Just wanna share and see what you have to say to me.

[Nykee 13]

I was banded in 05. That is 6 years. .. wow.

So I struggled the first year with getting the right fill...

Then I lost 100 pounds pretty fast. (I started at 420 pounds) My fill was nice and tight.

And now for like 4 years I been the same weight. Between 305 and 320.

In the 4 years I have lost many many inches and my body has changed alot. And people constantly tell me how good I am looking.

BUT THE FACT IS. I HAVE LOST NO WEIGHT.. NONE. !

I cant get another fill because mine is already really tight. Its very finiky too. It tightens up more during my period (swells up?) and during other times I cant figure out, but during those times I cant even take ONE SIP of Water. And sometimes I go two days without eating. SO IF I tighten my band, than during those swelling up times I would CHOKE on the SIP of water.. And then CHOKE for two days, and well I experienced that in year one, and although I feel like I can tolerate anything.. the body wont allow you to choke, it produces so much saliva that you cant just bear thru it. I had to have an emergency unfil in the ER cuz I let it go for two days and got dehydrated.. ANYWAY... I WOULD LOVE A FILL... BUT for that reason I CANT DO IT.

As for now. I bring up my food, almost daily. I take a bite, see if its 'OPEN".. if not, I have to bring the food up out of my esophagus.

ITs never PUKE because it never enters my stomach. THen I wait and try again later. Till I find the time where I can eat.

What I do is drink first. Then I eat. Cuz usually when I am not open, I am not open to anything, not even liquids.

ANd I DO CHEW.. completely.. and I DONT EVEN TRY to eat food that isnt soft. I gave all that up years ago. I HATE bringing food up and I HATE the stuck feeling. I TRY TO AVOID IT at all times. I never go out to eat. I cant eat in front of anyone.

So mostly if I am not stuck, i will chew food and spit it out. (I cant do this when not open, as you know even the juice will get stuck)

BUt If I am open, I will chew food like chicken and then feed it to my doggie. lol gross huh.

Anyway. When I am open I usually choose to just drink chocolate milk. As it is FILLING and SOOTHING and YUMMY.

The only real food that ever stays down in my stomach is refried Beans with melted cheese, tiny chopped onions, sour cream and tortilla chips, which I eat about 5 times a week. Im sick of trying to eat anything else. Just sick of it.

I also eat alot of chips and dip and Cookies when I am open. THIS IS WHY I AM STILL FAT.

So.. Obviously, in order for me to lose more weight. I need to STOP drinking the Chocolate milk. STOP eating the cookies and chips.

I know everything i can have instead. I know exactly what to do. JUST WONT DO IT. For 20 years I wouldn't do it, and still.. humm I WONT DO IT.

The 100 pounds i lost.. WAS ALL BAND.. It was the restriction. And it worked for exactly 100 pounds. I LOVE RESTRICTION. I DONT EVER force food down, I JUST accept it. Its the BEST THING ever. I LOVE IT>

BUT when I am not restricted, I eat what I want.

I WANT TO BE RESTRICTED. MORE. BUT That doesnt look at all possible.

Prednisone takes the swelling away, but thats a dangerous drug and I cant be on it daily. IF I COULD be, THAN I could get a fill.

Im just kinda upset.. that I have to have a finicky band, that isnt consistent.. cuz if it was. I would have it consistently tight and i would lose all the weight I need to lose.

In the beginning, I got a lot of flack for having a really tight band. But it works for me. My pouch is not stretched, It didnt slip or erode. That is cuz I dont force anything, I just accept it. IF I CANT EAT. I Cant eat.. I dont care.. YET, if I can, I do. And I cant stop myself.

I dunno what kind of advice I want... I have to lay off the junk food and the milk and juice.. PERIOD.

I KNOW I DO.

BUT WAH WAH BOO HOO>> I WANT THE BAND TO DO IT. !! (I have tried, I hope you know that is just a given, I have tried everything, know that!)

NOW.. I WANT A GASTRIC BYPASS... but, no one will do it cuz my band is intact... and its considered a success.

I cant self pay.

I KNOW it would work for me.. CUZ just like now, when i cant eat, I DONT EAT... And if my stomach was too small and it caused discomfort, I would NOT EAT.. just like I dont now, when my band is too tight. .. I would NOT FORCE IT, as I NEVER do now.. I WOULD NOT stretch the stomach as I HAVE NOT my pouch.

Something about being restricted physically works for my brain.. HOW DO I CONVINCE the Doctors of this, when I am BEGGING for a GASTRIC BYPASS!!!?!?

THANKS FOR ANY HELP !!

xoxo

[Nykee 13]

To be more clear..

NOW, when my band is not tight. I can drink like 32 ounces of Nesquick over like an hour period.

OR I can eat 8 Cookies and 30 ounces of milk. ... in an hours period.

I get really full, just in case i get super tight later.. but ya know all that fat and carbs....

With a gastric bypass, that isnt possible is it? Like even with liquids... you can only have so many ounces, before it starts to feel discomfort?!

I ALWAYS stop at ANY discomfort.

I am not necessarily addicted to choc milk and cookies.. they just go down SO WELL and are filling....

BUT IF MY BAND restricted them., I WOULD DEF NOT EAT THEM. I dont eat anything the band restricts. I just DONT DO IT. And I have proven that for over 4 years.

Doesnt that prove I wouldnt eat anything the Gastric Bypass didnt allow? (physically of course)

ok thanks@!

[ElfiePoo 109]

Please forgive me for being blunt...

You need to get an unfill. If you're having days where you can't even drink the necessary fluids to keep you hydrated and you're living on slider foods...you are *too full*. If you're unable to eat Protein and vegies...you are *too full*.

Frequent episodes of ejecting stuck food may not 'technically' be called vomiting, but it is still damaging to the esophagus which was not designed for that kind of frequent abuse.

The band was designed to put pressure on the vagus nerves which tell the stomach to stop producing 'ghrelin' (hunger hormone) so we can eat a normal meal (e.g. 3 oz of Protein, 1/2-1 c vegies) and be satisfied for 4 hours or so. It won't stop you from eating as there is very little 'restrictive' component.

No WLS will do what you want it to. You can eat your way around all of them...including the bypass. Just ask those who've had one and now weigh more than when they first had the surgery. WLS is only a tool...and I know people hate that word...but that's what it is. *WE* still have to be willing to make the necessary changes in our eating. We have to be the ones to choose to eat the right food and choose to put that fork down.

My .02...get your band completely unfilled and allow your band area to rest for 3-4 weeks. My guess is you're probably dealing with swelling from the stuck episodes. Then I'd do several days of Protein shakes...again, to let the band area rest *and* get the sugar out of your system.

You need to stop eating the junk and get yourself on some type of eating plan that you can follow. Most importantly...you need to stop expecting the band to do all the work. No WLS is going to fit that criteria. Don't look for the band to stop you from eating. Look for it to stop the 'hunger'. *That* is the sweet spot.

No...4 years of not complying with the rules of the band are not 'proof' that you will comply with the rules of bypass. I am sorry if that seems harsh, but in this instance, I really feel it is best to be blunt.

.

[a dairyfarmers chubbywife 1]

My first reaction to your dilemma is to get an unfill. I know for me, personally, that when I am too tight for too long I stop losing weight, even though my calorie intake is minimal. About 3 days after my unfill the scales start moving for me again. I also know that for me, when I’m not losing I get into a funk and eat crappy food, especially if I’m too tight, cause it goes down easy.

Get an unfill…at the very least, speak to your surgeon. My concern is that you might have done damage over the years.

As the previous poster stated, you can eat your way around any type of WLS if you really wanted to. The choice has to be yours. You still control the fork. I have a friend who had the bypass and within months of her surgery she was back to eating a whole pizza! Proving the fact that if you’re not mentally ready to accept your new lifestyle rules, then don’t bother. The band, or the bypass, will not do the work for you. As I tell people, the band is just my “full-button” reinstalled. It tells me when I am full, and I listen to it.

I am 13 months out and to-date I have lost 147 pounds (pre-surgery weight: 300 pounds; current weight: 153 pounds).

Good luck to you!

~Annette~

[Nykee 13]

If I get an unfil. I will gain the weight back.

Any unfil at all, will allow me to eat more.

So I cant understand why I would ever do that.

I had my band and my esophogus checked. A few times. Its fine.

I have a hiatal hernia, but I dont know what its from. Heartburn before my band was my guess. cus I have never had heartburn after being banded.

[Nykee 13]

So basically I cant tell the truth... concerning the Gastric Bypass.. cuz the truth is I wont follow the rules. I never do. Never have. No matter what I tell myself I am doing or trying or will do... its never done, now is it. 20 years plus of failing MEANS Im not doing it.

I eat when I can.. and i dont when I cant.

I hoped the gastric bypass would make eating more impossible than the band does.

BUt maybe thats not true.

[ElfiePoo 109]

I hoped the gastric bypass would make eating more impossible than the band does.

BUt maybe thats not true.

Nykee,

Unfortunately, the bypass won't make eating impossible. Have you determined 'why' you eat?

You asked why you should get an unfill if you're going to eat if you do. Well, you're 6 years post band surgery. Bands have a limited life span so at some point they're going to have to go in and take yours out and/or replace it. It's very possible that you're doing enough damage to that band area from being too tight that there is a very real possibility that you'll lose that band completely.

[ElfiePoo 109]

So basically I cant tell the truth... concerning the Gastric Bypass.. cuz the truth is I wont follow the rules. I never do.

If you won't follow the rules for any WLS, I guess there's nothing more to be said.

.

[Jack 855]

Nykee: good to hear you HAVE been successful at losing so much weight.

I hadn't seen any posts from you for a long time, and wondered how you were faring.

I have a few comments as your issue strikes close to home on some of my own concerns:

re: "If I get an unfil. I will gain the weight back." Disagree...the fill is not what does the deed; you recognize the cause:

"Any unfill at all, will allow me to eat more" Yes, that's what all of us face every day. Eat too much of the wrong stuff, and we're back to Morbid Obesity again.

Many if not most, Bandsters have to go into combat daily with the confusing and conflicting things we think we understand about our Band, and our body.

The physical causes of Morbid Obesity are reinforced with other factors that influence our eating habits.

The momentary comfort of eating and satisfaction of 'feeling full' far too easily can replace our long-term concern about our health and our weight.

Our body-image ideals are seduced by the pleasures of 'sport eating' that I believe is on a par with 'sport sex'. There is little that verbal discourse can do to change behavior or desire for either.

You bring up a point that is difficult to comprehend, let alone discuss. Satisfaction of physical drives is a complex subject that many researchers have theorized about for decades. We all have to find answers some how. You've made a lot of headway from the last time I saw your posts.

Congratulations. Courage in your journey.

[Dave_NW 92]

Sorry to hear you've had such a problem with things. Others have addressed the fill/unfill topic, so I won't go there. But I do have two suggestions for you to consider:

1. If you insist on eating Cookies and milk when you "can" eat, why not change to the weight loss Cookies and Protein shakes instead? There are very tasty options available to you, and you won't have to beat yourself up over eating things you feel are "bad" foods. Plus, that way you could adjust your caloric intake to a more appropriate balance to help you lose weight. costco sells Premiere brand chocolate ready-to-drink Protein Shakes, and (to me) they taste a LOT like chocolate milk. Worth a shot? Certainly couldn't hurt.

2. If you want to continue to eat the way you are, how about working around the diet, and exercise more? It wouldn't have to be much, maybe just walking, but anything would be a way to change the way your metabolism sees itself every day. If you're plateaued with your current diet and exercise levels, changing one side or the other of the equation will produce some results. Correcting your diet choices can come later, after you seek some counseling on why you're sabotaging yourself by how you eat.

Good luck with whatever path you choose.

Dave

[emjay 8]

Nykee -

The purpose of the unfill is not only so you can eat more - but eat more healthfully. If your variety of foods is so non-existent at this point, but the purpose is to provide you with the ability to make better CHOICES by introducing more variety into your diet.

Elfiepoo and the others have given you good solid advice. Honestly, I think your mental issues far exceed the physical at this point. I'm not trying to say it in a hurtful way, just that seeing a qualified professional therapist that specializes in addictions/food issues would help you get to the bottom of what's causing your self-sabotage.

Do not equate an unfill with weight gain. That is something many do. It is a way to allow you to make better food choices, drastically eliminate any pb or vomiting episodes and take responsibility for your journey. The idea is to have this band long-term. I am a firm believer that with your current mindset, gastric bypass will not do you any good. Sure - maybe for 18 months or so - but then as your body adjusts to the "new" reality and malabsorption subsides, you will start gaining it back.

I wish you the best, you truly do need help. But you have to be willing to do the work it takes to get there. Please keep us posted on your journey.

[agmg2011 0]

I haven't been banded yet, but I am scared of being in your place after I have it. I am trying to work on the reasons I overeat now, so the band will just be a reinforcement to keep me in check later. I haven't begun changing my habits yet, but I am evaluating my spiritual and emotional problems. The band will only help with the physical side. If I can deal with the issues that have caused me to turn to food for comfort, then I will be more sucessful. I am realizing that I use food to relax, destress, Celebrate, relieve boredom, deal with anger, sadness, etc. My husband's cigarettes do the same thing for him. I have to learn to use food for nutrition and find other ways to deal with the stresses of life. I am finding that I have some past hurts and resentments that started thisprocess years ago. For me, I am ready to change for good. I want this part of my life behind me. I know and accept that life will be different. Food has been my friend for a while, but it should not have control of my life. Only God should control my life, and that is what I am working on now.

This may not apply to you, but maybe it will help you to start your own journey. You have come a long way, but don't jeopardize your health. Talk to your doctor to see what your options may be.

I wish you the best!

[Jack 855]

re: "I am trying to work on the reasons I overeat now, so the band will just be a reinforcement to keep me in check later. I haven't begun changing my habits yet, but I am evaluating my spiritual and emotional problems."<br /><br />great points....however, I failed utterly at that approach, and had to revert to 'change my overeating behavior'.

Along the way, I discovered at last the emotional content of eating that did so much to trigger my episodes over the years.

Behavior modification is the only tool that worked for me....and the Band provided ample opportunity to learn new eating behaviors. <br /><br />In the end, whichever tool is appropriate for the job. We are diverse individuals with complex reasons for being Morbidly Obese.

[amberakamom 13]

I think u need a bit of an unfill so you are able to eat the right foods. It's worth a shot!?

[Nykee 13]

I think u need a bit of an unfill so you are able to eat the right foods. It's worth a shot!?

I wont eat the right foods. I will eat MORE of the wrong foods.