Anyone NEVER found proper restriction?

Yvonne · May 28, 2008

Hi all,

Been banded 19 months and still haven't found restriction - briefly experienced it after a large fill but it went when the swelling went down.

I'm at 8.9ml in a 10ml band - was too tight before at 9ml and had to have some out - the fill provider said some fill is lost at every fill so the 8.9 amount might not be accurate.

Now my surgeon thinks I've got restriction and just eating around it - I can't eat certain foods like Pasta and other things get stuck but I can still eat bread and large portions - I feel like having the whole fill out and going on a diet again - the only weight I lost was when dieting in the first six months and I've just been maintaining since then.

Anyone going/gone through the same? I feel like a failure.

Yvonne

x

gilliebean · May 28, 2008

dont feel like that when was your last fill maybe since your swelling is down you can handle a little more now. Maybe you do need to diet and help the band do its job. Also what i do cause i to can still eat large portions i eat my 4 to 6 oz of meat then i eat lots of veggies and fill up on those. Hope this helps atleast some

ukangel · May 30, 2008

Hi all,
Been banded 19 months and still haven't found restriction - briefly experienced it after a large fill but it went when the swelling went down.

I'm at 8.9ml in a 10ml band - was too tight before at 9ml and had to have some out - the fill provider said some fill is lost at every fill so the 8.9 amount might not be accurate.

Now my surgeon thinks I've got restriction and just eating around it - I can't eat certain foods like Pasta and other things get stuck but I can still eat bread and large portions - I feel like having the whole fill out and going on a diet again - the only weight I lost was when dieting in the first six months and I've just been maintaining since then.

Anyone going/gone through the same? I feel like a failure.

Yvonne

x

You could have been writing this thread for me.

......

I have discovered the foods that do not go down and I have discovered the foods that slip down easily. I have actually not lost any weight since November and yet I have not actually put anything on.

I no longer even attempt to eat normal food and just eat foods that slip down foods that are usually are not the healthiest.

I just do not not know what to do. I am really frustrated and feel completely at a loss of what to do.

Any ideas?

2007tam · June 1, 2008

I totally understand, I was banded on 9-7-07 and do not feel resticted MUCH at all. I have onlylost about 20lbs and worry I can gain that back. I can eat ANYTHING I want as long as I CHEW properly and if I dont t just comes up anyways, Sometimes I wish I would have done the gastric bypass casue I am hungry just like becasue but have PAIN swoaaling instead of having a small stomach.............Let me know what u think..Tammy Ceres CA........................

Hi all,
Been banded 19 months and still haven't found restriction - briefly experienced it after a large fill but it went when the swelling went down.

I'm at 8.9ml in a 10ml band - was too tight before at 9ml and had to have some out - the fill provider said some fill is lost at every fill so the 8.9 amount might not be accurate.

Now my surgeon thinks I've got restriction and just eating around it - I can't eat certain foods like Pasta and other things get stuck but I can still eat bread and large portions - I feel like having the whole fill out and going on a diet again - the only weight I lost was when dieting in the first six months and I've just been maintaining since then.

Anyone going/gone through the same? I feel like a failure.

Yvonne

x

Yvonne · June 1, 2008

Glad I'm not alone

I've been referred to a dietician but I don't see the point - bit angry about it really cos I need restriction not someone telling me what to eat - I've been being good and that's why I've been maintaining - I could be sitting eating crap all day - then I'd see the point of a dieticians advice.

I thought I'd give the fills one more go then if that fails I'd get the whole fill out and go it alone - at least I could eat healthily and not have to worry about food getting stuck. I know the difference between a blockage and restriction.

The whole point of the band is the restriction limits your portion size - we haven't got that so what do we do? I'm fed up with people assuming it's my fault I'm not losing - I know restriction and I haven't got it. Why don't they believe me.

I'm on the NHS here so have to wait till I'm referred for a fill - prob is they didn't let me have one last time so I think I'll have to be forceful and ask for one - not good at sticking up for myself - no confidence. I could even put up with being really tight - as long as I could get fluids down (I had to have an unfill because fluids kept coming back up last time) We know our own bodies - I just wish they'd listen and understand.

I'll let you know what happens at my next appointment this month and with my next fill should I be granted one.

Take care all - and let us know how you're doing and if you ever find true restriction.

Yvonne

x

elli · June 1, 2008

Hi I'v been banded since 2006 and still haven't found restriction also only briefly experiencing it after a large fill.

I'm at 10ml in a 11ml band but seem to be the opposite to you as I can eat Pasta and such but not bread.< /p>

I have not lost any weight for months just stayed the same weight. I am so fed up at present with this situation and dont know if it would be wise to get a fill - will be up to my limit if i do.

2007tam · June 8, 2008

I am so glad to hear I am NOT ALONE, I really wish I would have done the actual bypass, but now I am stuck with this band and swallowing discomfort and lots of throwing up,,,, let me know how your next fill goes OK.talk to ya soon tammy :0

KCV · June 12, 2008

Ive been banded 2 1/2 months now and I have not had and any restriction. I have had one fill and I go in today for another, I am worried sick this I will be of those people that this don't work for. No one ever talked about this, I wish I would have been informed.

Mama Bird · June 14, 2008

Hi, I have had the same problem and find myself also wishing I had done the gastric bypass. The band just doesn't seem to work for me like it does for some people. I experienced the same thing you did and decided to have all the Fluid taken out and give my will-power a go, I have since gained 20 lbs from the day of my surgery. It has been 2 and a half years since I have had any fluid in my band. I find myself absolutely miserable with my present weight and am trying to weigh all the options. The band was always either too loose where I could eat pretty much anything, except bread; or too tight, where I couldn't even get down a sip of hot tea. I also could never eat anything before 6:00pm, I could only drink Water. Then, after 6:00, I would start to eat, throw up, eat, throw up, eat, throw up, then suddenly I felt something happen and could eat whatever I wanted. I would find myself eating way too much because I knew that it would be 24 hrs. before I would be able to eat again. Not my idea of fun, and definately not the way the band should work. I have never found the band to work for me and am wondering if I should give it one last go now that it has been so long, or just have the thing removed and converted to gastric bypass. Soooo confused. I too feel like a failure.:confused2: Michelle

Browneyedlady74 · June 22, 2008

I have had my band since June 2005. I lost 80 lbs with by total starvation in two years. I was so sick last October when my band shut off all together, and no food or Water could go down. My doctor sent me to the emergency room. He wanted me open because he said I was way to tight all this time. He said thats why I didn't loose tons. They opened me up and omg the weight poured back on.They said I needed a holiday to get healthier again. I thought im a malnuroushed fat girl:( They say my problem is medical and I can't have a slice of bread a day because my body does not process it. Every carb i put to my mouth they say sticks to my body. My Doctor has filled me and loosened me. My band has never been right. It is horrible. I feel like such a failure. I really had my mind set to this and tried only to loose 80 lbs in 2 yrs. I am so frusterated that I am looking at the mini gastric option. Im going to try again. My doctor says I can do it. He says he is so sorry i have not had a good fill. He only wants me to eat protien for 4 months. He will give me a pill to make this possible. Please cross your fingers. I'm so sad and frusterated :smile::redface: :lol: Also i am looking for someone who struggled in the beginning and was a success at the end. Please reply .

westcoastmom · June 23, 2008

I am so sorry you are all struggling. To live with this for so long - and then to try something extreme and then feel like it is not working is so difficult.

I have been afraid to try to get to restriction - I am too afraid to deal with vomiting, getting stuck and other not to pleasant side effects. I have tried to just use having the band as a way to change my habits, but it has been so many years of bad habits.

There have been a few things that have stuck with me from meetings with our fill nurse that I have been trying to remember each day. She stresses that the lap band is there not to give us restriction, but to help with satiety. The idea is to help feel more satisfied between meals so we can stop thinking about food so much.

The hard part for me is that I still have to make the choice to stop eating - I have to decide when I am satisfied (not too full).

Another thing she stresses about restriction is not being too tight - being comfortable enough to eat the kinds of food that don't just slide down. I also have to make the right choices of foods at meals and Snacks for this. I would rather have crackers and dip - and not chicken and steamed veggies.

She stresses that we can always choose to eat more, drink extra calories or eat soft foods.

This all stuff I have to work on. There is no blame here! I am hungry a lot. Sometimes I know it is just because I seem my kids eating something. Or just because I smell something. But other times, I know it is because I have not had any fills yet (yes, I am a chicken).

There has been so much of the time that I have wondered about the decision I made to get the band. But I don't think I could have gone to any other type of surgery.

For now, it has helped me to be really mindful of what I am eating and how much I am eating. I am still eating what I enjoy - just not very much of it. I have cut out a lot of things that are not so important to me. And I try really hard to stick to the amount of food that is recommended. I am surprised that I can get full of such a small amout of food (1 slice of thin pizza eating very slow instead of the 4 I would have eaten without remembering) - and I get a bit more enjoyment out of food since I am forcing myself to eat slower and concentrate on what I am eating.

I really wish you all some relief and comfort.

Beagle · June 24, 2008

The sister of a guy I work with had everything removed from her band and waited a few weeks. Then, she started having fills again. It worked for her. She has lost almost too much now. Just something to think about.

*JASMINE* · June 24, 2008

Hi,

I've been banded since 2005 and am in the same boat. I had a massive fill back in January of this year and was too tight. That really screwed with my head. Had an unfill and am now in the same place as before the January fill. I never want to be that tight again. The financial and mental stress of fills has gotten to me and I have decided that I'm just going to have to measure everything because that's the only way I know how to stop. There is no full feeling, until it's too late. And then there is just pain, no PBs. Some of us will just never find that sweet spot, I guess.

Yvonne · July 2, 2008

Hi all,

Have had a chat with my surgeon, explained about the lack of proper restriction and he's agreed to take all the fill out so I can go it alone. They will still monitor me every couple of months so that should keep me on the straight and narrow. Just waiting now for my fill appointment - can't come soon enough. Longing to have meat, salad, fruit and veg again, and to be able to eat without getting stuck - heaven. Will diet as I did in the first six months with no fill - take turns about with a low cal diet then the Atkins diet when my weight stalls.

Will let you know how I get on.

How are you all getting on?

Yvonne

x

Sades · July 2, 2008

I'm at 9cc in a 10cc band and I am going for a barium meal tomorrow morning. I was only thinking on the way home tonight that I might speak to my dr about doing just that. If the xray shows that all is okay I might see what he says about removing it all and starting all over again.