I had my surgery in July of 2008. So I have had my band for a year-and-a-half and have stopped losing. In fact I am gaining. I am really frustrated. My port flipped upside down once and I got that fixed. The last time I went to my doc he said it was trying to flip again. I feel like if it has or does flip again I may just get it removed altogether because I cannot afford to keep paying to get it fixed, plus I'm not losing any weight. I fell depressed when I read all the success stories other people have had and it just isn't working for me. As of right now I am a little worried that I have stretched my pouch. Does anyone know how to tell if you have actually stretched it? Any advice would be much appreciated because I am feeling totally defeated!!:biggrin:

There is something called the 5 day pouch test that is intended to help you physically and mentally test yourself and whether you still have restriction. It was tough but I did it and found it helpful. Google on the "5 day pouch test"

Thank you so much for replying. No one else has said anything. I was getting a little frustrated because no one else has said anything and I thought this website was supposed to be an online support group sort of thing.

We are all here to support you ... I promise! However, sometimes so many posts pop up in a day that some get missed. If you post something, and it goes unanswered, "Reply" or "Comment" to your own post by typing in Bump , and a few extra characters ( you need 10 characters to respond ) and it will Bump your thread to the top of the line again, giving people a second chance to see it, or answer it.

Hang in there, and the best of luck to you !!

please dont feel all alone, because I am in the same spot as you. Banded in June 2009 and have been breaking up and getting back together with the same 5 pounds for two months. Right now I am very tight with a recent fill, but I know it will loosen up within 2 weeks, so I dont want to un-fill.

I will say, before going and giving up, make sure your bloodwork is all Kosher, because I found out I am pcos and need some meds. The doctor even admitted that it would be very hard if not impossible to lose with pcos.

And my 2 cents, you already have the thing in, get filled, get some restriction and give youself 6 months. If you dont lose a pound a week in that time, then think about the alternatives.

But what do I know, I love cake icing and will steal it off your plate when your not looking :ohmy:

hugs

It not unusual to get stuck. I figured that at the rate I was losing when I first got the band in September 2007 that I would be at goal with in one year.

While I am still not at goal I have lost significant amount of weight.

I have had many times where I was stop losing and sometimes even gain. My longest period was 4 months. I found that during those times of not losing that I would get discouraged. What kept me going was before the band and I would lose 50 lbs in 6 months it would take me three months to put on 60 lbs. At least with the band the most I gain back was 12 lbs over a 4 month period. Somewhere along the way I would get back on track and the weight would seems to fall off and then I would go through another period of not losing weight.

The very fact that I am stealing losing weight after 2 years makes this whole journey worth it.