Hello All,

I was banded June 25th and have stayed at the same weight (191) for four months. I have gone in 7 times for fills, unfills, you name it. They just cannot seem to find my sweet spot. I finally have started to see the scale move now and am 4 pounds lighter than the day of sugery (187)since I lost 15 pounds pre-op. I am frustrated to say the least. I am very tight now - probably too tight. I get stuck on a lot of things, and if I try and force it down I "PB". I just have to be very careful with what I eat and chew, chew, chew. I should really have a tad taken out, but since they now want to charge me $250 to unfill and try again since I am past my 90 days, I am going to deal with it. I have a Realize Band (doubt that has anything to do with it though). I am just really bummed as I thought I would be a lot farther along by now.

Anyone else have the same experience? One of my good friends had surgery a couple of years ago and she did say that her first four months were a bust too.

Would love to know if this initial stall is normal for some people.:rolleyes2:

Thanks everyone, im seeing him on march 2, i will hold my ground and ask for more fill. I dont' know if its because he's a german doc or what, but he didn't even really want to give me the last fill. Says something about how alot of people lose weight with the band just being placed blah blah blah. My doc is almost 2 hrs drive away, so it sucks to have to take time off work. But im going back and im gonna ask for more, i jsut worry that if i got to tight thats a 2 hr trip back . You all are doing great, without support form you all my band journey would suck. Thanks

Am struggling myself. Having just celebrated my 1 yr bandaversary I am pretty depressed. I am only down 53 lbs. I had it in my head that I would be to goal in my 1 yr...wanting to loose 100 lbs in 1 yr...not so... I know alot of it is my fault. I have gone 1 month w/no loss. I have only had 1 fill and that was months ago. I sometimes still have PB's so am afraid of getting another fill, but I can tell I am able to eat more quantity. Has anyone else struggled and had this little of weightloss. I feel like a failure. I know people are like, you only lost 53 lbs in one year. I really don't care, but I know I should have done better.

Am struggling myself. Having just celebrated my 1 yr bandaversary I am pretty depressed. I am only down 53 lbs. I had it in my head that I would be to goal in my 1 yr...wanting to loose 100 lbs in 1 yr...not so... I know alot of it is my fault. I have gone 1 month w/no loss. I have only had 1 fill and that was months ago. I sometimes still have PB's so am afraid of getting another fill, but I can tell I am able to eat more quantity. Has anyone else struggled and had this little of weightloss. I feel like a failure. I know people are like, you only lost 53 lbs in one year. I really don't care, but I know I should have done better.

I understand where you are coming from. I have lost 40lbs in almost a year and it has been a struggle. There are times when I eat things I shouldn't and there have been lots of times I didn't exercise either. All in all, I am not upset about where I am because I know I could have done better if I followed all the guidelines to the T, but I haven't. But what I am proud of is the fact, those 40 pounds are not going back on as with all my past attempts to lose weight.

I knew this first year would be hard because I couldn't undo many years of bad habits in one year. This is the year I dedicated to learning and discovering what works and what doesn't work for me. I have had three fills and the last one was in March. There are times I can eat more depending on what it is and then there are times I can barely eat a handfull of anything without it getting stuck.

I think you are doing just awesome. When people make comments that are less than positive about your weight loss it is because many people, including ourselves at times, believe having surgery means instant weight loss and it doesn't. People don't understand how hard it is to lose weight with the band and think we took the easy way out, but it indeed is not the easy way.

All I know is that I am happy I had the surgery and I would do it again. No matter how hard I tried and how much I exercised in the past, I just couldn't lose more than 10 pounds and keep it off for more than a couple of months. But I have to admit, it does get a little frustrating when you read all the stories of people who started out weighing more and have lost so much weight or reached their goals in the same amount of time.

Keep up the good work. More important than losing the weight quickly, is keeping off what you have lost.

Sincerely,

Stephanie

I understand where you are coming from. I have lost 40lbs in almost a year and it has been a struggle. There are times when I eat things I shouldn't and there have been lots of times I didn't exercise either. All in all, I am not upset about where I am because I know I could have done better if I followed all the guidelines to the T, but I haven't. But what I am proud of is the fact, those 40 pounds are not going back on as with all my past attempts to lose weight.

I knew this first year would be hard because I couldn't undo many years of bad habits in one year. This is the year I dedicated to learning and discovering what works and what doesn't work for me. I have had three fills and the last one was in March. There are times I can eat more depending on what it is and then there are times I can barely eat a handfull of anything without it getting stuck.

I think you are doing just awesome. When people make comments that are less than positive about your weight loss it is because many people, including ourselves at times, believe having surgery means instant weight loss and it doesn't. People don't understand how hard it is to lose weight with the band and think we took the easy way out, but it indeed is not the easy way.

All I know is that I am happy I had the surgery and I would do it again. No matter how hard I tried and how much I exercised in the past, I just couldn't lose more than 10 pounds and keep it off for more than a couple of months. But I have to admit, it does get a little frustrating when you read all the stories of people who started out weighing more and have lost so much weight or reached their goals in the same amount of time.

Keep up the good work. More important than losing the weight quickly, is keeping off what you have lost.

Sincerely,

Stephanie

Thank you so much for your kind encouraging words. It really put things in perspective on where I am with this. Thank you so much. It's so hard to talk to those that aren't banded and/or who are struggling. Its a perspective that only those that have gone through it can relate.:grouphug:

Thank you so much for your kind encouraging words. It really put things in perspective on where I am with this. Thank you so much. It's so hard to talk to those that aren't banded and/or who are struggling. Its a perspective that only those that have gone through it can relate.:grouphug:

Anytime:smile2:

It always helps me to be able to talk to other banded people as well. Especially if they are experiencing the same struggles as I.

I don't have anyone locally that I can share this journey with, so it really helps me to log in to this website for encouragement. The majority of people I know are thin and fit, so they can't possibly begin to understand my struggle with weight loss.

How is everyone doing?