Any Lap Banded Members?

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PrincessPudgy
PrincessPudgy Posts: 59
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi,

I have a lap band and I was just wondering if anyone else has had one here.

Thanks :)
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Replies

  • Ashley_Panda
    Ashley_Panda Posts: 1,404 Member
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    Unfortunantly, I do.
  • PrincessPudgy
    PrincessPudgy Posts: 59
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    Unfortunately?

    Do you find it hard to get to 1200 calories?
  • rwhite1510
    rwhite1510 Posts: 17 Member
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    I have the lab band too. I've had it for 6 years now. I lost 60 lbs real easily when I first got it and somehow have maintained since. I had the band tightened, but got real sick and couldn't keep much down. So I had to restart the process again. I am now adjusted at a good spot, however, I have to work out hard to lose weight. I can still eat more than 2000 calories if I wanted too. I find the bad food has no trouble going down, though I am working on eliminate the bad foods, like ice cream and chocolate and trying to make healthier choices.
  • Ashley_Panda
    Ashley_Panda Posts: 1,404 Member
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    I've had mine for five years.

    I throw up everything. Everything.

    I'm lucky if I usually get 600 calories a day. I lost oodles of weight, over 130lbs and promptly gained it back. I had a nurse tell me, yes, a nurse that works in the doctors office that that's how it works. How they keep getting money. You get the band have to get fills, lose a bunch of weight, get some fill taken out, gain it back and then you have to get a fill again. It's rare that I get over 1,000.
  • Ashley_Panda
    Ashley_Panda Posts: 1,404 Member
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    Same thing with me! All the junk food stays down but anything I try and eat comes right back up. Healthy or not. I live off of soup.
  • PrincessPudgy
    PrincessPudgy Posts: 59
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    I find it hard to keep healthy stuff down too. It's really annoying. Junk food stays down no problems. But now that I'm eating healthy, and am therefore eating less, I find it hard to get to 1200 calories unless I eat something full of sugar. I'm a bit annoyed at the whole starvation mode thing.
  • loveusa
    loveusa Posts: 37
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    I've had mine for five years.

    I throw up everything. Everything.

    I'm lucky if I usually get 600 calories a day. I lost oodles of weight, over 130lbs and promptly gained it back. I had a nurse tell me, yes, a nurse that works in the doctors office that that's how it works. How they keep getting money. You get the band have to get fills, lose a bunch of weight, get some fill taken out, gain it back and then you have to get a fill again. It's rare that I get over 1,000.

    I didn't know what lap bands were exactly, so thanks for the information. But the part where there's a problem with gaining back and then having to tighten the band again to take the weight off again, my heart goes out to you! Big hugs! Oh, goodness. So I wanted to share a book I read many times on compulsive eating, mainly a book that handles one's mind so they don't compulsively reach for food when not hungry. 'Fat Is a Feminist Issue' by Susie Orbach. I casually bought it in college, and one day kept reaching for food where I cleared everything out of the cupboards except for rice and a pack of muenster cheese - to be one of my most memorable meals of my life. So I thought, "I'm not hungry, I don't want to eat, so why am I eating this? What's going on?!" Well, it really helps understand why one reaches for food and how to deal with it; not schemes of how to eat less, but relaxing around food. I must have read that paperback a hundred times, and got to a weight of 115 for 15 years, and it was comfortable and stable. I gained only recently because of relationship issues that were too stressful and overwhelming, but incidentally stopped referring to the book and unraveling the psychological issues at play. So I would just like to offer some comfort, and suggest a psychological approach at handling extra weight that may be serving some purpose psychologically. So everybody, do well and take good care! You shouldn't ever have to go through this. Hugs.
  • Ashley_Panda
    Ashley_Panda Posts: 1,404 Member
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    Yeah, it's not so fun. I can work out and work out and then throw up everything I eat but the next day if I keep something down I gain like 3lbs. It's insane. It's really hard emotionally too.

    But yeah. My mom talked me into getting one when I was 17. I weighed 335 at the time and I'm down to the 250's now.

    I just thought it was crazy that the nurse would tell me that.

    Oh! Also after having my son, mine has moved. Especially the port. So sometimes it hurts. Meh. I'm whiney tonight, sorry.
  • loveusa
    loveusa Posts: 37
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    Yeah, it's not so fun. I can work out and work out and then throw up everything I eat but the next day if I keep something down I gain like 3lbs. It's insane. It's really hard emotionally too.

    But yeah. My mom talked me into getting one when I was 17. I weighed 335 at the time and I'm down to the 250's now.

    I just thought it was crazy that the nurse would tell me that.

    Oh! Also after having my son, mine has moved. Especially the port. So sometimes it hurts. Meh. I'm whiney tonight, sorry.


    We're all here to support each other, so here to listen. :)
  • ldafoe
    ldafoe Posts: 20 Member
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    I had my LapBand procedure in June of 2009. So far, I have lost 116 pounds. It was a process to find the "right fit" for the band tightness, sometimes too loose, other times too tight. Luckily, my physician does all band fills under fluoroscopy, so you can see right then and there how the liquids will go through. He also included 2 years of band fills in the price of the surgery, which was nice. I still have about 35-40 lbs I'd like to lose. Good luck to you!!
  • jessimacar
    jessimacar Posts: 291
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    I've been considering getting a lap band put in, any suggestions or opinions? I'm going to try and lose all my weight the natural way, but if that fails, I need SOMETHING to work.. I've had consultations with doctors, and they all say I'm qualified for the procedure, but I don't need to lose 100+ lbs.

    Just looking for some thoughts!
  • Msh13
    Msh13 Posts: 1 Member
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    Yes since 2-2008. It is a challenge staying within calorie range. I can eat pretty much what I want.
  • janetv3
    janetv3 Posts: 37 Member
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    Hi I was banded 1 year ago..............joined MFP to be accountable for my diet and to get support.................would love to hear your stories about the lap band experience.....................I do get sick alot.................

    Have a great day
    janet
  • rwhite1510
    rwhite1510 Posts: 17 Member
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    When I got sick alot it was due to a slippage. You should really get yourself checked. For me, they took the fluid out, waited 2 weeks to have the stomach go back down. Then start the process of getting the fills again. It is no fun to be getting sick all the time. Since my last slippage, I got to a comfortable fill. I can now eat bread, I so miss bread, but I tell myself now I am trying to lose weight the correct way and be more accountable with some help from the lapband to make sure I can't overeat.
  • janetv3
    janetv3 Posts: 37 Member
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    yes,,,,,,,,,,,,,me too................i can't eat good food.............only junk food stays down................why is this?

    Now it's the holidays and it's so difficult all the cakes.................

    love to talk with you.............

    janet
  • dianamc2003
    dianamc2003 Posts: 1 Member
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    I am new to my fitness pal. I have had my lap band for 4 years this january. I have kept the weight off until here lately and have gained 12-15 pounds.
    I decided to start tracking my intake because i tend to be a junk food eater. I try to eat protein that is baked or roasted and lots of fiber.
  • Calicoskies
    Calicoskies Posts: 27 Member
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    Contrary to what Jaspersmom says, the lapband does not work by making you throw up. If you are vomiting, you are too tight. Talk to your dr. If he doesn't do an adjustment to stop your vomiting, find another Bariatric dr immediately. Also I suggest you meet with a nutritionist specializing with Bariatric patients. 600 cals of soup a day is not healthy and it's not how your lapband was intended to work. My lapband surgeon fills by flouro only and if the scale shows you losing 1-2lb weekly you won't even get a fill. You either have a bad dr or you have not been honest with the dr about your situation.
  • kateland
    kateland Posts: 160 Member
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    I have the band! I LOVE MY BAND! It is the greatest decision I ever made :)

    I got banded 5 years ago and lost 80 lbs the first year. My band sprung a leak, which is unusual, and my weight loss stalled for a few years. I lost another 20 on my own (it was as if I didn't have the band) but then I put back on 40. I dropped 20, had plastic surgery for the tons of loose skin I had, fixed the leaking port, and dropped another 20. So I'm at a 100 lb loss right now I've maintained for two years. I'd like to finish this and get down to 150.

    I have a moderate fill. I can have it tighter to where I'm unable to eat more than 1/2 cup at a time, but I want to exercise and really learn how to do this. For me, the band did two INCREDIBLY important things:

    1. Removed hunger. I cannot tell you how critical this was, because I was in a nearly unbreakable habit of choosing bad food when hungry. I needed practice making sane choices while not in DEFCON 5 hunger. I can't tell you how crazy it feels being that out of control with hunger.

    2. Restricted speed of eating. I could power chow. The only times I threw up (and I still get things stuck to this day if I'm getting careless) is when I don't chew. If I stuff too much down, and revert back to that unconscious eating, food gets painfully stuck and I have to eject it.

    I've known many people on the band. I sat with a newly banded woman who ate a full size breakfast and made herself feel very ill and overfull. There are wrong ways to have the band....it is WAY more your own willpower than I thought in the beginning.

    Any banders, please friend me!
  • jadimmick
    jadimmick Posts: 5
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    Hi .... Got banded in November 2010 ... Had my first fill today. It was incredibly painful!! Felt like an amniosentisis ... This was emotionally tough for me ... Is it always this painful? I'm beginning to feel like I made a mistake ... Need some encouragement!
  • runs4zen
    runs4zen Posts: 769 Member
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    I thought about getting a lap band but changed my mind after reading about the issues many of you are having. That said, I had a vertical sleeve gastrectomy instead (known as a VSG or a "sleeve" it's not a gastric bypass) in January of 2010. I lost 122 pounds last year in about 9 months and now I'm maintaining fairly easily.

    That said, I'm glad to see that there are folks on here that have had other forms or weight loss procedures beyond just counting calories. It's good to have a wide variety of folks and procedures so that everyone can relate in one way or another and share info. I still count calories now that I'm on maintenance, however, it's so I'll get enough in a day...like many of you have described.

    Good Luck to All!

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