Samantha Kirchner Petritis

Plain and simple - FEAR
I had the lapband and failed. I felt the sense of failure with the band and with all previous attempts (I could lose alot of weight, but never get to a normal size, and always regain it) like a weight on my shoulders. Like evidence of how weak/awful/damaged I must be.
The thing that shifted my view about this was hearing from a woman who ran a non surgical weight loss program that i wanted to try. She explained to me the metabolic disease of obesity and why I had been trying to canoe upstream without a working paddle. She told me I needed the sleeve or bypass - i would not succeed in her 2 year lifestyle program because my obesity disease was just too advanced.
Then she said something magical "I know you will succeed with the sleeve, beyond your wildest dreams because in spite of everything - you never give up"
that was a completely different ways to see my failures. Everytime I failed, I tried again. Like running into a brick wall, but I kept trying. All that "try" paid off big time with the sleeve. So, sometimes, seeing things through a different viewpoint can really be a positive thing.
Now, 3 years post op, maintaining a normal body weight for the last 2 years - for the first time EVER, I mean I was chubby as a baby/toddler/preschooler and was obese by 1st grade - so truly first time EVER. (I got slim when I was in my 20s but only maintained for about 2 weeks, seriously) Can you imagine reaching your late 40s and finally having this dream come true? It is possible.

Ok, we've all been there...You go and get a fill and they give you all of these specific instructions on what to eat and what not to eat. They make you drink Water before you leave to make sure you're not completely shut off, etc etc.. But what about if you get it loosened? They don't tell you what THAT'S gonna be like!! So here's a list of the potential side effects for having an UN-fill (I wish I would've known before I had my band loosened):
- Gas
- Bloating, Water retention
- Diarrhea or constipation.. or diarrhea followed by Constipation followed by diarrhea
- More gas and bloating
- Hunger
- RAPID WEIGHT GAIN!!!!! And I mean RAPID, even if you're watching what u eat!!!
So what do we Banders do?? We go back and get a fill, right???? And another fill, and another fill.. But guess what!! THERE'S NO GOING BACK!! It's that "green-zone" everyone talks about. If u get to your green-zone, then don't mess with it!!
Unfortunately, I did mess w it. And after 3 more fills in my 10 yr old band, I'm up 65 pounds in about 6 months. So I gave up.. had my band removed last month and in 3 weeks I'm getting the Sleeve.
Anyone else have this happen???