quakergirl

Welcome to the site. How has it been going for you?

Yuck. Sorry to hear that you have to do that. I didn't have to do a pre-op diet, but I tried dieting with Protein shakes for a while back when I thought I could lose the weight on my own, so I can sympathize with how hard it is. It might be easier if you try a different brand of Protein drinks. In my experience, some brands are totally disgusting (Carb Solutions, in my view) and others are much better (I liked the brand HMR). Perhaps others on here can suggest more decent brands. You might want to try adding something to the shakes to make it tolerable. Like flavor extracts (vanilla, banana, mint, etc.), sugar free pudding mix, or blending up frozen fruit. Just don't add anything really high calorie. To stay motivated, remind yourself that every little bit of weight you lose now is just that much less you have to lose after surgery, because this time the band will help you keep it off. Good luck. Surgary day will be here before you know it.

Congratulations! I know what you mean about the 299 milestone making everything seem more attainable. I can't wait until I get there too.

Don't get a fill unless/until you are eating so much food that you haven't lost any weight for several weeks straight. Any doctor that insists that you need a fill based on a certain time schedule rather than how you feel and how you're losing weight is not a good band doctor, if you ask me. If in doubt, I feel that it's better to err on the side of keeping your band too loose than to risk making it too tight. A too-loose band just means your weight loss might slow down for a while. A too-tight band can make it so you can't keep any food down, and that's obviously not a good thing at all. Here's a list of things to consider in determining if you need a fill or not: http://lapbandtransformation.com/Adjustments.htm

Regarding the regain issue, well, there are no guarantees, but I am sure we have much better odds of keeping the weight off than someone using Medifast does. Medifast is the protein drink diet, right? Nobody can stay on those protein drinks for a lifetime (personally, I couldn't stay on them for more than a couple of days at a time!). As soon as you stop drinking them, you're probably going to put the weight back on. Every diet works in the short term - the trouble is that it's so, so hard to stick with a diet for your whole life. With the band, I am eating in a balanced way that is satisfying, so I know I'll be able to handle this lifestyle for the long term. My suspicion is that the reason for regain with the lap-band would be if you become complacent and don't bother going in for fills as needed after a couple of years. That's something we should probably keep in mind and keep following up with our surgeons.

Fully blocked for 13 days? Wow, how did you manage during that time? I saw a post elsewhere by a man who unfortunately had to have his band out after being unable to get anything down for several days. Very sorry that this happened to you as well, but it's good that you were able to keep your band.

I just did a search and didn't find anything on this board. Perhaps you saw it on Spotlight Health instead? Good luck on finding it.

Well, that's a relief, because I've been drinking before my meals anyway. I find that taking a few gulps of Water before I eat removes the temptation to drink afterwards, which is when it really causes trouble. Only 20 minutes after eating, though? That surprises me. It doesn't seem long enough for the food to leave the pouch.

It might be hard to get insurance approval for a BMI under 40 unless you can prove you have some health problems related to the weight. However, you may want to consider doing a self-pay surgery in Mexico. I believe that they do a lot of lower bmi patients there.

I'm glad you were assertive and decided to switch. I can't imagine how frustrating the waiting must have been. You're better off going with a surgeon who has more experience anyway. Good luck!

My doctor here in MI has banded several women around your mom's age. In particular, I know he banded a 64 year old lady (who has lost 100 pounds to date despite being unable to exercise) and a lady near 70 (not sure how much she has lost). On the Bandsters mailing list, there is a lady named Sissy who was banded at 66 years old. She is now 70 (I believe) and appears to be doing great. If your mother is in relatively good health and is prepared to self-pay (I'm not sure how insurance companies would look at banding someone over 60), then I'm quite sure she can find someone to band her. I don't see any reason why lap-bands should be off-limits to the elderly. After all, the band could prevent them from having to go through more risky, traumatic surgeries like heart surgery in the following years.

I was the same way pre-op. I gained five pounds between my consult and surgery because I was "saying goodbye" to the foods I loved. However, as it turns out, I AM still able to eat just about everything I liked to eat before...despite a fair amount of restriction (2 ccs). I wish I hadn't gained that weight pre-op, because it'd be that much less that I'd have to lose now! I can eat bread, rice, and Pasta - just not in the same quantities as before. For example, now when I make a sandwich, I fold over ONE slice of bread rather than eating two slices like I used to. Yes, it is sometimes tempting to keep eating even though I've had enough. However, I think the band DOES help somewhat in resisting that urge. I realize now that there were many times pre-op when I was shoveling food in without really tasting it. Now that I have to pay attention to what I'm eating, I savor the tastes more, and it's easier to stop when I realize I'm not enjoying the taste anymore. Don't worry. I'm sure you will do fine.

I agree that it doesn't seem right for your doctor to have such a rigid guideline for weight. I have heard that a lot of doctors have "rules" that people over a BMI of 50 can't have laparoscopy (for RNY as well as the band), so that might be why he picked 50 as the cut-off. However, I'm living proof that the band CAN be done on bigger people. My BMI was 58 before the surgery. On the other hand, if this surgeon is the only one available to you, I guess you gotta do what you gotta do to get the band. If you are still having trouble losing weight, you might want to try the Atkins diet. During the induction phase, the weight comes off pretty fast. Might be a little easier to stick to that than the liquid diet (at least pre-op). I think it's easier to stick with the liquid post-op diet because you know it will end eventually! Good luck.

Glad that your port is fixed now! You're the first person I've heard of to have a port problem just from stretching. I don't understand how that could happen so many months after your surgery. I'd expect that eventually the port would become anchored by scar tissue or something.

Had a weigh-in at my surgeon's office today. I found out that I'm down to 324. That means I'm officially down 48 pounds. Since I was wearing heavy winter clothes, I'm considering that close enough to be celebrating my 50 pound milestone. :cool: I was NEVER able to lose 50 pounds dieting on my own, so this is a major breakthrough for me. Now I definitely believe the band will work for me. The band has been a true God-send for me. I feel like I decided on weight loss surgery at exactly the right time...right around the time when the Lap-Band was being perfected here in the US. I hate to think that if I had gotten fed up with my weight just a couple years sooner I might have had to live my whole life with a gastric bypass instead. For that matter, I'm lucky that I happened to find a doctor who is very pro-band, and didn't discourage me just because I am not the "ideal" band candidate. Most docs would say that someone like me (a "super morbidly obese" person who also has a sweet tooth) should just get the gastric bypass. I KNEW that I didn't want something as drastic and irreversible as the gastric bypass, so I HAD to give the band a chance. I'm sure glad that I did! I hope to lose a lot more weight - and I fully expect to lose more! - but even if I just stay at my current weight loss, this band would be well worth it. During the early months I was discouraged because it seemed like everyone else was losing weight faster than I was. But now things are going so well. If all continues to go well, a few months from now I will be saying goodbye to the 300s forever. HOORAY FOR THE BAND!

Thanks for all the well wishes!!! The supprot I've gotten here and on other sites has been so valuable.

I remember reading her posts about her visit to the surgeon. I'm sure she'll do great. Best wishes to her. :cool:

Congrats on the impending birth of your baby. :cool: Unless it has changed since I got banded, I think they have seminars every month, so maybe there will be one in December for you. I know it's hard to wait to get banded! I have no regrets about getting the band or choosing to get banded in Port Huron. It was one of the best decisions I made in my life so far. I'm hoping that you get to feel the same way in a few months.

It's not much, but here's some research on the improved quality of life lap-abnd patients experience. Am J Surg. 2002 Dec;184(6B):51S-54S. Changes in comorbidities and improvements in quality of life after LAP-BAND placement. Dixon JB, O'Brien PE. Monash University, Department of Surgery and the Alfred Hospital, Commercial Road, 3181, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. john.dixon@med.monash.edu.au Possibly the most important outcomes of bariatric surgery involve changes in obesity-related illness, quality of life (QOL), and psychologic well-being. Dramatic improvement or resolution of serious medical comorbidity accompanies the weight loss following laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding with the LAP-BAND (INAMED Health, Santa Barbara, CA). There are major improvements in the conditions of the metabolic syndrome, which is characterized by impaired glucose tolerance, dyslipidemia, and hypertension. Improvement in insulin sensitivity and pancreatic beta-cell function associated with weight loss induces remission in the majority of type 2 diabetics and reduces the risk of others developing type 2 diabetes. Improvement in dyslipidemia is characterized by raised high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and lower triglyceride concentrations. Together with lower blood pressure, these changes provide a substantial reduction in cardiovascular risk. Other medical conditions caused or aggravated by obesity are also significantly improved, including sleep apnea, daytime sleepiness, asthma, and gastroesophageal reflux. Weight loss is associated with improved fertility and more favorable pregnancy outcomes. All aspects of QOL improve substantially, especially physical disability, and post-weight-loss QOL measures approximate those of the general population. There are also major improvements in body image and reduction in depressive illness. These changes provide perhaps the most compelling data regarding the value of LAP-BAND surgery and underlie the great satisfaction experienced by patients.

I don't think that many x-rays are typical. I only had one barium x-ray right before I left the hospital, and that was it (haven't even needed a fluoroscope for fills; my surgeon just finds the port by touch). If you're really worried about getting Xrays, I definitely think you should tell the doc your concerns. As long as you are not experiencing symptoms like vomiting or not losing any weight, I don't see why he would have to check the band's position so much.

Good luck to your mom. :cool: I am hoping that my mother will be inspired by my experience to consider banding as well. I know it would improve her quality of life immensely. I am really glad that banding surgery seems to be spreading to more and more hospitals. Hopefully that means that if any of us ever have some kind of trouble with the band and can't get back to our original surgeons, we can go to a closer hospital and know that they will have someone on staff there who is familiar with the band.

It looks like St John in Detroit is going to also jump on the "bandwagon" (heh) http://www.stjohn.org/PressRelease.aspx?PressReleaseID=283 I've never heard of this Dr. Hawasli before, but they make it sound like he has been doing lap-bands for a while. Anyone know anything about him? I'm glad that lap-band surgeries are apparently becoming more prevalent. I think in a few more years lap-bands will replace RNY as the WLS of choice.

I replied to your other post about Port Huron (in case you didnt see it). I don't know about your specific plan, but I was approved for surgery with the Port Huron docs by UHC, so that seems like a good sign for you. They didn't give me any trouble about it. Hope that things work out for you!

Yep, I was banded at Port Huron Hospital. I am happy with my experience. I thought the staff there was very friendly and competent (of course, the surgeons are very busy, but that's to be expected). If you've done your homework ahead of time, the seminar probably won't reveal any big surprises. It's just a hoop you have to jump through. Supposedly there will be an info seminar in Flint on November 5th (according to http://www.porthuronhospital.org/frontpage/lap_band_surgery.htm ) so you might want to check into that. It might be closer for you. You might want to visit the "Michigan" topic on this forum. I know there are some other Port Huron patients there. There is also a mailing list on Yahoo for us MI bandsters at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Eastside_Bandsters_MI Good luck. :cool:

Thanks Sue and CoffeeWench for giving us newbies reassurances from the long term post op perspective. :cool: I definitely agree that the lap-band seems to make it easier to learn good habits. It's easy for me to see what works and what doesn't for me, since my loss (or lack thereof) each month depends solely on what I'm doing and what I'm eating - rather than intestinal malabsorption doing all the work for me. That is, the malabsorption helps in the SHORT TERM. In the long run, malabsorption doesn't really help you. Eventually the intestines adapt to being bypassed and they start absorbing more calories. Then what? If you haven't learned good habits along the way, you start regaining all the weight. Either that or you have to go through the whole thing again with a revision surgery. Not something I want to have face!