ts505050

Hi there. I have not posted in quite some time, nor have I been reading other posts religiously as I once did. I am hoping to hear from some other people that are years into this banded life that can shed some light on some things for me. I was banded in the summer of '05. I was pretty sure that I would lose every single extra pound in the first six months. I didn't, but I did lose about 30 pounds. In the first year I lost a total of 40 pounds. I was pretty happy with that. In the second year, I reverted to some of the emotional eating that made me fat in the first place, but managed to stay stable despite myself. In the third year, which will end in August, I have managed to gain back all 40 pounds. In the beginning of the year, I was teetering on being too tight. I didn't want to gain weight so I kept it that way. Over the course of a few months, it seemed to get tighter as I gained a few more pounds because of all of the soft foods I was eating.
Then my surgeon left town. That was the biggest blow, because she was amazing. I found myself on my own and I had no idea what to do. By the time I found a new surgeon I had gained about 15 pounds because it was too tight. The new surgeon, although nice, had no clue what to do. He took Fluid out of my band, but way too much. This left me with almost no restriction and have since gained back every pound that I originally lost.
I'm going to a new surgeon tomorrow, one that has a great reputation from what I have read. I am hoping to be able to start all over and find success again. Has anyone had luck years later? I am frustrated today, and have been for quite some time. I have even been considering looking into alternative surgeries. I never thought I would consider that.
Any advice and/or similar experiences would be so helpful to me right now. I am really hopeful that by Christmas, I can manage to get my weight back down below 200. I'm at 260 right now. Thanks to anyone who has advice or encouragement for me, and thanks for reading this far! I'm hoping that involving myself in a support group will help me get this thing together.
Thanks!