Shellyac

The sleeve generally removes 80-85% of your stomach While plication for weight loss is relatively new, the plication procedure is based on a technique that has been used to treat GERD for over 40 years http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nissen_fundoplication With plication your stomach is not removed unlike the sleeve. Like the band. plication is also reversible. The benefit of the iband (band and plication together) is that they serve as a back up to each other. The combination can result in the need for fewer fills or even no fills at all, however if there isn't adequate weight loss with the unfilled band, the band can be filled for additional restriction. I will grant that the procedure is new but it there are few to no additional risks when compared to the band alone.

If you're not comfortable with getting the sleeve then you may want to look into getting the band with plication (iband). Plication is a relatively new WLS but initial studies show that plication can help to prevent slippage and erosion. Here is the site of a doctor in the LA area that preforms the procedure http://blog.marinahospital.com/l-a-bariatrics-to-perform-first-banded-plication-surgery/

Plication in a procedure where they fold and suture the stomach into a sleeve, it is similar to the sleeve gastrectomy except your stomach isn't removed. The procedure is relatively new but initial studies show that when done with the band it can help to preven band complications like erosion and slippage. Also the weight loss rate is a little faster than with the band alone. If you are with true results I believe that they are a practice that does offer the band with plication, it is also called the iband. I did a quick search at www.costco.com and there are a few locations in the Houston area. If you don't already have a membership ($50/yr) it may not be worth it get it just for the shakes alone (though I usually find that if they have a gas station the savings from gas alone makes the membership worth it, also they have discounted movie tickets that saves you about $2-3 a ticket). Also if you know someone with a membership you can ask them to by the shakes for you or ask them to get a costco cash card for you (apparently you don't need to have a membership if you have the cash card)

Where do you live?

I like the premier shakes from Costco. They are 160 calories, only have 1g of sugar and have 30g of protein. They taste pretty ok. I also drink Boost on occasionally but it is higher in calories and sugar and they only have 15g per bottle. I also find that drinking the shakes through a straw helps me to taste the shakes less

I was given what diet I should follow for the week and the day before surgery in a notebook that was given to me at my first visit so you may want to check any materials that you were given just in case. I was also told that the surgery center would call me the day before to tell me what time to arrive. I got a call from the surgery center a few days before surgery to go over the meds that I was taking and asked about my surgery time then,

I decided to switch doctors after I had the surgery already scheduled with the first one. I didn't have any problems getting my paperwork forwarded to the new doctor and I pretty much had all of the required tests completed before going to the new office.. The new office said that I had to pay their fee ($250 but they haven't asked me to pay it yet so I'm thinking I might get a bill). I saw the new doctor twice before surgury, the first was the initial consult and the second was the day before surgery). They required me to see their nutriitionist but I was able to do that via skype since I live in Maryland and their office is in Florida. Overall the experience was pretty easy

Have somone bring you ear plugs ASAP and hopefully they can transfer you to another room soon.

You need to copy everything in the bbcode box into your signature. That usually works.

Also it is possible that there is some fluid in your band. My doc told be that they usually flush the band after they insert it and that usually leaves some fluid in the band. For me he made sure that my band was empty because I had plication done at the same time.

I'm a fan of the premier protein shakes from costco, they have 30 grams of protein,160 calories, and only 1g of sugar per shake and I like the taste. I also occassionally will drink a boost but they are higher in calories and sugar and only have 15 g of protein per shake but they do taste better.

I would also suggest EA Active, it is a really great excercise program and it has a 30 day challenge to keep you motivated. It comes with resistance bands but they are only so so, I would suggest you get your own and it's really easy to add weights to the routines. Also you may want to eventually add the Wii Fit acessory to the Wii (it's $60), the excercise program isn't that great but it also functions as a scale and can help you keep an electronic record of your weight Cali- my doc cleared me to start excercising 10 days out, he just said to do what I feel comfortable doing

The bypass and duodenal switch (DS) have been shown to quickly reverse diabetes as quickly as overnight, it may have to do with the malabsorption feature of these procedures. The band can also help to improve diabetes but I believe that it comes with the weight loss which is slower when compared to those procedures.

I agree that things are confusing, and I have yet to see a consistant post op diet plan. Protein drinks are just a good way to get your protein in because it is much easier to drink than to eat, especially once you start getting fills. Also protein drinks helps to curb your hunger. They aren't necessary if you are able to get all of your protein in through your usual food and drink intake, some people have mentioned that once they get restriction it is much easier to have a protein shake in the morning because their band is too tight to take down food. Personally I find it easier to drink my shakes through a straw because I taste them less when I do, I've only been doing it the past two days and I do find that I burp alot while I'm drinking but they are tiny burps. I had my stomach plicated in addition to getting the band and I find that although drinking a little right before eating or even a few sips while I'm eating doesn't cause any problems, if I have anything more than a few sips immediately after I become uncomfortable so I avoid that. I think the fine chewiing of your food really applies to more solid foods, again this will be more of an issue once the band starts getting filled and you have a higher risk of getting stuck

I was banded in FL on January 6th and flew back home to MD on the 21st. I had no problem at all flying and I honestly could have flown earlier than that. Michelle

If you're looking for a good shake, I would recommend the premier shake from costco, it has 30g of protein and only 1g of sugar and is only 160 calories per shake and they taste pretty good. I'm also on myfitnesspal, my id is shellyac_1, feel free to add me

Generally you should be getting in about 70-80 grams of protein a day. When you are at good restriction you should be eating about 1/2 to 1 cup of food at a time. Before you are at the green zone you may be able to eat more. You should concentrate on eating your protein first then veggies, ideally you shouldn't be hungry between meals but if you are, have high protein snacks like cheese or a protein shake. Also check out the food and nutrition forum to get a sense of what other people are doing

My doctor told me that he did not put any Fluid in my band because he wanted to make sure that food had an easy escape route if necessary because of the plication. He said normally when they place the band they flush it and that usually leaves a little fluid in the band. I am scheduled to go get my first fill around the middle of February

I think that your surgeon set too high of an expectation, my doctor said that 1-2 lbs a week is what is normally seen in band patients. For bypass and sleeve patients that rate is about .5 to 1 lbs a day in the beginning From what I hear it can take 2-3 fills to feel any restriction, possibly even more. I think that mentally if you plan on 1-2 lbs a week you will be less fustrated when the weight isn't coming off faster than that, it is possible to lose more quickly than that and if that happens, just consider it a bonus.

Cali. From what I have read about the band 1-2 lbs a week is average, unless you have something like plication along with it. Why are you expecting to lose more? Kristy: I understand your fustration with the doctor's instructions because they are very confusing and counter to what most people are told. I would suggest trying to meet with a nutritionist to make sure you are on the correct diet but for the most part we are told that we should be eating proteins first, followed by veggies. I would say that you might be either at the right restriction or slightly too tight if you are having many stuck episodes (try going back to chewing everything very well and see if that lessens the stuck episodes). In fact I'm surprised that your doctor is telling you what to eat, I think that they generally leave that up to the nutritionists in the practice.

I like the protein shakes from costco, they have 30g of protein per shake and cost about $25 for 18 shakes

I had a similar pain in the early days. I think that it stopped after about a week and a half. I think it usally happened in the morning before I had anything to eat or drink

It's just extra insurance and no extra cost. While many people are successful with the band, the reality is that there are many people who aren't successful either through their own fault or through no fault of their own. Plication gives you a greater chance to be successful, yes there is the added benefit of possibly losing weight faster. On one hand I can understand that if that was your main concern you would have chosen a different procedure, but I think of plication like a free hit in blackjack, it doesn't hurt your hand but you have a chance to improve your hand and possibly come out ahead in the end

The band works because you simply cannot overeat, it helps to take away some of the need for willpower in that you don't need to work as hard to make sure you don't eat too much but you still have to have the willpower to make the right food choices.

The process of getting restriction with just the band can be difficult. The benefit of the plication is that you get restriction right away, but you don't have to worry about being too tight, it's like you never hit the red zone. But as some of the people who just have plication can tell you, they sometimes feel that they loose that feeling of restriction after time and that is where the band comes in, when you go through the process of getting fills, you will start to feel restriction again but the danger is that you can still become too restricted. In addition to the restriction issues, plication also helps to prevent cheating the band, even if you eat slider foods or haven't started getting fills you only eat a limited amount. It could even be possible to get to goal without a single fill. In addition to the restriction benefits, early studies have shown that plication may help to prevent complications such as slippage and erosion which is a huge benefit on it's own. It's true that this is still an investigational procedure but not many people have an opportunity to get this done and I would encourage you to take the leap, I don't think that you will regret it. Michelle