Hello everyone- I am new to this forum but not to lap-band. I had my surgery 3 years ago and I consider myself a lap-band failure. I initially lost about 50 lbs and found when I reached 175 lbs I was satisfied with my weight. I know that was my excuse to fall back into my old habits. I found it very easy to eat my way around my band. I could eat what I wanted, throw it up and eat some more. Sad and disgusting isn't it? I was maintaing around 185 lbs (down from 225) and I was I OK with that (I shouldn't have been). Last summer, June 30th my sister died unexpectantly. She was 48. I have had a very difficult time with this and now I am up to 200lbs. I am miserable. I have not had a fill for 2 years. I decided I have to do something for myself NOW! I am educated and in the health field. I am a RN and a nursing supervisor. I am happily married and have a wonderful 10 year old daughter and I am going to school fulltime working on my master's degree. Sounds like I have everything? I do, except happiness with myself.

I am writing this not to be criticized, but because I am asking for your support. Has anyone else out there had failure? I only hear of people who have lost a lot of weight. Anyone know of anyone out there who had gained and what have they done to get back on track?

BTW- I am schedule for a fill tomorrow and I have ordered my protein supplements. Please wish me luck! Help! LB

did you get your ab circle and did you try it how was it.

I did get it. I love it!!! So far, that is. I can feel it in my core. I am on it twice a day. The weather here is not warming up at all and so am doing the treadmill and the Ab Circle Mini while I continue to wait for the weather to warm up. The scale surely will start going down again one day. I am so disappointed in myself for falling back onto bad habits; however, I am working very hard on correcting that issue, AGAIN.

Ok. I am so slow, it is not even funny. Since the day of my lap-band surgery, I have drank a Muscle Milk every morning to get 22 grams of protein. Good protein, yes. But, this morning, I was looking at the fat grams. Oh my goodness!!!!!!!!!!!!! 11 grams of fat, do you think this is helping to contribute to my inability to lose weight?? Ha, ha. I will not be drinking Muscle Milk any longer as I am reducing the fat consumption in my diet as I go through this total diet reconstruction. No flipping wonder I am so stressed and depressed about doing so good for two years and now am putting the weight on. Oh, and, I am working out DAILY and adding more and more to my workouts. Something has GOT to turn around, SOON!!!

Okay everyone. I've been MIA for a little while. Things have not been great. Not terribly bad but not great either. I had been struggling with the scale going up and down again. Frustration set in and I finally got back in to my fill clinic and told them it was time to get serious about this. The clinic had been having employee issues so I hadn't had a fill for a long time, probably over 6 months. Partly their fault and partly mine.

Anyway, I go in for a fill. I went in with 6 cc's. They put in two more. She had a feeling that it didn't take. She took out all the fluid and found out I only had 4.1 cc's. I was HOT!! All this time I thought I had 6 cc's and I had paid to have all those fills. Apparently one or two of them didn't take. No wonder I haven't been losing and I had very little restriction.

So, she puts my 4.1 back in my band and adds another 3 to it. I am now at 7.1 cc's in a 10 cc band. Boy can I feel a difference! Now there is a lot of food that I cannot eat. I lost 5 pounds the first four days after that fill. I haven't gained anything back yet. So I think I'm on the right track. I have another fill appointment on June 1st.

Hi all,

can I join too? I was banded in Dec 07 and had many fills and defills and many problems. Got down to 258 from 286 but that was as far as I got. Was completely defilled for a few months and just went back today for a fill. I now sit at 268 and have over 100 lbs to lose.

I feel I was not ready for the eating lifestyle before, plus my chronic depression and the medications I take for it contributed to my poor eating habits. I feel I am ready now to do this...my knees are so painful every day, all I want to do is sleep, I am exhausted, etc. My self-esteem is at an all-time low. I have two small children to take care of and I find myself just completely exhausted dealing with them. I am 36 and feel like I am 70. I need to do this for myself to get my life back. I need to fully understand that I am worthy, that food is not the answer to making me feel better, that there is a life to live out there and I cannot allow chronic major depression to ruin my life.

Sorry for rambling on..... :w00t:

Roberta

To bert99: Of course you can join us. This is for everyone. I am sorry to hear of the hard journey you have been on. Hang in there, it will get better. Try to find some alone time to just "forget" about everything for a few minutes a day and see if that helps, even a little bit. Let us know what we can do to help you out.

Hey guys, I'm glad I stumbled Into this forum, I have been beating myself up because I have been going up and down for o e year. I was banded on 7/23/08 starting weight 239 current weight 160. My goal weight is 145, I close once but I was sick at the time. I had to get an unfill before I started getting better. I was at 7cc's unfilled to 4cc's, I'm back to 7cc's but I have no restriction I can eat anything and I do. I have an appointment on Thursday for a fill, I'm going to have to convince my doc to give it to me because when I was at 8 I was so tight I couldn't keep anything down. I'm getting a little discouraged because I'm at the same place I was last year this time. I eat just to be eating and I don't know how to get a handle on it, so I'm hoping that if I get a fill it will slow me down and help me get back on track. Being home after a rotator cuff repair is not making it any easier but I can now drive and I went for a 30 minute walk today it was painful my shoulder ached badly after but I'm going to keep trying. Okay I'm rambling now because this is the only place I can get all this off my chest because my family think I'm crazy because I've lost weight but you all understand it's not good enough just to lose some weight you want to get to your goal after all you have done to try and get there. Okay I'm on board keep in touch.

I have been following this thread because I find myself in the same boat. My LAP-BAND®® was done 6/27/2008 My highest weight was 235, I got down to 177 and then had to have an unfill and doc removed half to let things settle, stress was at an all time high as my husband lost his job of 35 years. I have gotten the fill level back up and then removed some again. I started to gain and ended back at 185. I still want to lose another 50 pounds. I also went through Rotator cuff repair in December. I am still working on strengthening but it finally feels back to normal. I am starting to get back on track with a Bodybugg. I just got it two weeks ago and it has helped me to focus on logging my food again and it lets me know it is time to get moving more. The scale is starting to move again and I saw 181 yesterday. I have a doctors appointment tomorrow and I don't know if I need or want another fill. I think my problem has just been poor choices and lack of movement.

Deb

I went for a fill last Thursday and the doctor would not fill me because of a history of being "too tight". I have restriction, but not much. I am disappointed but I also know I need to get my head all the way into following the rules again as I had totally fallen off. I ordered a Bodybugg today and the weather seems to be warming up and so will be biking to work before long, Hopefully.

Hey ya'll, got room for another? I'm glad I found this forum & thread - the one I used to belong to just fell apart & isn't there anymore - which kinda describes how I've been feeling & doing.

This month is my 2 year band anniversary. It hasn't really been a failure, but it sure isn't where I thought I would be. Starting at 275, have been down to 195, but sitting around 206 right now. There's this 10 pounds that I just seem to play with for the last Year.

I've had probably 7 -8 fills, and about 3 unfills. It seems like I've reached the point where I still need fills, but don't handle them well between my allergies (mucus) and not chewing & eating properly.

I could really use some encouragement & support to get back on track & could really relate to alot of your posts.

I too feel like a failure. I was banded on November 8, 2008 and lost approximately 96 lbs by my first anniversary. Needless to say I am now up 20 lbs and contemplating getting a fill. My husband was banded and he also has gained 15 lbs back. Both of us are making poor food choices. My last fill was November 20, 2009. My husband doesn't want me to get a fill as he feels I have restriction because he can hear the funny noises my body makes as I am eating. I called to schedule a fill for May 28th but decided to get back on track with my band and rescheduled the fill for June 7th. Today I started by drinking my protein shake and I am definitely going to do the 5 day pouch test and see how I feel at the end of those 5 days. I also have decided that just because I have two growing children doesn't mean that I have to have a cabinet full of junk. They will eat whatever is there so there is no time like the present to start fresh. I have a friend who lost 30 lbs on her own by being married to the gym. I have a tool in my body for the rest of my life that I don't have to be married to the gym just eat right and exercise and I can finish what I started. That is too be healthy and happy for me! I have to stop feeling sorry for myself. I believe that when I am bored and upset that I have a food addiction. So consider me a member of this group "getting back on track" I want to look like I did 20 years ago this October as my husband and I celebrate our 20 year wedding anniversary!!!!

Hello everyone, I went to see my Doc today and was given 1cc which now put me at 8 cc, it is my true intention to use this fill to get me back on track. It was easier than I expected to get my fill because he had a meeting to go to and they forgot to call me and take me off the schedule so being the nice doctor he is he gave me a fill even though it was causing him to run late for his meeting. LOL:-) I know that was a long run on and on sentence, just trying to get this out quickly. Now I'm not going to make anymore excuses I'm really going to give it an honest try. I went to walmart and brought protein shakes and protein shots 26 grams of protein, add a little ice and water, it's like having a glass of fruit punch drink. Goodluck everyone I'll get back with you to let you know how this 8cc's is working out once I can eat solid food, unknown liquids day of fill, purée the day after, so solids will be on Saturday.

Just got back from a short bike ride (5 miles). I feel so much better than I did before the ride. Hopefully the weather holds so this can become a regular event. BodyBugg shipped out today, should have it next week, can't wait!!!

Monday I will be one month with my bodybugg. I have lost 3 pounds and gained some focus and insight. Logging my food again everyday keeps me honest about what I am eating. According to what I logged and what I burned I should have lost 8 pounds. I am 5'3", hypothyroid and on medication that is adjusted on a regular basis. Based on the information I entered into the program I needed to keep my calories at 1200 and burn 2300 calories per day to lose 2 pounds per week. My average of the month was 1062 calories per day and 2150 calories burned per day, a deficit of 1088 calories each day. I want to lose about 50 pounds more and need some advice on how to speed things up so I don't get discouraged and give up like I have so many times over the years. I get about 56 grams of protein a day, and no sugar, rice, pasta, potato or bread. My surgeon pushes high protein and very low carb (less than 20 grams per day). My carbs average 84 grams per day I do eat fruit and sometimes a cracker or popcorn. I was slacking on the water intake and have increased it recently.

Wow, I think I have found a new home. I have come to the forum several times in the last year or two but I was only reading about successful people. I felt so humiliated, I could not post so here goes. Stay with me folks, I have a fairly intricate story. I was banded in Bismarck ND Jan 19, 2006. I weighed in at a whopping 275 lbs. I lost down to the lowest 219. Now I am at about 243.

How has this jouney gone. Well, off to a rocky start from the beginning. I got a nasty infection in my port area. There was a stitch inside that did not desolve and that took major amounts of anti biotics and finally a mini procedure to get it taken care of. So no fill till April of 2006. Went fairly well for a while, then I got a too tight fill and had to unfill. It got so expensive I had a huge bill and did not go back for awhile till I could pay it off. My hubby is an invalid so I am afraid I put myself on the back burner all too often. I did not cook for myself like I should have. I ate too much too fast, too late, wrong foods, you name a bad habit, I have more then likely done it. One I have not done is throw up on purpose. If it came up it came up. (however sometimes I prayed it would and drank water till it did. Hence, my problems with reflux were intense and severe. I had most of the fill taken out of my band two years ago and stayed the same weight for some time. The last year or so I have been on a steady climb. Reflux and heartburn from Haitis.

About one month ago I had a scare in that I could not stand the heart burn and was afraid I had stomach cancer or something. Had a ton of tests and they found my band was prolapsed. I had all the fill removed and I feel much better. Now I am thinking of going in and having fill put back in because he said my band is fine, and so is my port and tummy. I want to do it right this time and have a meeting on a reg bases with the dietitian and doc. So, I am going to count on all of you folks to encourage and old timer, who is full of remorse and desire to get this fat gone. However, that said, I dread the time I have to give up my friend, food. Am I the only one that ever thinks like that?? It is my comfort very often and I need to find a new way to find comfort. I know how, just not sure I always want it do it. HELP! I do excercise, mostly in the water. I do deep water excercise and a fair amount of walking. However, walking is getting harder again as I have gained back some of this fat.

I am amazed at the similar cercomstances with many of you. I lost a sister too a few years back. Took me for a real spin and still does. I will be looking forward to this thread each day.

Just a note, if excercise is hard on your joints, have you considered water excercise? I love to be in the water. Nothing hurts....

Hi all - Whew! Thanks for starting this thread.

What I'd have to say is redundant to everyone else. Feeling like I'm the only LB failure out there...mentally beating myself up about. :tongue2: Anyway, I do want to get on track. Knowing that you all are out there doing the same thing helps.

How did you get the courage to head back to the doc? Haven't been in about a year. Shame, shame, shame...that feeling is not a friend, is it?

Mary