hey there,

im sure that i have pretty much the same story as many out there, but i just need to get this out. i had my surgery on april 1, 2010, which is really ironic. i am 23 and i started out at 267 lbs, needing to lose about 110 lbs. weight loss has been a struggle my whole life, and i have tried literally everything from jenny craig, to weight watchers, to liquid diets with no results. before the surgery i saw an endocrinologist and was tested for many different hormonal and endocrine issues that could affect weight loss and i showed up negative for all... great so i had my surgery, went through the first six weeks on basically a liquid diet. now my mother had the surgery done by the same surgeon and had experienced about a 15 lbs weight loss the first month, so to be honest, i was expecting something similar. i stepped on the scale and i had lost three pounds, and thats pretty much where my weight loss stopped. about six months after the surgery i was diagnosed with hypothyroidism, and told that that is the reason i have not lost weight. i went on medication, and now my thyroid is normal once again. its been a year and four months since the surgery, and i have tried everything, i got a personal trainer, i have eaten what i have been told to eat and not eaten what i have been told not to eat. at this point i moved from NY to australia for school, and my new doctor informed me my band is either too tight or has slipped. i got an upper GI radiograph done, just to find out it has not slipped. he removed some of the liquid at that point, stating that since i was vomiting on nearly a daily basis it was too tight, and to see his dietitian as i am eating incorrectly with the band. he says i should eat what i hard for me to eat, ie bread, Pasta etc so that i feel fuller faster. i was not eating those things because i couldn't, they would come right up, but now he says i should be able to since i have less of a restriction.

i am sick and tired of this. i understand that band is a tool that needs to be worked with. what i do not understand is if i need to watch what i eat, and go see a dietitian about what i can eat, when , how, and how much then why do i have the band? both the new doctor and my old surgeon have told me not to give up, but its so hard to not feel despondent at this point.

hey there,

im sure that i have pretty much the same story as many out there, but i just need to get this out. i had my surgery on april 1, 2010, which is really ironic. i am 23 and i started out at 267 lbs, needing to lose about 110 lbs. weight loss has been a struggle my whole life, and i have tried literally everything from jenny craig, to weight watchers, to liquid diets with no results. before the surgery i saw an endocrinologist and was tested for many different hormonal and endocrine issues that could affect weight loss and i showed up negative for all... great so i had my surgery, went through the first six weeks on basically a liquid diet. now my mother had the surgery done by the same surgeon and had experienced about a 15 lbs weight loss the first month, so to be honest, i was expecting something similar. i stepped on the scale and i had lost three pounds, and thats pretty much where my weight loss stopped. about six months after the surgery i was diagnosed with hypothyroidism, and told that that is the reason i have not lost weight. i went on medication, and now my thyroid is normal once again. its been a year and four months since the surgery, and i have tried everything, i got a personal trainer, i have eaten what i have been told to eat and not eaten what i have been told not to eat. at this point i moved from NY to australia for school, and my new doctor informed me my band is either too tight or has slipped. i got an upper GI radiograph done, just to find out it has not slipped. he removed some of the liquid at that point, stating that since i was vomiting on nearly a daily basis it was too tight, and to see his dietitian as i am eating incorrectly with the band. he says i should eat what i hard for me to eat, ie bread, Pasta etc so that i feel fuller faster. i was not eating those things because i couldn't, they would come right up, but now he says i should be able to since i have less of a restriction.

i am sick and tired of this. i understand that band is a tool that needs to be worked with. what i do not understand is if i need to watch what i eat, and go see a dietitian about what i can eat, when , how, and how much then why do i have the band? both the new doctor and my old surgeon have told me not to give up, but its so hard to not feel despondent at this point.

The same thing happened to me...I havent lost in over 2 years because I was filled too tight and couldnt get down any food or had to spit it up...went to ER after a fill because I couldnt even get water down without the pain or tightness and at the E M the Dr. took out ALL my fill and left me totally with nothing in my band for a few days to let the site rest and then in about a week went back and the Dr. put in 3 and went back in another Month and got 3 cc ...But thru the whole ordeal and the 2 year span I was eating ice cream and anything that would go down easy...I just was so discouraged I didnt care...I felt like it was too much to do to lose weight and if I ate any solid foods like chicken I would have to spit it out... I lost 60 lbs the first year and then the fill was too much when I went for an adjustment and I just ate and spit up for the 2 years and gained back 50 lbs.... Sooooo I just went back this week and told my Dr. I wanted to start over and under floro they said my band was too tight so he took out 1cc and said I should be able to eat chicken again but measure all my food and not over 1 cup total per meal...I think I am finally filled to my correct sweet spot...I have restriction but not too much!!! I am again in my head starting over..I plan to follow the instructions for the lapband to the letter... I plan to measure all meals ...So I was like you so discouraged and I told Dr. I was trying again to start losing and get this wt. moving off my butt again LOL.... and I told the dr. if I dont show any loss I even would consider another type of surgery....SO I MEAN TO GET THIS WEIGHT OFF ONE WAY OR THE OTHER....so dont give up...do like me and lets try it again.and give it our all...But I will say the lapband has disappointed me and if I had it to do over I think I would have had the laposcopic gastric bypass...called the rouny or something close to that...I wish U much luck and success in your journey to be thinner and more healthy and myself also!!! I AM GONNA DO IT THIS TIME....NO ICE CREAM EXCEPT SUGAR FREE AND ONLY 60 TO 90 CALORIES AT THAT....AND GET MY PROTEIN IN EVERY DAY...I KNOW THIS IS MY FAULT THAT IT ALL WENT WRONG BUT I DIDNT KNOW THE FILLS COULD MAKE OR BREAK MY SUCCESS IN SUCH A BIG WAY 1 cc can cause so much trouble....thats why I wished I had done a procedure that would have taken care of all of it at once and not have to adjust and adjust....just had the gastric bypass the new one that doesnt have so many complications and it be done with and let the weight fall off!! But I didnt have the bypass and now I have to make this work and I WILL...and So will You!!!!!!!

First I want to say thanks for sharing your stories!!! I know it can be hard to say, "Hey, I'm a slow loser!" when everyone else is saying "Look at me I lost 50lbs in my first two months!" It is so important for others to know that we are not alone in this journey, that for some of us it is a lot harder than others and it does not mean that you are a failure. The biggest lesson I have learned thus far is that no ones journey is exactly the same, and that is because our bodies are not the same. In life two people weighting the exact same amount, process food differently. So why is it that when we think about the Band, we compare ourselves to people who had surgery the same date or who had a starting weight the same as ours?

I've been at this since Jan 2010. I switched doctors this year and was told my band was too tight. I was also given very different nutrition guidelines and general instructions on how to function with my band than I was with my first doctor. I too learned I was avoiding good foods because they got stuck and relying on bad ones to fill me up. Those foods are higher calorie and less filling than the Protein and veggies I was avoiding. I've learned a lot more about what hunger feels like, how to determine when I need a fill, etc. Ex. I time myself when I eat. If I eat in less than 20 minutes I ate too fast and there is a good chance I ate the wrong things! ex, I can't eat chicken that fast, it will get stuck! but I can eat yogurt, pudding or ice cream that fast. I love Cereal, I used to eat that, and not only can I eat a lot of it very quickly but it is one of those slider foods that go right through me and I'm hungry in an hour.

I eat ever 3 hrs like clockwork. Some people say they aren't hungry for 4-5 hours and I am and I've learned for me that is normal. Its okay! If I am super busy (i.e. out of town for work or a conference or vacation) I may be able to go for longer amounts but what usually happens is that if I go for 4-5 hrs I am so hungry by the time that I realize I haven't ate that I make very bad decisions, my mind is telling me I want anything and i don't always have the willpower to say no. knowing this I don't put myself in that situation. Don't set yourself up for failure!

I know this is a hard, long, journey and I know I sometimes question if it is really worth it. Should I keep going or just give up, but I know how important it is for me to be healthy. If this is the most important thing for me, how can I just give up on myself? I am worth being happy and healthy. The thing I hate more than anything is not having the freedom, the choice to do whatever I want with my body. I don't do things because I am over or close to being over the weight limit and I don't like the idea of my weight restricting my life. That will be my biggest victory in this journey and I don't need to be 130lbs to do that! Set your own goals for success, big and small and Celebrate everything! Celebrate eating a piece of chicken or steak and taking the small bites and not getting stuck! Celebrate hitting your daily calorie or protein goal. Celebrate taking a walk, stepping inside the gym, parking at the back of the lot, walking the stairs, saying no to ice cream! Celebrate it all! I'll gladly celebrate with you.

If either of you need some cheering I always read the posts for these boards and you can also friend me or send private messages! They call it a support group for a reason and not feeling so alone has helped me stay focused on the bigger picture.