would like to share with soomeone whos been banded for over 4 years

hello, i have had my band for 6 years next month, originally banded in 5/06. in oct 2010, i had to have the band replaced and now have the realize band. i don't find it to be as effective and have gained close to 40 lbs. my band replacement was completely my fault - not following the right diet and throwing up when i ate too much caused the band to slip and was beyond repair. i have not had a fill since i got the new band because i am afraid to get it too tight and start the same cycle again. basically, i became bulimic the easy way - the band forced me to throw up. NOT good and definitely not healthy. a whacky story, i know. what's yours?

hello' date=' i have had my band for 6 years next month, originally banded in 5/06. in oct 2010, i had to have the band replaced and now have the realize band. i don't find it to be as effective and have gained close to 40 lbs. my band replacement was completely my fault - not following the right diet and throwing up when i ate too much caused the band to slip and was beyond repair. i have not had a fill since i got the new band because i am afraid to get it too tight and start the same cycle again. basically, i became bulimic the easy way - the band forced me to throw up. NOT good and definitely not healthy. a whacky story, i know. what's yours?[/quote']

Thank you for sharing your story. Hope you find restriction soon, with or without a fill.

well, whats happening to me is also rare, according to my doc, and in his opinion i shouldv gotten the bypass, my surgery was 4 years ago, for the 1st 2 years it was all good, i lost 85 ponds, and then problems began to develop, with my esophogus, every night before i went to sleep i would throw up, and it didnt matter if i ate late or not, drank late or not, i always had the feeling that somehin is stuck in my chest, and i had to throw up, to atleast sleep at night, this went on for a while, close to a year. I understood that it wasnt normal, and i had to tell my doc. Doctor said that i have a lazy esophogus,and its tired of pushing, the only solution was to empty out the band and let my esophogus rest. it rested for about 3 months, ive gained 20 pounds,and since then in the span of maybe 8 months, i have regular monthly fills, very little ones, cause im scared to go back to the throwing up state, so instead of loosing, i just keep gaining, i gained 40 pounds now. very scary, dont know what to do

i know that feeling of having something stuck in your chest and just wanting to get rid of it. before i got my band replaced i would sometimes feel like an elephant was sitting on my chest it hurt so much. i know now that it was because my band had slipped and some of the foods i ate would get really, really stuck because the band was at a bad angle after slipping and that caused a great deal of pain. throwing up didn't work in those instances. i don't know that i'd call your esphogus lazy - i mean how much pushing can it take, right?! i am sorry your fills aren't helping you. i am afraid i will be in the same situation, but i'm going to see my doctor anyway and hope for the best. i see a lot of smoothies and protein shakes in my future!

I'm approaching the 4 yr mark... (August)... I have been so fortunate to not have any issues with my band. I hope you all find a manageable solution and share what that is!

Brad