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Starting over at 5+ years out



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Hello! I was banded in December of 2006. At one year I had lost 110 lbs. I became pregnant and vomited a lot. I had a complete unfil and went crazy with food and gained back 60 lbs. My son was born in 2008 and I have lost (with weight watchers) and gained the same 10 lbs over and over. I had many fills and unfills, worries that my lapband was slipped or eroded, had it checked a year ago and it was fine. My problem is that I would eat until I felt discomfort and then it just became habit to PB to end the discomfort. I also found out all the foods that go through my band easily. Basically, I became a maladaptive eater!

I've really been working harder with my diet the last few months as far as eating better but have lost nothing. I hadn't had a fill in a year, so I went in a week ago. I got a fill and followed all the rules....for 4 days! I was so happy to lose 5 lbs and be finally back to eating just a half cup of food and being done. Not comfortably full, but at least satisfied. I really started to have hope that it was going to work and I could really do this. However, today I went out to eat for a family event. I KNOW (kicking self!) I should have stuck with something same and ordered a side of pinto Beans. No, I ordered a chicken taco salad. I ate four bites and was fine....then I went for five, six, seven (all while talking and laughing with the fam) and BOOM, I get stuck. I literally can't stand that feeling of something in my throat (that's where it feels stuck to me)! So I got rid of it.

I was so proud of myself tthe other day realizing I had relearned a lapband rule- stop BEFORE I feel the restriction. This is a personal rule of mine because as I said, I hate the feel of anything in there because I know over time it will get worse until I get rid of the food.

I'm just so mad at myself for going back to old ways and i'm once again afraid I won't be able to do this. *SIGH*!

Can anyone relate or give me advice? In many ways I'm a newbie to the band because I have been not living the rules for so long!

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I'd say the best thing to do is act like a newbie again. Yes, you've had the band for a long time, but it's helpful to get a refresher now and then . . . and rededicate yourself to your weight loss. Consider talking with a nutritionist as a reminder--yes, you know the rules, but it's good to hear it again. Read up on band literature. Remember what worked for you the first time, and work on that again.

I think the biggest thing for me when I was in your position was to let the past go. I purposely ignored the fact that I had fallen off of the bandwagon, and refused to feel guilty for it. Instead, I started over as if the band was new, and worked on doing all the things I knew I should be doing. And when the scale started moving down again, I celebrated each new victory as truly new (not "I've done this before"). I think that has been very helpful in keeping my spirits up and keeping me excited to carry on.

You know the rules. You know you can do this because you HAVE done this. Just forget the stuff you've been doing when you've been ignoring the rules, and start back from the beginning. It's worth it.

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I was Banded 10/31/2006 I had lost total of 155Lbs., but not all with the band. I had 1 year pre surgical dieting of 1200 calories a day. I lost it almost all doing that. I only lost around 20 lbs. with the Band. Do to bad aftercare My surgeon ended up deflating me. I almost gained it all back.

Anyway I found a new surgeon about 100 miles away from where we moved, and he's good...

So I started over again this January with the 1200 calorie a day thing, then finally I ot the call for the fill. They thought revision but nothing wrong with this 4cc band. So they filled it to it's fill line.

So now I am of and rolling along again.

So your not alone, and don't be a stranger... We probably talked before anyway...

Shirley.

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I CAN SO RELATE!

I had a similar problem only I haven't lost any weight. I am up and down 25 pounds every few months. I was banded in April, 2009 and I am essentially starting over.

I had a barium swallow performed and my surgeon identified esophageal dilatation and removed all of the Fluid from my band. I meet with him this wednesday.

I am starting over and could use a pal to go through this with me. It is hard to explain to people that two years out I have lost nothing.

victoria

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I CAN SO RELATE!

I had a similar problem only I haven't lost any weight. I am up and down 25 pounds every few months. I was banded in April, 2009 and I am essentially starting over.

I had a barium swallow performed and my surgeon identified esophageal dilatation and removed all of the Fluid from my band. I meet with him this wednesday.

I am starting over and could use a pal to go through this with me. It is hard to explain to people that two years out I have lost nothing.

victoria

Well I am here if that interests you ! You can catch me on a lot of posts, or just right on my wall, and I will be in touch.

Shirley.

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    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 0 replies
      1. This update has no replies.
    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. summerseeker

        Life as a big person had limited my life to what I knew I could manage to do each day. That was eat. I hadn't anything else to look forward to. So my eating choices were the best I could dream up. I planned the cooking in managable lots in my head and filled my day with and around it.

        Now I have a whole new big, bigger, biggest, best days ever. I am out there with those skinny people doing stuff i could never have dreamt of. Food is now an after thought. It doesn't consume my day. I still enjoy the good home cooked food but I eat smaller portions. I leave food on my plate when I am full. I can no longer hear my mother's voice saying eat it all up, ther are starving children in Africa who would want that!

        I still cook for family feasts, I love cooking. I still do holidays but I have changed from the All inclusive drinking and eating everything everyday kind to Self catering accommodation. This gives me the choice of cooking or eating out as I choose. I rarely drink anymore as I usually travel alone now and I feel I need to keep aware of my surroundings.

        I don't know at what point my life expanded, was it when I lost 100 pounds? Was it when I left my walking stick at home ? Was it when I said yes to an outing instead of finding an excuse to stay home ? i look back at my last five years and wonder how loosing weight has made such a difference. Be ready to amaze yourself.

        BTW, the liquid diet sucks, one more day and you are over the worst. You can do it.

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    • KimBaxleyWilson

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