It's official - I'm throwing in the towel today with the band and have ordered hundreds of dollars of nutri system food, pills and potions to try to lose weight. For me it just isnt working and i can lose more with traditional diets - even the Soup diet going around here which i'll start today for a few days. i absolutely know the weight wont stay off but its familiar and at least i'll get weight off for awhile. I wanted the band to help me be a normal eater - someone who eats when hungry, stops when full and by eating smaller portions i would lose weight - i can still eat plenty and even with 3-4 days of exercise cant get any significant weight off or any really. I'm back on the yo yo that I know so well. Every day is an emotional roller coaster of what should i eat today - so i don't say diet but it is.

I did have high hopes and I know it works for more than it doesn't so i dont want to discourage others but it is important to realize it can go both ways. Of the four gals who had surgery with me - 1 lost over 70lbs and is at goal - 1 is hopeful losing steadily, 1 has lived with a complete unfill and is losing weight on her own, and one has tried and is giving up and trying to lose on her own - so it's 50/50 with this small sample.

Thanks for letting me vent!

I'm sorry the band didnt work out for you. Best of Luck to you!!

I am in the same boat, Mary! It's so good to hear something negative about the band for once. For me, it got me down 25 lbs., half of what I wanted to lose, so I AM the statistics.

I *could* go for another fill and lose another 25 lbs., but I am tired of being in constant pain over another pb, fear of putting food in my mouth, the inability to even drink in the morning, and the occassional tightening up to completely shut so that I have to spit into a cup for four hours.

My last fill wore off after about 3 months, so now I can eat anything I want with little restriction. I do still get full quickly, but now my full signal is very bad shoulder pain, not stomach fullness. I am so disappointed with this surgery, and because of my own experiences, I have a hard time understanding why people are so happy with it.

Sorry to steal your thunder, but your post really spoke to me. I'm not doing anything to lose weight now, I'm just maintaining. Check in and let us know how the nutrisystem, soup, etc. goes. And thanks for posting. It really makes me feel less insane to know that at least one other person has had a less than successful band experience.

I'm sorry marys you are having such a hard time. Weight loss and keeping it off isn't easy weather you've had surgery or not. It sounds like you would benefit from a support group. Nutri System, Jenni Craig, WW all offer help but a great cost but if you have the money go for it. I have one suggestion look into TOPS Take Off Pounds Sensibly, they have been around forever. They don't tell you what to eat or when to eat they are there for support. If you have the band and go on Nutri System, the soup diet and hang from your toe nails at night so the food won't go to your thighs.....TOPS members are there for support and encouragement.

Yes you have to pay for TOPS also...a whopping $27 a year and monthly dues, each chapter is different, our dues are $3 a month. First meeting is free, check out the website, put in your zip code in the the "meeting" block to find the closest meeting to you and go visit. They are always welcoming and friendly. Good Luck

http://www.tops.org/

OT:

Waves to Strawarts! I have not seen you around in awhile! Welcome back!

Nana~

I'm sorry the band is not working out for you I did not make it to goal in 2 years either I'm in fact 50 pounds away from goal I seem to be just maintaining now..I hope its just a phase if not I'll start the diet plans again too!

Nana~

It is sad to hear the posts of those who think the band didn't work for them... but you gals know your bodies and you should know what they can and can't do.

Best of luck to you in your weight loss journey if that is what you seek.

Funny....I am sort of coming to the same place as you ladies. Although I am not throwing in the towel yet, I still WANT to overeat, but I am very restricted so I cannot (thankfully). I live in fear of PBs too and for the last 2 months have eaten only very specific safe foods -- Soups etc. I was just realizing the other day how I have fallen into this not so great pattern. Although I am happy with my weight loss, I have plateaued and I feel like if I lost my band tomorrow it would all come right back b/c I will never be a normal eater. I also get the shoulder pain if I am full rather than some cognitive cue..........I'm trying to get back on track with the wter and exercise as my kids head back to school. Hopefully that will jump start me weight loss again. It IS good to know that we're not alone! Hang in there ladies!

CD

I'm so sorry the band isn't working for you guys. Mary, if you can lose more weight with Nutrisystem, pills, etc. why did you decide to get banded? I'm sorry if this is a stupid or obnoxious question, I don't mean it that way, but it always seemed to me like this surgery was a last resort for people who have tried all of those other things already.

After two years you should know if it works for you or not. I am preparing to be banded and I think I understand that it does not work for everyone. My hope is that if I follow the instructions to the letter and work hard I have a chance. I have no chance at all if I don't lose some weight.

I would like to know what PB means as I see references to it all the time.

Good luck for those who are throwing in the towel. Knowing that I may not be able to do it makes me more dedicated to obeying orders.

I didn't say it wasn't working for me...I said I have not hit goal yet, there are a few like me 2 yrs out still working at goal. I never said I was tossing the towel.

I still have 50 to go and I am maintaining not gaining. That does not mean I have given up and I do follow the banded eating ways.

I was merely saying it may take longer for some than others to lose the weight...

Nana~

Pete, just to clarify - speaking for myself, I am not giving up because I cannot "obey orders." I am just inable to tolerate the particular way in which the lapband restricts food consumption. To be tight enough to continue to lose weight, I would have to be miserable and in constant pain all the time. That is not worth it to me to lose another 25 pounds.

A PB is a productive burp, which is a really inaccurate term. It's when the stoma gets blocked up or irritated and sealed shut so that food builds up in the pouch. When enough food has filled the pouch to reach the base of your esophagus, it causes excrutiating pain and the only way to relieve the pain is to throw up, expell the built-up food, saliva, Water, etc. and wait for the stoma to clear out again. That's my experience anyway.

I've been banded a little over a year & have lost 65 lbs. I've been stuck at the same weight for 3 months. I get the shoulder pains when I'm full & HATE THEM!! I am tired of PBing. I can understand & sympathize with all of you. It's pretty crappy.

However, I just keep thinking that I chose this & I am NOT going to give up. If the band helped me lose 65 lbs. & now I have to lose the next 30 lbs. by eating diet food, then I'll do it! I am very determined to get there!! I look at this little plateau as my body taking time to get used to the new me. Once it gets used to this weight, the rest of the weight will start to drop off again. I CAN DO THIS!! I CAN DO THIS!!

(Stands up on a podium & has a determined looked in her eye) "Everyone say it with me - I CAN DO IT!! I CAN DO IT!!"

I'm scared. But I'm going with Pete. I don't think I have a choice. Either I use the band as a tool and make it happen, or I give up and eventually explode into a million pieces. (PB=productive burp, meaning spit up.)

I guess I'm older than most of you. I've not only done all the diets, but I've done Optifast (6 weeks of pure hell), diet pills, already had a tummy tuck, and spent a month at a eight loss spa (a boot camp, really). had acupuncture (more than one kind), exercised until I've damaged one knee beyond repair, and have tried more eight loss gimmicks than you can imagine. For me, the LB is definitely the last resort. I also know it's totally up to me to make it work.

I could always lose weight with Nutri System and Jenny Craig and all the rest, but I got sick and tired of those cardboard foods or total protein-no carbs, all fruit, all rice, or whatever, and I always gained whatever I lost back, and usually more. Real food is what I want for myself - in very, very small quantifies.

I was slender when I was young, and I didn't eat much. Other things were more important to me and I want to get my head to that place again. I want to feel like I look good, and I want to stop thinking I'm a failure for not being able to make a diet work over the long haul.

None of them works forever for most people. If they did, the diet industry wouldn't be a multi-billion dollar a year money-maker. Even Weight Watchers doesn't work forever for most people. If it did, why do people keep having to pay their dues and keep going back and going back and going back... (TOPS is a different thing - I've been a TOPS member too. It is a support group, not a diet.)

We need to enjoy food and respect it instead of abusing it and hating ourselves for abusing it. If the LB can't help me to that goal, I will be here eating my words one day. God help me.

Pete, just to clarify - speaking for myself, I am not giving up because I cannot "obey orders." I am just inable to tolerate the particular way in which the lapband restricts food consumption. To be tight enough to continue to lose weight, I would have to be miserable and in constant pain all the time. That is not worth it to me to lose another 25 pounds.

A PB is a productive burp, which is a really inaccurate term. It's when the stoma gets blocked up or irritated and sealed shut so that food builds up in the pouch. When enough food has filled the pouch to reach the base of your esophagus, it causes excrutiating pain and the only way to relieve the pain is to throw up, expell the built-up food, saliva, Water, etc. and wait for the stoma to clear out again. That's my experience anyway.

Thanks and I am sorry if I did not explain better. It is more of a note to self to not risk not following the Docs orders as opposed to saying that you did something wrong. I have been a rule breaker my entire life so I really need to make a mental note not to behave in my usual manner.

I gave up judging other people years ago. I support all who are on this Board as I think it helps to know that we are not alone.

Pete and StrawartS: I came to this site because I am scared. I have learned that LB is, indeed, a scary proposition. But I totally agree with you. It's all personal and there's no reason to judge someone else. Haven't we all felt judged at one time or other? It's a lousy feeling and being here isn't about that, for sure.

It's about learning and support. That's why I'm participating. And boy, am I learning!! Hopefully, it's strengthing my resolve and helping me prepare for success that I've neve before been able to achieve.

So having people like StrawartS share her personal experience is vitally important to me. And I am very grateful! I hate hearing that someone has been having any trouble at all, but being able to read and learn is fantastic.

I wish StrawartS a much more rewarding future in reaching her goal and a huge thank you for sharing her story. To Pete: let's git 'er done!

Marys - Thank you so much for such an honest post. Its not always perfect weight loss and roses for everyone, including myself. I had lost 80 of the 100 I wanted to lose by March (banded 10/04), had plastic surgery, a 4 month unfill, complications from the surgery, and a regain of 30 pounds. And here I am, 6 months later, approaching my 2 year anniversary and completely depressed over it. Just a few nigths ago a Jenny Craig commercial came on and I told my hubby I wanted to try it. The truth is that I tried Nutrisystem before my band surgery and hated it, but I am desperate right now. I need to find that happy place I was at when I was losing steadily - for me, I hit a bump in the road and haven't refound my focus. I don't regret the band - because I know what happens to me if its unfilled. I need to find control, focus, and a rededication to the process. I wish it was easier! I hope you find the right answer for you - I think its great that you're acknowledging that you need help, and if Jenny Craig or any program helps you get to goal, then I say go for it & good luck!!

Kristin