[jayali]

I had my surgery in 2008 I weighed in at 360. I cant recall but I am going to say I have had about 4-5 fillings since. I haven't seen my doctor in about 3yrs I lost my insurance and couldn't afford to pay out of pocket. I didn't loose much weight after the surgery. my weight loss started pretty much after my fills. I went down to 280 so loosing 80lbs felt great but then I couldn't loose any more and the doctor couldn't fill after my 4th or 5th time because I couldn't bring any liquids down. Here I am today weighing almost 330. I have no idea what to do I am so depressed I cant even diet I feel like I am going through so much . I know that eating healthy will probably help but I have been so depressed I don't even want to leave my house.

[thinkfit]

I'm so so sorry for your experience! This may be irrelevant as you say you don't have insurance right now, but if you google a forum called verticalsleevetalk, there's a whole section for people who have had similar experiences as you and had to have their band removed - it's called band to sleeve revisions. Just something that couldn't hurt to check out, I think.

As for right now, I don't know if there's anyone with a band here (sorry if I'm wrong!), but there is a sister site to verticalsleevetalk called lapbandtalk that I'm sure you could find someone with the similar issues there if not on verticalsleevetalk. I really hope someone somewhere (even here on 3FC) can help you out and wish you the best of luck!

[jiffypop]

wow, jay. i almost don't know what to say! there's a lot going on here - based on your post. from what i'm figuring, you've had your band for 5 years, and had 2-3 fills during the first 2 years, and haven'tn seen your surgeon since. did i get that right?

How's the band feeling now? do you feel any restriction? are you having any problems with it? if you are, you gotta figure out a way to see the surgeon... i know it's hard without insurance - but you're worth taking care of.

if you have some restriction and the band feels ok, then what are you eating? you say that eating healthy would probably help, and that you're so depressed you can barely leave the house. THIS IS NOT A GOOD THING! how can you take care of yourself in this condition? can you think of one tiny little small step you can take to get yourself moving out of this funk?

maybe a walk around your yard or street. or walking in place during 5 TV commercials. or or or - gee, i don't know. water instead of soda? a piece of fruit instead of chips?

it doesn't have to be much or big or hard, just a little step that can help you take control of your life again.

once you're feeling more in control, maybe you'll feel you can make some decisions about your band or your eating and exercise habits. one of the GREAT things about WLS - no matter which one it is - is that we can always take advantage of the tool. And if you go back to following the lapband rules, and it doesn't work, then it'll be time to look at making a change.

but honey - ya gotta start somewhere!

[Sleepy]

Oh so sorry to hear that
I have heard many times that band didn't work, and there were always some reason behind it. On the day of my bypass there was another woman who gain 60 lbs after having a band three years ago. So they decided to take it out and make her bypass. Anyway, after surgery they have told here her band position was to high and therefor didn't work. I do think your surgeon should take a look why this is happening nd try to help you.

Hopefuly you will be able to solve that. In the meantime you will have to pick yourself up and start somewhere...loving yourself no matter what is a great beggining

[1976Sunrise]

Before you give up hope Im hear to tell you that I was considering the Lapband until I went to my Surgeon's orientation (by the way he is freaking Awesome!) The only thing I have to say is Go Big or Go Home.
I have the answer for you which give you either option A leave the lapband in place or Option B remove it.
Have any of you researched LGCP-Lower Greater Curvature Plication? I had mine done 3-6-13 cash pay(with help from my mommy thank you baby Jesus for mommies) because I didn't meet my insurance criteria which where ridiculous. Aside from the nausea from the knock out drugs I didn't need one pain pill. I started my prep for surgery at 206, clocked in at 200 lbs for surgery and I am now 170 lbs on good day and continue to loose inches and weight. I mention this because if you have the band in place you can do this procedure on top of it no cutting and restitching as in bypass also not a malabsorption procedure. I know I am a newbie to the whole world of WLS however both my sisters & mother have had bypass and I was looking for a better option After seeing their side effects of the surgery. Keep in mind over the last 5 yrs I have lost and regained a small person or large dog multiple times on my own and got tired of the struggle and lack of control. LGCP has given me the control I needed to get on the right track. I would say that I do attend counselling about 2 a month to keep my emotions in check since i came to the hard reality that I am an emotional stuffer eater. Please feel free to reply if you have any questions I'd be glad to answer them for you. I just can't say enough about LGCP so far maybe its the tool that can help you

[jiffypop]

hi sunrise - glad you've been finding success with the plication. how did you hear about it? were you part of a clinical trial? it looks like there's no long-term information about outcomes, so any information would be a big help here.