It has been a long time.

i was banded in December 2008. I was strict with my band rules and did very well. I started at 280 and got down to around 200 (not as low as I wanted, but I much better place). During that time I worked closely with my Dr. adjusting my band, and increased my physical activity. I thought I had this in the bag.

Over the last year and a half I gained back so I am back up to 255. In the last year I moved to a new location and in May of this year I found a new local Dr. to work with. I had multiple tests to check out how my band was doing. After alot of nothing I had started having "issues" when I would go to bed at night. So the idea was to unfill, let it heal and restart.

I continue to struggle with the fickleness of the band. Too tight, too loose. . . . . .

I worked closely with my Dr. this summer, as well as a nutritionist.

I learned that what I did in the first two years in order to loose the weight was not a long term solution, so I don't want to go back to that.

My weight is not doing well. I have told my Dr. that I want to give the band another good try and make it work. But it is also driving me crazy. I am ready to start the discussion with him about other options. . . . is another surgery the solution, is emptying my band and trying this on my own without the band help the option, I just don't know what to do right now.

I would love to hear from people who have had the band for a long time and have gone through struggles. People who have kept their band, people who have removed it, people who have moved to another surgery.

Thanks so much!

I have been banded approximately the same time as you. At first I lose 100 lbs but now I have gained bck about 30 lbs because I drink abut a gallon of chai tea a day.I think I will go get another fill. If I was you I would stick with the band just refill it.

Starting again is a very humbling experience. I had surgery in July 2010. Due to some health issues, I had to be emptied out completely and start all over again this past winter. My recommendation is that you do two things.

1. Start journaling. If you eat it, write it down. I say "if I eat it, I own it" and even if I don't like to see the calorie totals at the end of the day, they are mine to claim. No one else needs to see what you eat, but if you don't know how many calories you are taking in, you won't know where you can start cutting them out. I use My Fitness Pal-a free app because it syncs with all of my devices so I cannot make excuses about why I didn't record.

2. Order Jean McMillans book "Bandwagon". Might as well buy the newest 2nd edition. She also has a great cookbook. You can find her books advertised at the bottom of this site, not from Amazon or the big booksellers. I got it a few months ago and read it cover to cover the first few days after it arrived. I followed her advice of eating only "real" food and have lost the ten pounds I gained over the last two months. I still use a protein shake for breakfast because its an easy way to get a good start on my protein needs but I am finding that I stay full much longer when I eat real food instead of meal replacements.some people call it clean eating.

Cut yourself some slack, but be very proud of yourself for being willing to start back at it. Good luck!!!

I too, was banded December 2008. I am to goal and pretty much stay at what I have lost 88 pounds. I occasionally fluctuate 5 pounds because if I want a cookie or piece of pie, I have it. I do fight head hunger all the time, some days not so bad as others. It is hard to change your lifestyle totally in a few years. I was brought up to eat for any and all occasions so it is very hard for me around the holidays when our house was full of cookies and cakes. Now that I am in charge of the kitchen, we only have a small amount of cookies or cakes and that is because of my husband. I never had any fills and still got stuck 3 times along the way which stays ingrained in my mind. Ham was one culprit and pulled pork was another and peanut butter on a cracker was the third. It will be a long time before I eat any of those in the near future. I am the type of person that you cannot say you can NEVER have that again. I choose not to do bread and most kinds of pasta and sugar. Good luck and remember it is a life long battle and we can do it.