best in whatever you decide to do and just know that it's perfectly understandable to feel angry. I think we all have felt that way to some degree.

WHAT???

Yes yes yes!! And hate that i have to choose...be fat or have 3/4 of my stomach removed?!?!? Just had my band removed this past Tuesday sitting here hurting...feels like my band is still there! Had my band in for 4.5 years. I feel ya 100%!!

I finally realized that if I just keep trying, I will just keep trying and wasting time. I have put my all into diet and exercise at times but I am also a Mom to a 3 year old and a full time working career woman who commutes 3 hours per day. MY exercise time is at 10pm, or 5am and I have to be conscious of every calorie, every morsel. It is hard, and I expect it to be hard. I also have to cook dinner and maintain my house as best I can along with the rest of life. There is simply no help to be had and weight and life is getting the best of me. I need a tool and a little forgiveness in having to workout and count every calorie, every day of my life. It is not fair to my son who is in daycare 12 hours per day or to myself whop works herself to the bone. Its not the easy way out, at this point, being almost 270# its the only way to create somewhat of a balance in my life. Working harder is not possible and trying more is not buying me any time or advcantage.
I have a lap band inside that after 10 years is starting to hurt and it is time to get it out. I never imagined another surgery at all. I have kind of the opposite problem with my hubby because my husband thinks of himself every time I bring up surgery, he imagines himself having it. He is wanting to go "first" but he does not realize that I have an immediate need with my lap band needing to come out. Somehow he think we should do this at the same time and I need him to be healthy to take care of me for a change.