:thumbdown:I am to the point of hating my lap band! I have not lost any weight and do have some restriction. I can not eat bread or flour tortillas but can eat almost 1/2 of a steak and all the cheetos i want. I can not eat breaskfast because my band is too tight but by noon, i can eat lunch. I can not eat chicken or turkey because it always gets stuck and i puke it up..and i have trouble with oranges....so i know i have some restriction...the delimma i have is that i get so gassy and bloated about 2-3x a month that my abdomen is rock hard and it HURTS!! I have to down a bottle of anti-gas mylanta and take about 3 gas-x pills and walk around to get rid of the bloat. I constantly burp and have gas from the other end..it is so annoying..... i gave up carbonated drinks, drinking from a straw etc..the gas is killing me..and i swear, i almost fainted from the pressure once (like a vagal reaction) when i was super bloated (and i am not a whimp..(usually:rolleyes:)..anyways, i have not lost a pound after two years, my lapband doc has made me have my gallbladder ultrasounded (normal) and my primary doctor wanted to start me on valium to relax my reflexes to decrease burping(yuck..i didnt do it). I am frustrated beyond belief. so not only am i still fat after surgery..i am now fat and gassy...what a great combination!! I am afraid of getting more restiction since i can have such an issue with the gas already...i dont want to be so tight that no gas ever gets out and i IMPLODE!! (but i really want to lose)...any advice would be MUCH appreciated...HELP!!!!!!!

Hi Chele,

I really indentified with so much of what you said. I too feel like the band failed me having lost only about 25 pounds since being bamded a year ago. BUT as my surgeon recently said to me....you did not gain!

And if I am honest, I could be doing more to help myself. I do walk but need to go to the gym and the band is ONLY a tool. We control what we out into our mouths. For me, I do okay with regular food but have a big addiction to sweets. Very hard.

So, we go on. I love the post wqho said every day we start over it is like we were banded yeterday.

Hi Chele,

I really indentified with so much of what you said. I too feel like the band failed me having lost only about 25 pounds since being bamded a year ago. BUT as my surgeon recently said to me....you did not gain!

And if I am honest, I could be doing more to help myself. I do walk but need to go to the gym and the band is ONLY a tool. We control what we out into our mouths. For me, I do okay with regular food but have a big addiction to sweets. Very hard.

So, we go on. I love the post wqho said every day we start over it is like we were banded yeterday.

Chele-

Go to Doctor OZ dot com he has an easy 28 day simple way to get rid of your sugar addiction

Please read it, I have not needed it but when I do eat real sugar I am addicted my real problem is salt:w00t: I could suck that stuff up with a straw

Jollygreen/laura

all your comments are SO encouraging. I like to think I am a smart capable woman..but my weight is still such a mystery to me...i dont know why I am fat...and i hate it....but I cant seem to get rid of it.....I need to make changes and I think I have over the past couple of weeks...now for the lifestyle changes...that will be harder.... i puked up my omega 3 vitamin the other say...maybe i do need an unfil?

Chele,

Really enjoyed reading your original post and all the replies, comments, and threads to your post. Your dilemma is common - we all feel that way sometimes - and your pain was genuine. I can relate to your frustration. But what I am most inspired by is your attitude about the responses you have gotten. Often people complain but don't really want to hear any advice and certainly don't want to change. You seem responsive and appreciative to these rather direct replies. It sounds like you've already turned the corner. I admire you and feel encouraged by what you are doing.

I was only banded in July, but I was encouraged by your story and I want to add my own response. First, I suggest you think of your journey as beginning today. Banded 2 years ago with no real weight loss is discouraging, but beginning your weight loss in Oct. '09 with a new plan and watching the success begin now will be more effective.

Second, accept that your band is a tool, and only a tool, but your real goal is to develop discipline in your eating habits. This will be an important training for your daughter as well. Everyone in the family will see that you did not lose weight because of the doctor...you lost it because of your own efforts - they will be proud of you and you will be proud of yourself. Here's the real tool: you have already proven that you have discipline in your life because you worked to become a nurse and are able to handle the difficult career of being an ER nurse. Yay for you! Now it is just a matter of developing that type of discipline in your exercise and eating. You can do this!

I find that I don't have any discipline at home but I have it at the grocery store. So DON'T buy food that you should not eat. No one in your house should be eating cheetos, so that one is easy - just don't buy it. Don't buy red meat for a while. Your husband will survive and may thank you. I have some great fish and chicken recipes that are really easy if you want to write me I will give you some of them. You are working so you need to think when you are at the store "I have to have foods in my fridge that are easy to prepare and easy to eat." You should also think "is this something that gives me any nutrition." If the answer is "no" then why would you waste any calories on it. You MUST get enough Protein. I like putting the no calorie protein shots (costco has them) in my Crystal Light. Finally, when you get an urge for something like cheetos, you might just want something salty or something crunchy. Try getting 5 olives or a dill pickle. Eat it very slowly and chew carefully. Use small plates, take small servings, and never get seconds. I love making a quick Soup with sauteed veggies (especially broccoli and zucchini) then add some beef broth (cheapest is with Water and bouillon cube). This is very filling...but remember to chew well. Then walk every day. The steady quick walk - work up to fast paced walking 45 min. to one hour every day - is a different exercise than being on your feet all day in the ER. A big difference is the breathing. When you walk for exercise your heart rate and breathing work to help your metabolism shift. Give this plan 2 weeks. Then reward yourself with something new to wear and start again...ramp up. You go girl.

I just wanted to say that this is such an inspirational and informative thread. Chele, the way in which you accepted the great advice you've been given is the biggest reason this thread will be helpful to you and to others who are struggling. It's obvious that you are willing to do the work it takes to be successful. I wish you the best of luck getting back on track. This thread is an excellent example of the best of LBT.

Hey, Chele, if you are vomiting up a Vitamin, you really are too tight. I strongly encourage you to go in to your doctor STAT and get a slight unfill. I ate something two weeks ago that got terribly stuck and I vomited it up. That caused swelling, and everything I ate after that (unless it was yogurt or a Protein drink) hurt to eat. I finally called my doc and went in for an unfill. The difference is night and day! I feel SO much better, and in just two days, 2 lbs. dropped off. So, don't think that having an unfill will necessarily cause you to gain weight. :eek:

Get back on the bandwagon today by calling your surgeon for an appointment. I think you'll be very glad you did. We're rooting for you, girl! :frown:

Breeezie,

It was good to hear of your story. Mine right now is EXACTLY the same !!!@!@ I suffered for a year because within one year, I lost my mom, sold two houses and now live with my dad, so lets say stress has been at optimum. I just couldnt take the puking and heartburn anymore and hadnt lost in a year. The dr. tells me that my esophagus is three times as big as it should be from pouch packing and is extremely inflammed. So he did a big defill..:redface:( and wait one month and go back for another xray. I have already had a great day. Please tell me I can expect some weight loss ??

I appreciate any info or input ?? :wink2:

Breeezie,

It was good to hear of your story. Mine right now is EXACTLY the same !!!@!@ I suffered for a year because within one year, I lost my mom, sold two houses and now live with my dad, so lets say stress has been at optimum. I just couldnt take the puking and heartburn anymore and hadnt lost in a year. The dr. tells me that my esophagus is three times as big as it should be from pouch packing and is extremely inflammed. So he did a big defill..:thumbup:( and wait one month and go back for another xray. I have already had a great day. Please tell me I can expect some weight loss ??

I appreciate any info or input ??

If your esophagus is enlarged... give it some soothing aloe vera...either raw or purchase from a health food store... do NOT eat any acidy foods like vinegar and salsa/// test..on your tongue and if it burns.. do not eat... also cinnamon is a very burning herb

I am not a doctor but read and have alot of holistic friends

PLEASE TELL US WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU GO TO THE DOCTOR

I am a nurse in an ER..it takes a lot to offend me! (smile) I work very hard but exercise is so distasteful to me....I had a State Inspector try to follow me at work the other day (surprize inspection)..and she told my head nurse that she couldn't keep up with me...(not bad for a big girl!!)...so i am not a sloth....just not a fan of exercise.

I really like the idea of keeping my goals small. I do look at the big picture and get discouraged...like having to lose 100 pounds...egads!! that is overwhelming to me...so i have made my goal at 10 pounds...and then go from there. I have to give up the idea that my band has the magical power to cure my fat....'cuz it doesn't..even though i really wanted it to..:sad:..i still have to diet and exercise...poo...time to stop feeling sorry for myself and start living again....and moving towards getting healthy.

What you have to do is find something you love to do that excerts a lot of energy (calories). I like to dance for my excersize since conventional excersizes is boring to me.

For instance, I like doing Belly-dancing and now i'm learning

Salsa and if I can find a Zumba class, I'm gonna do that!:thumbup:

o seen zumba on Dr. Oz ( i starting watching because of an earlier post)..that looks like so much fun! I am doind a little better...eating small portions...i plan on seeinf my lap band dr soom ( have to go for a breast biopsy in an hour)...wish me luck......You all are so nice...thanks

o seen zumba on Dr. Oz ( i starting watching because of an earlier post)..that looks like so much fun! I am doind a little better...eating small portions...i plan on seeinf my LAP-BAND® dr soom ( have to go for a breast biopsy in an hour)...wish me luck......You all are so nice...thanks

Good luck with the biopsy and I went thru that already :thumbup:

As for the zumba tapes... there are some great ones on youtube to start

I really enjoy dr oz but for the life of me I have missed those shows but have been lucky and watch parts of his shows on his site

I finally feel half-way normal reading all these posts. Ditto to Chele's complaint. I was banded July 2007 and I am only six (6) pounds lighter than when I went to the doctor to inquire about the LapBand. I'm filled to 3.1 cc and I don't eat red meat or white bread of any kind. I eat about 35-40% of what I used to eat, but having RA, I cannot walk very far. My weight loss will have to come from cutting down my food intake, not from exercise, so I've got it tough. My internist wrote my surgeon and ask him to remove the band and do the RNY so I will lose the weight, so I'm not too keen on ever getting this weight off with the LapBand. I think it works for the majority, however, or so it seems. My surgeon's PA told me I'm in a very small minority (11% according to him) within their program who have not lost weight with the band.

I understand where you are coming from, but I agree with the other posters, you have to want to change your life, to make this work. There are some things I just cant eat and I have accepted that. They include bread, flour tortillas, some potatoes, some heavy pastas, pizza, and the interesting thing is that they are the very things that made me fat. So not being able to eat them is a blessing. I also cant eat scrambled eggs, but if I am careful with my choices I can eat a satisfying meal without discomfort 90+% of the time. If I eat too much, I will throw up, so that is immediate feedback that says I went to far. This is all about changing behavior, that for me has been habit for 48 years before banding.

To lose weight the formula is simple, you have to eat less calories than you burn. If you have not lost any weight, then you are still consuming enough calories to maintain your weight. You should try one of the online calculators and honestly chart your food and tally your calories. I think this is the only way you will be able to see where you can make adjustments and therefore start seeing results.

I suspect you are eating what is easy, and unfortunately what is easy is usually full of calories, you have to start over, really paying attention to your food choices, quantity, and how much you chew, and how much you eat. Good luck and I am really sorry you have had such a difficult time with this.