A Question for the Veterans

[bar2373 138]

I would consider myself a newbie since I was just banded on the 17th. I have been wondering, how many of you have met your goal and how long have you remained at your goal or close to it?

I have been reading A LOT of posts about people on here gaining weight back or having slippage and such. OF course these things scare me, but also as I read them I am seeing things that indicate or flat out say they have not followed the rules for a while.

I was just curious how many out there are years out and still happy with their band and still at goal. Would just love to hear some good of it.

[Jean McMillan 2,973]

Try not to be too discouraged by negative posts. People tend to post more often when they're struggling than when they're doing fine. It's just the nature of a support site like this.

I was banded on 9/19/07 (with the old 4mm Lap-Band) and lost 100% of my excess weight (90 lbs) in one year. I had some ups and downs, many of them due to user error, but I loved my band. I loved the adjustability of it, the early and prolonged satiety it gave me, and also its appetite reduction feature.

I had a band slip at 21 months post-op that was resolved with a complete unfill and 6-week rest period. We don't know why it slipped because I hadn't been having any problems, so it could've been related to poor surgical technique by my original surgeon or plain old dumb luck. Then when I started getting gradual fills again, my port flipped (maybe due to a failed suture) and my new surgeon had so much trouble accessing it that we decided on surgery to reposition it. Unfortunately my work schedule delayed that surgery for several months and I regained about 20 lbs, but as soon as I got enough fill back in there. I was able to lose the 20 lbs.

I lived happily with my band until December 2011, when I started having reflux. It got worse despite taking omeprazole, so I had another complete unfill, an upper GI study that showed esophageal dilation, and an EGD that showed esophageal damage from decades of "silent" reflux (long pre-dating my band). Since my band was probably aggravating it, my surgeon and gastro doc decided that we needed to remove my band. My band was removed in April 2012 and I had VSG surgery in August 2012. Since then I've lost the 30 lbs I had regained because of losing my band, but I'm having more problems adjusting to life with my sleeve than I ever did adjusting to my band.

Weight regain is a possibility for every obese person, no matter what (if any) WLS procedure they have, because obesity is a chronic, incurable disease affected not just by our conscious eating behavior but other factors not within our individual control (like hormonal, neurological, inflammatory and other problems). Weight management is a lifetime project, but I promise you, all that work is soooo worth it!

Jean

[CHEZNOEL 4,061]

I have been at goal for some time. If I stick with the plan I do not gain.

[B-52 7,113]

As things are now, I cannot see how I can ever gain again....the band prevents me from overeating.....I know, I have tried and each time the results are not pleasant....

I am aware that medical problems may arise, causing me to have the band un filled, in which case the basic function of the band would change.....

I am aware of my pouch stretching, allowing larger portions...but that is something I can detect and go full liquids from time to time for maintenance.

I have also noticed, that eating such small portions over a period of time, my normal stomach has also shrunk....in that case I get the classic "full" feeling very quickly....or a good old fashioned belly ache!

I can eat around the band by grazing all day...the band limits my portion sizes but it does not dictate how many times I can eat those portions per day.....but the band does take away my hunger cravings and interest in eating so that is something I just have to learn to live with.....

Obesity is a chronic condition, eating disorder for whatever reasons, no self control, no self dicipline, which is why I needed the surgery..as a last resort......to stop me, prohibit me, from overeating.....

And in my casebthatbis exactly the way it works.....hope it never changes....

[☠carolinagirl☠ 18,721]

**Obesity is a chronic condition, eating disorder for whatever reasons, no self control, no self dicipline, which is why I needed the surgery..as a last resort......to stop me, prohibit me, from overeating.....

And in my case that is exactly the way it works.....hope it never changes....**

i agree with this 100%

[B-52 7,113]

As things are now, I cannot see how I can ever gain again....the band prevents me from overeating.....I know, I have tried and each time the results are not pleasant....

I am aware that medical problems may arise, causing me to have the band un filled, in which case the basic function of the band would change.....

I am aware of my pouch stretching, allowing larger portions...but that is something I can detect and go full liquids from time to time for maintenance.

I have also noticed, that eating such small portions over a period of time, my normal stomach has also shrunk....in that case I get the classic "full" feeling very quickly....or a good old fashioned belly ache!

I can eat around the band by grazing all day...the band limits my portion sizes but it does not dictate how many times I can eat those portions per day.....but the band does take away my hunger cravings and interest in eating so that is something I just have to learn to live with.....

Obesity is a chronic condition, eating disorder for whatever reasons, no self control, no self dicipline, which is why I needed the surgery..as a last resort......to stop me, prohibit me, from overeating.....

And in my case that is exactly the way it works.....hope it never changes....

Not everyone follows this approach, does not make one right or wrong....the band is adjustable to your comfort level and desire....

I was 58 when I was banded, and had serious medical issues so I did not want to take it slow and easy....time was wasting....

So when in came to the band, I was "ALL IN" and fortunately my Dr. Was/ is willing to be as aggressive as I want to be, as long as no problems arise...and so far, none have....

[elcee 3,341]

I have had my band since June 2009. I hit my goal of 50kg and maintained there quite easily for a couple of years. I have regained approx 4kg over the last year. I believe 1 of the reasons for this is that over time the band becomes less effective. It becomes easier to eat things that were previously difficult and the band does not control your hunger as well. Whilst some people believe that this can easily be fixed with another fill that is not always the case.There seem to be a lot of people that encounter reflux a couple of years out and usually the solution is to remove some fill. Drs then become very cautious and like to ensure that they do not go past a certain level that they believe will trigger the problems again.So it can become a balancing act between too much and not enough which is when you have to really think hard about what you are eating.

However my weight is still within the normal range so technically I am still considered a success. I would just like to be a bit thinner but for 50 I don't think I look too bad, especially not when I compare myself with others the same age. I am forever being told that it is normal to gain weight during menopause, for a long time I denied that was true but maybe there is something in it.

I have never been a great 1 for exercise and was lucky enough to lose all my weight without having to do much but i now concede that exercise may be the only solution. I purchased a fitbit last week and that is extremely motivating, I am currently averaging about 15000 - 16000 steps a day. Hopefully I can keep it up.

I think the bottom line is that the band has helped me to achieve a weight that I would not have been able to maintain without it. I feel great, hopefully look great and am really happy that i had it done. My only regret is that I didn't do it sooner.

I am also happy that if at some stage in the future they come up with a newer better weigh to keep the weight off i will have the option of revising.

[Holly Dolly 575]

I just had my 2 year anniversary on Feb 4th. I made my goal of 140 I think around May of last year. I wanted to go for an even 100 and hit that in July. I go up and down the same few pounds, but have been able to maintain. I weighed in at 136 this morning, so I am pretty pleased. I am so happy with the band. I am not a perfect bandster , but follow the rules prob 90% of the time! I do know one thing for sure, I will always have to log my food if I want to keep it off......and I DO and WILL this time around!

[electronicart 120]

When friends ask me about lap band surgery, I always refer them to this web page. I call it "The good, the bad and the ugly of lap band". I know it took me years to decide to have lap band surgery. It has been a blessing to me. Overall, very few people have serious problems. I think I can speak for most when I say that losing weight improves your health and it prevents many health related issues as you get older.

[Julie norton 2,850]

I agree you need to work with your band. And realize this is a life long commitment I appreciate the band was available and worked for me. Apparently this is not the same for lots of people. I did regain a small amount after the first year however I am so happy to have my weight be low for menopause. I choose not to do hormones and will blame the slight gain on it! Happy and healthy. That's what I like!!

[B-52 7,113]

I am coming up on 3 years, and short of some medical condition causing one to have Fluid removed from the band, I cannot understand how someone can gain their weight back.....unless it was them controlling their food intake and not so much the band....because I can, and have failed at controlling my intake...but the band..how does it change in a way to allow a person to go in the opposite direction is something I am still trying to understand.....

But that's me....my body has leveled off on it's own from my new eating habits....and has not changed up or down in over 2 years now.

[Jean McMillan 2,973]

Obesity is a chronic condition, eating disorder for whatever reasons, no self control, no self dicipline, which is why I needed the surgery..as a last resort......to stop me, prohibit me, from overeating.....

I agree that obesity is a chronic disease, but I think your statement that your surgery prohibits you from overeating is oversimplified and perhaps misleading.

Expecting the band to limit how much you can eat is old school thinking. In the past few years, the bariatric medical community has realized that eating until your band has reached (or exceeded) its food capacity is a mistake that invites complications. The band's true mechanisms are to reduce hunger and appetite, and to create early and prolonged satiety. It may not do all of those things for everybody all of the time, but it should do some of those things for most people most of the time.

Note: I didn't pull this view out of a magic hat. I got it from several bariatric surgeons and my rep at Allergan.

[Jean McMillan 2,973]

I am coming up on 3 years, and short of some medical condition causing one to have Fluid removed from the band, I cannot understand how someone can gain their weight back.....unless it was them controlling their food intake and not so much the band....because I can, and have failed at controlling my intake...but the band..how does it change in a way to allow a person to go in the opposite direction is something I am still trying to understand.....

But that's me....my body has leveled off on it's own from my new eating habits....and has not changed up or down in over 2 years now.

You can't understand how someone can gain their weight back? To answer that question, let me refer you back to your previous statement that obesity is a chronic condition. No weight loss surgery cures obesity. All it does is treat it.

It sounds as if you're looking down your nose at people who've been controlling their food intake rather than letting the band do it for them. Controlling food intake is one hallmark of responsible adult behavior. Just because that's hard for obese people to do doesn't mean we ought to avoid it. But then again, maybe you're one of the people who "took the easy way out."

[Lady VS 1,147]

I met my goal this past July and am now below it.

[Jim N 0]

I had the surgery 8/17/2009 and everything went very easy. I was back at work the first of September, by Christmas I was down 50 pounds and by spring I was down 112 pounds, feeling great and looking good, then something happened and I started haveing acid reflux and putting on weight again. Everytime I go in for a check up (According to my doctors) it is always something I have done wrong, Eating to much , eating to fast. It is disgusting after awhile. This fall something went wrong with the band, or my pouch. I was not able to keep anything down, I had Acid Reflux everytime I laid down. If I ate anything after 5:00 I would vomit it back up as soon as I laid down, Two spoon fulls of food anytime durring the day time filled me up. I went in for a check and after 37 minutes the sip of barrium still had not gone through the band.

I still gained 14 pounds in the 2 1/2 months I put up with this problem waiting to get into see the doctor ( He is in India) last week I went in on an emergency basis and the band was drained but the weight gain was still my fault according to my nutrionist.

I go back in Friday to discuss removal of the band. So I guess I shall see what happens.

I am also Diabetic and have Crohn's so my prognosis is not great.