Band isn't working for me

[omamilam 11]

I think I kidded myself in thinking that I was a good lap-band patient. I have unresolved food issues and without addressing them, I will never be successful. Had my surgery at the end of June and weighed 306. I think I am hovering around 295 right now and have been as low as 289. I drink too much alcohol and eat too much of the slider foods (chips, ice cream, Pasta, etc). So far I have had 4 fills and am around 7 ccs in a 11 cc band. I don't think I need anymore Fluid because I haven't "mastered" this current fill. A few times a week, I vomit from eating to quickly or not chewing well enough. However, tonight I had about 3/4 of an 11oz steak, some potato, some bread, and some appetizer. I didn't think I would be able to eat that much food, particularly that much steak.

Thanks for letting me vent.

[SkinnyMiniMe 63]

Your thread is titled,"the band isn't working for me" it should be " I am not working for my band.". The band is doing it's part because without the band you probably would be well over 306lbs by now. Its time you put in you honest effort. You may want to visit your doctor get a fill, see the nutrionist and work on your mind. You are what you think, right now (according to your post) you think you have been defeated and your actions are proving your thoughts. You need to think are going to succeed and follow it up with action. GOOD LUCK!!!!

[54Shirley 105]

O.K.,,,,, First thing that I can think of is, if you can eat that much steak, potato, etc.., my good guess is you need to be tighter.

If you have not experienced this, then you don't know that the Band does not work for you. I am only hungry every 4-5 hrs., and I can not eat much.

The Band is helping to deaden the Hunger Hormone, and that works for me. So it is possible, you've just never been there before to experience that.

I would suggest that you try it. A Therapist that specializes in WLS would be helpful too.

If your appetite is not under control, then there is no reason for me asking you (why are you eating all that Garbage, after having WLS ?) That just wouldn't be right.

But I will say you need to call your surgeon for a adjustment. They can do it under Fluoroscope, and fill you to your fill Line. Then you won't be able to pull this stuff off, Because you won't be hungry, and if you stuff it down like a true food Addict (I AM ONE, SO I CAN RELATE) The Band will do it's job and Train you to be a little more human, and trust me,,,,, you will learn. If you then choose to eat Ice Cream ! That's your own Bad Habit.

You have not failed ! You just simply have not arrived yet. When you do,,, you'll know it.

Don't let the numbers in the Band make you think your full enough. It's based on how you feel.

Suggest the Fluoroscope to your Surgeon for getting to your fill line. (I DID, AND IT WORKED FOR ME.)

You will see a major difference. I guarantee it.

Shirley.

[pjsims 1]

Don't give up!!!! I was thinking the same way. I had surgery May 27 and have not been very successful. I had my fourth fill on Wed (10/26) and I have finally reached my sweet spot and I'm loving it. I now have 9cc in a 11cc band. My doctor says she has never filled an 11cc that full, but everypone is different. Good luck and just believe you'll get there.

I think I kidded myself in thinking that I was a good lap-band patient. I have unresolved food issues and without addressing them, I will never be successful. Had my surgery at the end of June and weighed 306. I think I am hovering around 295 right now and have been as low as 289. I drink too much alcohol and eat too much of the slider foods (chips, ice cream, Pasta, etc). So far I have had 4 fills and am around 7 ccs in a 11 cc band. I don't think I need anymore Fluid because I haven't "mastered" this current fill. A few times a week, I vomit from eating to quickly or not chewing well enough. However, tonight I had about 3/4 of an 11oz steak, some potato, some bread, and some appetizer. I didn't think I would be able to eat that much food, particularly that much steak.

Thanks for letting me vent.

[B-52 7,113]

The band stopping the amount of food you intake is a misconception and people need to realize it................................

Sorry, but with all due respect I disagree. From my own personal experience, with a tight band, I am limited as to how much I can eat at any one sitting.

Granted, there are ways to "Cheat" or work around the band, in which case you can over eat. You can also have too many meals during a 24hr period. But a tight band also

gives me a full/satisfied feeling so the discipline not to do so is easier.

As the OP stated, he/she is continuously eating "slider" foods all day long.

[Humming Bird 275]

I agree with B-52. With proper restriction the band DOES stop the amount of food intake for me.

[cheryl2586 3,053]

Because you choose to have the amount of food stopped but in all reality you can out eat your band hands down. You have to have contraint on the amount of food you eat because you surely can if you want to eat as much as you want of certain foods with no restriction of the amount.

[Humming Bird 275]

Because you choose to have the amount of food stopped but in all reality you can out eat your band hands down. You have to have contraint on the amount of food you eat because you surely can if you want to eat as much as you want of certain foods with no restriction of the amount.

No, I do not agree with you at all. When I'm full, I'm full. If I eat even one more bite it goes in my esophagus and causes vomiting. My esophagus can not tolerate food in it. When my pouch is full I have to stop eating.

[B-52 7,113]

No, I do not agree with you at all. When I'm full, I'm full. If I eat even one more bite it goes in my esophagus and causes vomiting. My esophagus can not tolerate food in it. When my pouch is full I have to stop eating.

Not to mention the pain one may experience when the pouch gets too full. I believe it is worse than up-chucking everything! There is no way I could take another bite. It would be crazy! A glutton for punishment.

You need to recognize the signs early when eating and stop when the signs are there. Cannot force it and go beyond or you will regret it.

It's all about learning to live with the band. A new way of eating - living.

And I never have any regrets doing it!

[roziecakes 20]

But is that as effortless as it sounds? Not really. I exercise REALLY hard and a real LOT. I run miles and miles and miles every week. Not just slow steady jogging, I do interval stuff. I might burn 900 calories in a session. I chuck a 20kg sandbag about raising my heart rate to where I almost see stars, not push a weights machine in the gym around. If I go to the gym and just do a spin class, I feel guilty that I still need to run a bit that day. I really work hard. That allows me to "eat whatever I want" in small portions. Its the other half of the equation. So, the way I see it, its a trade off. You can low carb, change what you eat totally work really hard at that side of the equation and do zumba and a gym program for the other. I just choose to balance my equation by burning insane amounts of energy.

Amen Sistah!!

I've lost really fast too, but I also exercise like a fiend, which is not really that easy. I don't think this journey is easy for any of us. Sure there's probably some golden amazing person out there who just loses with no effort whatsoever... but I'll bet even for them there have been a few hurdles...

To the OP:

That being said, I think what this boils down to is that NONE of us are failures. YOU are NOT a failure. We each have a special journey that takes steps that only we can take. A song I love, "Ripple" by the Grateful Dead says, "There is a road, no simple highway, between the dawn and the dark of night, and if you go, no one may follow. That path is for your steps alone." What this means is, don't compare yourself to others. Your story is different from their story. Just because someone else has lost more than you, more quickly, doesn't mean that you fail.

I always say that every pound is a victory. You have had at least one victory. I also know that you can't always do it on your own. You may need help from a dietician or counselor, but that doesn't mean that you are a failure either; that means that you have taken the steps and used the tools available to you to get the job done! Do whatever it takes!! Don't get down on yourself for your mistakes, and use each new moment as a new opportunity for health.

If you lost one pound, I'm sure you can lose more! Honestly, you've taken the first step, which is realizing what you are doing wrong. Now you know what to fix; another victory!

Best of luck!!!!

[roziecakes 20]

Not to mention the pain one may experience when the pouch gets too full. I believe it is worse than up-chucking everything! There is no way I could take another bite. It would be crazy! A glutton for punishment.

You need to recognize the signs early when eating and stop when the signs are there. Cannot force it and go beyond or you will regret it.

It's all about learning to live with the band. A new way of eating - living.

And I never have any regrets doing it!

I agree. This has happened to me a couple of times, and it was some of the worst pain I have ever experienced in my entire life. Oh it was horrible.

[JudyLR 0]

If all this weight loss is just about willpower, why did any of us need the Band? I was banded September 21st this year, and haven't had a piece of bread, a morsel of Pasta, a potato chip, anything with sugar. I log all my food, and eat between 600 and 1000 calories a day. I could have done all of this without the band!!!! I don't have any of the signals of being full or a need to throw up. The only difference I see from before the surgery and now, is I have a LOT of GAS!!! I have only lost 9 lbs since the surgery, and have only felt Deprived! You'd think with comsuming only this amount of calories, I would have doubled that weight loss. I don't Get it!

The band stopping the amount of food you intake is a misconception and people need to realize it. Just because you can eat everything and as much as you want does not mean you are supposed too. Its not going to stop you from making bad food choices. You have to want this and do it. I have lost 70lbs and gving up all the things I love was worth it. Do I love to drink yes but I dont, do I love sweets more than anything but I love living even more. I could with the band sit down and eat a half gallon of ice cream and it wont stop me. I can sit and eat 10 hershey bars and it wont stop me, I can sit and eat as much food as I want and it wont stop me I have to stop myself. No one said it will be easy if they did who was it because it hasnt been easy and everyday is a daily struggle. For those who magically lost weight with no issues well yay for them because I think most people with the band struggle to maintain what they have lost and still reach for that goal. You have to want it you have to stop sabotaging yourself. Isnt the scale moving enough motivation for you. If you dont lose the weight it will eventually lose you. Your choice but make the right choice and healthy eating is not that bad it actually taste pretty darn good. As for the alcohol it wont kill you if you dont stop drinking it but it might if you dont.

[54Shirley 105]

I needed the Band because YES ! I could diet, and lose the weight. (not a problem.) I can't keep it off though, and it cost me my knees. So they are both Titanium, and if to much weight is on them, they can where out ! I would rather keep them, then have to go threw this again. It's not like going to a Dentist... There is a little more to it..

It sounds to me like your a slow loser. Have you ever had your Thyroid checked ? It's worth looking into. Mine is sluggish, and I take meds. for it, and it helps.

You mention all these carb. foods that you can no longer eat ! What if you did eat them all the time ? What do you think you would weigh by now ?

NO ! I don't want to know, it's just for you to think of. As a reason for being Banded...

Shirley.

[roziecakes 20]

Honestly, I don't think it is just willpower. In my case, I was stuck in a rut. I had already lost 150 or so pounds on my own, and I had a back injury that prevented me from exercising enough to really make a difference. The band helped me to realize when I was full and has helped me control my calories by providing the right physical signals for me to read. I didn't have much of a problem with eating healthy food, but my Portion Control was horrible, and I ate way too many calories, especially carbs. So what the band did for me was give me a kickstart and it acts as my backup kind of. There is a lot of the process that has to do with me, of course, but the band does help, I know.

It's something that I work with rather than letting it work for me.

[B-52 7,113]

If all this weight loss is just about willpower, why did any of us need the Band? I was banded September 21st this year, and haven't had a piece of bread, a morsel of Pasta, a potato chip, anything with sugar. I log all my food, and eat between 600 and 1000 calories a day. I could have done all of this without the band!!!! I don't have any of the signals of being full or a need to throw up. The only difference I see from before the surgery and now, is I have a LOT of GAS!!! I have only lost 9 lbs since the surgery, and have only felt Deprived! You'd think with comsuming only this amount of calories, I would have doubled that weight loss. I don't Get it!

Bingo! You are absolutely correct!

This is how it is for me.

The band, after 4 fills, is at a point of restriction that I CANNOT overeat or it will a) hurt, come right back up, or, c) get stuck and eventually come back up.

My wife made eggplant parm for dinner today. I had a good portion on my plate, ate maybe 6 small-med fork fulls, and I Am FINISHED. Cannot eat anymore!

So where does the discipline come in??

a) First, if I am limited to how much I can eat, I have to be sure it is something good for me. That includes learning (by experience) what food types get me in trouble.

If I'm finished with dinner, what's to stop me from eating 3 hours later, before going to bed? Well, that's where a properly tight band does the 2nd thing it is supposed to do. It tells your brain, whether you have eaten or not, that you are not

hungry. It is a different feeling than being full. I am still learning to get in touch with this feeling.

I can go on and on about counting calories, measuring portions, etc, but I will save that for another time. (I don't do it. It happens naturally now)

So as you can see, the band IS a tool. It is a tool to change your eating habits and loose weight!

I love my Dr.....Between the first and 2nd fill I gained weight. (after starting solid foods again) I felt guilty, ashamed, and did not want to face him.

After he weighed me, I started apologizing. He said to me "don't apologize, that's why they designed the band to be adjustable". He pointed to the green zone on the wall chart and said "you're not there yet, but we will get there eventually."

I'm there now, but it took me 4-5 months.