chic28

I was banded on July 30th and I initially lost 15 pounds but I have lost any since then. As a matter of fact I've gained back 5 of those pounds. I had my 4th adjustment last week and still nothing. I read on this site a lot about the things that people say that they can't eat and about how they have to take tiny bites and chew, chew, chew. That has never been the case with me. I can eat as much as any "normal person" and no matter how large the bites or what the food is it goes down perfectly fine. Last night I had a piece of roast beef and some new potatoes. I barely even chewed that meat and I had no problem. I guess my question is why is this not working for me? Everybody keeps saying you have to exercise and you have to eat right. If I could do that I wouldn't have ever had any reason to get the band. I got banded so that I could slowly train myself to do these things and have the band act as a tool to assist me by limited the amount of food intake at any given time and helping me stay full. I haven't experienced any of this at all. Now I feel 100x's more like a failure because even with weight loss surgery I still can't make it work.

Thanks for those words. I try to make it a point to tell him every detail when I go in. I even started keeping a daily journal describing how my restriction and eating ability is each day. He also told me that it may take several fills and that some patients have less than others. Overall he has been very supportive and doesn't seem concerned about my weight loss at this point. He has stated that his main concern is for me to reach the right point where my efforts will actually start to pay off.

I can hardly believe that you're serious. I researched this procedure for an extremely long time and participated on sites just like these and still it doesn't mean anything until you see how it will effect you personally. When I was preop I restrained from doing anything but giving words of encouragement to those that were struggling. Now I can see exactly how they were feeling and I understand better. If I had made comments to them to try harder or to suggested that maybe they weren't doing the right thing I would feel terrible now.

When did I say anything that sounded like I wanted it to do it for me?! What I said was that I understood that I wasn't having any luck by dieting and excersing on my own so I chose to try the band to help me out. Hence...using it as a tool to success. What I also said is that the band is so far not doing any of the things it was intended for. I still eat small well balanced meals just like I did for the past 2 years but I just feel like it's no different from before. The band does have a purpose as I'm sure you know. This tool is supposed to work by slowing down the time it takes for food to pass through your stomach, which keeps you from getting hungry between meals and also help by making you full faster and that is not what's happening. These are the questions my surgeon asks me everytime I go in because he knows that's what's supposed to be happening. The result is that I'm always hungry and can eat more than I should at any given time. So before you start regurgitating the same montra that people on this site always tend to do why don't you take another minute and read what I actually wrote. I know the band is a tool...I stated that and I live by that. What I would like to happen is for this tool to help me out just a little by actually working.

I talk to my doctor about this in detail everytime I go in. I also exercise more than I ever did before. And no offense but I would be much more likely to take advise from you if you had actually experienced this.

I'll ask him when I go next week. I'm sure he did this after the first fill but I'm not sure if he has on the last few visits.

I just posted almost the same issue. I just had my 4th fill and still nothing. Everything goes down and I never fill full unless I eat way too much...like as much as someone without a band.

I'm trying it out at 2cc's for now. But he did schedule me for next week to see how it worked out. If it's still not enough he will give me another fill.

I had my first fill yesterday...very strange sensation but virtually painless. My doctor told me that there was no fluid in my band but that he normally does have a little in at the time of surgery. Then he says he's not sure why there was none. This made me think...is it possible that there was fluid and it leaked out? Or is it just not sure why he didn't put any in in my case. Either way not good.

I had my first fill yesterday and I was very nervous about it also. But it didn't hurt at all. Just felt a tiny stick and then nothing. It feel very strange though. My doc said that there was little to no fluid in my band at all. He put in 2cc's and told me to try that out. But unlike a lot of people on here he scheduled me to come back next week if I still no restriction and he will do another fill. In the beginning he said that he would do an adjustment as often as I felt was needed.

I don't know about everybody else but I had horrible gas pain. Much worse than what I expected. That and the soreness from the actual surgery was almost more than I could stand the first night but by the next morning it was almost completely gone and by then just felt like I had done way to many situps.

I'm right at 4 weeks post op and I still feel pain if I bend in a funny way. I think this is normal. With it being sutured into the abdominal muscle it's expected to take longer to be completely pain free.

Kraft has a fat free cheese that doesn't taste any different. It comes in slices and is just made out of skim milk.

I was banded on July 30th and I am having the same issue. It's really scary to me because I'm afraid to gain weight. I'm still eating healthy foods and in smaller portions but it still feels like too much.

I would have to agree that the surgeon doesn't quite prepare you for what you'll feel like after. i know everyone experiences pain differently but OMG was I underprepared. I also had horrible gas pain that I was not expecting. Also coughing or sneezing was literally like having someone rip into my side. I found sitting to be uncomfortable but standing up was just as bad. It did help to walk around the house a lot and I felt much better by the second day. At least then the gas pain was almost completely gone. After about a week I had almost no pain at all. Even though now 4 weeks out I still get a little surge of pain at the port site if I bend the wrong way.

The stitches they were referring to are on the inside. They're used to hold suture part of your stomach above the band to hold it in place until the scar tissue forms.

Crackers were in my stage 2, which was mainly mushies. You should eat them sparingly but really they're not that bad. 5 crackers is only 60 calories.

Flinstones vitamins...or better yet the Wal-mart brand! They taste good and they have the same amount of nutrients that a regular adult multi-vitamin would have.

Hi Everyone, I was banded on July 30th and recently spoke with my primary care doctor, who by the way was the one that recommended the surgery. I am down 15 pounds since surgery but even with that my doctor keeps mentioning that he hasn't seen a lot of success with the lap band. One of the nurses said something similar to me the week before my surgery. I find that highly discouraging not only because he is a physician that is saying this but because of the fact that he recommended it and is now basically making me think that it would be a miracle if it actually worked. Has anyone else had this experience?:smile2:

Actually my surgeon told me the same thing about the bypass. When I asked him point blank which he preferred he said the bypass but I felt like that was too drastic for me. I also felt that I had the will but just needed a little help.

I was banded 7/30 and I have the numbness too. it's nerve damage but it may come back. If it doesn't it's not that big of a deal. i had a breast reduction in November and both boobs are still completely numb underneath. That's much worse than a slight area of numbness on the belly.:smile2:

Everybody seems to have their own opinon about this. Every doctor is different. I was on clear liquids only for a few days and then to full liquids and mushies by the 2nd week. When I went back for my post op my doctor told me to start introducing solids as tolerated. 21 days seems to me to be a very long time on liquids only. It doesn't seem like you'll much energy to do anything. Also, I understand that the stomach has to heal but there is actually very little trauma to your stomach. It basically only consist of the few sutures placed to hold the band in place until scar tissue forms. This process actually occurs much quicker than you think. I think this is the reason for the vast differences from one doctor to another. Some are simply more cautious. It may depend on how confident they or on how many procedures they have performed. I wouldn't ever say to go against your doctor's orders but I agree you may want to double check just to make sure something isn't missing from your diet paperwork.

If your clothes are getting looser and you can easily fit into smaller sizes I say screw that scale. The best thing you can do for yourself is stay off of it for awhile.:smile2:

I was banded on July 30th and I still have pain around the port. It's not something that is unbearable. I don't need pain medicine or anything. Usually by the time I notice it it's already going away. My doctor said that was perfectly normal considering that there was trauma to the abdominal muscle. So it's going to be a little sore for awhile, don't let it worry you unless you really experience severe or sudden pain.

If you're still bleeding from the incision it may not be completely healed yet. If that's the case don't put any type of scar treatment on yet. It could lead to infection. I was told this after I was banded but more importantly after I had a breast reduction a few months ago. Those scars are much much larger and my surgeon told me that under no circumstances was I to put any type of scar treatment cream on the incisions until they were completely healed. That took about 6 weeks.