Any Realize Bandsters Finally starting to lose weight after a long time

Sydney Lucy · July 4, 2009

:sad:I had the Realize Band in Nov 08 and have only lost 8lbs. I have had 4fills -the first 2 fills was up to 8cc in a 9cc band. The third fill was filled to 9cc and I ended up in the Hospital BC I could not hold anything down and I was in a lot of pain. They ended up taking all the liquid out of my band for two weeks due to swelling of the esophagus & stomach. I gained three lbs. back. I got 5.5cc put in three weeks ago and have lost 4lbs. So I am back to where I started. I can still eat a good bit and I feel hungry. I really thought I would have lost more by now and I want to find some people who had the realize band and finally started losing after several fills. I want to not give up hoping this will be a success. I am also working out 2-3 times a week -30min. Thanks for your help.

JoannMarie · July 5, 2009

:sad:I had the Realize Band in Nov 08 and have only lost 8lbs. I have had 4fills -the first 2 fills was up to 8cc in a 9cc band. The third fill was filled to 9cc and I ended up in the Hospital BC I could not hold anything down and I was in a lot of pain. They ended up taking all the liquid out of my band for two weeks due to swelling of the esophagus & stomach. I gained three lbs. back. I got 5.5cc put in three weeks ago and have lost 4lbs. So I am back to where I started. I can still eat a good bit and I feel hungry. I really thought I would have lost more by now and I want to find some people who had the realize band and finally started losing after several fills. I want to not give up hoping this will be a success. I am also working out 2-3 times a week -30min. Thanks for your help.

I'm so sorry to hear you are having a tough time. It has to be very frustrating.

I've not had your exact experience, but I am a slow loser. I am coming to terms with that since it is at least going in the right direction. I've averaged about a pound a week since March. The people at my surgeon's office say that is within the range recommended by Realize, and I should not worry about it. So I don't. I am happy for every pound.

You didn't say what you are eating. Did your doctor give you some guidelines? Since you have lost 4 pounds since your re-fill, maybe you will have better results this time around. If you have a nutritionist it might be a good time to talk with him/her about what you should be eating, how much at a meal, etc. We can share what our docs have recommended, but it would be helpful for you to know what your doc has to say about the subject.

The Realize website has been helpful to me. You need to be a "member" in order to take advantage of all their tips for success, etc. If you are not yet doing that, maybe it would be helpful for you. There are "diet" and exercise recommendations on the website. Your doctor can supply the number you need in order to become a member. I used the journaling option for a while, but I find it is more helpful to me to just keep a small notebook for my food tracking. That got me started tracking, though, so it was helpful. I think tracking your food intake is very important.

Some ppl have found the "5 day pouch test" to be helpful. It basically recommends you go through the original food process you went through following surgery for a jumpstart. For the details, google 5 day pouch test and see what you come up with.

Come back and keep us posted on your progress.

devihanuman1 · July 8, 2009

:sad:I had the Realize Band in Nov 08 and have only lost 8lbs. I have had 4fills -the first 2 fills was up to 8cc in a 9cc band. The third fill was filled to 9cc and I ended up in the Hospital BC I could not hold anything down and I was in a lot of pain. They ended up taking all the liquid out of my band for two weeks due to swelling of the esophagus & stomach. I gained three lbs. back. I got 5.5cc put in three weeks ago and have lost 4lbs. So I am back to where I started. I can still eat a good bit and I feel hungry. I really thought I would have lost more by now and I want to find some people who had the realize band and finally started losing after several fills. I want to not give up hoping this will be a success. I am also working out 2-3 times a week -30min. Thanks for your help.

I have realize band I got it on April 17th this year. I have lost only 20 pounds since surgery and I have not lost any in the last 3 weeks. I am working out 3 to 4 times a week I joined curves also. email me when you see this message devihanuman@msn.com I like to hear form you and may be we can learn from each other. I had 3 fills I still has no restriction I can eat and drink pretty good.

Pegsinthewoods · July 10, 2009

I was banded Aug. 4, 2008. I have lost 47.2 pounds with the Realize Band. My weight loss is slow but it keeps going in the right direction plus, I can live like this. I'm not constantly looking for food! :tongue_smilie:

missboo333 · July 12, 2009

:sad:I had the Realize Band in Nov 08 and have only lost 8lbs. I have had 4fills -the first 2 fills was up to 8cc in a 9cc band. The third fill was filled to 9cc and I ended up in the Hospital BC I could not hold anything down and I was in a lot of pain. They ended up taking all the liquid out of my band for two weeks due to swelling of the esophagus & stomach. I gained three lbs. back. I got 5.5cc put in three weeks ago and have lost 4lbs. So I am back to where I started. I can still eat a good bit and I feel hungry. I really thought I would have lost more by now and I want to find some people who had the realize band and finally started losing after several fills. I want to not give up hoping this will be a success. I am also working out 2-3 times a week -30min. Thanks for your help.

SydneyLucy ~~ I'm wondering if you were filled too fast?? My surgeon started big (4ml), then went to 1's, and now we are filling .5 at a time every two weeks. Eventually, he will fill .25 at a time until we hit the "sweet spot". He really talks to me at every appt and gauges my fills on how I'm feeling and what I'm eating. My loss was steady until March when I had my port moved, then stead until May when I reached my plateau.

I work out 4-6 days a week for 45-75 minutes at a time.

Hope this helps!