My personal lap band failure

[Siltz]

I've struggled with my weight for as long as I can remember.  Diets and weight loss have been a part of my life since the 6th grade.  It's not easy being the fat kid, a lot of cruel jokes, tears and rejection.  I still struggle with low self-esteem.

No matter what I tried, my old habits came back and so did the weight.  About 5 years ago I decided to have the lap band procedure.  It looked like an easy fix to my long term problem.
My doctor emphasizes the low carb lifestyle and portion control.  The most important thing was to avoid throwing up at all cost.  Eating too fast or too much could cause this.

The lap band was successful for a while, I lost 50 lbs and felt great.  All too soon my bad habits came back.  I wasn't accountable.  I thought I could do whatever I wanted.  As the weight started coming back, I started throwing up more and more.  Food would get stuck and the only way to relieve the pain and pressure was to make my self vomit.

My doctor did several CT scans and found that the band had slipped.  We waited a month or two to see if it would go back into place on it's own.  It didn't.  The decision was made to go back in and remove the band.  While I was in surgery they discovered that not only had the band slipped, but my stomach had grown around part of the band.  My surgeon had to cut my stomach so the band could be removed.  I then developed infection in my abdominal cavity and had two drains installed to help remove the fluid from the abscesses on my diaphragm and liver.  This was accompanied by high dose antibiotics.  Four weeks afterward, I returned to work. 

The doctor who performed my original surgery has moved to another state.  The surgeon who removed my band said he didn't think the lap band would be performed for much longer.  It just doesn't work for the majority of people.  He still performs the gastric bypass though.  The sad part is that I've heard of many people in my community who have had the by pass and are gaining the weight back.  Some are going so far as to drink large amounts of diet soda to stretch their stomach so they can eat more.  What a waist of money and a lot of pain to go through.

[mouseissue]

... About 5 years ago I decided to have the lap band procedure.  It looked like an easy fix to my long term problem.
My doctor emphasizes the low carb lifestyle and portion control.  The most important thing was to avoid throwing up at all cost.  Eating too fast or too much could cause this.

Hi, Siltz!

Only if your doctor prescribed low carb eating with portion control BEFORE the procedure.

As you now know, if you followed that advice alone, you could have avoided the surgery altogether!
What a shame!... But the good news is that you NOW have the solution!

Tony

[Doug Varrieur]

WOW what a story    I'm soooo glad you found us 

[Siltz]

Me too Doug.  I could really relate to your story in the book.  I was also an athlete.  Probably looking for acceptance from others.  I wasn't very good, but played a little football in college.  Soon I found out that being big with excess body fat was not the same as being big, muscular and athletic.

I am currently a physical education teacher and worry about the poor example I'm setting for my students and how I am perceived by my peers.

[Maddysmom]

Wow...thanks for sharing! Before I found out about FTS, my mother in law offered to pay for me to have weight loss surgery.  Looking back now, I am so thankful that I didn't do it.   I am so sorry for what you had to go through.  You are definitely on the right path now!!    

[jetfan]

Wow.
Stay strong, and let nothing stop you from your goals

[mouseissue]

Me too Doug.  I could really relate to your story in the book.  I was also an athlete.  Probably looking for acceptance from others.  I wasn't very good, but played a little football in college.  Soon I found out that being big with excess body fat was not the same as being big, muscular and athletic.

I am currently a physical education teacher and worry about the poor example I'm setting for my students and how I am perceived by my peers.

Hi, Siltz!

As a former college football player, I can completely relate to how you feel.
For so many years, I was disgusted with my excess fat.

But since FTS, my body and mind have been liberated from that past!
By staying the course with FTS, yours will be too!

Tony

[Andrea]

You are on the right track and we have your back.

[Siltz]

Thanks for your support!  Reading your responses brought tears to my eyes.  I can't thank you enough!  Down 10lbs in 2 weeks.  It means more than I can ever say to have the support of those who have walked in my shoes!  When I say you are "Special People" I mean it in the nicest of ways.  God bless you all.

[Doug Varrieur]

A phys ed instructor....cool! Did you know we have a free books for school program? If you're interested in putting the original FTS books into the hands of your students all you need to do is cover the shipping costs through a donation. You can locate the donate button on the forum by clicking on any board from the home page then scroll down to the bottom of the topics and look to the left

Check this out   http://www.fattoskinny.net/index.php?topic=4483.0

[umpa]

Siltz I have never known anybody that did not have a horror story about there weight lost surgery and did not gain the weight back.You can do this and we are going to help you 

[Siltz]

Doug, thanks for the offer.  I teach at an elementary school, so the book would probably not be appropriate for our library.  Maybe our teachers lounge?  If that's ok let me know.

[mouseissue]

Congratulations on losing that first 10 pounds, Siltz!!!

That's a BIG accomplishment.
So you get a perspective, the next time your in the grocery store, pick up a 10 pound bag of potatoes.
You'll be amazed!

Tony

[Stephanie]

From a nursing stand point to keep it simple I have not seen one case where there has not been complications at some point during after or in recovery. I previously worked at a hospital that did this surgery every single day. We would often get these patients back to the Intensive Care Unit because for starters they were  high risk of problem patients  such as cardiac compromise, respitory issues, ect. These patients were a complete disasters. The pain that they are in after gastric bypass is tremendous. I will say that despite these patients having to have to go through pyschological testing and be cleared  before proceeding forward to be able to have the surgery it is a bunch of crap. (excuse my french lol ) They sit down with a trained professional and that person is granted the authority to determine if this person will have the coping skills, emotional strength and is competant to understand the surgery and how to be successful after in a matter of 30 minutes of knowing them. Shame on the society we live in. It makes me so upset at times to have to be part of this disasterous health system.

[umpa]

We have several doctors that order cases of books from Doug for their patients.People just have to retrain their brains.