quakergirl

I dont understand why someone would go through the surgery and then not follow up. But at least it sounds like he is starting to get on the right track by going back for a fill. I hope your example inspires him to make more of an effort to work with the band. He still has plenty of time to change his ways and lose weight. Hey, this is the reason the band is adjustable!

It is probably just that you are retaining fluid. Nobody could gain 2 pounds of fat on 500 cals a day. However, I do agree that 500 cals is a bit low for long-term eating. It seems like most bandsters I know of eat at least 1000 cals a day once they're on solid food.

Thanks for sharing the pics. You look great. Those of us who are just getting started really appreciate the inspirational stories like yours!

I've read that many insurance companies don't want to give coverage to post-op gastric bypass patients. Has anyone here experienced any trouble like that since being banded?

Did anyone else watch "Trashcan of Skin" on the Discovery Health Channel tonight? A woman lost 309 pounds (down from 525 lbs!) through a low-carb eating plan. I don't think she had WLS, (although it's possible the show glossed over it) but she still had a lot of loose skin. A procedure called a circumferential lower body lift was used to get rid of all the skin. Unfortunately it looked like a pretty difficult recovery. However, since she had almost 40 pounds of loose skin and fat removed, it was quite an improvement in the long run. Being so large to start with, I suspect I too will have plenty of loose skin when I reach my goal weight. I already have some major "bat wings" under my arms. I hate the idea of having more surgery. For now, though, I'm just glad to have some evidence that I AM losing weight.

Good luck with your surgery. Just one suggestion: Have you investigated the Duodenal Switch? Personally, I think if I had to get a bypass operation, I would go for the the DS rather than RNY. The DS gives you a more normal way of eating than the RNY does but yet it has the best weight loss statistics for any operation. http://www.duodenalswitch.com has details about it if you want to learn more. For me, the most important issue was safety, so I went with the band and have no regrets. However, if it turns out the band fails for me (not that I expect it to), then I would try to get the DS.

It helps to resist the urge to drink with meals if you drink a lot of water before you eat, in my experience. It's tempting to drink with meals, but I don't think it's usually worth it. I must say that it seems like with SOME foods (like grains and bread), drinking helps me feel fuller because it makes the food expand in my pouch. Of course, that also means that it can make it HURT if you've eaten a lot and then drink. I was in agony with sweat pouring down my face for like 5 or 10 minutes one night when I drank right after eating some pretzels. The pretzels expanded from the water apparently. Somehow, hiccuping made the pain go away all of a sudden thank God, but I don't want to go through that ever again. So be careful! If you need to moisten your mouth, you might want to try swishing some water in your mouth and then spit it out.

Yeah, I get pretty strong hiccups as well, seemingly when I'm full. I don't think it has caused any harm since so far things seem to be going well

I was banded in May. I lost about 19 pounds in the first two weeks on the liquid diet...and then stalled, even gaining five pounds back. Very discouraging, since it seemed like many others who got banded at the same time I did were losing much more. So I had a fill four weeks ago, and it didn't seem to make that much of a difference in what I could eat...BUT I had a weigh-in today and discovered I've gone down another 11 pounds in the past month! Wow, 11 pounds gone with hardly any effort...that's a first for me. The net weight loss now stands at 25 pounds, which seems about right for three months post-op. It is so exciting and such a relief to finally see the scale going down. For those of you who are still waiting to get filled, don't get discouraged! Patience definitely pays off.

Yes, I found that quote confusing too. However I remember that one magazine incorrectly reported that Al Roker had the band, so I can definitely believe People made a mistake too. Personally, I don't get why a celebrity, who can afford any surgery, would want the RNY. If you're willing to take the risk of a bypass, the Duodenal Switch offers a much better quality of life since it doesn't cause dumping and you can eat normal portions. You also have a better chance of maintaining your weight loss with the DS. The only downside with the DS is the same one with the RNY: It's a risky surgery and may cause malnutrition. So why pick the RNY, which restricts your portions like the lap-band but also puts you at greater danger? My feeling is that the lap-band is best choice for those who most want safety, while the DS is the best for those who most want a guaranteed weight loss. I don't see what advantage the RNY offers over the other two.

I had never had surgery before either, but it was not a very big deal. The discomfort of surgery is well worth it to get rid of the physical and emotional pain of being morbidly obese! As for being afraid of failure, I think everyone goes through that because we're used to failing on diets. But remember, this is better than a diet because the band will be helping you along the way. When I was on the Atkins diet, I struggled every day with wanting to give up and eat carbs. With the band, I have already lost just as much as I did on Atkins and have NEVER wanted to give up so far! One thing to remember is that not everyone loses all the excess weight, but just about everyone loses SOME weight. Every bit of weight loss is going to help you. So far I have lost 25 pounds, which may not seem like much, but just that little loss makes me feel a lot better about myself. My blood pressure used to be borderline high (and I'm only 20 years old!) but just that little loss has brought it back down to normal. As for not meeting any other bandsters, if you're having the surgery done locally perhaps you can talk to your surgeon's office about starting a support group for his/her banding patients? Good luck.

I'm too new at this to have much advice to give, but if you haven't already seen it, I think Jessie's "How to Tell If You're Perfectly Adjusted" handout gives some good advice about what you need to look at if you are not losing weight. There's a copy of it at this url: http://home.gci.net/~ram/LapBand/fills.htm

Sorry to hear you had such a bad reaction. Hope you feel better now.

Yeah, I had the same thoughts. I thought I would be the one that would fail with it, or have to have it taken out because of crazy complications. But, incredibly, so far everything is going fine. And even if it does fail, at least it's easily reversible, unlike the RNY. So, the risk is well worth it in my opinion! Good luck.

I was also told to stay on clear liquids, but I added milk and protein shakes within a few days. I feel like clear liquids just aren't enough after the stomach swelling goes down. As long as you stick with liquids, I don't see any harm. Nonetheless, ask your dietician to be safe.

Your results might be different, but I can tell you that I had a mild reflux problem pre-op, and it has disappeared post-op. I don't think that the reflux issue is a good justification for taking on all the other, much more serious risks of RNY. After all, reflux can be managed with medication, but the complications of the RNY can be deadly. Not a good trade-off in my opinion.

I'm surprised they use staples sometimes. The incisions are so tiny that staples seem like overkill. I got steri-strips, and I gotta admit I pulled them off before I was technically supposed to because they were itchy.

I recently heard about Zonegran, a new drug that may help with weight loss. Here's an article about it and another drug called Axokine that makes it sound promising: http://webmd.lycos.com/content/article/63/71964.htm Now obviously, these weight loss drugs are still too new to be sure if they will be useful to MO patients. I'm surely glad I got the band! But such developments give me hope that in 5 or 10 years there may be some amazing advances in curing obesity without surgery. Perhaps something that will make it easier than it is with the band. If that is the case, I will be grateful that I chose the band instead of the RNY or DS. If some easier method of weight control comes along in a few years, I have the option to get unbanded and will be essentially back to normal. Reversing an RNY or DS is far, far more complicated and risky. So, it really makes me feel bad for all the young people out there who are going for the RNY. That is such a drastic, permanent choice to be making. The band makes sense as a first choice. The RNY and DS are only justified as last resorts, in my opinion.

Yes, that article is quite misleading. Anyone who would blend up a burger to gorge themselves has huge psychological problems that even the RNY wouldn't be enough to stop. It's a shame that they portray the RNY as foolproof, since that's really NOT true. Yes, most people lose weight with the RNY at first, but they can easily REGAIN the weight in a couple of years if they don't exercise and watch what they eat. The Duodenal Switch is the only surgery that's near-impossible to "outeat", but even with that surgery you still need to have the willpower to avoid too many sugar and carbs. The saddest thing is when people go throguh all the danger and discomfort of the RNY but then end up disappointed because they didn't lose as much weight as they expected.

The lap-band is much safer than the RNY surgery, so if you're going to get weight loss surgery, I'd say that lap-band is the best bet by far for someone in your position: not particularly heavy and not suffering from co-morbidities. However, ANY surgery carries a degree of risk, so I don't think it's worth it to get any weight loss surgery JUST for cosmetic reasons. Personally, I had no serious health problems when I was thinking about the band. My worst complaint was some very mild back pain and knee soreness...which fortunately has resolved with just about 15 pounds weight loss. However, I'm very severely morbidly obese, so I wanted the band to PREVENT future problems...especially with my horrible family history of health problems. Perhaps the band could help you if your weight is really affecting your quality of life and/or if your weight is still climbing upwards. But my advice is don't resort to surgery if you don't have to. Good luck.

Mine is several inches to the left and above my navel. My surgeon never even mentioned the issue of port placement. I'm pretty sure he puts all of them near the navel. I can't feel my port, and don't have any problems with it. If I had the option to pick, I probably would have asked for a sternum port because they seem to be less likely to move or become uncomfortable as you lose weight. However, I also know of many people who are happy with their abdomen ports, so I don't feel there is a really dramatic difference between the two locations. I just trusted my surgeon's judgement and so far so good.

It's good that you're being so supportive and planning to work on this together. Personally, I think the lap-band makes it easier to adjust emotionally to the changes because the weight loss is more gradual than with the RNY. However, I guess any weight loss can cause emotional issues to surface. I hope that your insurance covers the band. Some companies are more open-minded than you might expect. I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to get approved (I had United Healthcare). Personally, I am not that enthused with the RNY. Since the lap-band is so much safer and less drastic, I think it's a better first choice for most people than the RNY is. You can always go back and get the lap-band revised to an RNY, but if you have trouble after a RNY there are not as many options left. So I'm really glad the lap-band was a choice for me. Good luck

Do you mean you had trouble swallowing your saliva after the fill? That doesn't sound like you did anything wrong! It sounds like your doctor over-estimated how much fluid to fill your band with. From what I've read online, it seems that some people get very restricted with small fills. I think it would be good to ask your doctor to give you a smaller fill than normal to start off with. Then you can creep up slowly to higher levels of restriction until you reach the point that is comfortable to you. In the past couple of years the band has become more popular and more has been learned about how to use it properly, so I bet that your doctor will be able to handle it better now than in the past. I am glad that you've joined us here. It is very educational to hear about the experiences of long-term post-ops. I'm sorry that you have experienced so much trouble, but hope things get easier for you now.

If your pain doesn't subside with Leo's suggestions, I suggest going to the ER to get checked out. Better safe than sorry with chest pain.

Hi Barb. Glad to hear another happy story about the band. Congratulations. I can't wait until I reach my century mark! This is a nice website, isn't it? I am on a lot of Bandster mailing lists but this is a much more convenient format in my opinion.