Ladies, Don't Do What I did!! Gained ALOT!

[Xann77 0]

I'm sure that some of you may get mad at me for posting this, but I think it's important to be 100% honest so you all don't just get a rosy picture of banding and pregnancy. If this story can help even one of you avoid the misery that I'm dealing with now, than I will feel a bit better.

I was banded in 2006 at about 240 and had gotten down to 185 through lots of hard work and exercise (I was a slow loser in many ways). I got pregnant in the Fall of 2008 and was so anemic because I had eaten very little red meat during the previous YEARS that my OBGYN really, really wanted me to get unfilled. I could barely get my prenatal Vitamin down. Plus, I was obviously very concerned about the baby and wanted to give him all the nutrition he needed and not be selfish or vain by caring more about my weight than the baby inside of me. So I went in and got a complete unfill. BIG MISTAKE!!!!! God, I wish so bad I hadn't done that. I should've just gotten a little taken out and that's what I would reccomend to many of you. Long story short, I gained 85 pounds in my pregnancy!!!!!!!!!!!! Yep, 85 pounds ladies! To make matters even worse, I went in to get filled about 2 months after having the baby and asked for an aggressive fill (going from 0 to 2.5ccs) becuase I was dying to lose this weight. Of course, I couldn't even swallow my saliva and my stomach freaked out and got super swollen (I think the postpartum hormones don't help) and ended up having to get all of it out and then wait 2 weeks and start up slowly. So, I went in about 3/4 times in the course of 2 months, just trying to get back up to some restriction. SO what happens? Sure enough, the doctor's assistant who does all my fills, well he punctured the port and I sprung a leak!!! Aghhh!!! Evidenlty this is pretty common, especially when you are getting a bunch of fills in a short time and I think the port had been all twisted and floating around because of the pregnancy belly. Soooo, I ended up having surgery to repair the leak at the end of December (wasn't that bad actually) and now, here I am at the end of January and still haven't lost any weight since September!!!

YES, I am very grateful that I have a super healthy, gorgeous little boy. YES it was good that he gained enough weight in my belly because he came out about 2 weeks early. YES, part of me thinks that the reason he is such a SWEET baby (sleeps 12 hours a night straight, happy and smiling all the time), is because I ate TONS AND TONS OF SWEETS during my pregnancy (hee hee). BUT would I do it the same way again?? Hell no!!! I am SO DEPRESSED ladies. I've got about 60 pounds to lose and it took me years to get to my ideal weight and I feel like I just flushed it all down the drain. I actually considered getting converted to gastric bypass but my hubby put his foot down on that. It's been very hard to focus on exercising or what you're eating when you have a little baby. It's really tough! Anyway, I look at pictures of myself 2 years ago and pics now and I can't even believe how horrible I look and also FEEL. I used to feel so strong and powerful! Now, everything hurts -- my back, my knees-- and Im just tired all the time.

ANyway, I am now up to 2.5ccs and having some restriction thankfully. I still need to get to my sweet spot of 3.0 and I'm praying that the weight will come off.

I hope I haven't angered any of you guys. Pregnancy is AWESOME and although I wouldn't do it the same way again, if someone asked me if it was worth it, I'd say ABSOLUTELY. That said, please think carefully about getting a complete unfill. Most women probably don't need to do that, although obviously I'm no doctor. Just think carefully.

[aSpen 0]

Thank you for sharing your story with me, I understand how you feel about losing the weight slowly..I am in the same boat. I have had my lapband for a year now and I have only lost about 40 lbs but I am thankful for those 40 lbs being gone. I just found out I am pregnant a week ago and after trying since May and being put on fertility meds in order to become pregnant it is very important to me to do the right thing for the baby. After hearing your story I will not get completely unfilled even though my doctor wants that, I feel I can provide enough nutrients for the baby with 1cc or a little more in my band..I am glad you were able to get your fill and your back on track now, and I really hope your weight loss journey is easier this time around and you lose the weight quicker. Congrats on your healthy son and thank you again for sharing your story. :biggrin:

[Elauria 0]

I was first banded in October 2007. One year later I had lost nearly 100 lbs... just past that one year mark (Dec 2008) I got pregnant and decided NOT to get a total unfill... Thinking the same thing... that I should be able to still eat enough to support my baby. So instead I only had some fill removed and thought I'd just go back later as I got more uncomfortable. The amount I was able to eat wasn't the problem... I ended up getting morning sickness for the first couple months for pregnancy. Throwing up through the band turned out to be a huge problem for me. My third month of pregnancy I started having horrible pains in my left side. I again (seeing only the assistant) had just a bit more Fluid removed not wanting a total unfill. Anyway.. it turns out that my pain was from a bad band slip that happened probably because of puking with morning sickness! I obviously wasn't able to have the corrective surgery until after my baby was born, so that made the rest of the pregnancy pretty painful. And with my slip I could sometimes eat a lot at one time.. only a hour or two later be in horrible pain. So.. I still gained 50 lbs with my pregnancy!! Losing some when she was born, I'm still 30 over what I was before becoming pregnant. Weigh gain.. PLUS an extra surgery (which was so scary now knowing that I have a little one to take care of). My doctor comforts me saying that if I'm sure to have a total unfill at the very start of my next pregnancy, I can hope to avoid another slip!! I understand the frustration with gaining back what was so hard to lose... but I'd caution anyone that at the first sign of morning sickness... get rid of the fill!!!!! lol

[vsnowrn 0]

I would have to agree with you on this one. I am 26 weeks pregnant now. Had my band for just a year prior to getting pregnant and lost about 50-60 lbs. I have since gained 40 lbs with the pregnancy so far. Yes it is frustrating, but puking through the band is way not cool!!!! Plus it hurts. So don't worry about the weight gain, if your MD recommends to get it unfilled then do it!. You lost the weight once, you can do it again.

[KHolmes 3]

I thought I was the only one. I am 27 weeks today and I have gained about 55 pounds. I did have most of my fill removed. I started having problems eating early on in my pregnancy. I gained most of my weight in the First Trimester. I have leveled off to a few pounds a month. I worry about loosing the weight once the baby is born. I am due June 10th. I will have the summer to sweat some of it off and I can swim every day of my maternity leave. But still really worried....