Does your band stop working?

[marillon 0]

I am asking this because after 16 months or so I feel the band does not do anything. I dont feel restricted. Can eat bread anything I want. I have no problem at all with any food. I can eat an normal amount of food I think.

Because of this I went for a fill. I had 5 CC in an 5 cc band. I told my surgeon that I had no restriction. I did not even know it was there. So he said you want an agressive fill? Sounded good to me.. so I nodded. He put 2 cc in. Did not know you could overfill a band like that. I tried to drink. Completely shut down. So he takes out 1 CC. I was on 6 cc then. I tried to drink. I gulped down 2 glasses. NP I thought. Well when I came home I could not drink anymore. I thought hmm maybe swelling? I could take like little sips and this would trickle down. I thought would maybe be enough. After 4 days I was not feeling ok and decided I really had to take some out.. I was very dizzy and ready to fall down. So off again to the dr. They could not access the port. So I had to wait hours and hours while 6 different drs tried to take some liquid out. (I live in the netherlands... Only one or 2 places where they can help you with a band. So not very experienced drs with lapbands.). At 17.00 a dr and a nurse manages to take 2 cc out. While she had the needle still in me I said should I not drink something? ( I learned everything from this Forum after the band I was told nothing and sent to an dietist who did know anything either). Oh good idea she said. I drink an cup of Water. Runs down smoothly. I am thinking I had no restriction before on 5 CC and she took an extra out. So I said hmm I think you should put an half CC back in. I thought maybe with the swelling and all its not bad to have half CC out. So she puts back the half CC in.(now I wish I had not said that but going there again sigh).

I was pretty starved and dehydrated and had visions of Mc.Donalds. No they never thought total dehydration was dangerous apperently. One nurse even said to me after hours of waiting well I would offer you some tea but you cant drink he! I already saw myself unconsiously on the ground before they would even start thinking something was wrong! I came home and we went to an take-out Chinees. I have not eaten in 16 months one normal meal. The lapband was very effectief on me because I had most of my overweight on my stomach and I believe this band was too small for me to start with (only one size in the Netherlands I think). So I pretty much starved for the whole time.(I am soo happy we are in 2008 where we can have plastic surgery and fix up yourself!)

I ordered all my favorites went home and ate so much my stomach hurt for 4 hours afterwards...(I realised how dangerous that is and could havet turned out badly - I did learn a very good lesson) I went on the scale and had gained 5 KG from morning till evening! What an shock that was! Anyhow I figured out this morning that the battery of my scale was empty and gave an wrong number. I still have to go buy a new battery to know how much I lost or gained.

So I was wondering does the lapband stop being helpful after an time. If the choice is not drinking or no restriction? Is it possible I lost so much fat on my stomach this band is now too big for me and that even with max restriction does not do much? I really wonder how I am supposed to eat now? I eat as much as I want in reason? I count calories? How much I have lived on 500-800 cal per day being very active. I still want to loose 10 more kg....

I went from total overeating (before the lapband) 150 Kg to starvation for 16 months. I am not used to eating normal. I did try with the lapband but when you can eat no meat, no bread, no Pasta, no vegetables and you hate Soups, yogurths, puddings and ice-cream what do you eat? I ate pretty much nothing. Every now and then an proteine shake. Lots and lots of chocolates... lots of crackers and cheese. And like 10 vitamine pills daily. I even de-adiccted of Cola Light. From 2 bottles a day to nothing. ( I had read that aspartane could make you stop loosing and could cause you strange pains, aches and even a tumor). I have to say everytime I eat something now with aspartane I do have bone ache. So there is something of truth in what they say of aspartane.

Any experiences how I can keep my weighloss (80 Kg! and I do not want to gain ever again. (Being smaller is fantastic! I am much happier than I ever was before) , loose 10 more kg - if even possible -and start to eat healthy?

I had hoped I would keep restriction until I was totally unfill. As my weighloss is very slow now I was not worried I would ever be underweight. I was not unhappy grazing on foods I really liked. But it seems my band does not work anymore.

[nanaof5 0]

Hi i sort of know what you are talking about. I had my surgery on 10/06 and was losing weight slowly but yet I was still losing. But then in july of 06 I stopped losing weight and have stayed the same. I have not lost anymore weight in 7months. My doctor said my port is flipped but he said it had nothing to do with me not losing any weight. I still have another 40lbs to loose. The doctor said i may just stay at this weight. I am so depressed I do not want to stay at this weight, I really need to loose the rest of the weight for my health, this is why I had the surgery after all. I have had about 9 fills and some as high as 5cc he also so told me I am almost at the limit of my fills. I have never ever had a fill that was so tight that I could not eat. I have heard of people having this problem but no matter how many fills or how much i never had that happen to me. Sometimes I wish i could so that i would loose weight. I also can eat anything I want, I feel I sometimes eat as much as I use to. I feel like I have no restriction at all, and when I do get a fill it seems to last only for a couple of weeks. The Dr. also told me that maybe later I might want to think about gastric bypass? In that case I would have done that in the very beginining. I just feel like such a looser, I have really tried to diet and also not eat and I still cannot loose weight. It feels llike I am going threw all the diets I tried before surgery.

[Kat817 19]

I am not following what happened between starving for 16 months of being banded, and your first statement of being able to eat bread or anything and not feeling restricted.

You keep saying you have not eaten a normal meal in 16 months, but opened with saying you had no restriction...help me understand---what the time line is...

*For how long were you able to eat normal amounts?

*What are you considering a normal amount?

*What foods were you eating once you were able to eat something besides chocolate and cheese and crackers?

*Did anyone ever say why your port was hard to access?

*Are these fills always done blind?

*How many fills had you had before?

You must eat-----and eating a healthy diet will result in a healthy weight loss! Small steady incremental fills do more for that than sudden aggresive fills that leave you swollen and unable to take in hard Protein again.

Have either of you...marillon, or nanaof5 had any kind of scope or fluoroscopy of your band? Sounds to me like it is time to sit down with a Dr. with no fill needle in hand and get a grip on this band, before it erodes your stomach, or causes problems. We all have to work with it---------US, the Dr. and the band combined can do wonders, but each of us has to hold up our end or it won't work at all!

Good Luck!

Kat

[nanaof5 0]

I have my fills done under xray, I have to because the port is flipped. It is hard for him to do the fills sometimes he has to stick me a few times before he finds it. I just visited him about two weeks ago and was weighed at his office and still was the same weight as last time. I ask him why is it I have not lost weight in the last 7 months. I exercise and try to eat healthy, I am not saying somethimes I don't cheat. I do know I think I can eat a lot, I know if I am having beef veg Soup I can eat a hole Cereal bowl full. If I am having cabbage I can eat 2 large triangles. I just know even when i have a Protein Drink I am hungery again about 30 mintues later. I want to snack late at night, I really try not to but sometimes I give in. When I talk to people on this site that has had it done around the same time as me or even before me still cannot eat much at all and have reached their goal. I talk to the doctor and he never saids anything about further test to see if everything is o.k. How do you know if your band erodes your stomach? I thought about getting a second opinion but from what I have read on this site is that other doctors that have not done the surgery does not want to see other doctors patients. So I just don't know what to do. HELP!

[shortgal 5]

For the lady in the Netherlands... perhaps you could contact the Dr in Belgium ( his name has been on this forum) and maybe you could take a long weekend to go see him, if he takes other Dr's patients.

If you don;t have many Dr's in the Netherlands then perhaps a different Dr. can help.

Try a "search' on the forum and see if you can find his name.

Our bands do get looser as we lose weight but it's not good to be so tight that you can;t eat good healthy solid food. Yes, counting calories and eating "solid" healthy Protein food and not drinking for one hour after a meal could help you.

Eating soft "slider" foods will not stay in your pouch and will not keep you full. Avoid carbs like bread, Pasta and rice.

[juliegeraci 7]

What you are experiencing is quite normal. My doctor said it is typical to lose 60-65% of tour excess weight and then it just stops. I've been 35 lbs from goal for quite a few months now. It is really difficult to loss 19 months in. We are all in the same boat.

[Kat817 19]

The less you weigh, the less calories you burn, just being you. Have you increased your movement to counteract that? Do you get steady, regular exercise of any kind?

Kat

[shortgal 5]

So true Kat, the less we weigh, the less calories we need to maintain that weight, so of course we need even fewer calories to lose additional weight or exercise must increase to compensate.

that's why the less you weigh, the fewer "points" WW allows you.

[nanaof5 0]

Yes I do exercise everyday and I try and stay between 1000-1200 calories a day. I weighed 234lbs before pre post diet. I lost 20 on the post diet and 45 up till now. Like I said before I just stop loosing about 9 months after which was around July. I have tried just staying to Protein and veg and now I am trying whey Protein Shakes that some have recommened to me. I am at the point that i really don't know what to eat anymore. What does every one eles eat in a day?

[niki 1]

Hey Marillon and Nanaof5,

I fully understand what you're feeling and going through right now.

I have my band for 3yrs now, had 9 fills (last fill was last friday) and I'm with 10cc on a 11cc band. I'm very far from reaching my goal (still have some 20kgs, 40pounds to loose). This week I'm still on liquids/mushies after that last fill so I did not try any solid food yet but for all this time - 3 yrs. - I never felt much of a restriction with other fills.

I usually feel restricted 1 or 2 weeks after a fill (maybe due the swelling effect) but it soon fades away and afterwards I get to eat everything: Pasta, bread, rice, all types of fibre, etc - nothing gets stuck and I know I'm eating too much, too big portions. Evidently I try to make correct food choices with good solid Protein and veggies, and avoid all the bad stuff.

After researching and reading a lot, I came to the conclusion that I might have got a band size too big for me (I started with a low BMI of 35) but I guess that it was the only one available at the time here locally at the hospital so that's what my doc used... This means that I'm loosing at a very slow pace and I'm almost at the limit of the band's capacity and still have a long way to go. It's quite frustrating, it takes a lot of effort from my side (lots of exercise at the gym, correct food choices, etc) to compensate the fact that the band is not doing it's share completely, but that's just the way it is for me right now. I can't afford to be self-pay at this stage of my life. Maybe it will work better with this recent fill and I'll loose a bit more. I can't afford to think that this band is not working, I've put too much of myself into it.

This is just to let you know that there are other bandsters just as you and feeling the same as you around here, you're not alone.

hang in there.

niki

[nanaof5 0]

Hi Niki, I am so glad to finally here from someone that knows what I am going threw. Most people on this site has had great success getting to their goal. I also think my Dr, put to big of a band on me, after surgery he told my husband that he had to use the larger band because my stomach was to big he thought for the smaller one. I think he said mine was a 10cc and I am almost their now. Have you gone for many months without loosing any weight? Also if you do not mind me asking what was your starting weight and what are you at now? What does your Dr. say about it taking you so long to get to your goal. Thanks again Niki for sharing this with me, I was beginining to think I was the only one out their with this problem.

[gkeyt 0]

I do know I think I can eat a lot, I know if I am having beef veg Soup I can eat a hole Cereal bowl full. If I am having cabbage I can eat 2 large triangles. I just know even when i have a Protein Drink I am hungery again about 30 mintues later.

Soup and Protein drinks go right through your band, just like Water through a funnel. They don't stay in your pouch, that is why you are hungry again so soon, and can eat a big bowl of soup. The band only works with solid foods, that is why we are supposed to avoid liquid calories. If you can get your Protein from solid food instead of Protein shakes and Soups you should find you are able to eat fewer calories and lose weight better. Also as another poster said, you need fewer calories when you lose weight so be sure to adjust there too, and make sure you are increasing your exercise.

HTH

[marillon 0]

I was restricted till about an month ago. I went from being unable

to eat to being able to eat again. Think because I finally lost enough fat on my stomach. I only have fat left on my stomach unfortunately. Lost my whole butt, never had big legs, and pretty much lost it all over my body. I only have bones left on my butt very uncomfortable to sit down. So the only part of me still big is my stomach. It is very strange. I suddenly got overweight 15 years ago during a pregancy. I gained an enormous amount of weight eating same food. I tried to get help. This was before internet. I was told I must eat like an beast and got no help. After the pregnancy I struggled for 15 years to loose it and went to doctor after doctor. All said the same you eat too much. To be honest I never believed this. I never ate a lot. Still up to this day I believe I got overweight because of something wrong which happened during pregancy. Ofcourse the extra I gained after that was my own fault for getting depressed of being so fat and not moving.

*For how long were you able to eat normal amounts?

Since about an month.

*What are you considering a normal amount?

3 meals a day with being able to actually eat an piece of meat - 100 gram- with vegetables. I used not to be able to eat this. Did not matter how long I chewed or what I tried. I do try now to make an effort to eat healthy.

I have been doing this:

Breakfast: coffee or tea and an proteine shake made with skimmed milk.

Lunch: 2 crackers with something or I take an proteine bar.

lots of tea and Water in between

Dinner: this is my problem. I never fancy to eat. But been forcing myself to eat whatever I make. I eat one Breakfast plate or one bowl. As I dont have restriction I try to limit this amount. Never eat desert.

Rarely I may eat an tiny bag of chips or 1 or 2 Cookies. Sometimes I eat some nuts in between. If I really want to snack I am addicted to creamcrackers with goatcheese and eat some of that. I even managed to eat an bowl of fresh made chickensoup last night. Every 3 weeks I get an chocolade mania and may buy two bars (black ones) and succum to this.

*What foods were you eating once you were able to eat something besides chocolate and cheese and crackers?

I do cook everyday very healthy mediteranea style as I am spanish. I normally cook meat baked in olive oil, lots of spices, tomatoes etc. Since about a month I have been actually eating what I cook. I eat like an breakfastplate full of it. I tried to include milk.

*Did anyone ever say why your port was hard to access?

Yes it was turned. It was the intention to have it fixed last time I went but because it was soo bussy they did not do it. Been trying to get it fixed for 7 months now.

*Are these fills always done blind?

Yes they have never used fluoro.

*How many fills had you had before?

I have had 4 fills or so each time aggressive ones. They dont do 2 cc fills. Dont know why. .

You must eat-----and eating a healthy diet will result in a healthy weight loss! Small steady incremental fills do more for that than sudden aggresive fills that leave you swollen and unable to take in hard Protein again.

Yes but unfortunately I dont have a choice. I can only go to this guy who does not give you much time. When I told him I wanted to lose another 10 kg he said thats impossible. You will struggle your whole life to maintain and I dont suggest it. I am still going to aim for it as I dont think that 5.6 feet and 70 kg is too little for me. Would still me or the high side of the BMI. Is not like I am aiming for size zero or something.

Have either of you...marillon, or nanaof5 had any kind of scope or fluoroscopy of your band? Sounds to me like it is time to sit down with a Dr. with no fill needle in hand and get a grip on this band, before it erodes your stomach, or causes problems. We all have to work with it---------US, the Dr. and the band combined can do wonders, but each of us has to hold up our end or it won't work at all!

Never. I did go with pain stomach but they patted my stomach gave me some pills and sent me on my way. I dont have much confidence in this doctor at all. I go there but they dont do anything.

I dont exercise. I know I have to do this. I even have equipment at home. I bought myself an homegym, an magic leg thing, an step machine. But for somereason I never do it.

I do walk a LOT. I normally spent saturday shopping and walking for 7 hours. Everyday I walk 30 minutes to work and back. I do try to move a lot. Every week I clean like nuts for 4 hours till I am sweating really hard. I dont really want to go to an gym. I have huge breasts and fill really uncomfortable having other people able to see me. Arobics and jumping things are impossible also because of that. Swimming I love but same problem. I hope after I had plastic chirurgy I wont feel so self consious.

Thanks for the tips all of you. I may end up trying visiting a doctor in Belgium. I already decided to have plastic chirurgie in France and not in Holland. Everytime I end up in an Dutch Hospital it all goes wrong. Nor do I think they have the experience with operating on ex-obese woman.

[Kat817 19]

Wow Marillon------do you have another Dr. option, one that is not your Band Dr. you could get some simple nutrition guidelines from?

I agree it sounds like you might have had some sort of metabolic syndrome of some sort going on, I did following childbirth. I gained over 80 pounds! I only gained 23 during the pregnancy, went home lost all that plus 3 pounds---then got sick, and when I got sick I ended up with mastitis---and had nursing problems, and bam in 3 months I had gained 80 pounds! They found my problems fairly quickly, but weight has been a struggle ever since.

I would hazzard a guess that on top of the possible problems, that you are taking in too many carbs to effectively lose any more weight, and they are notorious for adding weight onto our middles.

You might try cutting them down.....

And make a deal with yourself---no chocolate until you get in 3 hours on your various exercise equipment each week. If you do it----you get your tiny piece of chocolate!

I make myself do my elliptical time before I can turn on my computer!!!!

Once you begin exercising, it isn't so bad, it is making yourself do it that is the hard part in my opinion!!!

Good Luck, I am sorry your band Dr. does not seem to have time to address your problems. That is not the way the band is supposed to be handled.

Keep us posted as to how you are doing!!

Kat

[niki 1]

Hi Nanaof5,

Go ahead, you can ask me anything, no problem.

yes, this has been a hard struggle these past 3 yrs with my band, I mean I never had any problems (reflux, PB, blockage, etc), the only thing I felt was that even after many fills (always small ones, my doc is very conservative with fills) I never really felt much of a restriction. I know I've been doing everything correctly: exercising a lot, making correct food choices, and so on, but I just did not loose weight as I was expecting to or as I've seen so many other people loosing - and that's very frustrating as you know.

I started with a BMI of 35 (with 100Kilos = 221 pounds) and today I'm with 88 Kgs = 195 pounds more or less. I still need to loose some 20Kgs (44 pounds) which is a lot, and what scares me is that I'm almost at the capacity limit for my band (I have 10cc in a 11cc band).

My doc says there is no problem whatsoever with my band, no leakage, it looks perfectly fine. That's how I came to the conclusion that the band I got is most probably too big for my stomach particularly now that some of the fat around it is gone (there are two other smaller sizes on that same brand) and I guess that that was the only size available at that time at the hospital where I had the surgery (it's like a «one size fits all» as long as you keep it well tight, but now it's really very tight and even so it allows too big a quantity of food through my stoma, that's why I don't feel restricted).

I did have several plateaus (period of time when your weight stands still). There's a useful link somewhere here at LBT with that information and what to do to get out of a plateau.

I know that it is important for me to eat 5 or 6 small meals per day to keep loosing (starvation IS NOT the solution, it will have the opposite effect) and always making sure I'm eating correct food stuff (good solid food, forget liquids and mushy stuff if you want to keep your metabolism pumping).

Basically, I believe that this band was an opportunity to re-learn how to eat and how to take better care of myself. Enough of feeling sorry for myself because I'm fat. I'll get there, it will take time, but I'll get there.

Try having a look at one of the threads about slow losers. There are others like us, of course there are.

best of luck to you,

niki