BuffyC413

Maybe you could ask your doctor to take out Fluid for a week or two, start from 0cc's and then slowly start to fill it back up? That seems to be what worked for me. Also, really pay attention to your body and what happens when you start to think about having a meal. Do you start salivating at the thought of something you can eat? What type of food are you craving? When you open the fridge, are you really hungry? And, notice what it's like just to be satisfied and full and not OVERfull. I will be eating something and all the sudden, I'll look at my food and say "I COULD finish this but, will one more bite be better than the last bite I just had?" Most of the time, the answer is no. And, if I defy that warning, I'll usually puke the last few bites up because I over-did it. The saying "eat to live, don't live to eat." is very true. Eating now is kinda a chore! I don't enjoy it the way I used to. And, I NEVER knew what full was and wasn't until now at 33 years old. Full to me was that over-eating, clean everything on your plate full, where you wanna take a nap. Now, I know the the true feeling of fullness is the top of my stomach right under my rib cage will feel full and I will be satisfied and not crave another bite. I'm not miserable or needing to lay down. It takes A LOT of work just getting your mind in the right place. Who-ever says we took the "easy way out" by getting lapband surgery is a fool. There is nothing easy about it. But, I've noticed a trend with lapband failures and I thought I was going to be a part of that statistic. And, I may still convert to the sleeve in the future. But, I HATE hearing that other people have been banded and aren't losing weight. I totally know how you feel. I got lucky, I think. Miraculously. I can't pin point one thing that finally lead to my losing weight. It's a time line of several different things. The main thing being frame of mind!

I was banded in August 2010. The day of surgery, I weighed 217lbs. As of today, I weigh 217lbs. I've had no weight loss whatsoever. I've had 3 fills and am now up to 6.5cc of a 10cc band. I haven't found anyone who has had the band and not lost weight, only some who have had minimal weight loss. By now, I thought I'd be 25lbs lighter, at least. I'm very discouraged and depressed and wishing I would have just had gastric bypass. The latest fill I had gives me so much restriction that I can barely eat solid foods. I can only eat soft foods like mashed potatoes or chili, etc. Is this the way it's supposed to be? When I decided to get Lap Band, I thought I'd be able to eat everything I wanted only in smaller portions. At my last dr. appt, I asked that I be considered for gastric bypass because of the failure. But, they told me that I have to have band failure for at least a year to even be considered and even then, they didn't know that insurance would cover it. I still have all the health problems I had prior to surgery. Can anyone shed some light on the situation for me? Is there ANYONE out there who has had the same issue? I feel so alone and lost and so, so depressed. Feel free to post to my new topic in the forum. But, if you want, you can email me at buffyclary@yahoo.com. Thank you in advance.

I'm so sorry to hear that, Sally. I felt the exact same way. And, even though I've lost all the weight I wanted to lose, I'm still worried about how long this band will last and live in fear of gaining it all back one day.

It's Feb 8th, 2013 - 2 years and 6 months since my surgery - I weigh 148 - less than I ever dreamed I'd be. Once I started losing, it was due to starvation, basically. Having the band so tight that I couldn't eat anything. When I got aspiration pneumonia in May 2012 caused by reflux because my band was too tight, my surgeon removed all my fluid from my band and I gained 20lbs back in 2 months. I convinced him to put some fluid back in. He agreed but only put a fraction of what was in there before. Previously, I had been at 7.6cc's in a 10cc band. This time, I was at a 1cc. I actually started losing. I have less fluid in my band now than I did when I first had the surgery. After surgery, I was 4cc's and I could eat any and everything. Now? I'm still less than 2.5cc's and since May, have lost 27lbs. The only thing I can think of is that my band wasn't placed correctly the first time or my body just remembered how to lose. I don't throw up as much. But, there are still days when I won't eat anything. I will be getting my hormones checked. My hair is falling out and I've developed adult acne. But, I'm the smallest size I've ever been - a size 8. My BMI is now 27. I know a lot of it boils down to the band taking the pleasure out of eating. Eating takes much, much longer resulting in your food going cold. I actually can ask myself "Am I wanting seconds? Or will that make me too full? Am I really hungry? Or bored" You've got to break the addiction to food.