It's been two years and i have lost maybe 10lbs total. Why? People ask....I WILL TELL YOU HOW IT HAPPENED FOR ME....

The moral of the story is not to tell you NOT to get the band...but to tell you that this is no FIX and don't expect overnight weight loss....YOU HAVE TO PUT EFFORT into it.

This is important....people like me assumed the BAND would fix everything and the motivation would just fall into place...this is soooo untrue.....

I had always been big...all through school..always size 16+....senior year 2001 i was a good size 22....2003 i was a size 24 and by 2005 i was a size 32......I was always made fun of.....i gained almost 100 pounds in 3 years from being on the depo shot(birth control)so i got off of that...... and then getting pregnant. By 2005 I was at my worst.

I walked into the Dr's office thinking I was only 360 back in April of 2005. When I got on the scale it read 380...I almost died. I cried in his office because I was so ashamed. Ashamed over 20lbs!!!! I had researched the band and felt because I had a daughter it would be the safest surgery for me. I am only 24 and was 22 at the time. I thought this was going to be the FIX.....the thing to change my life. I thought that there was no way anyone or anything could stop me from losing weight after I had surgery.

I went through all the tests....and got all the required medical paperwork and convinced some family members to pitch in for my surgery. I set the date and started my pre-op diet!

From that point on I should have known I was going to be a mess. I was supposed to be on a liquid diet for 2 weeks because my liver needed to shrink for surgery. So i ate everything they told me to for the first 3 days and BAM....the feeling set in.....I WANTED AN ULTIMATE CHEESEBURGER FROM JACK N THE BOX AND I WANTED IT NOW! I couldn't get it off my mind....i was thinking about it allllllll day.....i went to bed thinking about it...and the next morning i went and got one. I figured...what could ONE double cheese burger with double cheese and mayo possibly do......well...it did nothing to the surgery process but it really broke the frame of mind. Before the 2 weeks was up i had eatin 2 not one but TWO ultimate cheeseburgers and a few chicken nuggets. Why? Why couldn't I just do the PRE SURGERY diet?

June 8th 2005------So surgery day came....and went.....all went well no complications.....i was on soft food in the beginning and I started to eat eggs for Breakfast....but my eggs HAD to have cheese and butter in them....HELLO!!! What was I thinking.....I remember getting my first fill and at this point I had almost lost 40lbs. 20pre-op and 20 post-op. It was amazing.......

About 3 months out(2 months after my 1st fill) I started to become familiar with my band and how much I could and could not eat. I realized that when i would eat too much, i drank a little bit, and it would make the food pass and then i would feel sooooo much better. I never exercised...keep in mind...(maybe got into the pool like 10 times the whole summer) and i was preparing for my wedding which was September 17th 2005. I was so stressed because my weightloss had pretty much STOPPED......I was craving foods like never before and started to eat and drink at the same time...BIG MISTAKE......i was eating at least double what I should have. So I went and had ANOTHER fill. This slowed me down...but still I was not losing ANY weight. I remember eating my first fried chicken after my fill and like trying to manipulate my band into letting me eat more by taking one bite and then drinking....it was the worst thing in the world i could have EVER done.

A year after my band was put in I was only 20lbs total lost (which means i gained 20 back) and I was so angry...I promised myself I was going to try and fix things and make it better....So much had happened that year....2006....we bought a house, my husbands dad died of cancer, my husband was leaving for weeks at a time for work...and i was home ALONE with my daughter. I had no energy to keep the house clean(and i still dont) but i would sit and mope.....and EAT.....I would make excuses to people who asked me WHY i hadn't lost any weight. I told them all that it was a slow process and that i had lost 40 pounds(lied to them).

This year, Jan 2007...I was just sitting at dinner with my husband and looked down and noticed i had a 12oz strip steak, baked potato loaded....and mashed potatos loaded on my plate. I ate all of it. my band was NOT going to stop me. I also ate bread before that.......and drank sweat tea....

in Feb07 I was online playing around and saw an ad for a weightloss show. Primetime...suppose to be JUST like the Biggest Loser....I thought...hmmmm I'll just fill out the app for shits and giggles.....well they responded and wanted me to send them a tape....so i did.

Then in march they had me get my band completely UNFILLED and then flew me out to LA and put me through med tests and interviews,THEY BOUGHT ME 2 PLANE SEATS because i was too big to fit in the plane chairs on my own....pretty sad huh,(cant say much more because they made me sign all kinds of disclosures) They told me it was a show that will be on ABC and told me i would be away from my family for 10 weeks. I thought....this is the chance i have been waiting for.

They made me think i was going....for weeks after the interview I was getting called and asked follow up questions and told i was in the top 4....then on March 31 i was called and told the network did not choose me. I was DEVISTATED.............like someone should have just shot me right there. I was so upset...i cried the whole way home(we were out to eat of course) and my husband looked at me and said...why dont you just do it on your own?

Ummmmm DUH right...? So about a week went by and I had done a real examination of what i have done wrong and how i have basically cheated myself out of my life! On Easter i saw my family and noticed how no one said i looked good anymore...that's because i didnt.....i looked worse...heavy as can be....and that night i sent an email to my family and decide that enough is enough.

Im exercising daily...NO EXCUSES...i posted before/after pictures on my walls in my house of other people who have had the band. I put sayings all over the house saying "whats ur excuse now" and i told my husband that enough is enough. So we decided to start our weightloss exercise on the 9th.....on the 10th I went and had my band RE-filled and since the 10th I have lost 10lbs......unbelievable huh!!!

:clap2: So hopefully all this will inspire SOMEONE before it happens to them. Let my "GAIN" be your "LOSS".

Good luck everyone!

Krystal

Yep, my initial fill was up to 5ccs, then the fill nurse dropped this to 4 because I PBed on water. Since then I have been getting half a cc whenever I go in for a fill. And all of my fill work is free, part of the initial price of the work. Mini-fills at 200 bucks is too much!!!

ok so i went today and got a fill......im at 7.4ccs lets see what it does....

Krystal - hopefully the fill will give you some restriction. I'm at 3.0 cc's in a 5 cc band, and still not much restriction. At times it gives me some, but I think I can still eat more than I should. I'm waiting on my insurance approval now so I can get another fill. I really think the key is to stay on top of your fills. And of course making the right food choices (which is the hard part).

Keep us posted!

ok so i went today and got a fill......im at 7.4ccs lets see what it does....

GREAT!!!! I'm anxious to know how it is working for you.

Still spending time on your treadmill?

Me too Krystal... would love to hear how you're getting on now???

I really hope that you are doing well

Krystal, I'm so glad you wrote your story here. So many people look at this or any weightloss surgery as a "quick fix" when the reality is, it's just one of many, many tools you will need to use on this journey.

Your mind was not in the right place when you started, this is why I think the psych eval is a joke. It's just something they have to do to get the insurance companies to approve. I doubt there are many who are turned down based on the results. Besides, we all know exactly what they want to hear and that's what we say. It needs to be more in depth, and it needs to be on going. You are one of many people who need to find out what's behind the weight, the weight is just a symptom.

Thanks for being so candid, I hope some of those who are pre-op and see themselves in your post will put off the surgery until their head and soul are ready to commit.

Hi everyone

Krystal how you doing? I am feeling very good. I was weighed and measured and I have now lost a total of 16lbs and a lot of inches. My waist went from 47 to 39.5, hips 56 to 55, thigh 37 to 33.5, calves 19 to 18.75, forearm 10.5 to 10.00, bicep 16.5 to 14.25. All the hard work with my trainer and eating changes are working out for my good. Just thought I would give a praise report.

Your news has made my day, Purpose. Congratulations to you! It sounds like you are making real progress.

Wow, that took guts! Krystal thank you for sharing your experience. I haven't been banded. I'm on the insurance treadmill trying to get an approval. Please know you've helped me by being so honest. Hope all is going well for you kiddo!

How are you doing since you got your fill? Do you feel that you are now back on track. I have by apt. on the 22 with Dr. Minkin in St. Louis to seek approval for lapband. I have all the tests the week before. When approved I will be doing it at Des Pers. I hope to hear from you soon.

Chris

Pre Band

St. Louis

How are you doing since you got your fill? Do you feel that you are now back on track. I have by apt. on the 22 with Dr. Minkin in St. Louis to seek approval for lapband. I have all the tests the week before. When approved I will be doing it at Des Pers. I hope to hear from you soon.

Chris

Pre Band

St. Louis

I have lost another 6 pounds..ive been doing really well...not overdoing it at all. Seems like everytime i get on lapband site it is lagging and takes forever for me to go from page to page....i just checked in today and its ten times better....so i will come back and start typin more!

I miss all of you! How is everyone doing?

Krystal, I just found your site for the first time today and just finished reading every ones posts. You are incredibly inspirational!!! Some one else said that this site should be required reading, I couldn't agree more. Keep trying girl, don't give up we're all in this together!

Hugs and a BIG THANK YOU for your bravery and honesty!!

I am so glad I found you thread. I have been only banded for just less than a month. I haven't had a fill yet so I do not have any restriction. I was afraid this wasn't going to work for me. I have been eating some of the wrong stuff because I can. I don't want to be that way but sometimes the food is there and I eat it. My dh doesn't help when I ask him what he wants from the grocery store, he wants chips and ice cream. Of course if they are in the house I will eat them. A couple of times I have refused to buy them. He doesn't have a weight problem so he can eat anything he wants without issues. I am hoping that reading this thread will keep me going in the right direction. It made me jump on my treadmill and walk for 30 minutes and complete one mile. I like to walk outside but my kids come with me so I really do get a good pace in because I am constantly stopping to let them catch up. I am going to keep this thread in my favorites so I can keep checking in.

Good luck Krystal , Purpose and everyone else.

I've had one fill since my surgery and next week I'm going to have it all taken out. I've been restricted for 2 months and I don't really like it.

I say this only because I've made a big change in my eating habits and I don't think I need a fill anymore. Truthfully, I don't think I needed the band to begin with. On the other hand, had it not been for surgery I probably wouldn't have come to the realization that it was actually my fault for being fat.

It's not all genetics, it was me and my relationship with food. I used to tell myself that I ate just like everyone else so i didn't understand why I was fat.

The truth is that your daily food choices add up to a lot more calories than you think you're eating. I didn't realize this till I started a food log last month. I'm eating no where near what I used to, and these numbers X 3 to 5 times like I used to eat and wholy cow that's a lot of calories. Not to mention that most of the calories were coming from sugar and other bad carbs plus a lot of saturated fat.

I also used to skip breakfasts a lot and sometimes only at once or twice a day.

All that is behind me. Now I make it a point to not underfeed myself and I eat no less than 5 meals a day, 6 or 7 when I can. The big difference is now the portions are controlled and I actively manage what I eat. Mostly whole foods that are healthy. I stay away from junk food and I don't drink my calories (save for some protein shakes since I can't eat all the protein I need due to the band.) I drink water all the time, and when I want some flavor I'll drink tea(green tea is ideal) or use those little crystal light packages.

Anywho. Now I'm looking forward to getting an unfill so I can eat more. I've lost about 70lbs since last June, 40 of which were in the past 2 months when I changed my eating habits. I'm looking forward to weight lifting in the near future as well.

In the end, I don't think I needed the band...but at the same time I'm glad I got it. I always blamed my lack of will power for being fat. The piece that I truly believe now that was missing was education on nutrition.

I learned what I know now from body building web sites and forums. I figure, "who better to learn from than from people who dedicate a big part of their lives to changing their bodies?"

Trust me...they know A LOT and I encourage anyone who's interested in teaching themselves about nutrition and body composition changes to search and learn from good bodybuilding sites. The wealth of knowledge is staggering.