Lap Band Veteran Failing Miserably

[ruby309 10]

I am a 10 year lap band patient. I don't know what is wrong with me. I have learned hiw to "out-eat" my band, and my eating is so out of control. For the first 8 years or so, I kept my band super tight, where I could only eat a few bites or I'd vomit. That was 50 lbs ago. As long, as I couldn't eat, I could have a few bites of ANYTHING. But, then, I developed problems. Dialated esophagus, surgical hernia at my lap band site, reflux and pain. They took 1/2 the Fluid out of my band, and here I am...50 lbs. FATTER.

I feel like a giant failure.

[parisshel 1,892]

There is nothing wrong with you. Your longterm experience with the band is the rule, not the exception. It isn't you. The band doesn't alter your brain (unlike the restrictive and malabsorption surgeries such as bypass). It is merely restrictive (as you experienced). When your metabolism and appetite wake up from those days/months post band surgery, many of us experience what you are describing.

Please don't blame yourself. It is unproductive, and really, if you talk with other longterm bandsters, you'll see that 80% are right where you are. This is why the band is falling out of favor and there are fewer and fewer WLS patients opting for it.

[Dancing Fool 29]

Keeping your band too tight for so many years didn't give you any opportunity to form good eating/lifestyle habits and no doubt contributed to your medical problems. Did your surgeon's office do any pre-op patient education concerning this?

[WLSResources/ClothingExch 3,444]

Sorry, but your account is unclear. In the first eight years you lost 50 lbs? Almost at the beginning you discovered that you could eat sweets and crunchy things in far greater quantities than you could real, healthy, conducive-to-losing-weight food? You've regained the 50 as of two years ago when your band was half-emptied due to dilation?

I don't think there's anything "wrong" with you, but, if I'm interpreting your note correctly, you weren't truly serious about losing weight from the start. It seems you expected the band to lose weight for you without your having a part in the process. The band is meant to be an aid to weight-loss, a partner, not a magical weight-loser. The band isn't the one with a weight problem.

Has the dilation corrected itself? Has the saline level been increased again? If you were half-emptied and then didn't follow through, you can go back to your practice to see about getting back in training. @@Dancing Fool makes a good point about a too-tight band.

Read up on the purpose of a band. Make a list of reasons that you want to lose weight -- small, specific reasons rather than the broad ones. "I want to be slim" isn't good. Break it down into all the little reasons to be slim. Add to the list as new goals come to mind. No goal is too small or silly. If you truly want to lose weight and are willing to do the work, you'll make it.

Make an appointment or two with the practice's RD for guidance on planning meals and making good choices. Consider therapy, maybe with a CBT practitioner. Attend support groups at your practice. If it doesn't have a group, check other hospitals in the area. Most welcome patients from the competitors. Stay connected in BP.

You have a chance for a fresh start.

[staceface09 5]

I am also going thru what you are dealing with. I am also a 10 year vet and I have had my ups and downs with my band. I have lost 85 pounds but recently had to get an unfill because of acid reflux, and since this unfill, I have completely lost all willpower and restriction. I have also been going thru some rocky Patches in my marriage and I have been eating my emotions.! Tomorrow I go for my upper gi and I am going to tell my doctor about everything and see what he suggests. I feel like a failure even though I've lost weight. This few months had really made me feel awful! Good luck to you! I hope you get everything sorted out and get back on track! I know it's hard!

[B-52 7,113]

You're band was super tight and you lost only 50 lbs?...after 8 years?

Sorry, but I am not clearly understanding everything....

I am 5 years banded...I keep my band tight enough to restrict me from overeating, to restrict me from eating the wrong foods, and also restrict me from eating wrong, like a pig. (need to take it small and slow)

If I challenge this, I will be miserable. So the band is forcing me to change my personal habits...fixes my brain, behavior modification.

It has become a way of life, don't need to think about it anymore...don't need to tell or remind myself what I need to do or not to do...don't need strategies for the holidays or eating out.....it has become all matter of fact....

People call the band a "Tool"...I DO NOT! A tool is something I can take off the shelf, and use it however I wish to, then return it to the toolbox....

The band, is much more than that..it tells me what to do...step out of line, or try to fight it, and I will only be miserable....

But learn to fall in line and find that groove...HEAVEN!

I cannot fully inderstand your situation, but if that was happening to me I would say I was fighting the band and what it was trying to do...the more I fight it, try to cheat it, the more inflamd and irritated it gets only makeing things worse making it ipossible to drink Water without issues.

[Bandista 7,466]

@@ruby309 there are a couple of links in my signature below which really helped me understand how the band is meant to work -- the O'Brien Eight Golden Rules and also Dr. Simpson's "The Lapband Is Not About Restrictrion." That said, my band prevents me from, as B-52 says, eating like a pig. I was always going back for more, more, more. Now I get the signal for satiety and I stop. Could I keep cruising along -- yes. I'd have to wait and do it in intervals but I could graze all day long. But the brain signalling has changed. Instead of feeling unsatisfied, I feel that sense of satiety -- the Appetite Monster is off of my back. Maybe the links will help you, too......

Best wishes, Keep in Touch!

[ruby309 10]

Thanks for the info. I want to get back to the point of satiety. I want to be satisfied with small portions, and healthy foods. Since my Fluid was removed, I crave sugar and carbohydrates. I don't know if the cravings are mental or physical, but I'd like to end that cycle. Thanks fir talking with me.

Thanks for the info. I want to get back to the point of satiety. I want to be satisfied with small portions, and healthy foods. Since my fluid was removed, I crave sugar and carbohydrates. I don't know if the cravings are mental or physical, but I'd like to end that cycle. Thanks for talking with me.

[hokiemama 13]

I have had my band for 5 years and although I didn't get down to my goal weight, I had been around 158-165 for a year (my goal was 140). My band became irritated and tight and I started having a lot of difficulty getting any food down. I was miserable and ended up getting all of my Fluid out, so that my esophagus could heal. That was only a couple of months ago. I am now up to 199!!! It is my fault of course. Once my Fluid was out, I was pretty much binging daily. I really am shocked at how much I have gained so FAST though. I finally got 5 ccs of fluid put back in last month. However, I was used to having a lot more than that (8-9 ccs) and the 5 feels like nothing. I went back in yesterday and 1 cc was added. Now that the holidays are over, I have started back with exercise, counting calories, and drinking Water. I am so discouraged though. I was within 20 lbs of my goal weight but now I am 60 lbs away!! I am mad at myself. I know exactly how it happened and how to lose it again, it just SUCKS that I let myself gain the weight back that I said I never would. Good luck to all of those who are starting over again, for the first, second, or tenth time!

[meggs353 118]

Oh man, that sounds frustrating. It's so easy to beat ourselves up about weight gains. Yes, parts of it are within our control but so much of weight loss is a biological and psychological mind field. In other words - it's tough. Kudos to you for staring over and not giving up. Break your goals down into small chunks to help them become more attainable. Be kind to yourself and take your time losing weight the right way. The band should help you feel full with less food, rather than physically restrict you from eating. Good luck as you continue your journey!

[aussiejules 2]

I have had my band for 5 years and although I didn't get down to my goal weight, I had been around 158-165 for a year (my goal was 140). My band became irritated and tight and I started having a lot of difficulty getting any food down. I was miserable and ended up getting all of my Fluid out, so that my esophagus could heal. That was only a couple of months ago. I am now up to 199!!! It is my fault of course. Once my Fluid was out, I was pretty much binging daily. I really am shocked at how much I have gained so FAST though. I finally got 5 ccs of fluid put back in last month. However, I was used to having a lot more than that (8-9 ccs) and the 5 feels like nothing. I went back in yesterday and 1 cc was added. Now that the holidays are over, I have started back with exercise, counting calories, and drinking Water. I am so discouraged though. I was within 20 lbs of my goal weight but now I am 60 lbs away!! I am mad at myself. I know exactly how it happened and how to lose it again, it just SUCKS that I let myself gain the weight back that I said I never would. Good luck to all of those who are starting over again, for the first, second, or tenth time!

I am going through exactly the same thing so mad at myself for giving up and being weak

Sent from my GT-I9305T using the BariatricPal App

[ruby309 10]

I began this thread and today I received a reply on my topic. I re-read everything that was written over the past year. I would like to thank all of you that responded with comments and suggestions that either encouraged or sympathized with my weight loss history. But, for those that felt the need to shame me for my failures, I feel the need to respond. I don't need to be ridiculed or chastised by you for my failure. I do that enough to myself. Now, if you have something pertinent to add, that might give me a new mindset or a tip that has worked in making you progress. Please feel free to share. But, shaming me for my inability to win at lap band will be met with a "shut the H**L up!"

[ruby309 10]

And...to those of you who shared your thoughts and ideas constructively or told me about your weight loss wins and struggles. Thank you. I sincerely appreciate your input.