I have failed my band - SUPPORT GROUP

[StrangeDz 1]

My goal for tomorrow is to drink more than 48 oz of Water. Have gotten into a horrible habit of hitting Sonic for my daily fix of Diet Dr Pepper with Diet Cherry. Few calories but tons of sodium. But, it tastes so good!!

I'm impressed you can still drink soda! I take one sip and I burp instantly. More than a sip and it comes back up with the burp. I sure do miss soda......

[Victorylover 0]

Well here goes. I am a recovering alcoholic 16 months sober. I had my band put in 3 1/2 years ago. At first all was well then I got to tight. I started drinking HEAVLY one of the few things that went down just fine. If I was not drinking alcohol I was eating Cookies and drinking no fat mocha lattes. I lived like this for about 1 1/2 years. Now and again I would keep down some Protein, but was more interested in loosing weight, which I was. I lost 70 lbs. and felt bullet proof Cookies, ice-cream lattes bring it on!

Sept. 10, 2009 I went to rehab to detox from xanax & alcohol. I never told my weight loss Dr any of this. The throwing up continued to the point soft food was all I could eat. I finally came clean after finding out I have an ulcer, dilated pouch and dilated esophagus. I have a 4 cc band they removed most of my Fluid now at 1.1 cc's still in pain.

To make a long story short YES addiction does run in families. I hope this helps someone to not take the path i did. I am now digging myself out of the pit i fell in.

[Suzzzie. 3]

Hi everyone.

I am so glad I found this thread!!

I used to be a regular around here at LBT, but when I stopped losing and started gaining, I fell away.

So here is my story.

I was banded in June 2007 at around 380lbs. It was my 30th birthday present to myself. By May 2008 I weighed around 270. That is the thinnest I had been since I was in high school. Well, in the last week of April I started having a lot of indigestion. This went on for 3 weeks, and all I was eating was literally about 3-5 crackers a day and was good to get down a single bottle of Water a day, I was in so much pain. So on my birthday, May 12, I went in for an unfill. I think the ARNP took out like 2cc. And it was almost instant relief. AND, since it was my birthday I decided to get with friends and have some ice cream. Afterall, I hadn't really eaten in 3 weeks.

Well, that was my total and complete UNDOING! A few weeks later I went back in and got 1cc fill. I had good restriction, but I wasn't as committed as I was before the whole unfill ordeal. I quit exercising and was eating all the wrong things.

2 1/2 years later:

I have recommitted myself to my band. I went in for a check 4 weeks ago and learned that I had stretched my pouch. So the ARNP that does my fills unfilled me! I was devastated. For the past 4 weeks I had no restriction at all! I've had my band for 3 1/2 years, so that was quit a shock. I ate thinks like pizza, Pasta, burgers...things I haven't had in years. I gained 8 pounds. I am officially really close to my initial weight. I went back in yesterday (1/14) and my pouch was better so he gave me 3.5cc fill. I have restriction now, but its not super great, so I have to make good choices. I am 1000% re-dedicated to losing weight. I just wish I didn't have to gain it all back to get myself back on track!

I am back to planning out healthy meals and Snacks. I am writing down every bite I take. I am back on Protein shakes. I *plan* on starting to exercise again. Lol.

[Suzzzie. 3]

Congrats to you for going through rehab and and doing what needed to be done to get you healthy and on the right track! I know it couldn't have been easy for you.

Well here goes. I am a recovering alcoholic 16 months sober. I had my band put in 3 1/2 years ago. At first all was well then I got to tight. I started drinking HEAVLY one of the few things that went down just fine. If I was not drinking alcohol I was eating Cookies and drinking no fat mocha lattes. I lived like this for about 1 1/2 years. Now and again I would keep down some Protein, but was more interested in loosing weight, which I was. I lost 70 lbs. and felt bullet proof Cookies, ice-cream lattes bring it on!

Sept. 10, 2009 I went to rehab to detox from xanax & alcohol. I never told my weight loss Dr any of this. The throwing up continued to the point soft food was all I could eat. I finally came clean after finding out I have an ulcer, dilated pouch and dilated esophagus. I have a 4 cc band they removed most of my Fluid now at 1.1 cc's still in pain.

To make a long story short YES addiction does run in families. I hope this helps someone to not take the path i did. I am now digging myself out of the pit i fell in.

[scoutmama 0]

I am totally ashamed and embarassed! I had my surgery 7/3/2008, I lost 120 pounds. I have gained back about 60 pounds! I was doing so well...I need to get back in for an adjustment, I have called a couple of times, and they are booked like a month out... so, I don't schedule.. making excuses and sabotaging myself!

Well, I have had enough. I am really afraid that I have stretched out my pouch... I am going to start the 5 day pouch test tomorrow. Has anyone done this? Should I just follow the plan, or should I do liquids longer than the first 2 days?

I have to get my weight loss back under control...I have 2 pairs of "work" pants, and only because I broke down and bought them and they are geting tight! I was so excited with my weight loss that I had given away all my clothes that had gotten to big!

So, I am making a new commitment to myself! Tomorrow I will start on Day One of liquids, I will call and schedule my appt, even if it is a month out! I will wean myself of those darn McDonald's sweet teas! I will exercise!

[Suzzzie. 3]

Good for you for jumping back on the horse. I know I was so embarrassed to go back in for fill adjustments after I gained back the 100lbs I had lost! And then it was even worse cause my pouch was stretched out. As I said above, I was unfilled for 3 weeks to correct it and gained 8lbs in the process, so I really do hope that your "5day pouch test" works (I've never heard of this, btw, I wish I had!)

I had also gotten rid of all my largest clothes as I was losing weight and as I started to regain I would slowly buy new, bigger clothes again...it is such a disappointment< but I only had myself to blame. I've been recommitted for 4 days now and its going fairly good. I get another fill in 3 weeks, and I'm excited about that cause I'm eating something (fruits, veggies) every 1-2 hrs between my small meals and am starving still! Lol!

Best of luck to you!

I am totally ashamed and embarassed! I had my surgery 7/3/2008, I lost 120 pounds. I have gained back about 60 pounds! I was doing so well...I need to get back in for an adjustment, I have called a couple of times, and they are booked like a month out... so, I don't schedule.. making excuses and sabotaging myself!

Well, I have had enough. I am really afraid that I have stretched out my pouch... I am going to start the 5 day pouch test tomorrow. Has anyone done this? Should I just follow the plan, or should I do liquids longer than the first 2 days?

I have to get my weight loss back under control...I have 2 pairs of "work" pants, and only because I broke down and bought them and they are geting tight! I was so excited with my weight loss that I had given away all my clothes that had gotten to big!

So, I am making a new commitment to myself! Tomorrow I will start on Day One of liquids, I will call and schedule my appt, even if it is a month out! I will wean myself of those darn McDonald's sweet teas! I will exercise!

[scoutmama 0]

Suzzzie, thank you~ I need encouragement. My husband got laid off today...I almost just walked into the kitchen and started eating, but I stopped myself. I had been all day with my liquids and I did not allow my emotions to sabotage me. I guess I have to look at it like this is the one thing I can control right now. At least I have to control this, I need to take control of it.

I wanted to ask you, how did they discover that your pouch was stretched and what did you have to do to "shrink" it?

[trinity2008 0]

Hello everyone,

It has been a while since I have been on here. I was banded back in April 2008 and a year ago i had dropped a good 60 pounds. But now I have put back my weight on again, back on metformin and now tripilex because my triglycerides are a whopping 344. I am back to where I was 3 years ago! I am very depressed. I do have a fill of 3.9 cc in my band. I dont eat fattening foods, however, my weakness is Cereal. I eat Cereal 3 times a day. who would have thought that cereal could cause a person to gain so much weight back!! i DO eat a reasonable dinner and the band works great. but then I need my cereal fix by 11 pm at night because i am hungry again. I HAVE concluded that I am a lap band failure but i keep hoping that its never too late. To some degree i feel that I am at the point of no return now. It depresses me. and I also know that exercise is important, but I have a fused ankle that prohibits me from walking and disc generation that prevents me from sitting and using my recumbent bike. My heart has enlarged again and sugar in my system leads my blood work to prediabetic again! HOW does a person overcome this ordeal??

[StrangeDz 1]

Hello everyone,

It has been a while since I have been on here. I was banded back in April 2008 and a year ago i had dropped a good 60 pounds. But now I have put back my weight on again, back on metformin and now tripilex because my triglycerides are a whopping 344. I am back to where I was 3 years ago! I am very depressed. I do have a fill of 3.9 cc in my band. I dont eat fattening foods, however, my weakness is cereal. I eat cereal 3 times a day. who would have thought that cereal could cause a person to gain so much weight back!! i DO eat a reasonable dinner and the band works great. but then I need my cereal fix by 11 pm at night because i am hungry again. I HAVE concluded that I am a lap band failure but i keep hoping that its never too late. To some degree i feel that I am at the point of no return now. It depresses me. and I also know that exercise is important, but I have a fused ankle that prohibits me from walking and disc generation that prevents me from sitting and using my recumbent bike. My heart has enlarged again and sugar in my system leads my blood work to prediabetic again! HOW does a person overcome this ordeal??

I find that eating solid Protein (meats, fish, beans) instead of carbs (cereal, breads, pastas) last longer and I dont get hungry as quickly. When I fill up on Protein, the urge for carbs is greatly reduced. Give it a try!

[Suzzzie. 3]

Scoutmama - They learned that I had stretched my pouch because we did a barium swallow and it was evident. Lol. It was the first time since the day of surgery that they had me do the barium swallow, and he only did it cause it had been over 2 years since I had been in for a check up and according to my chart I had 8cc in my 10cc band and had yet gained back nearly 100 pounds and I could eat almost anything, usually with no problem. (Not alot of food, but obviously too much.) Anyway, so in doing the swallow I could clearly see my pouch was stretched, and when watching the Fluid go through the band it was going really slow. At that time we did a complete unfill to see how much Fluid I actually had (6.5cc) and he gave me back 1cc at that time, otherwise I was pretty much completely unfilled for 3.5 weeks. When I went back in last week to see if my pouch was back down the way it was supposed to be (which it was) he gave me a 3.5cc fill (so I now have 4.5cc) and I can tell you that I have very minimal restriction. I've been writing down everything I eat for the past week and I try to get in Protein, fruits and veggies. I've been really trying to focus on, not only weightloss, but a nutritionally balanced diet. I've learned that when having an apple for a snack instead of a Snickers, I can eat alot more frequently. That is important to me because I am a "volume" eater.

Trinity - I can barely eat any cereal (last I checked!) because it would get stuck and cause me alot of pain. I truly miss my Fruity Pebbles!! Lol. I think if you really can't give it up (I know how hard it is to give up something you enjoy! My thing is chocolate every afternoon!) maybe you can cut it down to 2x a day, in smaller portions?

[this sucks 557]

Hey ladies! I am so glad to find this strand because I feel like I'm failing and my band is only 6 months in place. I've only lost about 32 pounds since my band surgery in July. I stopped coming to LB talk when I saw how little my loss was compared to everyone else. The band does work, but I'm not holding up my end of the bargain. I haven't lost any weight for the last eight weeks. I was filled to 4.5 cc in a 10 cc band and had to be unfilled because I couldn't eat enough at one time to hold me for more than an hour. In the last two months, my band was filled, unfilled and refilled back to the 4.5 level. I have had more "stuck" episodes with the higher fill. I know I need to exercise, but I continue finding excuses... Help! Why did I go through this surgery to have it not work???

[Suzzzie. 3]

Rkimom - As far as the "stuck" episodes (of which I've had PLENTY!) are you chewing small bites really well? I know most of the time I get stuck its when I am eating too quickly. I'm either taking too big of bites, or just not chewing enough. Evaluate those things and find out why you are getting stuck so much. Is it a certain type of food that causes you the most problems (like breads) or is it all types?

[ajtram 0]

My eyes are filled with tears after reading this thread. I have been having a pitty party for myself since July 2010 and honesty felt completely alone. Both of my parents and my little sister are success stories and I have struggled and have been angry and have all but gave up.

So here's my story...I was banded April 27, 2009. My starting weight was 251 lbs and I am only 5'2". I was doing great until August of that year when I received a fill that went over my sweet spot, so the doctor backed some out. This went on (being over filled and having it removed) through March 2010 when I had to have emergency gall bladder removal. I was assured that was the reason I was getting sick and not the band. I was down 65 lbs in March and was able to maintain it while being slowly filled back up. That is until July came around, and once again my doctor OVER filled me. This never should have happend because I told him I thought that he was putting to much in me and he assured me I was wrong. The next morning I woke up feeling like I was dying and continue being sick for a week not able to hold anything down not even liquid. By the time he was able to see me I was so dehydrate that I couldn't even stand. So once again he removed all of my fill. He has only be able to see me one time since then and I have no restriction.

I have been depressed since July and have honestly been on a eating binge. I am back up to 230 lbs and am horrified when I look at myself. I was so sure that I would never be in my big girl clothes anymore so I gave them all away. Now I look like a stuffed sausage with a big rig tire around my waist.

You have all inspired me!! I am going to get my log book back out and start over again. We are visited by Angels all the time and I feel that God brought me to this post to bring hope back in my heart. THANK YOU ALL!!! Best of Wishes.

[Ammastar 0]

Hi there, I was banded 12/29/2010 and feel like I have failed even before I started. I did really well the first few weeks and lost 15 lbs. Since then I haven't been able to lose anymore. I was excersisng twice a day and barely getting 1000 calories a day. Then vacation came and all of my great new habits went out the window. Then I had a hysterectomy a few days ago and can't seem to get myself back on track eating wise. I have indulged in a cake and Cookies the last few days, telling myself it was the only way I could get the disgusting medicine down. Knowing full well I am just hurting myself. I am so frustrated and disappointed in myself. On top of it all I have been in twice for a fill and they haven't done it yet. First time my port was tilted, second time was because I had just had the hysterectomy. I can't exercise for 2 more weeks. Ugh, weight loss is so frustrating. One set back seems to just ruin my whole outlook on my journey. Sorry all I just needed to vent.

[Mellie 0]

Hi all! I was banded on June 11, 2007. I started out at 278 and lost down to 227. I am now back up to 258. There have been alot of struggles in between. It started early on when my job went to self insured in July of 07 (one month after my surgery) leaving me with no coverage for my band. I didn't go to follow ups regularly because I couldn't afford it. In November of 2009 I had a complete unfill because of dilation. In July of 2010, my husband added me to his insurance so that I could get coverage for the band. I called to set up an appointment with my doctor, the soonest they could see me was in October. I took it and went in October only to be told that he wouldn't give me a fill but my esophagus had healed and he wanted me to start the band rules over without the fill for awhile. Since then, my doctor has closed his practice here and opened another 3 hours away. I found a great doctor a hour away and he is willing to work with me but last month, my husband got laid off his job and I have lost insurance again. Anyway, I am taking some of our tax money and going this Friday to get a fill, hopefully. I am so ready to get back on track and I have been trying really hard to follow the band rules. This past few years have been a roller coaster ride with this band. If I could do it again, I would go a different route. I'm just looking for some support now and someone to tell me that all is not lost and I can still achieve weight loss with this band.