Cazzy

The food doesnt stay in the pouch longer than around 5 mins what gives u the feeling of fullness is about triggering a response from your brain that u are full/filling up which is, and i think this is right, the nerves that send signals to your brain regarding hunger and satiety are placed around the top of the stomach , so the pouch fools your brain into thinking that its full/filling up that is why the band is placed where it is. People do have problems with when food is still in the pouch and drink before it has all gone into the stomach. A safe time is around an hour after eating, some dont need this time and some do, what u dont want to do is stretch the pouch with both food and drink at the same time. Food can stick more if you drink while eating . Obviously this is my understanding and my experience so maybe talk with your surgeon if u want more definitive answers you might find this interesting to read, not saying its right or wrong but gives 1 doctors views on how it all works http://drsimpson.net/fills/Lap-band-eating/lap-band-not-restriction/lap-band-and-restriction.html

gratzzz what a great way to start the new year !

great news !

I understand your fears, my biggest one was failing, or they couldnt fit the band, or it would go wrong, I am sure we all get those sort of feelings, but u know yourself, if u have enough determination u can do anything, the band will support you in this. Being banded was the base line for me to start again, wipe the past away and start setting goals for the future. I know i needed this base line, i have mainly relied on myself to lose all the weight i have but my band supports me, i still have a good appetite, i do sometimes get stuck, not often , but mainly i can eat smaller amounts of good healthy food and not feel hungry so much as i did before the band was fitted. I chose the band over anything other WLS because it felt right for me, and because i made this decision it made it easier to have the determination to make it work. Surgeons like sleeves and bypass as they dont have to do any fills u are in effect a short term patient, bands create work with maintenance fills. Gather all the information and make an informed choice based on what u feel is right for you good luck ! Ive lost on average 3lbs per week since i started and since christmas its dropped to 2lb a week. Theres been 2 weeks where i lost 0lbs but thats all !

Its a small amount to gain, could be something as simple as extra salt in something that created some fluid retention. Might be an idea to change just doing cardio and do some strength training .. Ive always been of a mind that if something doesnt work then make a small change to something, so if the plateau keeps up then think about confusing your body for a while lol it works for me anyways

Thanks If your friend wishes to contact me through here and needs any questions answered pls encourage her to do so i will help all i can in a balanced way, I support the band a 100% but i do know that for some its just not the right answer for them.

Many years ago i also worked nights for 10 yrs as a nurse and i can remember being hungry most of the night too. Im not sure theres an easy answer to this as your bio clock works so differently if u are working at night. What i would do is concentrate on small meals more often and make sure u get plenty of fresh protein if you can, greek yoghurt is good to fill a hole and other low fat low calorie protein rich food will keep u satified for longer. I drink tea and coffee with skimmed milk as and when i want to help stave off hunger. Some use almonds as a snack too, u can use something like home made soup, or ww tomato soup is also great for filling the gap. Many people on here use protein shakes too either for a meal or inbetween. The thing to do is preparation, plan food to take to work and know u have something with you to snack on. Its important too to keep up exercising, i know this must be difficult as u probably dont feel like it very often, but maybe after work might help before u sleep during the day. Sorry if this doesnt give u answers that u may want/ need but its not an easy situation and i really wish you luck with it

It is not 'luck' my dear it is dam hard work. Its not luck that watches what i eat, its not luck that makes me control portion sizes and its not luck that makes me cycle 8 miles a day .. its me and my band. I have worked really hard over the past year to lose the amount of weight i have and to dismiss this as just being 'luck' i find quite offensive to be honest.

8 days from 1 yr banded

Thanks we have a saying here in the UK too .. a bad workman always blames his tools..

In 8 days i will have been banded a year and I LOVE MY BAND .. Everyone here loses weight in a different way and at different rates but what is common to all of us is that we have to change the way or what we eat. Some will manage with smaller portions, some will manage with counting calories some will manage with incresed exercise. What is apparent is that if you start putting on weight and whatever you are doing isnt working something needs to change

I eat a lot of soup mainly veg soup made with cauliflour, broccoli, celery, zuchini and frozen peas and a chopped onion, veg stock cube , then blended with a stick blender tons of good vitamins and protein and very filling. The other soup i eat is weight watchers tomato soup is low calorie and is the only one that taste any good to be honest. ww soup is the only shop bought soup i eat i sometimes add chilli flakes to the veg soup to spice it up a bit, u can add 0 fat yoghurt too to make it more creamy.

Absolutely correct !

Losing weight slowly is meant to help and so is rigorous exercise, hydration, moisturising etc but alas if u have a lot of weight to lose, age, sex, etc all means that this impacts on the amount of excess skin u may get, some get none others like me gets quite a lot. I will be getting rid of mine later this year, but i would still rather be lighter with excess skin than where i was before

Makes it all worthwhile when something like happens enjoy the moment !

I think you may find it useful to read a British article on the band fluffy http://www.bospa.org/Information.aspx?Page=2 I quote directly from that report.. Risks and Side Effects Fortunately, complications are rare but it is important you learn about the potential problems before you decide to proceed with the surgery. Firstly, being obese makes any surgery more risky. Anaesthetics are more difficult, and obesity–related diseases that you may have can add further complications. Statistics show the death rate associated with gastric band insertion to be about 1 in 2,000 operations. The most common cause of death is the development of a blood clot in the lungs (pulmonary embolism). Occasionally patients may develop other complications at the time of operation such as an infection in the lungs, stomach or at the site where the reservoir is placed under the skin, which may delay recovery. The placement of the gastric band laparoscopically helps to reduce the risk of complications, and the team who manage your surgery and anaesthetic are specially trained in the treatment of obese patients. They will monitor you closely in the period immediately following your surgery, and take a range of measures to prevent complications from arising, including giving you medications to help prevent vomiting (and dislodging the band) and blood clots and getting you up and about soon after the operation. Overall, international studies suggest that 1 in 10 people with a gastric band will need a further operation at some time in the future. This may be due to: Slippage. Months or even years after the operation, there is always the risk that the stomach will move up through the band and the upper pouch will become enlarged. The band can be re–fixed in the correct position. Erosion. Very slowly, and particularly if the balloon is tightly inflated, the band can work its way into or through the wall of the stomach and cease to be effective. In this case the band would be removed and and replaced if possible. Leakage. This may be due to damage of the reservoir or tubing if fills are not carried out with extreme care or if two of the band components come apart. Again, this would necessitate replacement of the damaged component. Infection of the reservoir/port or tubing. It may need to be resited or replaced if the infection persists and in the case of severe infections which have been resistant to antibiotic treatment, the band may have to be removed. The band itself is made of silicone and there are no known side effects to this material inside the body. However, you do have to bear in mind the possibility that some time in the future your band may need to be replaced simply because it has worn out or newer, better bands have been developed to replace current ones (hip replacement prostheses are replaced for these reasons). If you have a lesser known brand of gastric band from a small company, they may not be around in 20 years time when you need your band replacing. Some people will fail (lose less than 25% of the excess weight) with a gastric band and in these cases, the surgeon may advise that a gastric bypass operation is performed. However, don’t give up too soon on your band if you are one of these people – experience in Australia shows that it can take a full 2 years for people to get their heads around how to live effectively with their gastric band, and when they do, they start to lose weight. The most common cause of the worst risk which is death comes from pulmonary embolism which is a result of any surgery, the lapband and sleeve gastrectomy actually are the safest forms of WLS its bypass surgery which carries a 1:200 death risk ( according to statistics) resulting from complications of the bypass, this is not the case for lap bands. Of course you are entitled to your opinions Healthy informative discussion is good, but the US is only 1 country and if you really want to start down the line of facts and figures then you need to look at things on a more global basis.

Im not sure what the qualifying factors are in Oz as i am in the uk, so cant really help there but the questions i would and did ask were.. 1. What sort of pre-op and post op diet do i have to follow. 2. How long will the surgery take, how long is my stay in hospital. 3. What is the support available, ie support groups, or access to a weight loss nurse etc. 4. How long does the support and fill appointments last.. mine is 2 yrs. 5. Am i a good candidate for this form of weight loss surgery. 6. What is their success and failure rates. 7. I was asthmatic since a child so i asked about not being layed flat till i was out cold on the operating table 8. What could go wrong. Might be an idea to read a lot of the posts here and maybe get some other ideas on questions to ask. I hope everything goes ok for you and i wish you luck !

Is your friend thinking of the sleeve or the more invasive gastric bypass ?, the sleeve just removes a section of your stomach to leave u with a sleeve shaped stomach, bypass will actually re-route intestines and reduce the size of your stomach. This type of surgery is obviously a lot more invasive and complications can be more devastating. I recently saw a tv programme where the bypass patient actually died of starvation, through malabsorbtion of food. Personally I chose the band as i feel in control still, i certainly wasnt happy to have major surgery which is not reversible. Because of my starting weight i was an ideal candidate for bypass surgery but i just didnt feel it was right for me. There are horror stories and failures for all types of WLS so it really is just getting all the info you can and making an informed decision that you can commit to

Might be an idea to look into why you are feeling sick, are you still on liquids ? is your body detoxing ? is it after protien shakes etc, too much sugar or salt ? , i would discuss it with your Doctor if you can as you shouldnt really be feeling this way all the time, or enough of the time to need meds. Its probably something really simple that will go away after a few more days healing but its always worth checking it out with the Doctor. Good luck

Getting the right amount of restriction is very individual, some feel it when they wake from surgery, others take a few fills, some i have read dont really feel restriction, but from what i have read this isnt common. Most surgeons will only do fills on a gradual basis over a period of months as this is the safest method to do it. I have lost weight since day 1, but this was a mind set, the band helps me but also i help myself. If one is looking for fast weight loss you either have to get your mind into the right gear or maybe explore other methods/surgery .. Hope this helps.. good luck in whatever you decide

Great news well done

My biggest fear was about failing, i had a lot of weight to lose and it felt like i was having to climb mount everest, but being fearful of failure made me even more determined to make this band work. good luck for your surgery and keep us posted how you are doing

1. I was on a pre-op diet of 600 calories to shrink the liver took 2 months.. was not on a liquid diet. 2. Liquid diet post-op lasted 4 weeks. Liquid was anything that could be sucked up a straw. 3. My Surgeon and staff are great, 100% happy so no complaints. 4. I liked being on the pre-op diet as once i started eating normal food post -op it felt like i was eating a feast going from 600 calories to 1000 calories. I also like the amount of weight i had lost.

In the Uk weight watchers have their own scales u can buy, not sure about the US but here they are made by Salter which is a long standing brand name of good rep .. I am sure Amazon sell them.

Hope this helps ! Productive Burping (PB)- or sliming is when the contents of the pouch are stuck or rejected and the food or slime is regurgitated back into your mouth .. this is due to the pouch being positioned very close to the oesophagus, the sliming is a response from your oesophagus to try get rid of the food it thinks you are choking/stuck on. Vomiting - or being sick or throwing up etc is when the contents of the stomach, not the pouch are regurgitated.. we have all been 'sick' before were banded.