Feeling Like A Failure...

[endingyoyo 28]

I had lapband in May of 2013, I have 8.75 cc in my 14 cc band and I'm not yet in the green zone. I feel like I'm never going to get there and that it is a "fantasy feeling" that everyone talks about. Not to mention, I can't get my mind on the right track. I feel like I'm fighting the same fight from before lap band. I'm on track and doing great for 2 days and then all hell breaks loose. I don't even want to tell you what I ate today!!!!

I feel like a failure.

[dolphintattoo 96]

go see your doc. I have over 10cc in my 14cc band and had the green zone at 6cc, but then lost it, You might just need more. Once you are there I do find it;s much easier to have your head in the game. I was way out of green the past few weeks and find it;s so much easier to feel like your just on another diet that will fail. Use your band, and use your medical professionals, this isn't a solo operation, you need to call on your team for support.

[endingyoyo 28]

I am in constant communication with my doctor (about every 2 - 4 weeks). The challenge is that I swell pretty signifiantly after each fill, so I have to go very slowly (about .25 cc each fill). I'm back there on Tuesday but if I keep eating like I am, I'll gain 5 lbs. by then!

[dylanmiles23 2,198]

I had the band surgery July, 2012 and I am far from perfect. I don't know if I am in the green at all. I have a 10 band and about 2.2 or 2.4 cc total. My doctor goes very slow. I see him every 2 months and last time he said make it 3 months because he feels I am doing great.

Talking to the doctor and or dietitian may help you.

[HotButterFly 981]

Endingyoyo.... I'm sorry you're not having a good experience, but please don't feel like a failure. If you know there's a pattern, try to prepare for four to five days. Plan your meals, and find ways to take the focus off food... Maybe if you're not working and have too much time on your hands, find a local senior center or hospital where you can donate of your time. If that's not the case, find something to do after work. Maybe feed the birds at a nearby park or visit your local library.

dylanmiles23 said:

I had the band surgery July, 2012 and I am far from perfect. I don't know if I am in the green at all. I have a 10 band and about 2.2 or 2.4 cc total. My doctor goes very slow. I see him every 2 months and last time he said make it 3 months because he feels I am doing great.

Talking to the doctor and or dietitian may help you.

i respect every surgeon and their method, but to only have 2.4 after a year and five months seems a little ridiculous to me.... UNLESS, you're at your sweet spot already, but by what you wrote it seems you're not there yet. I would be SO disillusioned if my surgeon made me go so slow.

Edited December 6, 2013 by HotButterFly

[kll724 3,055]

I say whatever works for you! But I have 5 cc and can't tolerate anything more. Possibly you need to see a nutritionist! If you are eating around your band, that could be your problem. Best wishes, for an answer to your dilemma.

[nikkidcas 18]

I had my surgery May 2013 as well. I have lost minimal weight and yet I have over 8cc in my band. I don't yet feel the restriction either. And I struggle with my food choices. But after talking to a lady yesterday she said she got fills the entire first year postop, every month. She didn't start to see results until she was 6 months postop. We can't give up yet!!!!

[☠carolinagirl☠ 18,722]

I had lapband in May of 2013, I have 8.75 cc in my 14 cc band and I'm not yet in the green zone. I feel like I'm never going to get there and that it is a "fantasy feeling" that everyone talks about. Not to mention, I can't get my mind on the right track. I feel like I'm fighting the same fight from before lap band. I'm on track and doing great for 2 days and then all hell breaks loose. I don't even want to tell you what I ate today!!!!

I feel like a failure.

a failure for what?

because you are not at goal weight you want or what?

to lose weight and get healthy should be the goal...its not a time limit..

i have no idea what (fantasy feeling) you are referring too..i agree with karen, seeing a nutritionist may help you with food choices..if you eat more calories than you burn off, you will gain, no matter what WLS you have or (fills)....slow and steady wins the race...truly.

if you think like a failure, you will fail......you have a excellent source to help you lose weight...let it work....(and you do your part)...be positive..

winning the battle begins with your thinking (not the band surgery).

Edited December 6, 2013 by ☠carolinagirl☠

[SandyM 1,956]

I think you need to take everything you read for face value. There are folks that hit green and their weight loss seems to come off very easily. Others seem to continue to track monitor all the way through their journey. I've tried several different things trying to find what works for me but I don't expect it will ever be as easy as some say. I'm just going to keep doing what I'm doing cuz I know it's right. But stop setting impossible expectations for this little appliance and take some responsibility yourself. I'm guilty too. I know it'll happen, but the body does a lot of adjusting during weight.

My surgeon says if I continue to want to eat after a meal I should double up on my Protein. I find I'm good during the day (even with carbs) but the evening time is my enemy. I know it's not hunger cuz sometimes it happens right after I eat. What I've done the past few days (and it seems to work) Is Protein only at dinner. I give myself a double portion of whatever meat we are having. I eat til I'm satisfied and I do mean satisfied. Then I don't want the hohos, twinkles, pbj sandwiches, bowls of Cereal etc that I always keep in the house for the gks. Hey, I've gone to bed the last 3 nights with a feeling of saity from what I ate and didn't eat and no guilty feelings. Now just waiting for the scales to drop.

[Pepper28 82]

I had the band surgery July, 2012 and I am far from perfect. I don't know if I am in the green at all. I have a 10 band and about 2.2 or 2.4 cc total. My doctor goes very slow. I see him every 2 months and last time he said make it 3 months because he feels I am doing great.

Talking to the doctor and or dietitian may help you.

OMG!! 2.4 in a 10cc?? I was given 3cc's during the surgery, 3weeks after the swelling subsided I was able to eat again!

How much weight have u lost? Do u feel any restriction at all? Any loss u'd have right now wld be according to your own diet and exercise regimen. For me it wld be like not having a band at all and its been a year and 5 months already for you.

Is there some other doctor anywhere else that u cld see? Every 2-3 month fills? The norm is every 2-6 weeks.

[dylanmiles23 2,198]

I would never change my doctor, I love him too much. Also this journey isn't about a race, who finishes first. It is to get healthier and live like that. I do have plenty of restriction. I can't over eat and I have gotten stuck many times, my fault.

Another thing is I am 63, not a youngster. I have lost 60% of my BMI and down 75-80 pounds so far. When I had the surgery I decided it took me many years to get fat and I decided it should take me 2 years to get to a good size and weight for me. My doctor said if I never lose another pound, he is fine with me and said I am one of his best patients.

I know of many by-pass people who after 7-10 years are just as heavy if not heavier than before their surgery. I don't want to be one of 'them'.

So slow down the race.

[Sally Pearl 59]

I think that everyone is different, and I find that my band can feel different at different times. For instance tighter in a morning or when i feel stressed. I have days when I feel I could just keep on eating, and days when I am content on a small amount. I saw my dietician today and had another little fill as my weight is coming off a little slower than before. But I am so pleased with my weight loss and feel that I am in a marathon, not a sprint! my dietician reminded me that I am drinking more latte's than before, and even little things like that can impact on your weight loss. So have a think about what your are actually putting in your mouth and pick wise foods that are filling, thats the advice I have taken today.

I feel the band is a wonderful tool, we just need to learn to use it correctly.

Good Luck and keep positive

[Bandista 7,466]

I think you need to take everything you read for face value. There are folks that hit green and their weight loss seems to come off very easily. Others seem to continue to track monitor all the way through their journey. I've tried several different things trying to find what works for me but I don't expect it will ever be as easy as some say. I'm just going to keep doing what I'm doing cuz I know it's right. But stop setting impossible expectations for this little appliance and take some responsibility yourself. I'm guilty too. I know it'll happen, but the body does a lot of adjusting during weight.

My surgeon says if I continue to want to eat after a meal I should double up on my Protein. I find I'm good during the day (even with carbs) but the evening time is my enemy. I know it's not hunger cuz sometimes it happens right after I eat. What I've done the past few days (and it seems to work) Is protein only at dinner. I give myself a double portion of whatever meat we are having. I eat til I'm satisfied and I do mean satisfied. Then I don't want the hohos, twinkles, pbj sandwiches, bowls of Cereal etc that I always keep in the house for the gks. Hey, I've gone to bed the last 3 nights with a feeling of saity from what I ate and didn't eat and no guilty feelings. Now just waiting for the scales to drop.

Evenings are my tough time, too. Really trying to increase protein so I'm going to try this. I know I'm not in the green zone because while I have never even tasted a Ho Ho or Twinkie the thought of Peanut Butter in the house makes me salivate!

[Bandista 7,466]

I had lapband in May of 2013, I have 8.75 cc in my 14 cc band and I'm not yet in the green zone. I feel like I'm never going to get there and that it is a "fantasy feeling" that everyone talks about. Not to mention, I can't get my mind on the right track. I feel like I'm fighting the same fight from before lap band. I'm on track and doing great for 2 days and then all hell breaks loose. I don't even want to tell you what I ate today!!!!

I feel like a failure.

Hi there, you are absolutely not a failure -- a) you are here, and you're seeing your doctor regularly. You have only been banded six months and there are many people who take this long to find the green zone and discover what works well for them in terms of behavior modification. We all got banded because we could not control our appetites. We need the band to assist with that and you are getting there. Really! Don't beat yourself up. We are in this for the long run. Good luck on Tuesday. And maybe reread the Dr. Simpson piece on the band not being about restriction - I can't get it here or I'll lose my post but a few people (Missy, Jim) have it in their signature and I often reread that to get my head in the right place. I've also been really working on my eating triggers -- started seeing a therapist to try to go deeper into specifics, like I automatically want to prep myself with food prior to business meetings or a conference call, or I'm looking for a reward. Or the old screw this attitude after too much deprivation, the eating from boredom or to Celebrate. When those impulses come I try to break them down so I am mindful. May still want whatever it is but I have introduced a thought process and that makes something into a choice rather than a given. That's what I'm changing, the way I think. Keep us posted! You are going to get this fill and find that place of peace, I know it!

[Pepper28 82]

@dylanmiles23

Wow u've done great so I guess there wld be no need for fills. I didnt know 2.4 was working for u.

And its true, I do feel like im in a race.

My family believes Ive wasted my money getting wls bcuz ive spent the last 4 months getting "fills" and u cant really explain the adjustments to people who've not had lap band surgery.

All they see is no results.

Ive had two friends cancel their lap band consultations because theyve not seen my dramatic transformation & it saddens me too.

Im definitely not the poster child for wls.