FAILURE WITH LAP-BAND

[success150 12]

GOOD EVENING, EVERYONE.

jUST LIKE WE NEED TO HEAR ABOUT THE SUCCESS OF THE LAP-BAND i BELIEVE THAT WE ALSO NEED TO HEAR ABOUT THE FAILURE OF THE LAP-BAND AS WELL. i AM NOT SAYING THAT THE LAP-BAND ITSELF IS A FAILURE, JUST THAT i FAILED AT HAVING THE LAP-BAND. i AM FROM SHREVEPORT, LOUISIANA AND DR. GEORGE MERRIMAN WAS MY SURGEON.

HELLO, MY NAME IS LISA STARKS AND I BECAME A BANDSTER BACK IN 2011, I FORGET THE MONTH AND DAY. WHEN I FIRST DECIDED TO GET THE BAND I REMEMBER FEELING NERVOUS, EXCITED, AND SCARED ALL AT THE SAME TIME. I REMEMBER THINKING, I AM FINALLY GOING TO LOSE THE WEIGHT AND BE SOMEWHAT SMALL AGAIN. HOWEVER, I STILL WAS ANXIOUS AND COULDN'T WAIT UNTIL THE VERY DAY OF THE SURGERY.

AFTER WAKING UP FROM THE SURGERY I REMEMBER FEELING SO MUCH PAIN AND HUNGRY TOO ONLY TO HEAR YOU HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL THE DOCTOR SAYS YOU CAN EAT SOMETHING. WHEN I FINALLY DID GET SOMETHING TO EAT I REMEMBER FEELING FULL AFTER ABOUT 3 OR 4 SIPS OF THAT YUCKY broth.

ANYWAYS AFTER GETTING SETTLED IN AFTER ARRIIVING HOME, I MADE MY FIRST MISTAKE. i WAS DRINKING 4-0Z OF broth OVER A PERIOD OF ONE HOUR, MAN WAS I HUNGRY, ABOUT THE TIME OF THE SECOND PHASE, I WASNT READY TO CONSUME SEMI-SOLIDS AS I THOUGHT I WAS BECAUSE food STARTED TO GET STUCK IN MY ESOPHAGUS. THAT IS SOME PAINFUL ORDEAL LET ME TELL YA. ALL THOUGH I WAS CHEWING SLOW, TAKING SMALL BITES AND TAKING MY TIME THE food JUST KEPT GETTING STUCK. i COMPLAINED TO THE DOCTOR AND HE WENT IN AND PUT A SCOPE DOWN TO SEE IF I HAD ANY BLOCKAGE OR IF SOMETHING WAS STUCK IN MY ESOPHAGUS THAT WAS PREVENTING ME FROM PASSING THE FOOD CORRECTLY AND TO OUR SURPRISE THEIR WAS NOTHING WRONG AND RIGHT TO DAY I AM STILL EXPERIENCING THIS.

NEVER THE LESS, i STARTED OUT DOING GOOD ONCE I GOT BACK ON THE RIGHT TRACK WITH HOW MUCH I WAS SUPPOSED TO CONSUME BY THE HOUR AND THE FOOD STOPPED GETTING STUCK. iN TWO MONTHS TIME I WAS DOWN 29.9 POUNDS AND I WAS 308 POUNDS WHEN i STARTED. i CONTINUED TO FOLLOW THE DOCTORS ORDERS BUT i WAS DOING LITTLE TO NO EXERCISE. NEEDLESS TO SAY BY fEBRUARY OF 2012 i HAD GOT DOWN TO 266 POUNDS. i WAS SO EXTATIC. i HAD LOSS A TOTAL OF 42 POUNDS. YALL I FELT SO GOOD , I WAS ABLE TO DO THINGS LIKE TAKE THE STAIRS, BEND OVER AND TIE MY SHOES, AND WALK LONGER WITH OUT GETTING SHORT OF BREATH. i WAS ALSO ABLE TO FIT IN A DRESS THAT HUNG LOOSELY ON ME. i WAS EXCITED ABOUT LOSING EVEN MORE WEIGHT AND THEN THE DEVIL KICKED IN. i STARTED EATING THINGS THAT WERE NOT PART OF THE PLAN AND SO i GAINED ALL THAT WEIGHT BACK.

NOW I AM MISERABLE AND TRYING TO LOSE THE WEIGHT ALL OVER AGAIN. IT IS HARD BECAUSE i AM DIABETIC AND I AM HAVING TO TRY TO CONTROL THAT AS WELL WHICH IS NOT GOING SO WELL. THE DOCTOR HAS BEEN TRYING FOR OVER A YEAR NOW TO GET MY A1-C DOWN TO THE CORRECT LEVEL. i WALK ON THE TREADMILL BUT I'M NOT ABLE TO DO MUCH MORE THAN THAT BECAUSE OF SEVERAL PHYSICAL IMPAIRMENTS AND HEALTH ISSUES. BUT TO GOD BE THE GLORY I AM GOING TO BEAT THIS THING, BECAUSE GREATER IS HE THAT IS IN ME THAN HE THAT IS IN THE WORLD.

I HOPE I HAVENT' BORED YALL TO DEATH WITH MY STORY BUT I NEEDED TO TELL IT JUST IN CASE SOME ONE ELSE IS STRUGGLING LIKE I AM. HANG IN THERE AND THE LORD WILL SEE US THROOUGH.

THANKS FOR LISTENING.

[Jkgbander 9]

Thanks for talking about this issue. I am experiencing the same. I was banded almost 3 years ago, lost 60# and did great for the first 2-1/2 years kept it off. Now for the last 6 months my weight is really coming back on me. I spent $1,000 on new clothes and now I'm in trouble. I've probably gained 25# back, I don't want to weigh. My doctor retired, plus I have only 1/2 cc restriction, after surgery I could not tolerate the liquid in my band PERIOD it was horrible made 2 trips to ER to have liquid removed and they left only 1/2cc which I have been able to tolerate and lost what I needed to lose.

So now what do I do??? I am so upset! I'm hungry, not starving but I know I'm probably eating tortilla chips and queso a little more often than I should when eating out. Has anyone got burned out on certain foods and craved certain foods for a long time then not been able to eat them? That happened to me, I was eating salmon salmon salmon ALL the time, but now I want filet steaks. It's so weird how my taste buds change. Ok, thanks for letting me vent. Would love hearing from anyone else if you are experiencing these same problems too. The other thing I work out and walk at least 4x a week.

[meggs353 118]

Sorry to hear about your struggles! It's not easy. But the more I'm on these boards the more I realize that almost EVERYONE struggles by gaining weight at one time or another (sometimes a little, sometimes a LOT). It doesn't mean you're a failure or you've done anything wrong, it just means you're human. The good news though is I've also read lots of stories of people who have come back from weight gain and lost all or most of it again! So it's okay if you slipped now, you can still get back to where you were!

I would recommend going back to your dr (or a new one if your surgeon retired). They are so used to seeing this that they won't be surprised or disappointed - it's just part of the journey. And the surgeons want to help you be successful, so they can help you get back on track. (If you don't have that experience, get a new dr, please don't let anyone make you feel bad about it). The other thing is getting back to basics. Go back to all the band 101 rules. The band is a great but imperfect tool. Good luck, I believe you can both succeed!

[B-52 7,113]

I'm 5+ years out, and have to say, the band is the best thing that I could have ever done....and I have no fear of ever gaining any weight back as long as the band is there....

One thing I have noticed over the years.....many people saying they "Fell off the wagon" or "Need to get back on track"

and that they are gaining the weight back.

The band is also adjustable and it can be adjusted from one end where the patient is in charge and calls all the shots, to the other end where the band is totally in charge, and somewhere in between.

I lean towards the end where the band makes all the decisions....the band has decided I need to stop eating certain foods, the band decides the size of my portions making it impossible to over eat.

I read here all the time people talking about eating certain foods that is just impossible for me to eat...so there is a difference, a range of how the band is adjusted.

The deciding factor for surgery was the fact that no matter how many diets I've tried, the diet drugs - injections i"ve taken, hypnosis, counseling, you name it, I could not loose weight....

Surgery was a last resort.....

I went into this with the full expectations that the band is going to be in charge, dictate my eating for the rest of my life....because I know, if left up to me, I will fail!

So as the band got adjusted over time, the thing I had to learn was how to comply and not fight the band....learn to live with it by changing what and how I eat....

And I cannot be happier for it.

And no matter how your band is adjusted is not the real issue...if you're losing (lost) the weight, then that is all that matters...

[Sharpie 3,306]

Had my band done Jan 2013, I was diabetic, had high cholesterol and high blood pressure, in other words I was a ticking time bomb. I had been on every diet known to man , shots, pills, nutrisystem, jenny craig, weight watchers, etc. lost tons of weight only to re-gain. my a1c was way over the normal limit. once I became banded I made up my mind to be successful and get my health under control. I have had close family members die from complications of diabetes and heart disease. I wish I had had my band many years ago but I am happy with the results. It takes patient compliance, it just doesn't do it by itself. Like B52 says, if the band tells you what to do, it's best to listen. I still forget to eat slowly sometimes but Miss Band lets me know about it. I am exercising 4 x a week and would like to lose a few more lbs. but I am extremely happy with my band.

[success150 12]

To Meggs, Sharpie, and B-52 thanks a bunch for your replies, comments, and advice. It means a lot and its great to have this online support.

I will take everything that you all said into consideration and do my best to get back on track.

Thanks again,

Success.