lapbandmom89

Did any of you have real trouble finding the right restriction after pregnancy?:biggrin:

Hi. I must say upfront that I am not banded my daughter is but I paid for the surgery and still take her to everyone of her appointments because this was an investment for me and worth every penny to me if it worked for her. My daughter was banded in April 08 at the age of 18. I was so excited for her but it has been anything but a fun ride. She dropped 19 pounds in the first two months after surgery but then it all pretty much stopped. Then she started the up a pound, down two pounds, up four pounds, down 2 pounds...... each time she went to the doctor she would get a small fill except for the one time he gave her a slight unfill. In her 9 cc Realize band she was up to 8.5 cc and then she dropped 12 pounds. Just so happens she was going through a breakup at the time which may have been the reason for the weight loss. Then to complicate things more, she found out she was pregnant. She only gained 11 pounds during the pregnancy which was great. I expected her to lose more than she gained after the birth of the baby but she didn't but she did drop the 11 immediately. Three weeks after the baby she went back to the doctor who filled her band back to 6 cc. We were scheduled to return in 4 weeks and when she returned for that appointment she had gained 5 pounds! Which didnt make much sense to me seeing as she had joined the YMCA and had been exercising and actually enjoying it. We were there last Friday, and this new doctor we are seeing is wonderful by the way....he too is banded. He told her he wanted her to do like two Protein bars a day and then one "real" meal of like a chicken breast etc. Also, she is NEVER to drink calories of any kind again, not a Protein shake, nothing and he did not want to give her another fill at that time becuase she did have one episode of throwing u. So we got the bars and she has been doing that with very litttle deviation and after a week she is up 2 pounds! I dont know if it takes a while for this protien thing to kick in or what. He said "trust me on this". So I dont know if this is hormonal or what. She did just get the new 5 year birth control gadget and in on her cycle now so I dont know if that is it or what. I do know that she doesnt drink enough. She used to be a big milk drinker but with her meals and now of course you dont do that so she just doesnt drink enough of anything, which I know from personal experience is not good. So, I guess she is heartbroken. She feels like a failure.....a fat failure with what she calls a "fat flap" now from pregnancy. She is almost back to pre-surgery weight and we are almost two years into this. I guess I would feel better about the starting over after baby thing if she had been real successful before the pregnancy but she wasnt. I beginnig to think there is something wrong with her. Why cant she lose with this thing? Maybe the 8.5 cc thing was it but we didnt really have enough time to figure that out before the pregnancy came up and she had to get a partial unfill. I am going to call the doc on Monday. He said to call if ever she needed him before her appointment and we are going to do just that. We will drive the three hours if need be to get another fill which she is sure now that she needs. Anyone have any words of hope? Encouragement? Ideas? Is this normal after pregnancy? Is it just that she needs more of a fill? Or is it just impossible for some people to actually lose weight?

Thank you so much humming bird. I appreciate your positive attitude. I get kind of consumed with this thing for a number of reasons but a large part of it is the fact that that was a lot of money for me to pay. I remember feeling so excited for her the day of her surgery like it was a new beginning for her. She struggled with the band even before being pregnant so I just get discouraged now that you throw this into it. I remember her crying one day and saying "mom you don't understand. This thing can be so painful." So I'm thinking does that mean shes too tight...does it mean she is so addicted to food that she isn't satisfied with a small amount emotionally and eats more than she should....is she eating things she shouldn't? Why would it hurt so frequently? This is a difficult age for me to handle. They want to show you how independant they are but they really still need mom and dad. I thought she had reached the sweet spot at the 8.5 but she'd eat and then walk outside for a minute or walk in the bathroom and up it came in one plop. She lost 12 pounds in one month that month. She was at 8.2 before that but said that she didn't feel that "whoa" feeling like everyone described on these forum and she wasnt losing. Her doc was a little perflexed becuase she kept telling him that she didn't have the right restriction, she knew she had some, but not enough while she was also having some things get stuck. He said that was not possible. That that was two ends of the spectrum... Sometimes she would eat and it would come up then she was fine and she could eat without problems. I'm kinda rambling again. This thing can be kind of perplexing. It would be great if you could just have the surgery, they fill it and off you go....you are at your sweet spot. It took 12 months for her to get to the 8.5 meanwhile weight loss was minimal. I have asked the surgeon for a few additional months. We'll see what he says.

Hi. I am not banded but my daughter is. She was banded at 18 years of age. That was about a year and a half ago. If you are wondering why I'm posting and not her, she's too embarrassed to use these forums. The other reason I'm posting is I feel like this was an investment for me too as I am the one who footed the bill. I think what I would like are words of advice/encouragement for her. Here's the deal. Her weight at surgery was 215. She dropped 10 then 9, then up one, down one, up four, down two, up ??, down one, down 12.....anyhow to date she has lost 27 pounds. Yes that is good. I am pretty confident that she would have added that much to her pre-op weight by now if she hadnt have had the surgery. Problem is that she does not communicate well with the doctor and/or dietician. She's really bashful about talking about it so then I end up talking for her going by the things she has talked to me about. She has a 9 cc Realize Band. We were told that it could be "stubborn". At her max fill she was at 8.5 cc (yikes). She then dropped the 12 pounds. Thing is she was going through a break up with her boyfriend at the time and so I think that may have contributed to the 12 pounds. at 8.5 she was throwing everything back up so we knew that was too tight. Anyway the point I am trying to get to is that it never seemed like she got to a point where she was not miserable in one way or another. Either she was in pain or she was thowing stuff up but yet she seemed to be able to eat plenty. I think maybe she was overfilled so was eating poorly (bad foods that would go down easily) so then she wasnt losing. then becuase she wasnt losing she would get more of a fill. Am I making any sense here? Now to make things more interesting, she is pregnant. the doc took 2 cc out of her band so she is at 6.5 cc. she says she feels good becuase things arent gettting stuck but yet she can eat a lot. Can someone please tell me that it is possible to get back on track after a year and nine months. thats what it will be by the time the baby gets here. She will have 3 months left of her two years of visits that are included with the surgery. Would someone please tell me that I havent wasted my money. and not just that, I had such high hopes for her. I dont mind the money. I was worth it if it worked for her. More importantly I was hoping it would improve her self esteem. I think she thinks she has to put up with whatever guys want to dish out becuase shes just the fat girl. is it that hard to find the sweetspot? I would like to call and talk with the dietician but I feel silly doing that as she is an adult. Oh and for the record, no I didnt suggest that she get surgery. She wanted and asked for my help. at first I said I cant help you then I thought it over and looked into financing and decided I would go through with it. Please refrain from lectures. I need positive replys.:thumbdown:

hey everyone! I wanted to give you an update. I think the last time I posted my daughter was at 8 cc and she was discouraged as her appetite was still big. She did have some issues with some vomiting but really was able to eat as much as she wanted. She was noticing nothing from the band other than occasional vomiting....strange....but not a sweet spot. At the next appointment he filled her to 8.2 cc in her 9 cc band......still no change. I called and kind of insisted that he let her come back in before the month was up and he did. They filled her to 8.5 cc and I think that did the trick. At her next visit a month later she had lost 12 pounds which was great. Maybe a little more than they would like but she had been gaining weight back so was not really making progress. Now she is 13 months out and is going the right direction again. Mind you, I must say she doesnt follow all the rules. For her it is really a matter of portion control. She is eating little and not even eating three times a day most days. If this works for her and she stays healthy maybe thats fine. She does need to work on liquids though. She was mostly a person who drank at meals and has had to quit that. Her dietician did say that she could take an occasional tiny tiny sip to kind of clear her throat if she needed to. Anyhow I don't think she is getting enough water. But despite a lot negative comments from some who just wanted to say she was eating around the band, she, I believe is back on track. I can see a change in her appearance already.

Nicely put.....my daughter goes Wednesday too to her doc but he will be out of town so she has to see the NP. They are going to take it all out and see whats there and then put it back....all under floro. I feel so bad and we have had soo many arguments about it because I'm frustrated too becuase of the $$ I'm paying.......$733.52 per month.....she said she feels worse than she did before she had the surgery done. Today I watched her eat one of those frozen beef and bean burritos which arent huge but not small either. She probably could have ate more but didn't have time. We then ran a couple errands, maybe 1 1/2 hrs., and she was starving again. That doesn't seem right to me and if they arent always doing the fills under floro then how do they know they havent missed her port on some of these fills or something? One more thing.....eventhough she is not at her sweet spot, occasionally she has terrible pain in her chest and then sometimes it will come up. We think maybe it was just what she ate,not that she is overfilled. Doc says he's concerned because thats both ends of the spectrum.....puking and no restriction. What do you guys think? I'm thinking its what she ate. This last time it was scrammbled eggs with some cheapo so-called american cheese that wouldn't melt. It was like plastic. (We are all trying to watch our $$). It was terribly painful then came up. Is it normal to hurt like that with some foods? She says that she doesn't want to do nothing else but sit around and think about this band all the time. she wants it to do its job while she gets on with other things in her life. She is very private about having the surgery and didn't tell any friends or family.

Interesting.....my daughter has 8.2 in a 9 cc realize band and no sweet spot. I'm with you Jazzly if this was about simply a diet no one would get the band. My daughter is still not filling up on the 1/2 cup to a cup thing so she is not losing weight. Actually she has starting gaining back and we are 11 months out. I think she had just assumed that it wouldn't work and was going to leave it at that becuase our doc never talked about the sweet spot thing. We only heard about it on the forums, so she didn't know that was supposed to happen and she thought she was just failing at this. Here's what we are going to do. I emailed the doc and basically begged for him to go against his own policy of one fill per month and no more. Every fill we think this will be it and it doesn't make a difference. Is she obeying every rule to a t all the time.....no but she she is hungry. I think she probably is able to each as much as she did before she was banded. She has some occasional discomfort, I think from eating too fast and it comes up, but other than that she doesnt know its there. And she never was a huge eater anyway just not blessed with great metabolism I guess. Anyway the doc emailed me back and said to come in this week and see the nurse practioner and she would draw it all out and see what is really there and it would all be done under flouroscope. I'm am so discouraged. I see people who have reached their goal in this amount of time and she hasn't gotten to her sweet spot yet!! Now doc is rather far away and the weather did set us back probably two visits because we just couldn't get there and once he unfilled her a bit and then the next time put it back so theres two more months..... I am going to demand some things on this visit. Any advise anyone? We go Wednesday.

Still discouraged. My daughter went for her 6th, yes 6th fill last week and still no sweet spot. We are 11 months out and weight loss has stopped. She lost 20 almost instantly and then nothing. A few pounds have even come back on. They look at her and say are you watching your carbs???? She needs to reach that sweet spot! She is now at 8.2 cc in a 9 cc Realize band. I know they say this band can be stubborn but what the heck! Months are ticking by and each month we think this will be the fill that gets her there and I'm beginning to wonder if she will ever get there. I read about people after 11 months losing tons of weight and its not happening here. This can't all be her fault. The idea is to not be able to each much before filling up and if thats not happening then whats the point. Anyone else take this long? Doc will not give fills more than once a month. I sent him an email and basically begged for him to make an exception to his rule. I asked him if there wasn't any way we could get more aggressive.

THANKS. YOU'VE BEEN VERY HELPFUL AND ENCOURAGING. :thumbup:THIS JUST HAS TO WORK FOR HER. TRYING TO FIND A CURVES TO GET HER INTO. THE ONE IN OUR TOWN CLOSED.

:huh2:Hey everyone. I noticed that it had been a while since anyone posted here and I'd like to know how you are doing now???? My daughter has the 9 cc Realize Band and was banded in april 08. She dropped 20 right away but thats pretty much it. Shes been up a couple and down a couple since then. She has 8 cc in her band. Some weather issues kept away from the docs office during December/January becuase of the distance to his office. But shes still not to that magical sweet spot. She knows it there but is still able to eat more than she should. She could stand to exercise more yes but the way I see it is that this is mostly about very very small portions. The 1/2 cup thing that I read about for some definately is not where she is. I would love to hear that one of you has now found the sweet spot and has starting going down...down....down. Sent doc and email and he said not to sweat it much that there is a lot of restriction in that last cc so I hope thats the case. We go again next week to see him. She about ready to give up and just figure that she has failed at this too. I need to hear it I guess becuase this payment is choking me. Dont get me wrong its worth every penny if it works.

wow thats interesting. my daughter was banded in april '08 and she dropped 20 pds in two months but since then it has been up and down with no real other loss to speak of. The distance from us to the doc has made it a bit more challenging due to weather conditions and some job changes she has had. She was given 5 cc after one month, then 1 cc, 1 cc, .5 cc, .5 cc. So shes at 8 in a 9 cc band and still is able to eat too much before feeling satisfied. She definately knows it there because some things she cant tolerate and sometimes she says the first couple of bites of something are horrible and come back up but then shes fine to go on with her meal. But that whole thing of being full after 1/2 cup??? no way. Our doc will not give you a fill anymore often than once a month. We go next wednesday and we're gonna ask him to do the floro and do kind of like you said except we gonna ask him to take it all out, check to see how much is there and then put it back, "Filler-up" and then take just enough out to be able to swallow water. I feel bad. Shes discouraged and at this time feels like she only has the disadvantages of the band but not many advantages. I've heard some people say that some overweight people are actually little inside if you know what I mean and we really are rather small people eventhough she is the only one with a real weight problem. I wonder if this could be why she is taking so long to get to the sweet spot. Could she just be small inside and its taking a while to get it tight? We emailed doc and I told him about how we felt about the minimal weight loss and the lack of real restriction while she is at 8 cc. He said not to sweat it too much becuase there is a lot of restriction in that last cc. He said hes never had a patient that he knows of not get restriction. You notice the docs don't use the term sweet spot? She does have restriction, just not enough to experience what you others are referring to. The other thing she says is that she feels more restriction but a couple weeks after the fill that changes and she doesnt notice a real change from the previous fill. hmmmmmm. Any thoughts?

Congratulations on your decision to get healthy. I have a few comments in regards to you post. I don't know your financial situation but I financed surgery for my daughter through one of the finance companies that my doctor referred us to. They had very reasonable interest rates and you even got to choose from say a 12 month, 18, 24 etc. I personnally chose the shortest term and am choking on some high payments so I wouldn't pay as much interest. Private message me if you want about what company I went with. If you have someone who would do that for you, that's great. If you have a choice I would go with a finance company rather than a friend or family member becuase I think then you are more determined to make this work because now its a financial investment too and there couldn't be hard feelings between you and this other person if you are late on a payment etc. I do think that in most cases, if you want something bad enough you will find a way to make it happen and I'm sure you will too. Good Luck.

Don't feel bad my daughter had surgery in April and isnt there yet. She is at 8 cc in a 9 cc Realize band. Fills were 5 cc, 1/2 cc, 1 cc, 1 cc, 1/2 cc. Her next appointment is March 4. This doc is very sweet but my daughter won't speak up and say how she's feeling. She just thinks shes a failure. So I think I need to go off on someone and tell them to stop making her feel guilty and get this thing filled up. I think I'm going to insist on them doing it under floro this time. I hate for him to just put a large fill in and then leave, drive three hours home only to have to go back because she can't swallow. But he will only do a fill every 4 weeks, no exceptions so everytime she gets a fill and that doesn't get her to her sweet spot it just means wait another month and struggle another month with dieting. I have to be honest my daughter has ZERO willpower and I have worried that she'll be the one who fails at this but them I have to remind myself that people who get banded are obese right? Willpower is probably always and issue and it the band has worked for those people so it can work for my daughter too. She really needs this to work. She has no self esteem at this point.:thumbdown:

WOW you have issues.:thumbdown: Do you make a habit of attacking people? I doubt if an attitude like yours will be welcome on this forum. At no time did I say the band wasn't going to work for her. It's just not where it needs to be yet. It will work. This is for a lifetime. The ten months that she has been trying to get to her sweet spot are just a bump in the road. My question was simply about the large amount that she already has in the band without reaching the sweet spot. I am going to refrain from going on with this eventhough it is quite tempting.

AT LAST I think I'm in the right place. I recently posted in the wrong area of this forum and a gentleman sent me a very rude reply. I am the mother of a Realize band patient. She was banded in April 08, is at 8 cc in a 9 cc and no sweet spot yet. She has tried dieting in the meantime, but lets face it, if that worked, no one would be on this forum would they. This guy told me that maybe I shouldn't have wasted my money that maybe she was not a good candidate for the surgery and that she was not devoted enough, hadnt done our part. :thumbup: (I thought that was rude and presumptuous.) This is not the case. What I said was that we did need to take partial credit because the doc is three hours away and we had to cancel and reschedule twice, once in December and once in January becuase of level three snow emergency. That did slow things down a bit. I don't really think that makes us undevoted to this thing. Also, unlike some others, our doc will only give you a fill once a month, no sooner than that. ANYWAY, I was concerned about the fact that she was at 8 and no sweet spot yet but I see that others in the same boat. I would love to know now that has worked out for you guys. I have never discussed with the doc how much the band will really hold or if this is typical of the Realize. When he asked if we had a preference I asked his recommendation and he said there were no real difference, they were both good. He is a protor/teacher for both so I assume he knows what he is doing. But my daughters success has been minimal at this point. The inital weight loss in starting to come back on and I was just curious what others in this situation are finding out.:thumbdown: