Matt Z

You can absolutely have dumping with VSG. In fact you can have dumping without any WLS at all. Are RNY more prone, sure. But saying it isn't a potential problem is just incorrect. Terri, you say you want to lose 120 lbs. VSG reports 50-60 (some 70)% loss of your total overage. RNY is upwards of 80%. Yes there are more potential complications with VSG over RNY. As someone that was banded 5 and a half years ago. I wish I would have went RNY off the bat. The band had all these amazing results reported. But the truth didn't follow the marketing. Sure, I lost 60ish lbs total already. But I'm stuck at around 300-315 lbs. Have been for 4 of the 5 years I've had the band. I'm currently in the progress of revising to RNY. Look at all your factors, how much you have to lose, etc. Understand that restriction alone will ONLY get you so far. That's why the RNY has a greater long term success rate, because of the malabsorption. I figure, I'm almost 40, over 300 lbs. If I don't do something to drop 100+ lbs now, I might not see 50.

You really should be at 100% CPAP usage. As a CPAP user myself, I understand that it can be tough. If they state that you need to be at or above a certain usage, they very well could deny you for not meeting that level of usage. Why are you only at 69% usage of your CPAP? What about the CPAP are you having issues with?

I can relate to this. I was banded back in Nov of 2011. Whereas I did lose about 60 lbs in total, I only lost 38 or so after the band. I tried my hardest, tracked all intake and expenditures. I just couldn't break 300. I'm currently floating between 300 and like 315. I felt defeated. I felt like a failure. I stopped going to my surgeon for check ups. I just kinda gave up on the band. Recently I decided that I have had enough of the getting stuck on good for you foods and was just done with failing at weight loss. I was nervous, anxious, and a bit scared to step foot in my doctor's office. But with my wife in tow, I did just that. I was relieved to find out that my experience, wasn't abnormal at all. I wasn't a failure. The band was over hyped and typical results were WAY less than promised. My doc told me that some companies have stopped making the band or replacement parts all together. One is in the process of selling their part of the company that does bands altogether. So, please do NOT take all the blame! I'm currently working towards revision to bypass. I thought about the sleeve, but my doc will not do band to sleeve revision due to scar issue build up under the band being directly in line to where they staple when they sleeve. Scar tissue doesn't heal to scar tissue the same way that healthy tissue heals to healthy tissue. So, if I wanted the band she would refer me to another surgeon in her office, but she wouldn't do it because the increased risks of leaking were just too great for her to justify doing the procedure. That and going from a long term band installation to sleeve will *not* have the same outcome as those going from nothing to sleeve. As I'm already used to the restriction, it won't be as effective. So, I'm going to revise to the bypass. Just understand, that the band was not the product that it was reported to be. You are not alone in the failure. The band failed you, not the other way around. Stay strong. Stay positive. Stay focused.

I've got GEHA as well. I'm trying my hardest NOT to have to do the 6 months of dieting... because I've had a band for 5 and a half years now. That should count in my opinion.

Under armour compression shirts are a good option. Decently priced as well. You should be able to find them at any sporting goods stores.

What was the purpose for the drain?

If you get hard candies, you shouldn't get any dumping at all given the small amount of sugar and the fact that you break down and absorb a good portion of things in your mouth while sucking on the candy.

I noticed that there hasn't been any activity in this forum since 2014. So, if any of your 2011 bandsters are still around. Sound Off! I was banded on Friday, Nov 18, 2011. I was 370 before the whole process. Right now as of Wed May 24, 2017. I'm still between 300 and 310 (ish) and I'm in the middle of getting revision to bypass surgery.

I don't want to dissuade you from the band, having the band myself for 5 and a half years. But there is a lot changing with who makes bands. Allergen is getting out of the band business altogether, I was just told by my surgeon that one company isn't making replacement parts anymore. I see your goal weight is 185 lbs, has your doctor advised you of the realistic weight loss you can expect with the band? I haven't seen many people hit over 70lbs lost, let alone over 100. I'm in the process of trying to get my band removed and converted to the bypass. I can't go with the sleeve because of scar tissue from the band. Honestly, you will do MUCH better with the sleeve than with the band. And much better with the bypass. Just something to think about, and talk to your surgeon about. With there being a mass exodus going on with band manufacturers, you might want to look at what would happen if you need a new port or connector hose and the company doesn't make them anymore.

Hello Brandon, Your story isn't far off from my own. I hit an "unofficial" 370 lbs at my largest, and I'm only 5 foot 9. I grew up in a large Italian family where eating was just what you did, all the time. If you didn't have seconds then the food must not have been good enough. I've had my band for 5 years, 6 months and 7 days now. I lost 60 lbs total, and that's it. I'm currently working with my insurance and surgeon to get a revision to the bypass. The band just isn't your best option, in fact a lot of places won't even do it anymore at this point. Even lap band companies are selling off product, selling whole sections of their company and a few, won't make new parts at all. Overall, it wasn't the worst decision I made. But I do wish, in retrospect, that I went with the Bypass first. (Didn't have the option for a sleeve when I had my band installed) I would recommend not doing the band. For your height and weight and eating situation, you'll see more benefits from gastric sleeve surgery. With less issues as well. If you are still hard up on getting the band. 1. I personally do still feel hunger, no different than pre-band. 2. I eat about 1/3 to 1/2 as much as I used to before being "full" 3. The band can erode your stomach lining and penetrate into your stomach wall. You will get stuck on foods, I get stuck on most of the foods that are supposed to be good for me. Leafy greens suck, lean meats are tough, fibrous fruits and vegetables hurt. If you can't keep water down, then the band is WAY too tight and needs to be adjusted. I can't take a good portion of pills or vitamins because they are just too big and will not pass through my band opening. Something to take into account. The band can slip too. 4. Pain before surgery? whatever you are feeling right now. Pain after surgery. Wasn't horrible. I had a tough time for a week or 2, you don't realize how much of your upper core you use for basic things. But put 4 one inch holes and a 3 inch hole in there and you'll feel it. Band adjustments weren't all that bad either. They will put a special needle that has the opening on the side into your abdomen and then into the port itself to insert or remove fluid as needed. 5. My opinion. It doesn't sound like the band is "for you". You'll get more out of a sleeve without having to deal with intestinal changes. But you won't see as much weight loss as with the bypass. Hunger, it's going to still be there, so far only the sleeve and bypass change your hunger sensitivity. Binge eating, dude, doing anything too much or too quickly with the band only leads to throwing up, and I will tell you, throwing up with an object around your stomach pouch preventing things from the lower area getting into the upper area, sucks bad. It's hard to describe, but I get afraid I'm going to pass out when I do have to vomit, the pressure in my head caused by the band is scary when actually vomiting. Purging from being stuck isn't that bad if you can control your gag reflex and not let it turn into full on vomiting. I've gotten good at that part, still sucks but not as bad as a uncontrollable vomiting situation. So all said and done. The band is MUCH better than nothing at all. But at this point, it's not the best option for weight loss surgery either. Hopefully this helps. Feel free to message me if you have any other questions.

First. 93 lbs is AMAZING! Whatever you do, DO NOT ignore that amazing feat right there! Now, a little tip that a LOT of people miss out on. Muscle building. Larger muscles require more energy at rest than small muscles do. Cardio is great, but it's only going to do so much, because those muscles aren't needing anything more (and weighing 93 lbs less means you are working a LOT less to do the same cardio) Try to do some muscle building on your gluts and quads as well as your triceps (which are around 3 times larger than biceps but most people forget to work them out). Add some muscle building to your work out and you should start seeing more fat / weight coming off. Just remember, the larger the muscle, the more fuel it needs. You might see some weight gain due to muscle mass, but as long as you keep up your intake routine, those numbers will start to drop again. Muscle does weigh more than fat as well. But you have done amazing. Don't stress too much!

You can make your own or buy no/low sugar versions. Only thing required in an edible is oil since THC is oil soluble. So if you can eat a small candy, cookie or brownie with no issues, then you shouldn't have any issues with *any* edibles. Normally edibles are fairly small.

I'm talking to my surgeon about this right now as well. I've had my band for a long time and I've hit a plateau that just won't budge. You have 3 options really. Removal with no revision. Removal with revision to a sleeve (if your surgeon will do that, mine won't) and Removal with revision to bypass. I was told that going from the band to the sleeve won't have the same effect that going from nothing to the sleeve would. Because you have already reduced your intake through lap band restrictions. So the effectiveness isn't the same. The bypass would add the malabsorption to mix increasing effectiveness. Now, here's why my surgeon won't do band to sleeve revisions. With the band, you will have some scar tissue build up (unless you've only had the band for a very short while) and the cut they make for the sleeve differs from the bypass. The cut they need to make for the sleeve, passes right through where the band, and scar tissue is, so, this greatly increases the risk of leaking and in a location that's tougher to work in due to it's location being higher up in the stomach cavity. Scar tissue doesn't heal to scar tissue quite the same way that healthy tissue heals to healthy tissue. Do doctors do band to sleeve revisions. All the time. Do some people have no issues with this, sure. But... it does increase your risk, so you should be aware of that risk. I went into my follow up / revision discussion appointment, pretty much set on the sleeve. I left leaning towards the bypass. And after doing my own research, review of both procedures, factoring in the different prospective losses with each. I'm pretty sure I'm getting revised to a bypass. Just my inputs, but worth sharing.

I'm a regular cigar smoker, I was told flat out that I didn't have to quit. The reason isn't the nicotine, it's the pulmonary irritation. Nicotine itself isn't addictive, which is why cigar smokers don't have cravings and withdrawls like cigarette smokers, it's the 500+ other chemical additives in cigarettes that cause the dependancy. They are quite simply designer drugs. Cigars contain only 1 or 2 things. Tobacco leafs and vegetable gum which is used to "glue" the wrapper leaf in place so it doesn't unravel... that's it. Cigars contain around the same amount of nicotine as a full pack of cigarettes, so saying that nicotine is the addictive chemical is daft. If they want you to stop. Stop, deal with how much it sucks however you can and after surgery, if you want to return to smoking, feel free. I've smoked clove cigarettes for YEARS, never had an issue walking away for one reason or another, joined the military, couldn't smoke for almost a year, how did I deal? Altoids mints, gum and exercise. I went back to smoking them, gave them up again for some other reason of which I don't recall, did the same thing, changed the addiction to something different. People have a hard time understanding that addiction isn't purely chemical, there is a mental aspect within the addicted that doesn't want to give it up. If it were purely chemical, than it would be very easy to treat and there wouldn't need to be psychiatrists in rehab centers. Decide what is more important to you, is continuing smoking worth it right now? Prob not, so stop. This video pretty much sums it up. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYLMTvxOaeE

That pain is called "getting stuck" stop eating so quickly and make sure to chew 25-30 times PER BITE, as a rule of thumb, or pinky as it may, don't put anything in your mouth that's larger than your pinky finger nail. Making yourself purge is very very bad as it increases the chances of slippage and errosion. Just take your time, meals should take 30 mins to consume NO LESS! and don't swallow anything that isn't chewed to an applesauce consistency. From your post it seems all of your recent pain issues are caused by improper eating.

I'm considering reducing my blog posts to either every 2 weeks or once a month+ anytime I have issues I need to voice, I don't know, I guess we'll see. This past week has been interesting. Being firmly locked in Bandster Hell I'm having slight intake control / willpower issues. I'm still well under my calorie burn totals for the days, but I'm eating more. When I'm at work, it's easy to keep my intake under control, but weekends and at night, not so much. Just need to tough it out until the 28th for my fill. I've had to drop a size in underwear because the 2x i was wearing, was falling down while I walked, so I had to drop down to just XL and I was shocked that even those, are fitting just right / not tight. My stomach fat is getting soft and squishy, my pants are VERY loose to the point where I cannot wear them where I used to (under my gut) now I have to wear them around my belly button / waist. Not sure where my weight is right now, I'll weigh in either Saturday or Sunday and I'll update when I do. Emotionally I've been great! And I'm glad that things are going so well. Stay Strong!

If you work with your band it will work with you! Just have to stay strong, It is by far the best thing I've ever done for myself!

Check your BMR http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/ and add any exercise burn to that and you'll get the real amount of calories you burn in a day. Right now I've been averaging a daily burn of 3541 and only taking in an average 1166 daily. You can see for yourself on my fitbit profile. http://www.fitbit.com/user/22LNWP Starvation mode only lasts the first 2 weeks with a DRASTIC decrease, like that of 500 calories or lower. After 2 weeks of a reduced intake regime your body reconfigures it's low intake triggers. As long as you are taking in the Vitamins and Proteins needed to support your system, your body will simply revert to using it's stored energy to make up for the calories you are not giving it, IE fat.

So today is the end of my 3rd week. Saw the doc on monday and her scale said I was 321.6. Not sure exactly how my medical scale (with weights and slide) compares to her digital one. The 321.6 was weighed with shoes and all, so I don't know. I haven't weighed myself today because I returned to work. So lets start the weekly break down. Physical: I've noticed a very large increase in energy. To the point where my wife is getting very happy because I'm doing stuff around the house, not just sitting there tired. I've had the energy to move around and get stuff cleaned up and what not. I can take a flight of stairs with no issues whereas just 6 short months ago it would have winded me. I actually took the 2 flights of stairs to my appointment rather than take the elevator. I started to "feel" the stairs at the 1.5 flight mark. It slowed my pace down, but It didn't take all the wind out of me or put me into a sweat, which was a huge NSV for me. I used to be a VERY active person, always on the go and wanting to do stuff, I could walk forever. I'm happy to see that I'm getting back to that. My pants are not fitting anymore, I used to wear my pants under my gut, now I can't if I do that they fall down, so I've been resorting to wearing them around my actual waist up on my gut over my bellybutton. The only side effect is that now when I walk too far, my underwear falls off my butt! More funny than anything else, my own personal inside joke. My sex life has greatly increased as well, the energy and stamina I have now are getting noticed lol. The downs, I have to wait until the 28th to get my fill and I've been hungry often and if I chew properly I can get anything down in larger amounts than I would really like. I've been doing good with my calorie intake and burn, averaging a 3550 daily burn with a 1170 intake. So I'm tossing 2380 calories out the window each day on average or 1 pound of body fat every 1.4 days. Not too shabby, I guess we'll see how well I'm doing when I weigh in later today. Emotional: I'm feeling SO much better emotionally for the most part. The being stuck in bandster hell has put a damper on my spirits a bit, but I've been keeping things in check with my food log and trackers. I just have to stay strong and tough it out. I'm glad to be back at work. My wife has been extremely happy lately and that is just making things so much better overall at home. I have felt slightly defeated when I stepped on the scale and saw a weight higher than what I had the week before, but when I checked at home, I was the same weight as the week before, so I'm not going to focus so much on the numbers right now, I'm going to keep things in perspective, I'm just starting out and even at a mere 2 lbs a week, that's 110 lbs in the year. I can deal with that. I've actually wanted to exercise more. I take the long way to the rest room at work and even started taking the stairs down a floor than back up on my way to or from the rest room. It's been a icky week weather wise, so I haven't been able to get out and do some walking but I'm finding other ways to make sure I keep my burn rate up. Other: My boys are starting to show some weight loss, even though they are not specifically on a diet which is fantastic. My wife is smiling and happy both for me and about my overall increase in spirits and health. Things have been getting better each day and I love it. Now I did get stuck the other day and I'm sort of glad I did. I was eating an orange (LOVE ORANGES!) at work and I went to bite a piece off a section of 3 lobes that were stuck together, I went to seperate 1 half of a lobe when the whole 3 lobe section broke in half in a way that sent it straight to the back of my throat and my bodies automatic response was to swallow. I freaked a bit, but when I didn't feel anything, I figured that it was small enough or soft enough to pass through my totally unrestricted stomach. I waited a few minutes knowing from reading that I might have to let it back up so I preped for the run to the rest room. Nothing. So I finished my orange. A good 10 -15 minutes AFTER finishing the orange I felt this odd sensation of food moving back upwards, not the contraction like a purge, just stuff trying to work it's way back up. I tried to burp, no burp. I sipped some water, stood up, put my hands on my head and walked around a bit, nothing, the feeling was still there. I sipped a bit more water and it was very hard to get down my throat, this triggered the feeling of needing to purge, still no contractions. I bolted to the rest room, took the handicapped stall and stood so that my stomach was above my mouth and I just let the food work it's way back up with no assistance on my part, it was very odd, I knew not to enduce a purge reaction for risk of causing damage to the only 2.5 week old surgery, I did have 2 instances of purge contractions, but I quickly forced them to stop, I got a good amount of orange, but not the piece that caused the problems. I was producing lots of saliva, but after the pieces came up, I didn't have the purge feeling or the uncomfortable "moving up" feeling, I still felt odd/sick the rest of the day, I drank a bit more water and it went down but slowly. So I kept it liquids for the rest of the day and was feeling fine the next day. Some have asked "why are you happy that it happened?" the answer is pretty easy, with any fears, you don't know what exactly is going to happen, now I know, I know why it happened, I know how to prevent it from happening again and I know that in the off chance it does happen again, exactly what to do. Plus, I really do not want to repeat that feeling ever again. So that little negative reinforcement is a good thing. I will update my weight (good or bad) later when I can weigh in. Until then, Thank you for reading, I look forwards to reading your replies and comments and STAY STRONG! ***UPDATE*** Weighed in at 316. w00t!

No need to go to a gym, you can get your Basal Metabolic rate online, granted it's not going to be exactly specific to you, but it's easy to get close. Just remember that when you lose weight your BMR changes so check often! http://www.bmi-calcu...bmr-calculator/

So I had my appt today, everything looks good, I wasn't able to get filled today, but they did bump up my fill date a week and a half. So I'll just have to stick it out in Bandster Hell and keep counting my intake making sure to stay well under my burn. Sigh. Oh well, here's to trying right?

Awesome Raleigh, can't wait to see what your doc says. Thanks for the input everyone. This really sucks. I've been good and I've kept my Protein high, my carbs low and my Water intake at around 2 liters a day. As well as keeping my calorie intake under 1500. Just sick of being hungry 24/7.

I was banded on the 18th of Nov. The first week was great, good restriction (due to stomach swelling I'm sure) and everything was going good, then the restriction started to go away. Now I'm at the end of week 2 with no restrictive feeling at all. I have my first post-op appt on monday and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the doc will give me a fill.

Weighed in today, 319. Only 2 pounds since last friday. I know why and I have to change it. I've got zero restriction now that the swelling has gone down, I'm eating around 1200-1500 less than I burn each day, so I'm a little unsure at the lack of weight change. I know 2 pounds a week is a good rate, but it's disappointing. I'm mad and upset. But I know it's ok. What am I going to do about it? I'm going to get my ass out and walk more. I'm going to ignore the growls creeping out from my belly. I'm going to keep up my protein intake, my water intake and I'm going to keep logging every single piece of food that enters my mouth. I am not going to be effected by this slow down. I haven't had a fill yet and I know that this is the main reason why my weight loss has slown down. I have my first post-op appt with my doc on Monday and I'm going to push for a fill. I just hope she agrees. Weight loss issues aside, I feel fantastic. Walking is so much easier, I don't get winded as quickly as I used to, standing for longer periods of time doesn't bother me as much either. My clothes are fitting better and my face is noticably thinner. I just have to stay strong.

check your local community centers, usually they have very low fees and end up being great places to go to. Join a walking club, the whole "I don't have time" thing is a cop-out. Stop using it! I have 2 boys and work an hour away from my home. So that's 2+ hours of driving on top the 8+ hours of working. Then it's helping the kids and cooking dinner since my wife works 2 jobs and is almost never home. I find time, because there IS time. Instead of sitting down and just catching up on a few hours of tv. Get outside and walk, find a local bike path or walking trail, explore! Get a small stationary bike and set that in your living room, ride it whenever you are watching tv. Look into getting a step tracker like the Fitbit. It's amazing how much calories you actually burn when you don't realize it, like stated above, park farther away, walk around the office, on your 15 min breaks, don't just sit there or go for a coffee and donut, go walk around the building, inside or out. Take a few flights of stairs rather than the elevator the whole way. Walk down the stairs after work. Every little bit of effort, which might seem trivial at first adds up. I'm burning on average 3500 calories a day now, and only consuming 1300. So right now, I'm dropping one pound of fat every 2 days or so. It really is amazing when you can track every bit of movement each day, it will show that small adjustments, make big steps forwards! Find something fun to do with your kid, take them walking with you, do nature hikes, kids LOVE that and it gets you out and moving! Good luck and Stay Strong!