Desperate need of Mentor..thinking of having Band removed

[nevrhome 5]

Hi my name is Linn. I had my LapBand in May 2008. I lost 28 pounds before the surgery to ready myself and for insurance qualification. I lost 28 pounds after the surgery. I have now gained about 15 back. I am very frustrated with the banding. The reason I got it was because I have failed so many times on diets. I eat fairly decent food for the most part. I do make wrong choices. I also am very bad at Portion Control. That is one of the main reasons I had the banding. I thought that would be the key to only eating very smaill amounts. I have found that I can still eat quite a bit of food. I wonder if I am at the right fill. I have an appointment with my doctor tomorrow and am thinking of cancelling because I am up about 8 lbs from my last visit. I have a bad attitude right now over the whole thing. I'm thinking it did not do what it was intended to do so why bother having it? I've been kicking around the idea of having it removed. I so desperately need some help with dealing with all of this. HELP!!

[IndioGirl55 32]

Hi my name is Linn. I had my LapBand in May 2008. I lost 28 pounds before the surgery to ready myself and for insurance qualification. I lost 28 pounds after the surgery. I have now gained about 15 back. I am very frustrated with the banding. The reason I got it was because I have failed so many times on diets. I eat fairly decent food for the most part. I do make wrong choices. I also am very bad at Portion Control. That is one of the main reasons I had the banding. I thought that would be the key to only eating very smaill amounts. I have found that I can still eat quite a bit of food. I wonder if I am at the right fill. I have an appointment with my doctor tomorrow and am thinking of cancelling because I am up about 8 lbs from my last visit. I have a bad attitude right now over the whole thing. I'm thinking it did not do what it was intended to do so why bother having it? I've been kicking around the idea of having it removed. I so desperately need some help with dealing with all of this. HELP!!

Linn Hugs for your struggles...

Sound like you need a fill - but most of all you it also sounds like you need to eat better - are you exercising??

The band isn't the cureall to our issues with food - it's only a tool - for that tool to work it has to be maintained - to lose the weight you need to eat healthy (your normal diet / food choices is what got you fat in the first place - this is what we all have to understand - Yes you will lose weight (some) by just portion contorl - but you really gotta change your eating habits and you gotta exercise - Your band isn't going to make your food choices - you do...

Even with the band it's work - a lot of work - but getting the weight off is so lilberating - it's so worth the work

Get a fill - Eat healthy (Protein 1st - veggies - sf - low fat - limited carb) and get out and get some exercise - if you do these things the weight will come off.

Good Luck

[csprei 0]

I agree with what Indigo girl said. the band is a tool it will not teach you to eat right but if you fill the band and you eat too quickly or the wrong foods it will make you uncomfortable. I only got my band the end of 2010 so it is new and like you I know I can get down the wrong foods. I am looking forward to going to the gym the beginning of February and having my fill. My doctors office gave guidelines that if certain food goes down or there is weight gain these are sure signs to go in and have a fill. The lapband wasn't made for you to have difficulty with the process. Keep trying and by the way just because you are gaining doesn't mean you need to take the band out.

[nevrhome 5]

I hear where you're both coming from. Exercise is not a problem. I do quite a bit of that. I understand it is not a quick fix but was expecting more control. After reading a lot of discussions on "fills" I am pretty sure that I am not where I should be. I've only had 2 fills and they were small amounts. I have my appointment tomorrow and am going to keep it. I'm going to discuss all my problems and weight gain and hopefully the Dr. will agree that I need another fill. Thanks for your replies. I know I am still going to need a Mentor to keep me going on this. You would think after almost 3 years I would have this all figured out. Was doing quite well until

personal life issues kicked me in the butt too. We'll see how it goes tomorrow.

[IndioGirl55 32]

I hear where you're both coming from. Exercise is not a problem. I do quite a bit of that. I understand it is not a quick fix but was expecting more control. After reading a lot of discussions on "fills" I am pretty sure that I am not where I should be. I've only had 2 fills and they were small amounts. I have my appointment tomorrow and am going to keep it. I'm going to discuss all my problems and weight gain and hopefully the Dr. will agree that I need another fill. Thanks for your replies. I know I am still going to need a Mentor to keep me going on this. You would think after almost 3 years I would have this all figured out. Was doing quite well until

personal life issues kicked me in the butt too. We'll see how it goes tomorrow.

#1 you can't listen to anyone one here about fills - cuz for each of us it's totally diff - my doc won't tell me how much I have in my band cuz I can have 3 cc's in my band and be too tight and another person can have 5 and still not have restriction - it doesn't mattter the # of cc's in your band all that matters is that you have restriction and if you can't eat or drink without throwing up - That's telling you - that you do have restriction

After my 2nd fill I lost 17 in 2 months - I told him I wanted fill cuz I could eat 1 whole enchillada - he said no... You lost the weight - its up to you to make good food choices - I went back a month later begging for one - he gave it to me - within the week I was back and all of that fill but .01 was taken out - I was so freaking tight I could barely drink - I lived that week on sliders - I will never again be that tight..

#2 what would you tell a friend of yours turned to alcohol or drugs during a personal crisis - would you co-sign their use of drugs or alcohol?? I seriously doubt that - so why are you co-signing your reason for eating.. That's your drug of choice... Deal with the issues - we all have them - I lost my baby bro who's 3 yrs younger than me 2 years ago.. Did I turn to food - Nope - would I have in the past - Yes - When both my parents died within 1 month of each other I gained 30 lbs. But I now understand that drowning your sorrow in food isn't the answer - just like if you were drowning them in drugs or alcohol..

We all make excuses as to why we can't do it - but that's all they are is excuses - If you were truly hungry - an apple would satisfy that hunger instead of a bowl of ice cream w/half a jar of choc on it..

Here's a suggestion - write down everything you eat - there are tons of sites on the internet - livestrong - daily plate - hell I kept a little 3 x 3 note book with me - I wrote down everything I ate & the pt grms and the calories - I did this for my till I got to goal (11 months 1 week)

Losing weight is simple math - calories in vs calories burned

Go back to the basic - eat off small plates/bowls - always eat pt 1st - tiny bites - eat slowly - chew chew chew - no drinking with meals -

Losing weight with the band is still work - we have tons and tons of mental issues to deal with - we can't turn to food to mask our feelings of frustration - loneliness, anger & boredom.. When you have these feelings - get up do something to distract yourself - deal w/your emotions don't bury them with food - and when you are tempted to - say to yourself - would I smoke some crack right now so that I don't have to deal with these feelings - I bet the answer is no - equate food to your crack and maybe you will look at it differently - maybe you will see that it's killing you - it might be legal - but it's going to kill you if you don't get control of it..

Hope your doc can give you some help...

The majority of our issues w/food are in our head - it takes a lot of work - you gotta look at the reasons that you over ate in the 1st place - you gotta learn new coping skills. It's so do-able - I was 52 when banded - had a life time of being obese - but the light bulb finally went off - I controlled all that junk I was eat - I chose to eat high fat - high sugar and sit on my butt 24/7 - that's why I got fat - It's what I did for me - after I took care of everyone else -

Well I turned that around - I love me enough to want to live - I took that control and reverse it - I choose to eat healthy - I choose to go to the gym - I choose to have a life where I am not limited as to what I can or can't do cuz of my weight..'

This Grandma now can zipline - scuba dive - parasail - take the stairs - play with her grandkids - the quality of my life has improved 1,000,000 % and girl friend I am no different than you - I have walked in your shoes the majority of my life -

You just have to exercise your gray matter to make the changes needed to get healthy and you can do it...

[camille01 2]

hello nevrhome: just a few words to help you think,do you know that a person go into rehab to get away from a problem that they are facing ,well the lapband is like that program(rehab) that one goes into to get away from a problem,of course it takes a while and a few classes and several months get you thinking about your problem,( just like obesity),we go through so much being overweight but first we have to admit to our selves that we have a problem with eating and once we get the help we need to get away from our problem we try to avoid it at all possibility but it is still there no matter what you do then something its there to make us pay attention because there is no other way to get away from it.,,, the other lady's are right,....the lapband is a tool to help us realize that we do have a problem just like there's other programs,but they are here to help us get away from obesity but you have to want to do it for yourself,,,and your loved ones ,so you can be around to see your lil ones maybe graduate,or one that is in college finish school....but any way you have to want to do this for "you"