Nykee

You should check for a slip? Don't mean to alarm you whatsoever, but it pays to be safe right?

From what I gather, those kinds of things are are warning signs that your band needs some attention. You should be able to eat at least 3 small Protein meals without all that trouble. Tell your dr's what's going on before getting another fill.

Best of luck. We can do this!

My band is not slipped and my pouch is not stretched out. I got it checked a few months ago.

I live with it being too tight because it doesnt work for me otherwise.

Same.

Hi All,

I've had an account here for a while, but haven't ever really been active. I was banded in June of '08 and had a serious rollercoaster ride with my band, almost from the start. About six months after surgery, I started having problems finding the proverbial "sweet spot." I either had too little restriction and wouldn't lose weight, or I had too much, and would start upon a horrible cycle of sliming, throwing up, and eventually being so swollen that I couldn't eat or drink. I had difficulty eating meat, and most fruits and vegetables. salad was a total no-go. This was often the case even when I didn't seem to be too tight and had no problem eating other foods. I couldn't eat carrot sticks or chicken, but had no problem scarfing down ice cream or a bag of cheetos. In fact, at one point that's *all* I could get down, and I would eat them just to get SOMETHING in my system and get my blood sugar off the floor. (Oops... yeah, I'll own that I made some bad eating choices!)

I even had trouble sleeping. After three years, I'd lost almost 50 lbs, but I was so miserable that I couldn't take it anymore. My band was too tight, I had constant heartburn, and I could barely get liquids down. I didn't want to give up (especially after financing my surgery out of pocket.) but I just couldn't do it any longer. By the time I was unfilled, I couldn't get down broth, much less any of my daily medications. (Which in my case is BAD.) I had my band completely unfilled, and haven't been back to the clinic since. Every once in a while when I eat the wrong thing or eat too fast, I'll get a stab to the chest and remember that the old girl is still in there, but otherwise it's been pre-surgery eating as usual, with both good and bad choices, and everything in between.

Now, a year and a half of yo-yo-ing later, I've regained most of the weight I'd lost, and I've decided to try it again. I'm hoping for a better result, but I'm afraid I'll end up facing the same issues. I feel like I have to completely re-acquaint myself with proper band eating, and after my history I really don't know what to expect. I'm nervous and uncertain of what's ahead.

Has anybody else been in the same boat?

wow this is my same exact story. Its been 8 years for me and I have Not had the unfill - Im scared to death of gaining weight. Ive lost 140 pounds BUT I have over 140 left to go- For years its just pain, stuck, choke, cant take my meds, malnourished, eating is a joke, constant heartburn, etc etc... but no weight loss to show for it. I KNOW if I got the unfill, I would gain the 140 back, soooo I cant risk it.. Im even thinking about getting a fill to see what happens. I wish I could get a gastric bypass. - Good luck on your do over! Let us know how it goes!

8 years. And no major problems. (I did have some small issues in the first year)

Rude spammer

I wont post in here any more since i am making people uncomfortable...

Ill come back when I am doing all the right things and have just great things to report about my situation.

Gastric bypass will still allow food and drinks and calories into your body. Unless you are in the 30% that experiences dumping syndrome after eating sugar, the Cookies and chocolate milk will continue to go down just fine.

I DO believe you want to lose the weight.

ANY weight loss surgery is not going to provide what you are looking for. We cannot eat and drink high calorie, high fat, high sugar/low nutrient foods and especially drinks with calories and sugar and expect to lose weight.

You might look into a duodenal switch. That provides the most malabsorption. But if you are honest with a surgeon about your lack of compliance, I am not sure they will be willing to perform surgery on you. Mine would not be, I don't think.

Thank you. I thought everyone got dumping syndrome. I was counting on that to keep me away from the sugar. I guess I better do more research.

I dont want to eat those things, I just cant seem to stop, no matter what I try. I was hoping the dumping syndrome would work for me.

Thanks again.

Wow there is a lot of insanity on this thread.

I think you need an un-fill. I'm still somewhat newly banded, but my last fill has shown me the difference between just about there and too full--now I'm eating foods like -- Cookies and milk -- because they are easier to go down. It was MUCH EASIER to eat the right foods for weight loss with a little less. I think you are 1. eating "slider" foods with no fat burning properties or nutrition and 2. storing fat, both of which will keep you at your current weight, right?

Perhaps you should join a support group or individual counseling to learn a more healthy approach to eating and your body and dieting. It sounds like what you are doing is and will continue to be, destructive and harmful to your health--

I think your right..

but then I think, NO.. the junk food is providing enough calories to justify my 300 pounds. People think I dont eat and are confused, but really choc milk and Cookies add up fast. I also eat Beans, sour cream and chips. So I AM getting the calories and all that.

I think about the health thing and then I think about how I was in a wheel chair 5 years ago.. and my diabetes was out of control.. and I had sleep apnea.. and NOW I DONT.. I healthier than I have ever been.... and I just want the next 100 pounds to come off, to be even more healthy.

but, still.. I know what you wrote it right.. Thank you.

The fact that she says I will "never follow the rules of weight loss surgery" says it all. She does not want to lose weight. She makes every excuse why she cant do it. Like I said I have no pity for someone who states I stay in bed all day and eats Cookies and chocolate milk she deserves to stay right where she is. Every answer she gives is an excuse as to why she can not do this or that. Give me a break you all really feel sorry for someone like that. We all had the same surgery and worked to get where we are and not by eating Cookies and chocolate milk if she can eat that then she can eat a Protein bar. OMG really like I said SMDH for real.

The fact that I say I will not follow the rules.. is because for 6 years I have tried and I have had the best of intentions and I have failed. I might follow the rules for one day or one week.. or even a couple months.. but, I always fail eventually.... I dont feel LIke I am MAKING EXCUSES, as I am just stating FACTS... MAYBE one day I WILL do it, and succeed, but I have not so far so why should I continue to fool myself and lie to myself that I will.. Im just staRting to believe i NEVER will. I DONT have eternal hope for the situation. Thats all...

I tell myself not to buy the cookies, all my family isnt allowed to get me cookies and never do, my care provider will not get me cookies., but I still find a way....

I dont know any one here is saying that I am so horrible.. when isnt there thousands of obese people on this site, of whom ATE TOO MUCH, DID NOT HAVE CONTROL< ATE shit that wasnt good for them... for many years, always failing to stay on diet, always giving in and eating junk, .. I know Im not the only one.

i decided to go get an unfil. And then go back and get a fill. And just kinda start the whole process over again. As I have been stuck for a few years now, in this rut, where I cant lose any weight, yet my band is really tight, I eat Cookies and drink chocolate milk so the calories and fat get thru.... and I choke on real food every day... and I have been afraid to get an unfil because I have lost 100 pounds and I dont want to gain any back.

So I decided to just TRY this, at least its SOMETHING... I figured if It doesnt work, i can always go back to being overfilled (in order to not gain weight)

So how long do I stay unfilled.. What if for just that ONE or TWO days, I realise how normal It is, how free it is and how I been living in misery all these years.. What it I come to my senses and I dont allow my self to be overfilled any more.. and what if that leads to weight gain, BUT I choose the weight gain over ever going back to living this way...

I kinda tell my brain right now, that Im just sick and there is no way out of it. Ya know, like an unfil is not possible and I just have a sickness I will have to live with... and well, thats what I do, I just live with it...

I HATE EATING FOOD. I LOVE NOT being able to eat food. I LOVE how I always turn down going out to eat, and I always so NO to all food that is offered me and i never eat in front of anyone. I LOVE how I am not a slave to fast food, and how I just dont care about pizza and Chinese food any more.

YEA I still feel like a slave to fruit juices, flavored milks and cookies and chips.. (BUT NOT CANDY!! I gave up ALL candy 10 months ago! I made it a rule one day and I never touched candy since, I used to eat it all day long, cuz even if the band is tight, it can usually go down) I wish I could make a rule about cookies now, and milk.. but I feel like I would starve, im already hungry constantly as it is.

So. I think I am gonna do it. I SURE HOPE the fear doesnt get the best of me.

I wish I could say the right thing right here.... BUT being honest, my goal is to get another nice tight restriction.

I DO NOT WANT TO BE ABLE TO EAT.

SMDH if you want to eat Cookies and chocolate milk then you deserve to stay obese. Really???? you want advise here it is. I dont feel sorry for you because you said you will never follow the rules of wls so therefore you dont deserve any pity. If you are that tight but can eat Cookies then something is wrong in your head. If you cant eat real food then you cant eat cookies. Im sorry but you do not deserve pity you deserve a good talking to from your doctor and see if he agrees that if you can eat cookies you can eat food.< /p>

What are you talking about? If I can eat cookies than I can eat real food.

Cookies crumble into almost nothingness.... and chips. And slip thru the band.

DUH

Nykee,

The restriction with bypass is SO different from the band. My whole family is big (as am I) and most of my aunts and uncles have had gastric bypass and failed at it. The band actually provides for more restriction when speaking of the "eating" aspect. You can def eat around the bypass, stretch your stomach back (which is not healthy) and now you have less intestine, etc to boot. My uncle is a perfect example, at first he lost weight because of the initial discomfort when eating after the bypass but after he healed he went right back to eating the same and gained it all back and then some.

It is ok to get unfilled a little so you can eat more because you can't loose weight without eating enough calories, the body just won't allow it and you have to be eating healthier foods to provide the Protein that you need with it. I have not been banded yet (later this month) but there are people in my family who have had WLS and the doctors office I go through one has had gastric bypass and the other a band installed so I've hear many annectodal words of wisdom from both sides.

My personal decision was the band because I don't like the idea of re-routing and cutting out my insides not to mention the special Vitamins and the lack of absorption from having less instestine afterward..... it just wasn't the choice for me.

Hang tight! You can do it, you just need to start from scratch and get a little unfill, go back to shakes for a bit to calm everything down and get back on track..... someone else said in another post I read that that's the beauty of the band, its always there fore you when you get back on track!

Good luck to you!!!!

Faith

Thank you so much.. !!!!

I guess I was thinking of the gastric bypass like the band, like I would have permanent restriction... thank you for pointing out that is not true.

You also gave me the best idea I have heard.. A start from scratch thing. .. What if I go get an unfil with every intention of getting another fill, later. I can start over to find that sweet spot. I would have to deal with finding a good fill, the money it cost, figuring it all out. It would be like starting over. I would get gung ho again, and I would try to follow the rules.. and maybe I would actually succeed this time. who knows. BUT ITS WORTH TRYING.... this is the only thing that has ever made sense to me, as to a reason to go get an unfil..

I can tell my brain that I am being banded again or something. I can tell my kids, and they can help me, they do so much for me, but I sneak the junk, If this whole Journey was like REDO.... everyone would rally around me again..

THank you.. Im crying.. I know what I am gonna do. !! (when I get my tax refund, lol)

Here's a link to a post on my surgeon's forum from someone who is contemplating a different WLS after band removal. She was also non-compliant.

http://www.thinnerti...-contemplation/

Without compliance, success doesn't follow in the long run.

Thank you for the link. OF course I know what the RIGHT advice is.

Basically the right advice is, DO THE RIGHT THING .. OR... STAY the WAY you ARE. (and try to be happy with yourself)

BUt.. I am NOT WILLING to stay the way I am and be happy with it.... and I am PROVED to be Incapible of doing the right thing..

SO I AM Going to find a way to lose the weight.. whether its the right way or not. ANY WAY.. ANY WAY.. ANY WAY I can do it.. is what I am gonna do... I am just at such a desperate point, that I feel, when is it time to stop TRYING to do the right thing, .. and just do what will WORK. So far, THE ONLY THING THAT HAS EVER EVER EVER WORKED FOR ME, is having a really right band, that limited my intake of food. THAT IS THE ONLY THING that has worked... sooooooo, ya.. IM stupid and im selfish and im crazy, what ever. ALL I WANT TO DO IS LOSE THE WEIGHT. I figure the Gastric Bypass will allow even less food, drink, calories... into my body, and thus it will work!?

They say that people can stretch their stomachs out, but I dont do that, cuz when my body says you cant eat, I dont force it. I will only eat as much as the bypass allows me to, without discomfort. ahhh forget it.. I keep going on and on..

II do thank you for your help. tho.

oo

You really need to see a therapist. I went to counseling for 2 years so I can recommend it. You are not really being honest with yourself, you are just doing what you want and making excuses for it. We all (well most) have been there. Time to stop your behavior and get some help. Only you know if you really want to lose or why you are hanging on to the weight. Go find out what is going on.

Cheri

I went to counseling for probably 10 years total. I have been a part of dozens of support groups. I have taken specific therapy sessions. I have done all different kinds of

I also have a BS degree is Psy, with some work beyond that. (they dont offer financial aid for masters programs or I might of gone further) And used to council at women centers and Rape crisis, ect.. Myself..

You dont know me. You just cant handle real honestly when you see it. I assume.

I KNOW what is going on... I KNOW why I am fat... and KNOWING is not the key...

That is another thing I wont wait another 20 years for, WAITING to be Mentally fit enough to stop eating too much.

I been working on myself inside and out, day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year.... and I have failed. JUST LIKE everyone else here who might still be obese 20 years later.

Just because I cant get a hold of "whats eating me" doesnt mean I dont deserve to lose the fat.

This may be harsh but nonetheless, here it is. I think it is incredibly selfish of you to come to this board and look for help and suggestions of how to do this journey the wrong way....and be so very blatant about it. You can put all the nice terms to it you want such as...being honest...but at the end of the day it is just blatant disregard for what this place is all about.

There are many people on here who stumble and none of us are perfect but the goal is to lift each other up and encourage one another to get into the battle the healthy and correct way. If you are so clearly unable and unwilling to do so I think it is unfair for you to post it here.

I realize that everyone's journey is different. Again I acknowledge that most of us will stumble and not always do things perfectly. But to just flat out say we are not going to and we are looking for a way to do things wrong and hope others will help us figure out how to do that.....is really selfish and destructive to the most basic purpose of this place.

I really do hope something changes for you and you can muster up what it takes to do this correctly. You can do the right thing wrong...and it is still wrong in the end. We should all strive to do the right thing right.....and help others to do the same along the way.

Your right and im sorry. .

I dont want to offend anyone.

I cant be a part of a support network usually .. cuz im this way.

Thank you for your advice.

I sure hope I can muster up what it takes to do this correctly too, ... And yes we should all strive to do the right thing... and I DO.. What makes you think I dont? I know nothing about you, but maybe you have been overweight for many many years, and maybe for many years you never did the right thing, by dieting and exersizing enough to lose the weight... I mean if you did, you wouldnt be overweight or needing the band. IF you were too fat for 5 years or 10 or 20 and you failed to lose the weight, than you WERE NOT DOING THE RIGHT THING.... its just a fact.. I am SURE you tried and you had good intentions and you did everything in your power to do the right thing.. but you didnt.. and neither did I... And now I find my self STILL NOT doing the RIght thing... thats all... Dont think for one minute I have gave up. I haven't. ITs quite the opposite. I am looking above and beyond and I KNOW what I am doing is worth it. The whole doing it the right way, never has worked, so Im not gonna sit here for another 20 years and wait to see if this is the year, as I believed so many times was IT, MY TIME, THE TIME it will work for me. .. Im gonna go about it back assward if that is how I have to defeat my obnoxious selfish sick brain.

My only other advice would be to watch The Secret.

I did watch it. I watched it over and over. I made notes. I got the book. I kept it in my purse. I beleive it in whole heartedly. I KNOW its the right way to be. ...

but.. I fail at it.

It looks like no matter what advice you are given, you will not be willing to follow any of it. I'm sorry you're having such a hard time. We all know this journey is not easy. We all struggle daily (am I wrong people?) but those of us who ARE willing to do what it takes (or at least willign to try) can get frustrated by those who are simply not willing to do so, then complain about it. I'm not trying to be mean, but it's clear you're not willing to accept any advice. I do wish you the best. And I do urge you to get an unfill (even a small amount) and to rid your house of the junk food...see a nutritionist and see your surgeon. Are you going to a support group? If not I also urge you to do that.

Its not that I am unwilling. I am willing. I WILL DO ANYTHING..

well, that is what I SAY.... and its not the truth. Obviously its not the truth when I fail and fail and fail and fail.. I just have come to a point where I have to figure out exactly what to do. Not what to TELL MY SELF I will do, and then fail at doing it. I dont know how to explain it. I know it prolly sounds like I just dont want to do right thing, or I dont want to try hard enough or I dont want to be responsible.... but this is Me here, after 20 years plus, or failing... and the ENTIRE TIME I was working on it, planning on it, doing it, trying, researching, digging, following, changing, I have been to support groups, dozens of them. I have seen nutritionist, I have been in therapy... I cant list out everything I have done.. BUT I PROMISE, I HAVE DONE IT ALL... ANYTHING ANY OF YOU SUGGEST for me to do, I HAVE BEEN THERE AND I HAVE DONE THAT>>> and probably more than once, more than twice... more than most actually. ITS ALL I HAVE BEEN DOING FOR years and years on end. Its my life.. its a daily thing, ...

I agree with being unwilling to get an unfil... Until I see how that could work for me. Which I cant see why to do it.

"Don't look for the band to stop you from eating. Look for it to stop the 'hunger'. *That* is the sweet spot"

GREAT!!!

I eat when I am not hungry. So being full doesnt make a difference... And weird thing is, I was NEVER hungry before the band. Like ever. Now I am hungry ALL the time... I LOVE not being able to eat, if that makes sense. The sweet spot for me is not being able to eat. We dont really NEED to eat, ya know. lol..

Well, if you want your junk food then put in extra extra work at the gym to burn those calories off. I don't eat as healthy as I should but I know if I didn't put in time at the gym I wouldn't lose a single pound! Sometimes after a really good workout I don't want to mess up all the work I just did by eating sweets.

Thank you and I wish I could do more like that.. i have lumbar disc disease with stenosis. Sometimes I cant get out of bed.

BUt your right. The only time I could ever lose weight it the past, is when I incorporated exersize

THank you to everyone who posted. I just saw this and I read kinda fast.. Really wanna come back when I have time and read everything more. but didnt want anyone to think I was ignoring their responses.

I Do have mental issues.. and im 100 percent honest person with my self and others.. Im just trying to fix this obesity problem, in a way that WORKS...doing the right thing, doesnt work for me. Never has, so when do I realise that and work around it?? In another 20 years.?

What i mean by it doesnt work, is that I never do the right thing.. all i ever have are intentions and try's that dont succeed. Not gonna keep foolling my self as if THIS TIME I WILL DO IT... Im gonna figure out how to make it work, just like I did the first 100 pounds. I went thru ALOT to lose all that, NONE of it was the RIGHT WAY.

Sorry to hear you've had such a problem with things. Others have addressed the fill/unfill topic, so I won't go there. But I do have two suggestions for you to consider:

1. If you insist on eating Cookies and milk when you "can" eat, why not change to the weight loss Cookies and Protein shakes instead? There are very tasty options available to you, and you won't have to beat yourself up over eating things you feel are "bad" foods. Plus, that way you could adjust your caloric intake to a more appropriate balance to help you lose weight. costco sells Premiere brand chocolate ready-to-drink Protein Shakes, and (to me) they taste a LOT like chocolate milk. Worth a shot? Certainly couldn't hurt.

2. If you want to continue to eat the way you are, how about working around the diet, and exercise more? It wouldn't have to be much, maybe just walking, but anything would be a way to change the way your metabolism sees itself every day. If you're plateaued with your current diet and exercise levels, changing one side or the other of the equation will produce some results. Correcting your diet choices can come later, after you seek some counseling on why you're sabotaging yourself by how you eat.

Good luck with whatever path you choose.

Dave

Thank you for working around my problems and lending some advice that might really work.. This is all I can really do, I know.. and every week I try, and every month I have intentions.. and I buy things and they go to waste, while I run out and get the bad stuff..

I guess I will just keep trying... dunno what else to do.

Thanks for the advice. ~

I think u need a bit of an unfill so you are able to eat the right foods. It's worth a shot!?

I wont eat the right foods. I will eat MORE of the wrong foods.

So basically I cant tell the truth... concerning the Gastric Bypass.. cuz the truth is I wont follow the rules. I never do. Never have. No matter what I tell myself I am doing or trying or will do... its never done, now is it. 20 years plus of failing MEANS Im not doing it.

I eat when I can.. and i dont when I cant.

I hoped the gastric bypass would make eating more impossible than the band does.

BUt maybe thats not true.

If I get an unfil. I will gain the weight back.

Any unfil at all, will allow me to eat more.

So I cant understand why I would ever do that.

I had my band and my esophogus checked. A few times. Its fine.

I have a hiatal hernia, but I dont know what its from. Heartburn before my band was my guess. cus I have never had heartburn after being banded.

To be more clear..

NOW, when my band is not tight. I can drink like 32 ounces of Nesquick over like an hour period.

OR I can eat 8 Cookies and 30 ounces of milk. ... in an hours period.

I get really full, just in case i get super tight later.. but ya know all that fat and carbs....

With a gastric bypass, that isnt possible is it? Like even with liquids... you can only have so many ounces, before it starts to feel discomfort?!

I ALWAYS stop at ANY discomfort.

I am not necessarily addicted to choc milk and cookies.. they just go down SO WELL and are filling....

BUT IF MY BAND restricted them., I WOULD DEF NOT EAT THEM. I dont eat anything the band restricts. I just DONT DO IT. And I have proven that for over 4 years.

Doesnt that prove I wouldnt eat anything the Gastric Bypass didnt allow? (physically of course)

ok thanks@!