Hi there! I am new to this site, and am here upon recommendation from a new friend I've met thru a support group in our area. I am hoping someone reading this will have been in my shoes and can offer some promising advice. I was banded on May 21, 2007 - coming up on 1 year. I have lost 15 pounds - no, I haven't left out any numbers by mistake - FIFTEEN pounds in 1 year. I am VERY depressed about this. I admit that for many months I was hoping that the band would work by itself, and I didn't try real hard. I have now realized that what I was told during my pre-op consultation is TRUE - the band is a tool to help with weight loss, but it will not work on its own. I feel like I am now ready to begin my journey in working with the band - 1 year later. I feel like a total failure. Last weekend, I attended a Lap Band support group in my area - what a great step that was! I live in a rural area, so the fact that we have a support group is amazing! Please respond! Thanks

Hi:

You recognize that you didn't follow the lap band rules for the first year. Sounds like you're ready now.

Stick around on this site and keep going to support group meetings. You should probably set small goals and small rewards to keep you focused.

Good luck.

Sue

skhopp,

I know you want to hear more success than failures probably but I don't want you to think you're alone out there. I had my surgery 8/08 and lost prior on the liquid diet but gained it all back since then. I've had trouble with fills and some other issues which would probably bore you so I won't go into all of that. I know a lot of it is learning how to live with it and get it working. I think it's different for everyone. Not all people have to deal with hormonal issues etc... and may have an easier time. It can work. I try to focus on my Protein now and chew, chew but still haven't totally worked out the "slider" kinks. Anyway good luck to you, and to me and hopefully we can both make it work. brandyII.

I'm with Jack on this one: "failure is not the falling down, but the staying down" -- jump on in, there's no 'window of opportunity' with the band. Get a fill if you need it and start following the bandster guidelines. And come out here daily for inspiration too!

Yeah, jack is right, you do have to get back up and die trying if you have to but i also say that we are all different. I was banded in jan o8 and I lost 10 lbs then b/c my doc failed me my first 2 fills, my 3rd one was just a week ago, so I had my 1st real fill 90 days post op....I am so discouraged and feel like a failure, but every single day I start off on program and every single time i tell myself, this is only a tool....I thought, I would just eat, feel full and then like magic, I would lose weight, not the case.........you must exercise and discipline yourself to eat the right foods when you are hungry. hope that helps. welcome and good luck, you can do it.....we are here to support you.

It is never over till you stop trying.Better to lose 15 than to gain 15. See if you need a fill and exercise. Good luck, Donna

I agree with everything everyone else has said, but also, stick with that support group! Support is VERY important in this whole process. No matter how many well-meaning friends and family members surround you, they don't know where you are unless they have walked in your shoes. This site is also a great source of support. Here, you can find the answer to even the most humiliating questions and know you won't be judged. We are all in the same boat, understand where you have been and know where you are going. Pick yourself up and get back with the program!! This whole process is one day at a time. Good luck!

After being in hiding for the last 6 months - here I am again. I'm still doing the same - failing and getting more depressed about it! I have cancelled and rescheduled my 1 year appointment (May 2008) many times - with the hope that I would miraculously lose weight before going for another fill. I am SOOOOOOO addicted to carbs - it's driving me crazy. I can't each much, because of the band - but what I do eat is all the wrong stuff - ice cream, chips, regular pop - AHHHHHHHH! Please help me! I'm so discouraged and frustrated.

skhopp - The first thing you need to do is pickup the phone and call your doctor - make that follow-up appointment and don't cancel. I'm sure you don't want to disappoint them, but trust me they would rather you show up having not lost weight/or gained than not show up at all. They are there to aid you in your weight loss journey. One of the important parts of being banded is your follow-up appointments. You may need an adjustment with your band. They really need to know what is going on with you.

I know others have said this, but I'll say it again. The band is only a tool. It will not stop you from eating carbs, only you can do that. You may be too tight (that's why you need to go to that appointment). You should be able to eat more than just slider foods.

Don't be embarassed about asking for help. That's including your doctor. This is not an easy journey for all of us. I think at some point we have all had struggles. Browse the sight here - find the May 2007 bandsters or someone you have something in common with. There is help out there - all you have to do is ask. I come to this site just about daily because I need the support. I know I couldn't do this on my own. I wish you the best!

You may wish to consult with a psychologist as well. Nobody does this without support. If you keep eating the way you are, you may very well lose your band completely and that would be a shame.

My band failed. It was very scary for me. Unfortunately, the professionals had no real answers.

I am almost one year band free, still overweight but thankful for my health and choices.

This is not for everyone...unfortunately.

The truth is important. All the best!

Hi, I was banded in March 08 and I have lost about 22lbs and that's all! I try, not hard enough sometimes but I do. I find that when I eat chicken, meat, veggies, fruit or the stuff that is supposed to stay above the band, even if I chew very well, I still throw it up. Or I can eat a very little bit and am very hungry a short time later. But I can eat cookies or chips or anything crunchy with no problem. So I puke the good stuff and have no problems with the bad. So when I'm hungry, I go to the bed stuff. I feel terrible as well. I read all the stories when people have lost tons of weight and I ask HOW? It is supposed to make us not as hungry? I don't get that. If I knew it was going to be like this I would NEVER have done it. I'm sorry I did. I get all the struggles and none of the benefit.

Hi, I was banded in March 08 and I have lost about 22lbs and that's all! I try, not hard enough sometimes but I do. I find that when I eat chicken, meat, veggies, fruit or the stuff that is supposed to stay above the band, even if I chew very well, I still throw it up. Or I can eat a very little bit and am very hungry a short time later. But I can eat cookies or chips or anything crunchy with no problem. So I puke the good stuff and have no problems with the bad. So when I'm hungry, I go to the bed stuff. I feel terrible as well. I read all the stories when people have lost tons of weight and I ask HOW? It is supposed to make us not as hungry? I don't get that. If I knew it was going to be like this I would NEVER have done it. I'm sorry I did. I get all the struggles and none of the benefit.

You sound too tight. Call your doctor and get an unfill. Once you are a little looser, you should be able to eat healthy foods again.

Literally half (or just over) of the almot 60 I've lost has happened since 5/7 when I FINALLY got filled to good restriction. Seriously; after the fill I made a decision to go "carb free" for a couple of days (re-did my preop diet) and I felt so darned good NOT being hungry that I've mostly just kept it up, unless we had company etc. You DO have to work with the band, I'll be the first to admit that. BUT it works WITH you if you give it a chance. Eat those protein dense foods like chicken breast and steak...give them a chance. Decide to go a couple days without any carbs except some green veggies...low fat...jump start your loss.

Understand I am not advocating eating that way forever. But during the weight LOSS phase, it may help you not be so hungry and carb-seeking. Try it. You may just amaze yourself.

I truly honest-to-God prefer now to eat the "right" stuff because then I am free from hunger for hours and hours. I find that liberating and wonderful.

Hi,

I have a comment as well, I am only 1 year and 1 month out. To date I have not lost very much weight I seriously thought I was doing something wrong. My eating was better than ever and I had been exercising but I was drinking so called "lo cal" drinks ie DIET anything. Once I cut that out of my diet, for whatever reason I am now losing weight and have found a balance with the band. Don't be afraid to try again, no one here will point and laugh we all have our own horror stories. Just take it one meal at a time, make better choices and get in some exercise. And remember those NSV are a huge part of weight loss. I still "weigh" heavy but I love the way I look, so go figure...

Best of luck!

"Failure is only important if it's last time that you try"....is my favorite variation on the previously mentioned Failure quotes.

When speaking about these various Weight Loss Surgeries, people often like to talk in "absolutes"; "do THIS, and THIS will happen, because it worked that way for ME".

Nope. Doesn’t work that way. Even though the way the Surgeries are performed is very similar, the OUTCOMES among the patient population is anything BUT uniform.

I think, in many respects, it comes down to "tweaking" your particular Procedure.

Liken it to an automobile, if you will. Re-gap those plugs, change the air/fuel mixture just a L-I-T-T-L-E bit, and your car will perform in an entirely different way.

Same with WLS. Assuming you have done the research and selected the CORRECT procedure for your personality/body type/eating issues, selected the RIGHT Surgeon at the RIGHT facility, then you have a good foundation for creating the proper environment for having a successful WLS experience. But, coming home from the hospital is only the beginning. And, if this makes any sense, it's really only the beginning of the BEGINNING.

What I mean by that is that you need to be prepared to change and alter your strategy on a continual basis as you move forward in the post-WLS experience. As you lose weight, your body will change in subtle ways, and I'm not talking about APPEARANCE so much as I am about your biochemistry, your metabolism, and many other things that impact your "relationship" with your excess weight.

For example, a previous poster stated that once they cut out all of the Diet beverages, things began to change. Some people might say that this doesn't make sense; There are no calories in these beverages, how could they be causing you to plateau? LOTS of reasons, actually. It can have to do with signals that your brain receives when it senses something "sweet" has entered the body. It can have to do with your reaction to Aspartame (equal) and the other artificial sweeteners that are, in fact, chemical poisons that have been proven to do all sorts of nasty things to humans and other living organisms.

There is a HUGE array of variables that can cause change in our bodies, and you have to be prepared to work hard to discover YOUR PERSONAL “zone” that, once you are there, will allow you to arrive at a safe, comfortable, and NATURAL weight that is right for YOU.

So, although you have HAD the surgery (and it might seem that it’s the hard part), it is really only the beginning. Don’t be discouraged if it doesn’t work right out of the gate for you. If you have created the right foundation for your Surgery, then the chances are very good that you will able to arrive at the “place” where it all comes together for you. It’s all up to YOU!

"The Journey is the Reward"

HH