Lapband failure here!

danixbanani · July 2011

Hello all,

I've been using this site for a few months now. I don't have a scale so it's hard for me to take accurate weight but I don't think I've lost much. I've had the lapband for three years with little to no success. I lost 50lbs and gained 25 back. Now I've been spending a year trying to get off even just the 25lbs I gained but the scale won't budge. I tried working with my surgeon to figure it out but he was useless. I've since switched to a new surgeon and medical weight loss center to get to the bottom of this. I'm convinced the lapband just wasn't the right choice for me. Lately I've been feeling like it hinders me more than helps but I hope to get to the bottom of my weight loss woes soon.

My wedding is coming up in October and I've been trying desperately to lose even just 10lbs. I joined kickboxing recently and that has been great. I definitely feel like I've lost inches but I've only just started keeping track.

Anyway, just wanted to say hi and if anyone else who may have struggles with the lapband is on here, I'd love to chat!

-Danielle from Brooklyn

blueeyedtraveler · July 2011

I'm so sorry to hear that your surgery wasn't successful.

I think that you have made the right step by joining MFP (even if it was a few months ago). Are you logging EVERYTHING that's going into your mouth? Are you tracking carbs, sugars, sodium as I believe these are the things that can hinder weight loss, in excess of your goal. What are you doing to work out?

I hope that with the support of people here, you can get to the bottom of your struggles and have success losing that 25 lbs that you gained back.

Good luck!

stanvoodoo · July 2011

Talk to your surgeon about a Sleeve Gastrectomy. Until then, log your calories you should be around 1200 maybe even less if the Doctor has ordered so, protein should be around 100 grams per day and 64oz of water and a min of 30 min exercise per day.

If no wieght loss, it is possible you need to eat more if that is possible. Just depends on the band.

Best of luck!

emsibun · July 2011

Well done for losing 25lbs in the first place

I'm so interested in this - as i was very overweight (morbidly obese) and at times at the start wished for a surgical option but couldn't afford it as here in the UK that option would have had to have been bought through private surgery by me.

What happened to you after surgery? What could you eat? Were there 'cheat's' to eat more - (I've heard there are) and did you cheat? Was it worth it?

I did it the hard way through changing my diet and exercising more and it took a year of my life. That's a long time of pure focus and it's not yet over. I started out with a disability that meant I could not exercise very much at all - a few mins at a time - and worked through this and now no longer suffer form this disability. But it hurt a lot and took a lot of time and focus. Luckily I've not been trying to hold down a job as I'm sure this would've been impossible to do while getting healthy as it's taken so much time and energy!

Tell us all about it!

hikeout470 · July 2011

Just curious how the lap band works, did you have it removed? Is it adjustable? A former friend of mine got it done,and I noticed it didn't work that well for her either.

danixbanani · September 2011

I'm really sorry that I haven't been on here sooner than when I posted!

I'm not sure why the band didn't work for me but I know I'm not the only one out there. For me, my weight loss plateaued for about a year and then I started to not care about what I was eating anymore. I definitely ate smaller meals since the surgery but I didn't really care what those meals were hence putting on the 25lbs.

The lapband is adjustable but I've never gotten to a point where food didn't get stuck/my hunger was satiated. Online support groups for the lapband are good but I always feel like they are basically tell me to just diet harder. I've failed at so many diets before, why did I even bother getting the damn thing? I ask myself that a lot but I try not to let it discourage me too much.

I am considering having it removed but I'm afraid what will happen if I do (will I gain like crazy?) and I don't really want to do it until I'm done with my wedding which is in a month. I have a new doctor who seems to be more helpful and understand than my last one. He's more interested in finding out the problem rather than just telling me I eat too much. At my last appointment he discovered what may be a leak. I will find out more at my next appointment.

Anyway, thanks for all your kind words everyone!

Lapband failure here!

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