kelly111

Oh no. Thats scary. I have been banded 8 months and have only lost 30 lbs. Im expecting to lose 30 more but I havent lost anything in 2 months. I dont want to be filled tighter since it just causes thigns to get stuck and then Im sick all day. Ive heard people talk about the stomach being stretched out and allowing us to eat as much as we want..... could that be what has happened? Ive also heard people say they get all their fluid out and then 2 months later start the process over again after the stomach has gone back to its original shape. WOW...I dont like hearing this.

I understand. I have been banded 8 monts and have only lost 30 lbs. So frustrating! I had some fluid taken out because I was sick all the time. Everything got stuck and I wasnt able to eat enough to do good hard workouts. Now I can eat better and I work out very hard. Still....I have lost nothing in 2 months.

Your doc is right. Its been 8 months for me and I have only lost 30 lbs. Im currently 200lbs. I truly thought I would have lost more weight since I like to workout. This band is finicky and for many of us the process is VERY slow. I have not lost a thing in 2 months. I eat less than 1000 cals a day and work out 3 days a week ( usually more but things have been hectic lately). The amount of extreme dieting and exercise is something people dont tell you about. I think its a good choice. I paid $14 K for this band and I must say Im disappointed at times. I am unable to over eat.... but Im still able to eat any food I want. I had my band tighter but then I kept throwing up and wasnt able to keep food down. Now that Im not as restricted, I can eat anything. Which means I have to do most of the work. THATS HARD. Think carefully ( im sure you are) before putting yourself through this. Make sure you are ready to do most of the work yourself. No one told me that before my surgery. Please keep us posted

I have lost my sex drive too. Its been many months now - nothing. I even went as far as to get testosterone gel from my gyn. However, that caused my band to get tighter. If you havent experienced it yet, our hormones play a huge role in our bands. I didnt actually believe it until month after month I realized at PMS time I was throwing up a lot and unable to eat. My doc confirmed it. He said its common. I didnt want to have sex 30 pounds ago because I was too fat. Now...I still feel the same. Im still 200 lbs though. Im hoping IF I ever get down to my goal weight of 170 that I will feel sexy again. Best of luck to you.

You wont have that feeling until after you have had a few fills. I didnt have a feeling of restriction until my 3rd fill which happened about 3 months out. The first few months are really just simple dieting. Even now for me.... its a lot about dieting. If I eat very slowly, I can eat just as much as I use to. I dont want to get my band filled any tighter because then I trow up all the time and I cant get enough calories in. This is so hard. I think its great that you have lost so much weight already. I have only lost 30 lbs in over 7 months!!!! Im glad I made the choice but its much different than what I expected. I have no idea where the "sweet spot" is. I either feel like I can eat anything or Im so restricted that I take one bite and throw up all day. UGH. This band is so crazy. I really didnt know I would be DIETING for the rest of my life.

I thought my band slipped too because I threw up for 3 days straight. I just keep throwing up my saliva every 30 minutes. When I could get an appointment with the doc he said I would know it if the band slipped. Though I was uncomfortable, I would be in major PAIN if it slipped. He said even if we throw up one time it causes the stomach to inflame and causes restriction. Lots of people mistake being inflammed for a slippage. He said slippages are uncommon these days especially with the newer bands they use and the way they suture them down now. Dont worry. Best thing to do is just have the doc take the fluid out.... drink some liquids to flush it through and have him fill you back up again. Thats what I did and that is what they say is most common.

Me too. I havent lost anything in 2 months. I need to totally restrict my calories or I dont lose anything. There is way more "dieting" with this band than I ever realized.

I have been banded 7 months now. I have only lost 30 pound but Im ok with that for now. I have had several fills and one un-fill. I just dont understand this band. I can't seem to make any sense of it. There are days when I throw up ALL day and other days when I eat perfectly fine and eat larger portions than I should. 2 months ago I got something stuck and went 3 days without eating OR being able to get fluid down. I threw up my own saliva ever 20 minutes. The doc did an un-fill. A few days a week I feel a super-tight restricion and even though I am very careful about chewing and eating slowly....I still get that stuck feeling then end up throwin up for hours and hours on end. It is sooooooo annoying. Nothing seems to help. I know after throwing up so much my stomach gets inflammed and then when I am able to get fluids down I am extremely careful. Does anyone else have a finicky band like this? Does anyone else get stuck episodes frequently? The doc says I am only half full in the band and does not feel like I need more fluid out. Its so hard to believe that there are days I go without eating at all and other days I can eat normally and yet I still dont lose much weight. I am religious about my workouts but when I have a sick day, I dont workout because I simply dont have the enerygy with out the fuel in my body. Sometimes....I wish I never had this band. Other days Im so thankful that I spent the money and have endured all that I have gone through. UGH.

I CAN TOTALLY RELATE!!! I get stuck all the time too and it last all damn day! Its aweful. I have these days all the time and I havent lost weight in 2 months! I can get stuck on a protein shake. Its certainly NOT what Im eating..... its just the band deciding that it has an attitude that day and thats it for me. Other days I eat perfectly fine. You're right! No one ever tells you this stuff. Ive been spreading the word though. I have only lost 30 lbs. I truly thought after all of this and all this money I would have lost more weight than this.

That sounds horrible! Im so sorry. I went 3 days, also, when I had something stuck. I had no food or fluid for the full 3 days. I was throwing up my own saliva every 20 min. It was miserable. The doc told me not to go to the ER because they arent familiar with our bands and they will take all the fluid out. I waited until I could get an appointment. They took all the fluid out and then put most of it back in. I was able to eat a few hours later. Why and HOW did your port flip? Thats scary! When were you banded?

Im impressed. I have been banded 7 months now and I have only lost 30 lbs. I am in a size 12 now. What types of things are you doing? How many fills have you had. Do you have any issues with your band? I would love to hear how others are doing well since my weight loss seems to have stopped. I eat less than 1000 cals and workout. I just dont understand.

I agree, dont be hard on yourself! We ALL eat things we arent suppose to. SO WHAT!!!! I didnt have a pre-op diet at all. I was private pay. I learned from my doc that the pre-op diet is all about the insurance company UNLESS you are extremely over weight - like over 500 lbs. So dont worry about it. Ive been banded 7 months ( I just posted "this band has a mind of its own" ) and have many issues with it. I still eat whatever I want ( when I can) I just keep the portions very small. It is crazy to think we can deprive ourselves forever. Weight loss will happen when you eat small portions 4-5x/day and do some exercise. Stop stressing. Everything will be fine. Just expect a bumpy road with this.

40 lbs is awesome. Ive been banded 7 months and not even at 30 lbs yet. I started to feel restriction at 4.5 cc's. Now I throw up a lot and other days I eat whatever I want. Somedays its hard to get cals and protein in. I work out very hard and still the weight loss has stagnated. I just dont get it. Im a 12 now and weigh 200. Id like to get to a 6 at 160 lbs. At this rate....I dont see that happening. Maybe you need one more fill. I warn you...Its not fun having restriction, not when you BP.

Im almost 7 months in and Ive lost 29 lbs. This band is soooo finicky and this process is soooo slow! Because Im not very restricted ( by choice since I had something get stuck and had to have an unfill) I dont always make the best food choices. I have found I am able to eat much more than I should. My workouts are good...but unless I eat under 800 cals and work out 1.5 hours a day.... I dont lose any weight. Doc says it will take me 2 years to lose te weight I want to. Im a size 12 so I guess I cant complain too much. Best to you!

I stayed on liquids for 3 days then mushies for 3 days and since I had no issues with that he advanced me to regular food. He explained to me that if a patient is not having any problems with foods that it is perfectly acceptable to move onto regular food.

Sounds like you are paying with insurance. I paid out of pocket for my surgery. The doc explained to me there are a lot of hoops to jump thru with insurance and also, if you are 50-75 lbs overweight they do not need you to lose weight. I had no pre-op diet or anything. I am only 60 lbs overweight though. When using insurance they need to document that you have "tried" losing weight and that this surgery is likely to work for you. Same with the smoking thing. Its all about insurance. If you were paying out of pocket none of this would matter and you would have the surgery without any requirements ( like me). It is an excellent choice, just know that it is a HUGE stuggle for many of us and as much as you read about wieght just falling off of some people.... thats not often the case. I have only lost 30 lbs in over 6 months.

Is been 5 months and 3 fills. Today I ate one bit of a cheeseburger ( no bun) and felt that it got a little stuck so I stopped eating and waited for it to pass the way it always does. It hasnt passed. Now, 6 hours later, I cant even keep my own saliva down. I throw up every 10 minutes ( just my saliva). I tried drinking hot water and it came up. I feel a pressure in my chest and its uncomfortable. Im so worried that my band has slipped. Ive thrown up before but that would usually resolve the feeling. This has gone on way too long. Does anyone know how to tell if the band HAS slipped? I plan on calling the doc in the morning but Im really worried and uncomfortable now. Please help if you can.

In reading your replies it appears that you all have lost more weight than me. Not that this is any type of competition, Im just noticing. Maybe its because I weighed less to begin with? I gained 100 pounds in the past 10 years which is why I had the surgery. I refuse to let that trend continue. I suppose wearing a 12 jean isnt so bad but I would love to get back into an 8. To the person who mentioned about lifting weights.....ummm....I do the P90X series. I have focused on weight training for 20 years. I use to do arm wrestling competitions. Its hard to get in enough protein to maintain my muscle. Maybe thats the problem...? My doc put in .4 cc's yesterday. I will see how that goes. This is such a different journey than I thought it would be. It can be consuming sometimes. The workouts, having to take 1/2 to eat anything and making sure to get enough protein in. WOW. I sure hope all the new bandsters and those who are thinking about having the LBS read posts like this. I do, however, think it is worth it. I dont always say that when Im throwing up and have something stuck...but overall, its worth it. You all are inspiring. Please keep posting!

I bicker with my band too. I have had to have some fluid removed too only now Im gaining weight. I go in for a very small fill today. I can relate to all that you have said. I started at 230 and 6 months into it Im only at 205. So I havent lost much weight even though my portions are small and my workouts are good. Its soooo frustrating. I feel better and I went down from a 16/18 to a 12/14. Im happy with that. Its amazing how quickly some people lose and how slowly others lose. It makes me crazy but Im happy so far. The best to you!!

2 weeks ago I got something stuck that never passed thru. For 3 full days I was throwing up my saliva every 20 min. No food or fluid of course. Horrible. Doc to some fluid out but I was so swollen from throwing up for 3 days that I still felt bad. Now, 2 weeks later....Im so hungry all the time. Im getting a little fluid put back in but now Im nervouse that will happen again. At this rate I have gained some weight back. amazing! Im still eating less than 1300 cals a day and gaining weight. But I guess my body will only lose weight eating less than 800 a day. Its so stupid to me but after doing this for so many months thats just how my body works.

Its been 6 months for me and I have only lost 20 some pounds. Im close to being in onederland. When I got my 3rd fill I felt good restriction. I was only able to eat a little at a time and I was losing about 2-3 lbs a week. I had something get stuck 2 weeks ago, I threw up my own saliva for 3 days and went in for an "unfill". He took out all the fluid allowing the stuck thing to pass and I felt better instantly. He put most of the fluid back in he said. Now, I am HUNGRY and eating all the time! Im even eating breads which never would have happened before. I have not gotten on the scale because I know I have gainded weight back. What should I do? My next appointment is at the end of April. I know he will do a fill then but should I see if I can have him do a little fill before then. I DO NOT want to feel like last time and throw up almost every day. There is a "sweet spot", right? Is there actually a place where I feel restriction but do not need to worry about throwing up? Please refrain from telling me how to chew food , the pace and what not to eat. I have been doing this a while and I already know and do that stuff. I dont mean to sound arrogant I just read a lot of these blogs that keep re-stating the obvious to those of us who have been banded for a little bit. Thanks so much everyone!

I had no choice to get an unfill. I was throwing up every 20 min ( my saliva). I had no food or fluid for 3 days and I was so lightheaded that I could barely drive. I stuck it out as long as I could. I havent eaten bread or any of the "sticky" foods since my 2nd fill but now Im eating everything. Im so hungry... literally my stomach growls. Im having such a hard time. I guess I will need another fill and do my best to not allow anything to get stuck.

Same thing happened to me 2 weeks ago. I posted about it. I could not even get liquids down for 3 days! Threw up my own saliva every 20 min! Horrible. My doc took all the fluid out and I instantly felt better. He said I was inflammed and a small piece was probably still stuck. He refilled me just slightly less than where I was. Now, Im SO hungry and able to eat whatever I want. I just cant seem to get it right. Im not losing weight like this but I also dont want to have the threat of ANYTHING being stuck. How do you know where you should be with a fill?

Im in the same boat as you. I had to have an unfill as well since food kept getting stuck. Now...Im so hungry and not always eating the best foods. How does one know if the pouch has been stretched? Does it go back to normal? I feel like I dont know when Im full anymore since I dont have much restriction. Oh my this whole lapband thing is such a struggle. I have only lost about 23 lbs in 6 months. The only time I actually lost weight was when I was hardly eating at all because everything got stuck.