I wish I wouldn't Have!

[hammer1 1]

After a little over a year with the band, I have reached the point where I wish I wouldn't have done this.

I started out at 511 lbs and lost 80 lbs in the first 6 months and have been losing and gaining the same 10 lbs ever since.

My problem was obviously not actual hunger, but emotional, and sadly, the band wasn't designed to do anything for that.

Since I'm no longer losing weight, all the band is, is another buden to bear in a life that's already full of them. And now I will have to endure surgery again in orde to rid myself of this particular burden. Lord what did I do?

It was a kneejerk decision that I should have spent more time on.

My doctor was a great surgeon but his after care and support leave a lot to be desired. I even attempted to join a different support group at a local hospital and they said "SURE", we just need $1500.00 up front and we will help you!

Yeah right!

Hammer

Edited August 7, 2008 by hammer1

[mylapspirit 2]

Dear hammer,

I feel very sad to hear that you are thinking of giving up. Please don't do that. Maybe you just need a fill to get you back on track. Maybe you need some counseling. Do you keep a food journal? You must not give up on your band. It is a wonderful weight loss tool but you have to be willing to do some of the work yourself. And if no one has ever told you this you are worth it.

I have to food journal everyday to have the success I have had so far. I do exercise but only do the minimum of 30 minutes per day.

You can do this hammer. If you need support I will be your support person. There is much support you can obtain from this site. There are Back On Track programs you can subscribe to online. There are good books you can read on Weight Loss Surgery. Maybe you should think about getting the band removed and having Gastric Bypass but there are still rules you will need to follow to gain success.

What can I do to help you succeed at this?

shelli

[Melody2006 1]

I think a lot of people that don't know about the band just think it's an easy fix, and a cop out way to loose weight. Once I learned about it I was shocked. I learned I would be making changes and I would be giving up a few things for good. I "self" learned here and on youtube.com. Only to have what I learned confirmed when I asked my surgeons office if these things were true.

What they tell you in classes isn't the big picture. This is hard work! And you do have to make changes. Average people say, oh you'll be forced to eat less and you can eat what ever you want just smaller portions of it. Sure, thats true but you can not loose an ounce that way too. You can eat icecream all day and let it slide right thru and not loose much at all. That would just be a waste of the whole effort.

I think this band was good for someone like me who eats normal but at the first few hunger pangs grabs anything and binges. I can no longer binge. When I don't feel hunger I have self control. For me it was a good choice.

I also think the band would be a bad choice for "grazing all day long" eaters who take bites of everything all day long and who are in denial. I also think it's not gonna work for anyone that can't stick to the basic band rules. The surgeons don't tell you that because they want to get paid.

The band is a tool to help you deal with a food addiction. If your not ready to quit your food addiction and your still stuck with excuses in your life not to change, the lap band just isn't gonna work. It's not the complete answer to your food addiction problem. I think more people need to hear this truth before they are in your shoes. I'm sorry you weren't told the real deal.

[MyTurn 4]

Well, I haven't been banded yet so I might not be the right person to respond to this but I do hope you don't jump into a deciison you'll regret. You sound as if you need someone to talk to, someone who can help you go through your issues step-by-step. Do you have a family doctor who can suggest someone to help you? Maybe your insurance has referals for councilors in your area. PLEASE be careful about making quick decisions and be very good to yourself. You DO DESERVE to be happy. Post on this board and have a laugh or two, learn something about yourself, and just keep trying to move foreward. GOD bless.

[maryrose 2]

Hi Hammer,

First of all, give yourself a pat on the back for losing 80 lbs. in one year. That is great.

I have been banded a year and 4 months and have lost 80 lbs.

I have learned during this time that this is not a "quick" fix. I am in a rut right now, but I am starting therapy. Do you have someone you can go to at the clinic?

We will hit many bumps, pot holes, etc. during this journey, but just don't give up.

This process takes time. Sometimes your body will just take a time out, but this is the time to reflect on the good things the band has done for you.

Can you get in to get a fill and also a nutrition counselling session? I find if I need to be "accountable" I lose more, which means getting to the clinic and getting weighed in. Yes, it can be painful, but look at all we went through to get this band!

Good luck!

[Kat817 19]

I agree with those thinking maybe it is time for some counceling. It does not have to be WLS connected, just a bystander, who you can unload all the thoughts and burdens you refer to on. It is not something to be shameful about, many of us find ourselves needing an emotional outlet. And like you most of us found that with food for a long time, so it is an easy shoe to slip back on.

It is so hard with the band to make blanket statements, because it truly is such an individual thing. With bypass, they actually cut away part of the stomach, and re route things the way they want them to be. With the band, they are in a sense banding you blind---they do not know exactly where the nerves are in conjunction with where they are placing the band. And where they place it seems to have serious differences in the early outcome of surgery. With some patients the band placement hits the nerve, or applies immediate pressure, to where hunger is reduced or eliminated, and in others it takes several fills to not only reach restriction, but also to cause pressure on these nerves eliminating the hunger issues.

The immediate questions that come to mind for me, concern over all depression, and if you are being treated for such---and maybe it is time to explore that---or if you are maybe a medication change.

The band is there, and 80 pounds in a year is nothing to sneeze at! I am 2.5 years out as well and lost it fairly slowly----but it beats me gaining in those 2 years which is what I would have done without the band.

When you see your Dr. discuss revisions with him/her and see if that is something you want to look into, I do understand the band is not for everyone.....but I do hope you will come back here for some support, and see if you cannot make it work for you again----just think another 80 pounds would make you a total of 160---Well on your way. You did not gain it overnight, and will not lose it in a healthy manner overnight either---that is what I kept having to remind myself of!!!

Good Luck, and I hope things begin to look up for you!

Kat

[irishmae11 0]

Reesa, I see your sig says you are from Rockford-may I ask where you were banded? I live in Elgin and had mine done at St Alexius in Hoffman Estates...my daughter lives in Rockford and also is a nurse in Rockford...I would love to see her have surgery also, but I am sure going to Hoffman is out of question for her...hoping there IS somebody out there doing surgery???

[hammer1 1]

As I said, I have very little "support" from the folks who performed my procedure, unless I am interested in the proper way to apply makeup, and I doubt my wife would ever look at me the same if I was interested in that.

So I will try some of you good people.

When I eat, is my food supposed to stop and sit on top of the band until it digests enough to work it's way through (30 min or so) or is it suppose to go through pretty quickly......considering?

How much should I be able to eat if my band was filled properly?

I have a 10cc band and it is half full.

Hammer

[Froggi 4]

I'm not banded yet but this site and the people on it are so helpful. Find out what others did and get advice before getting it removed. 80 lbs in a year is wonderful. Don't give up!! You can do it.

[Kat817 19]

Hammer, the best way I have been able to explain it, is to relate it to one of those cake decorating bags. With the bag being your stomach. Now as man you might not have had personal experience using one of the cake decorating bags, but you can still get the idea here!!

If you chew your food to a proper consistency, it will be like heavy sludge, or in this case the "frosting" in the bag. If you were to chew and swallow---and nothing else be happening, it would just sit there. But when you swallow the food, your stomach does not just sit there, it begins to churn and knead to aid in breaking down the food for digestion. When it squeezes, then the food pushes through. Just like applying pressure to the decorating bag by squeezing it pushes the frosting out. It does not run through, if it is hard Protein, and that sort of thing--------REAL food. Ice cream, and high sugar based foods that break down to nothing, will slide right on through. Which is why we refer to them around here as slider foods----they slide right on through, and just rack up calories.

It takes your stomach some time to work the food through, so you remain full for quite some time when your fill is at a proper restrictive level....which varies for everyone....slow and steady til you get to that point.

Now if you can imagine that you have the decorating bag full of nice creamy frosting.....and you drop in a grape----it will eventually plug off the opening, and nothing gets through...the same thing happens in your stomach if you eat too big of a bite or do not chew it really well. If it is something that your stomach cannot break down-------and it can be painful as it tries, then eventually it ends up in a PB---as the saliva you are swallowing will not pass either. This in most cases leads to a slime session, where your body will produce HUGE amounts of heavy saliva trying to help slick up the offending food and push it through. Just a side note, your body does this whether you are banded or not, anyone can slime! "Slime" is odorless, and basically tasteless, it is just thick spit. But it is in huge amounts, and you are blocked off, so there is nowhere for it to go, until it decides to just come up! Hello PB!

The reason we have been told not to drink with our meals is to keep the food a heavier consistency, so that it does take awhile as it works through. If you drink, you liquify a lot of it, and it flows right on through allowing you to eat more than you would have otherwise, and upping your caloric intake.

If you chew well, and eat healthy, the food will slowly work through. It does take awhile to get to the proper restriction for some people----it is such an individual thing.

When you can sit and eat a meal, and not be hungry for several hours, and yet not be uncomfortable.....that is what I perceive the Sweet Spot to be.

Hope you find yours soon!!!

Kat

[ReeRee 0]

Hi Hammer- Coming here to read and write can be a huge help. It is for me. We are all in the same boat and truly want the best for each other. When I have a hard time getting my mind off of food, I come to this site and look at "before/after" pictures. I get so impressed/inspired and keep looking at page after page - then forget about food. I look forward to my own success (that I know is around the corner). 80# is a magnificent accomplishment! Any of us would take it and be proud. Please don't give up =)

[Bigb 0]

Hi I started at 450 lbs. I was banded on 12-27-06 and lost 65 pounds pre-op and right after the surgery. On January 4th 2008 I weighed 444 pounds. That's right I gained it all back. I decided to get with it.I had already had 4 fills. I also have a 10cc band and at that point I had 7.5ccs in it. I did the eat right and exercise that we have all done a thousand times and lost done to about 410 pounds by the end of march. I suffered a great lose of a family member and did not lose any weight during April. I went back to the doc on May 15 and got another fill. He added another 1.5 ccs to put me up to 9 ccs and that day changed my life. Today I weighed 343 pounds. The band works. I felt the same as you, like it was a useless piece of crap. I now have respect for the power of the band. I would like to help if at all possible... BRAD

[Kat817 19]

Brad, you are SO right! Almost everyone who has eventually reached a wonderful restriction says it was a tiny adjustment that did it!

I was one of the lucky ones who reached that spot early on, but still did not imagine it to be such a difference!

My band is the 9.75 ml., that holds a max of 4cc.'s so it is a smaller band---most of the new ones are the larger band, my surgeon told me they are better for your stomach, less issues with slippage or erosion. But mine is fine for me!

Anyway, my first fill was 1.25cc's---and it did little if anything as far as restriction, it seemed like I had to remember to eat slower is all. So a month later, back I went---and he only gave me .50 cc. One half? That is less than half of what I got the first time, and I just knew it had been a waste of time (6 hour drive one way to be filled) and money. Well my fill Dr. puts you on liquids for a day or so following a fill, so it is really hard to judge right away. But boy let me tell you when I finally ate again, I KNEW what restriction was!!! For a week or so, I could eat no more than 5-6 bites a meal! I had 6 meals a day, but was getting scared, because the weight was dropping, but I did not feel like I was getting enough in for proper nutrition! Eventually it relaxed, and I have never had another fill!

I am in fact totally unfilled at this point, having it removed back in early May preparing for my TT----and have not had a need to refill yet.

Restriction is so individual, if you will just relax, and take it slow--small increments, but STEADY---------keep seeing the Dr. and letting him/her tweak it just a bit, you WILL find a spot that makes doing this with the band---a VERY doable thing!!

Kat

[Bea1128 1]

It's so true about fills. Everyone is different. I had my 3rd fill at the beginning of July. After that one, it was "wow, this is restriction!!". I had been doing great until last week when I got a stomach bug. I went in to have an unfill. My doc only removed 1/4 cc (which is a tiny amount), but it made all the difference in the world. It was instant relief. Now of course that I'm healthy again, it also means I have absolutely no restriction. I could eat anything I wanted. All from just a 1/4 cc. I also know that in a couple of weeks I'll go back and have it put back in, but until then it's all on me. I have to eat right and exercise if I don't want to gain any weight. I don't want to gain back what I've already lost so I'm going to be good. That's my responsibility in this. My band will work for me again, but until then I just have to do it myself. Having good restriction is what it is all about. If we don't take responsibility for that, it won't work. And until we get good restriction we have to give up things that work against us. Don't give up, just make it work for you. If you feel it's your doc who is not giving good aftercare, then insist that you get it. Keep going back until he understands what you are going through. And as always, you can always find good support on this site. It might take a little research, but there is probably a thread somewhere here that is just what you need. Good luck and keep us posted!!!

[hammer1 1]

Hi I started at 450 lbs. I was banded on 12-27-06 and lost 65 pounds pre-op and right after the surgery. On January 4th 2008 I weighed 444 pounds. That's right I gained it all back. I decided to get with it.I had already had 4 fills. I also have a 10cc band and at that point I had 7.5ccs in it. I did the eat right and exercise that we have all done a thousand times and lost done to about 410 pounds by the end of march. I suffered a great lose of a family member and did not lose any weight during April. I went back to the doc on May 15 and got another fill. He added another 1.5 ccs to put me up to 9 ccs and that day changed my life. Today I weighed 343 pounds. The band works. I felt the same as you, like it was a useless piece of crap. I now have respect for the power of the band. I would like to help if at all possible... BRAD

Thanks Brad, I can use all the help I can get. I have really been low for the last six months or so and It seems by reading what you and the others are saying, it's mostly my own fault. I haven't been to see the Dr. in quite a while and I'm sure that's part of the problem right there. Also, like I said earlier, I have never been completely sure how the band was supposed to work. It sounds as if my food is supposed to stop there for a little while until it digests enough to slip on through. I have been eating too much Soup and other slippery foods that don't sit above the band for any length of time, therefore I'm defeating the purpose of the band.

Anyway, thanks to you and everyone else for your advice. I am going to implement some of the suggestions right away. I will keep in contact and let you guys know how it's going.

I'm going to try to see my Dr. on 8/13 and get another fill.

Thanks,

Hammer

Edited August 10, 2008 by hammer1