newmein2015

@@change4life you know I also have thought about this a whole lot! So I was banded in 2013. I have watched friends who are banded and even my husband lose almost all their extra weight while I have struggled. I've struggled with many things, health wise and yes I'm sure that is part of it....BUT I want to blame the band. I want to say this was not the surgery for me. I should have done X, Y, Z and that would have been better. I could go do those things still...I could opt to take the band out and have a revision surgery and I might lose the weight faster and I seriously thought about it as my hubby lost pound after pound and I was even starting to gain!!
As I was thinking about it and weighing things out in my mind, I realized that I have not really "worked" on this band since I have been dealing with so many other things I put that on hold and started using food to console me again. I started turning to ice cream and sweets and eating anything I felt like! Of course I was going to start gaining weight again...so I thought about it and I realized that unless I am willing to change my ways and dig deep and find out what is making me give up so easily when I have a tool that can help me reach my goals...why am I not using it?
Why am I looking for something else, there is no magic bullet all the surgeries are going to have their challenges and I have seen first hand people fail at all the other surgeries and gain back their weight and more because they never really changed their habits. So I decided that the band is for me. It's here I am here and we both need to show up and do our jobs!
It's there waiting for me to use it, and I am here and I need to use it and respect it and most of all myself. I need to find other ways to console myself when things are good bad and even ugly. food has to become what it's always been meant to be. A source of fuel to get this body through life to enjoy all the wonders the world has to offer that are not food related.
I don't get all excited when I drive into the gas station and fuel up my car. The smell of the gas and look of the station aren't a turn on...nope the excitement comes in where that full tank of gas will take me to. The things I will see and experience along the journey. That's how I have to look at food, it's an intake of resources that will get me to the next great thing. It will help me get through my day of work, my interaction with people, energy to read a book and write this post, and that's all it's going to do for me. It's not my friend, it's not my love and making it my life is robbing me of having one.
So that was my dollar's worth of free advice I hope it helps you...we are all on the same journey to live a happy and healthy life...we just have to shift our focus a bit when it comes to food.

Wish I would have been made aware of Bandster Hell and that I might not start losing for 4 months.

I have read several of your posts,B-52, and you are so inspiring! You have made me see what I need to work toward. Your advice is awesome! Please don't take that encouragement away from us that listen because of some negative people! Your story is an inspiration to me and so many others!

I have read several of your posts,B-52, and you are so inspiring! You have made me see what I need to work toward. Your advice is awesome! Please don't take that encouragement away from us that listen because of some negative people! Your story is an inspiration to me and so many others!

I chose Lapband because I was not prepared to anything more drastic than that. There are lots and lots of successful banders. The founder of this site is a bander. Band requires followup with the surgeon -- 11 visits in the first year was what was put forward to me. Personally I liked that -- for the accountability and for the personal attention to what I was experiencing. Many surgeons don't want that much patient contact and hospital administrators and insurance companies sure as hell don't. What was I experiencing? A dimmed appetite and consistent weight loss. The main thing is that whatever you decide you have already decided to do something -- you are choosing yourself and your healthy future first and that is so important. Weight loss surgery is amazing. For me, the band has been amazing and I am very grateful. I was 52 and had never been an overnight patient in the hospital before. I am not some one who would ever co sides plastic surgery, for example. That's why the band was as far as I wanted to go. I already ate really well but just too much. The band dims my appetite so I don't do that anymore. There are two links in my signature that helped me understand how it works. Maybe they will help you, too. Also I don't know what all this foreign object talk is about. Yes, I have a silicone band and if anything goes wrong I can have it taken out or replaced. I was not able to get my head around the other surgeries so I think I was probably lucky to be so sure of the one right path FOR ME. We can only speak to our individual experiences here. Best wishes for smooth sailing and once again congratulations on deciding to turn your life around.

@@Butterfly512 ...... this is something i posted here a few years back. How i felt and i hope it may help. By the way we were about the same.... Im 5'2.5" and was 223
I have not always needed you.... and one time in my life.. i was a "normal" person. Size 0-3... weight a whopping 100lbs. Back in my single day... then one day you meet a wonderful guy and you fall in love... ahhh things are great. You get married and have a beautiful son. and life is good.... but then you notice that your not happy as you use to be. some days are worse than others... you find the strength to get up every day and go to work and live a "normal" life. Things are good at home... but something is missing... that spark, that feeling you use to get when you and your spouse were together intimately .. and you notice that those time have gotten further and further apart... and you think, what is going on? and one day the reason is staring you right in the face... the mirror... but in that mirror is someone else... surely it's not me... I don't look like that... that's a ugly fat girl... i'm not ugly and i for damn sure am not fat. Can't be... i told my self years ago i would NEVER let myself look like... those people... but then you look closer... and closer and there.. i know those eyes.... those are my eyes... but why do they look so sad. I have happy eyes. and i see, i see the real me. the one others have been seeing for years.... how did i not see this... how did i let myself get like this ... how did i become that girl that now had to shop at the plus size store... when just yesterday i was a size 3... How did i become the girl the skinny girls are now looking at and saying... i'll never let my self look like HER... and i'm the HER. this feeling takes the very last shred of self-confidence and stomps it into the dirt and spits on it. and you think...i am ugly i am fat i am unworthy of love.... unworthy of feeling good. and you start to eat... more and more and everything keeps getting worse. you stop taking care of your self, stop dressing up stop wearing make up and fixing your hair.... stop putting forth the effort at all... You are now sitting in a deep dark cave, alone and no one or nothing can show you the light....

But one day... you open your eyes expecting to see nothing... complete darkness and there it is... a speck of light.... it's tiny, but just right there in front of you. and you squint to see it.... making sure its really there. that speck was my friend Paula... she had lb surgery and everyday we talked and everyday my light grow brighter.... I went to the doctor and did all the test... did it all and then the news that i was approved... OH ... JOy. I looked in the mirror and saw a glimmer of hope. But as the days grew closer... I started to think... WHAT IF... what if i die on the table, what if i fail at this too, what if i stayed fat forever... Then i saw this site...trolled for a long while. I didn't want to sign because, well what if someone knew me... the horror... Then i saw all the successful people... the beautiful woman and handsome men that in their before pictures looked so sad... sad like me. Then i saw the after pictures.. and all the happy smiling faces... people who were bigger than me... now wearing size 6 jeans (lellow)... and i thought.. i can do this i can get my life back.... I will be happy again. so on November 10, 2009... i awoke.. was re-born. and i did do it... i lost 80lbs... it took me longer than most, but i don't care. I have donated all the 12-14-16 & 18 and moved in to my own size 6... On Feb 15, 2012.... after a long hard fight.... i won and awarded my self a tummy tuck... i deserved it. I earned it....

so to my band... thank you... for sticking with me and always keeping me on track.

and too all you out there thinking about doing this.....search with in your self and be happy again... which ever way you choose.....

Hi there, you are definitely in the right place. I was a very restrictive dieter, always putting myself through some kind of torture and beating myself up for not being able to sustain, the regaining plus some, the isolation. Getting that appetite monster off of my back has been amazing. I feel so free from something inside that I was constantly fighting against. I felt betrayed by my body. How could it get fat like that when I worked so damn hard? Now I feel synced up.
Where are you in your process? One thing I did before surgery was up my exercise. I didn't want to, but I did it and I'm really glad. I think it helped me emotionally to process everything on some other level plus it gave me something to step into right after surgery. I also got a therapist to help me work through my eating patterns and triggers. It's not like I hadn't done that before. I was 52 and had done a lot of work on myself. This time it was different, though, because in choosing weight loss surgery I was in a place of brutal self-honesty. It had come to that. Somehow this made it possible for me to see the whole thing as a giant step forward. I was ready to rescue myself. I was choosing myself first and giving myself the gift of weight loss surgery. It got me my life back.
Did I worry that I'd be the person it didn't work for? Sure. I think most of us thought that way because, after all, we had failed at everything else (grapefruit diet, cabbage diet, Eat Right For Your Blood Type, Weight Watchers, Atkins, Barry Sears, juice fasting, The Plan -- the this the that and the other, heck, I'm just getting started! I am so happy to be through with dieting. I am careful to listen to my body and to eat small portions at appropriate intervals. I can do this because my appetite is dimmed (see links below).
Best wishes to you -- keep us posted. Know that you are worthy and deserving of all good things.

Your story does not sound any different than any others....welcome to the club.
I'm 63 years old, and over the years have been on every diet you can think of...started out good with all of them, then failed miserably!!! That was because with every diet, it too self discipline, self motivation and will power to make it work. And when it came to food, I had none of that.
I needed surgical intervention...something to be altered physically to do what I could not do on my own.
Ask your self this.....WHY lap band surgery? WHAT do you expect to happen with the band? (and don't say to loose weight...that's a given) HOW do you expect the band to make you loose weight and fix those addictions?
These are questions I was asking the staff leading up to my surgery....
There is a reason we have to resort to surgery. It is because of all those things you mentioned....hopeless cases. And only surgical intervention can fix it.....least that's my story.
I went into this with expectations....and my Dr. concurred....so I would not settle for anything less...
Today, I have no head hunger, no cravings....it is impossible for me to over eat, but it does not matter because most of the time I have no hunger and very little interest in food or eating in the first place
If I try to eat more than the band will allow, it results in unpleasant things...so eventually I stopped thinking about overeating.....
If you burn your hand every time you put it in the fire, eventually it becomes second nature not to put your hand in the fire.
So yes... for me, the band did take care of all that you mention, for me....But in the beginning, first year at least, it was not easy...a lot to learn, much of it the hard way.....a very trying time...but I stuck with it, and learned I had to change in order for the band to do it's job.

You're not the only one....
I believe my pouch can stretch just as the rest of my stomach can stretch.
I rely on my band - restriction, to limit the amount of food I can eat at any one sitting...
There are times I'm going along and then realize I am eating more than I usually could......can't believe I actually ate all that!!
It is then that I do my version of what some people call the "5 day Pouch Test"
What that term means I don't have a clue...test what?
This 5 day pouch test will not give you something you never had in the first place.
Anyway , I will lay off solid foods and go all liquids for 2-3 days...shakes, Soups, etc....it gives the band a rest, and allows the pouch to contract back to normal....after that, my restriction has returned, good as new....
What does a Dr. do if there is any issue? He/She will empty the band...gives the band a rest, allowing it to reset itself, return to where it should be....I go all liquids accomplishing the same thing...
I now do that on a regular basis every 4-6 weeks, and it usually takes me only 1-2 full days.
This is the only maintenance I can think of with one who has had lap band surgery.
This is something I believe and do....can't speak for others, and I know there are Banded people who think I'm full of baloney....
But I'm happy and that's all that matters.

It is definitely a learning curve, and many lessons learned the hard way.
I have been stuck more times than I can count...so times 2-3 times a day. I had some very bad eating habits that the band was going to change!!!
And that was mostly in the first 12-18 months. I do not get stuck anymore, I've finally learned and changed my ways.
Now you've had an unpleasant experience...you have to ask yourself, am I too tight? Or am I eating bad and need to learn some lessons. Did I do something wrong.
Also, after an experience like that, you can irritate the band, cause inflammation, and not be able to keep anything down. And trying to eat only prolongs it...like walking on an ankle after you sprained it. You need to give it a rest.
I'm amazed at how many people will immediately say they're too tight, and go get Fluid taken out so they can eat whatever they want more easily.....kind of defeats the purpose IMO......
But this is where banded people begin to go separate ways, have their different philosophies, comfort levels....etc.
Not going to say who's right or wrong...as long as it works for them and find success, then that's all that matters.
There are many things I have learned not to eat....most the hard way....and it's interesting that the majority of them are not that good for me in the first place..high carbs, etc. such as breads, Pasta, rice, to name a few.....also red meat is on my list, along with anything breaded and deep fried.
I eat when and what I want, but my food choices have changed (thanks to the band)...180 degrees.....and when I do eat, it is very healthy foods...and very little when I do.
A lifestyle change, not a diet, brought about by the band..
Before WLS, there was nothing to stop me from overeating...except perhaps my own discipline, and I know how ineffective that was....
That's why I was fat....could not stop eating anything and everything as much as I wanted, whenever I wanted.
But now, the band is there. And if I step out of bounds, it is quick to let me know...Or Else.
It sets the rules, not me. It is in control. That's why I will not refer to it as a tool....as if I can turn it on or off...
A pet peeve of mine is when people say "They failed the band" They are a failure.....WAIT a minute...it's a 2 way street...what about the band? Did it fail you? Is it doing anything? There is a reason we needed to have WLS after all, and for me it was not so I can go on another diet...but that';s my take.

I've had 1 fill and have very little restriction if any at all. I can eat pretty much anything I want without any problems. I am maintaining my weight and losing a few pounds very slowly. I know the best is yet to come. Getting in the green zone will make a world of difference!

I've had 1 fill and have very little restriction if any at all. I can eat pretty much anything I want without any problems. I am maintaining my weight and losing a few pounds very slowly. I know the best is yet to come. Getting in the green zone will make a world of difference!

Right after surgery, everybody looses weight...lap band or no, we are on a strict post-op diet starting with Clear liquids and slowly progressing. Who wouldn't loose weight? And yet people give credit to the band.
At this stage, the Lap Band is doing nothing, IMO....it was installed and nothing more.(there are a FEW EXCEPTIONS...very few)
And let's face it...people who have much to loose, will loose more than the next person not quite so heavy.
So when someone says "I Lost 50 lbs, blah blah blah, the next person should not feel bad only loosing 10lbs.
I know people who could loose 50lbs if they skipped dinner! (only joking)
There are people here who start at 400lbs and loose over 200, and people who start at 225 and only loose 75....so which is more difficult?
So don't let the #'s intimidate you...it's all relative.
I had my first fill 4 weeks after surgery, and it was 4cc's....after that, I began to gain weight because it also the time I came off the post-op diet and began eating normal food again. DUH!
That first fill did absolutely nothing.
Had my second fill of 2cc's, 4 weeks after that, = 8 weeks from surgery.
The band began to do something....I didn't loose weight, but I did not gain either.
All this time I was being told and reminded to count calories, measure portions, stay away from certain foods/drink, etc...ALL the things I could have done (and have done) without surgery, the time and anxiety put into preparing for this, not to mention the $$.
Talk about Frustration!! I felt it was a big Rip Off!
Came back 4 weeks after that, = 12 weeks from surgery for my 3rd, (and final) fill. THAT one put me over the top.Pushed me off the edge!
Could not keep anything down. Feared I was going to be malnourished, etc. I was free falling!
Many people would have gone back to get it taken out, get back within their comfort zone......but my Dr. (who knows ME and not YOU) talked me into sticking it out, talked me into slowing down my eating, choice of foods, all those thing etc, etc.
Also said if I did get that last (small) fill removed, it would put me back to where I was after my 2nd fill...did I want that?
I'm glad he did...it took weeks - months for things to start to find that groove, but it did all start to fall in line.
That elusive "Fine balance - Harmony" where the band performs splendidly. The true "Green Zone"
I quess my point is, this thing DOES WORK, but it is not going to work immediately...it is adjustable and it takes time, sometimes with trial and error, to get it right.
And it is not just the band that gets adjusted along the way...we too have to get adjusted to the Lap Band. And that is key to success.
Lap Band Surgery will "Change Your Life" but you have to ready and willing for change. And that can be very frustrating and take some time. Even though my last needed fill was 12 weeks from surgery, and the weight began to steadily and consistently come off, a year later I was still learning lessons, Life changing lessons...most times the hard and unpleasant way. Did not mean the band is at fault.
I'm 4 years out, and I can do something right now, this moment, that would cause a very negative reaction with my band. Does not mean my band is at fault...it means I just did something I should never do...simple, yet it did take time to learn the difference.
If people told me 4 years ago what and how little I would be eating today, and still be healthy and full of energy, I would have said they were blowing smoke up my you know what.
And yet here I am at that place, and to tell new people this, would be accepted the same as I would have 4 years ago.
This is the internet, and 1000's of people come and go here all the time. And I have read people's posts about frustration and feelings of failure (many of which are way pre-mature...give it a chance) when in fact I sense they are not willing to accept change. (still talking about pizza and cheese burgers, etc? Really?)
Not all, but some. There are people who legitimately have problems, complications. But we, strangers on the internet can ever tell what is going on.
They can't understand why they keep getting stuck...There's something wrong with their band...maybe there is, and maybe it's not the band....no one on the internet can tell for sure.
That is why it is best, IMO, it's best for people to simply share their own experiences, AT ALL LEVELS, good and bad, positive and negative...
Ok, it's 4am on a Sunday, I'm rambling on with my morning coffee before heading to the gym at 6...nothing more, just rambling..and pehaps ranting.

@@Angelant76 congrats on your surgery and current weight loss! I don't know that I was confused about whether or not I needed a fill, but I definitely wanted them!
I just had my 4th fill and and I *think* I might be at green. Knock on wood! My fill process has been interesting, for lack of a better word. My first fill was scheduled 4 weeks post-op, and each subsequent fill every 4 weeks. I lost about 8 pounds in a couple of weeks but then nothing. I lost very slowly after that, up until this past month, another 8 pounds. The tech doing my fill was happy with that progress and asked why I thought I wasn't at green yet. My response was basically what you stated. I can pretty much go a few to several hours between meals, but I could still eat larger quantities than what I knew I was supposed to. I also don't eat as slow or chew as much as I know I should. I explained that my band hadn't stopped me. her response was that they didn't want me to have stuck episodes, which I totally get because I don't either, but at the same time, i do want to know my band is working. I am now at a total of 6 cc's in a 10 cc band. These past few days I have had to make myself eat, much like those first few days post-op. I am not hungry and that is an awesome feeling! I am not yet back on regular food so I will see how or if that changes anything, but like I said, my appetite is currently suppressed.
I guess my thoughts are to be patient with the process and follow your doc's orders as much as possible. Every one is on their own journey. I felt like I was losing too slowly, like I would be the person the band wouldn't work for, etc. but now I have lost almost 30 pounds and the weight is starting to come off faster.
Good luck! :-)

Ok,all you ladies out there. Maybe you can help me out. I'm 3 1/2 weeks out from surgery, and all of a sudden everything I eat no matter how soft, feels like it has trouble going through. I could hardly eat anything yesterday. This morning I'm eating some scrambled eggs and every bite is painful. I remember reading somewhere that hormone fluctuations can cause this to happen. I'm just hoping that's what it is and nothing is wrong with my band! Thanks in advance for your input!

Thanks for the encouragment! My surgery is tomorrow and I'm getting at that point where I'm starting to wonder what I got myself into! Lol I know in the long run I am going to be so much happier. And, congratulations on your success!

I had the dreaded left shoulder pain around day four or five.....windmill arms helped me, and walking, walking. Heating pad, etc. I wondered if it is trapped gas from the surgery or perhaps something to do with how we are positioned on the table. Sending sympathies! Good news is you are on your way and truly will not able to recall the current discomfort.

Maybe a warm bath will help until you can see your Doctor. And drink room temperature Water.

Ok, I'm 5 days post op. I've been feeling pretty good. The soreness had eased up and the gas pains were pretty well gone. Then, this evening, all of a sudden my left upper side started cramping up and feeling like I'm having muscle spasms inside. Could my stomach be spasming?? It gets real intense for a few seconds then let's up. It happens every couple minutes. I'm getting kind of scared. It's been going on for a couple hours now. My follow up appt isn't until Thursday and my dr is 3 hours away. Anybody have an idea what's going on??

I total agree with all of you! I read the positive stories and I feel so excited about what's to come for me. Then, as I sit here, 5 days post op and read a post about the band triggering autoimmune diseases and I'm like wtf?? Everybody has a different experience with the band and I hope and pray that I am one of those people with a success story. Best of luck to you all, and props to all the positive bandsters out there handing out encouragement! Us new bandsters are in desperate need of it!

It will definitely get better! On my 4th day post op, most of my gas pain finally went away. Now, it's just occassionally that I get what feels like a bubble in my chest. Hang in there, those first few days are pretty rough.

I was banded December 19th, 2014. I'm 5 weeks post-surgery, and had my first fill just yesterday.
The liquid diet was tough but completely manageable - talk about a test of my mental strength...! Was SO excited for my surgery day as that would bring me one day closer to solid foods.
Surgery was as simple as it could be, completely straightforward and no complications. Sore incisions, horribly painful (expected) gas pain. Off pain meds within 2 days, feeling much better within 4 days.
Currently down 29 pounds, (delightful!) although I don't see a big difference visibly. Not feeling any 'restriction' (I have learned this is a 4-letter word in the bariatric world...) although I am feeling a decent sense of satiety between meals. Will definitely be asking for a larger fill next time I go. Had a good feeling of restriction 3-weeks post surgery, but then.... it kind of fell away and I found myself wanting to eat bigger portions. Boo.
Currently sitting plateaued at 29 pounds down. Feeling terrific, just eager to REALLY get this weight loss show on the road!

My surgery date is January 21st! I started my 7 day liquid diet today. It's starting to get real now that I will be having this surgery in 1 week! I am super nervous about all the changes that will be taking place. I'm married and have 3 children so changing my eating habits will be difficult because they will all want to eat what they are use to. I just try to concentrate on what I want the end result to be and how I'll feel when I get there. All this hard work and sacrifice will be so worth it! Best of luck to you and just think of how fantastic you are going to feel!

My surgery date is January 21st! I started my 7 day liquid diet today. It's starting to get real now that I will be having this surgery in 1 week! I am super nervous about all the changes that will be taking place. I'm married and have 3 children so changing my eating habits will be difficult because they will all want to eat what they are use to. I just try to concentrate on what I want the end result to be and how I'll feel when I get there. All this hard work and sacrifice will be so worth it! Best of luck to you and just think of how fantastic you are going to feel!

Oh man, I dont have any kids but i would like to. My Family has ALWAYS been big. The weight usually hits you when 13-16 comes around and i thought i was lucky when i turned 19 and i was still 125. I guess it was just a delayed reaction cause here i am 22 and im double what i was 3 years ago(WOWZERS) Ive decided on WLS about 6 months ago, I am still going through all the Hoops.
I Told my Husband How i feel and hes been with me from the Start. I Refuse to tell my family members because i know they will react the same as yours. 3 of my Aunts have Diabetes and 1 of them had to get their Foot Amputated. I have 5, Yes 5 Uncles(Blood/Inlaws) Who are all Moribly Overweight, and 1 of them passed away last year because of heart problems that came with the weight. Yet None of these people refuse to believe wls is actually a good idea. I myself refuse to let myself fall down that path. My Own Mother, Who is Overweight, Listened to my Aunts and Uncles about the weightloss surgery a few years back and skipped out on her chance to change her life. She is 40 years old and almost 350lbs.
Ive decided i wont tell anyone, I may tell my mother because we are so close but who knows. Im tired of people saying "Its the Easy way out" Or "Just do it the natural way". Ya know what? It is easier, Because im getting a tool to help me. Tools make everything easier or atleast more bareable. Could you imagine having to pound a nail in wood with your barehands(i swear this is what struggling to lose weight is like) because someone said using a hammer was the easy way out?For some people Surgery is the ONLY way out.
I Want to have Children in a Few years and i want to Live long enough to see them Grow, Graduate, Get married, Have kids, and see their Kids grow. Ive already decided If you not here to support me? You are not Invited to my new Life.
Sorry for all the Rant, but its been a year of hearing peoples opinion and i just decided i need to worry about me and my own. I suggest you sit down with your hub and try to get across why you rather choose to get this Surgery than Die. Im sure he will get it.