amill112

Hello all! I found this forum after doing some research and would like to get your input! I currently still have my band, though have had issues with it for many years. I was banded over 9 years ago. Several years back, my doctor over tightened my band to where I had horrible heartburn/reflux and could hardly eat. He took a good amount of Fluid out after an EGD and I haven't had it tightened since. I ended up re-gaining nearly 30lbs, though regained control of my weight. I am finally down to 142 (and still losing!) by going low carb and losing the remainder eating a keto adapted diet. I still have bad reflux and am living on Prilosec, so my primary referred me to another bariatric doctor. At the moment, he seems to be convinced that my pouch is dialated versus having a hiatal hernia. I'm going to have an upper GI done this weekend to be sure of what is going on. If that is the case, he will completely empty my band. While he was nice and seemed knowledgable, he also gave me a grim outlook on what would happen if (or when) we eventually remove the band. He states that all patients regain weight back to their start weight prior to surgery, no matter how determined they are or how drastically they changed their lifestyle. He also seems to be convinced that removing fluid from my band will cause me to gain weight. He mentioned something about hormones and such; while I know fat cells have awesome memory, it makes no sense to me that removing fluid, or the entire band for that matter, would cause me to re-gain weight if my lifestyle remains the same. I have been living grain/sugar free nearly 5 years and have no plans on returning to my old lifestyle. Sorry for being long-winded! Has anyone been in this situation? Has anyone here maintained weight loss or lost weight after having their band removed (without any additional bariatirc procedures)? I would love any input!

I am so glad to hear that the band has helped so much in your journeys! To be honest, I don't know how much Fluid I have in my band at this point, though I don't think it's too much. The doctor I saw today pretty much told me that he will no longer perform lap-band surgery due to the failure rate. I just have a difficult time understanding/believing that completely emptying the band/having it removed will make me regain 140+ lbs, when I lost nearly 50 by lifestyle changes. I eat calorie-dense foods that are high in fat. I'm pretty sure I ate many more calories when doing a less restrictive low carb diet and still lost before hitting a pleateau around between 160-170. I wouldn't be surprised if I ate 1600+ calories at that time while losing and maintaining. Mind you, I was likely averaging that many calories with the band, not without. I learned that what you fuel your body with is more important that calories in/calories out. Low carb/keto just works for me and has helped in so many ways. I currently average 1200 calories daily and have been slowly/steadily losing at that amount. I tend not to over eat a lot, though I have my days sometimes. The reason for the current calorie restriction is so I can lose those last stubborn 5-10 pounds. I don't know if many banders track their calories, though I know when I was first banded, I was lucky if I even ate 800 calories daily. How many calories do you all average daily? Do any of you keep track? This is why I am having a hard time understanding how just the act of removing the band will cause my body to go crazy, cause me to go back to my old eating habits, and regain it all back. This is essentially what my doctor told me would happen, though I eat a lot more than I did when I was first banded and have lost and maintained since.