I was banded in August 2010. The day of surgery, I weighed 217lbs. As of today, I weigh 217lbs. I've had no weight loss whatsoever. I've had 3 fills and am now up to 6.5cc of a 10cc band. I haven't found anyone who has had the band and not lost weight, only some who have had minimal weight loss. By now, I thought I'd be 25lbs lighter, at least. I'm very discouraged and depressed and wishing I would have just had gastric bypass. The latest fill I had gives me so much restriction that I can barely eat solid foods. I can only eat soft foods like mashed potatoes or chili, etc. Is this the way it's supposed to be? When I decided to get Lap Band, I thought I'd be able to eat everything I wanted only in smaller portions. At my last dr. appt, I asked that I be considered for gastric bypass because of the failure. But, they told me that I have to have band failure for at least a year to even be considered and even then, they didn't know that insurance would cover it. I still have all the health problems I had prior to surgery.

Can anyone shed some light on the situation for me? Is there ANYONE out there who has had the same issue? I feel so alone and lost and so, so depressed.

Feel free to post to my new topic in the forum. But, if you want, you can email me at buffyclary@yahoo.com. Thank you in advance.

Thank you for responding. I have had 3 fills and at times feel restriction and at times, none. I don't understand that. I can want nothing to eat one day because I get full and maybe the next day eat everything and not get full. I stopped going to my doctor due to not being successful. I am eating everything that I am not suppose to. Regular size bites and more than normal portions. I want so bad to succeed. Any more advice would be greatly appreciated.

Maybe you could ask your doctor to take out Fluid for a week or two, start from 0cc's and then slowly start to fill it back up? That seems to be what worked for me. Also, really pay attention to your body and what happens when you start to think about having a meal. Do you start salivating at the thought of something you can eat? What type of food are you craving? When you open the fridge, are you really hungry? And, notice what it's like just to be satisfied and full and not OVERfull. I will be eating something and all the sudden, I'll look at my food and say "I COULD finish this but, will one more bite be better than the last bite I just had?" Most of the time, the answer is no. And, if I defy that warning, I'll usually puke the last few bites up because I over-did it. The saying "eat to live, don't live to eat." is very true. Eating now is kinda a chore! I don't enjoy it the way I used to. And, I NEVER knew what full was and wasn't until now at 33 years old. Full to me was that over-eating, clean everything on your plate full, where you wanna take a nap. Now, I know the the true feeling of fullness is the top of my stomach right under my rib cage will feel full and I will be satisfied and not crave another bite. I'm not miserable or needing to lay down. It takes A LOT of work just getting your mind in the right place. Who-ever says we took the "easy way out" by getting lapband surgery is a fool. There is nothing easy about it. But, I've noticed a trend with lapband failures and I thought I was going to be a part of that statistic. And, I may still convert to the sleeve in the future. But, I HATE hearing that other people have been banded and aren't losing weight. I totally know how you feel. I got lucky, I think. Miraculously. I can't pin point one thing that finally lead to my losing weight. It's a time line of several different things. The main thing being frame of mind!