ElizabethAnne

I had not been able to get into a size 16 in over 13 yrs I went last week and bought me a pair they didnt zip but i layed them on my dresser and last night when i couldnt sleep i tried them on and YES they are tight and YES i wouldnt wear them just yet but they ZIP!!! and i didnt even have to lay on the bed to get them to zip..... A huge Huge Huge .. NSG for me...... I had to share.

The world of bariatric surgery is full of myths. Every time myths are repeated, they gain strength and credibility (deserved or not), so it’s important to look at them closely before accepting them as true.


TIME TO THROW OUT SOME OLD MYTHS
It’s time to throw out some old myths about the adjustable gastric band, but before we start flinging those myths around, let’s all agree on what a myth is.
The traditional definition is that a myth is an ancient story of unverifiable, supposedly historical events. A myth expresses the world view of a people or explains a practice, belief, or natural phenomenon. For example, the Greek god Zeus had powers over lightning and storms, and could make a storm to show his anger.
If you think myths are dry stuff found only in schoolbooks, think again. They surround just about every aspect of our lives, and travel much faster now, in the age of technology, than they did in the dusty old days of ancient Greece and Rome. They’re a way for us to make sense of a chaotic world, both past, present and future. They affect thoughts, beliefs, emotions and assumptions in our everyday lives, coming alive in our minds as we, and the people around us, seem to act them out.
Some myths are helpful because they give us a shared sense of security and express our fundamental values and beliefs, but some myths are just plain wrong and can be harmful to us and to others. A good example is the myth that having weight loss surgery is taking the easy way out. Every time I hear that one repeated, I want to laugh and scream at the same time. If you’re a post-op, you know why. Weight loss is hard no matter how you do it (surgery, diet pills, prayer, magic cleanses, and so on). On the other hand, WLS is supposed to be easy, compared to the dozens or hundreds of weight loss attempts in our past. Why on earth would I put myself through a major surgery if it wasn’t going to help me lose weight and keep it off?
Now that we’ve shared a little laugh (or scream) over a WLS myth we can all agree upon, let’s test out some band myths whose validity may not be as clear. This kind of examination can be uncomfortable, but believing in a falsehood is almost guaranteed to make your WLS journey bumpier than it needs to be.
Let’s start with the myths that are easiest to digest and end with the ones that can be tougher for a bandster to swallow.
#1 – THE BAND IS THE LEAST INVASIVE WLS PROCEDURE
I believed this one at first, mainly because I knew little about the other WLS procedures back in 2007. It’s still a widely-circulated myth, one that even my surgeon’s well-intentioned dietitian endorses. So, what’s the truth according to Jean? Face it: any surgery done on an anesthetized patient, during which a surgeon cuts into the belly in several places, does some dissection (more cutting) and suturing (stitching) of the internal anatomy, and implants a medical device (the dreaded “foreign object”), is invasive. It is true that band placement generally involves less internal dissection and suturing than other weight loss surgeries, but neither is it on the same level medically as having your teeth cleaned. So while the invasiveness of a surgery is worth considering, you do yourself a disservice if you let that override other considerations. A bariatric surgery might last 45-60 minutes, with recovery lasting a week or so, but its effect on your health and lifestyle last a lifetime. Or I sure hope it does.
Some people associate invasiveness with irreversibility. Although the band is meant to stay put once clamped to your stomach, it can indeed be removed if medically necessary. Gastric bypass (RNY) surgery can also be reversed, while the sleeve (VSG) cannot and only the “switch” (malabsorptive feature) of the duodenal switch (DS) can be reversed. Removal or reversal is not as easy as operating on a “virgin belly” (as my surgeon so colorfully puts it), so it’s important to weigh the benefits against the risks of reversal or revision surgery.
#2 – BAND WEIGHT LOSS TAKES TOO MUCH WORK
Aside from the desire for instant and effortless weight loss (which is a fairy tale if I ever heard one) that so many obese people share (me among them), this is a myth that often turns people away from the band and towards other WLS procedures. While this myth may be true in the first 12-18 months after surgery, eventually everyone ends up in the same boat, rowing hard against the powerful tide of obesity.
Weight loss and weight maintenance is hard no matter how you achieve it. A dietitian who spoke at a band support group meeting I attended a few years ago said that while band patients must change their lifestyle immediately in order to succeed, every WLS patient must do that sooner or later. It’s a pay-me-now or pay-me-later deal. You can slice it, dice it, sauté it and serve it on your grandmother’s best china. However you serve it, weight loss and maintenance is a lifetime project because obesity is a chronic disease with no cure. No matter how successful we are as new post-ops, all of us must face the possibility of regain. That’s why I cringe when someone proudly crows, “XXX pounds gone forever!”
#3 – THE BAND’S SLOWER WEIGHT LOSS PREVENTS SAGGING SKIN
This is a fairy tale. According to several plastic surgeons I’ve heard speak on the subject. The effect of weight loss on skin depends mostly on your genetics and your age (because skin loses elasticity as we age). Other factors can be how obese you were, how long you were obese, how you carried your weight, and how much (and how) you exercise as you lose weight.
I’ve heard women say that they’d rather be obese than have sagging or excess skin. To my mind, that’s a sad statement, because I’d rather have sagging or excess skin (as long as it didn’t interfere with my ambulation or activities) than excess weight. Don’t get me wrong: I loathe the excess flab on my midsection (whose nickname is “The Danish Pastry”) and I’m not thrilled about my batwings, throat wattles, or anything else that’s happened to my skin in the past few years (during which I’ve undergone the double-whammy of weight loss and the fast approach of my 60’s). On the other hand, I think I look pretty good for a woman my age, especially when I conceal my figure flaws in flattering clothing which, I might add, no longer needs to be purchased at Lane Giant.
#4 – TO LOSE WEIGHT, YOU HAVE TO FIND YOUR SWEET SPOT
I used to wonder how the Sweet Spot Myth could survive in the face of so much clinical evidence against it, but last year I heard the “you gotta find your sweet spot” claim uttered by a bariatric dietitian, so apparently this is a myth being validated by medical professionals who ought to know better.
Instead of the sweet spot, Allergan (the first to introduce the band in the USA) uses a zone chart to illustrate band restriction, with not enough restriction in the yellow zone, good restriction in the green zone, and too much restriction in the red zone. In other words, restriction happens in a range of experience, not at a single static point. That experience changes over time as we lose weight, deal with ordinary processes such as hormonal fluctuations, hydration changes, stress, medications, time of day, and so on. It’s also affected by our food choices (solid vs soft/liquid food).
In my banded days, I traveled through and around a sweet spot many times. It might last for 30 minutes, 3 days, 3 weeks, but it never stayed exactly the same, and yet I still lost weight! I don’t actually want to stay exactly the same for the rest of my life (throat wattles notwithstanding). As any Parkinson’s disease patient will tell you (if they’re able to speak), a body that gets stuck in time is a very big problem (and with my luck, I’d get stuck in the worst sinus infection or case of the flu of my life). Some people who are very sensitive to their band and its fills find sudden or unexpected changes in restriction to be very, very frustrating, and I wouldn’t wish that on anyone, either.
To read more about the sweet spot, click here to go to an article, The Elusive Sweet Spot.
http://www.lapbandtalk.com/page/index.html/_/support/post-op-support/the-elusive-sweet-spot-r59
#5 – NO SIDE EFFECTS MEAN MY BAND ISN’T WORKING
Equating side effects with a properly working band is very common, and potentially very harmful. The two most significant signs of the band’s proper functioning are (1) early satiety and (2) prolonged satiety. Those signs are rarely expressed in large, bold, uppercase letters, such as

STOP EATING NOW!


Those signs won’t be accompanied by clanging bells or flashing lights, either. In fact, the less noise and distraction (such as “Why don’t I have stuck episodes?”), the more likely you are to be able to recognize early and prolonged satiety.
Before I tell you why the no side effects = broken band worry is a sign of mythical thinking, let’s make sure we agree on the definition of a side effect, and how that relates to complications. A side effect is an unintentional or unwanted effect of a medical treatment, and it’s usually exceeded (or at least balanced) by the benefits (the intentional, wanted effects) of that treatment. For example, antibiotics can cause diarrhea. That’s an unpleasant side effect, but an untreated infection can have far worse consequences for the patient. Side effects can often be managed by tweaking or changing the treatment, and they are rarely worse than the original condition.
A complication, on the other hand, is a more acute, serious consequence of a medical treatment, and usually needs a more aggressive approach, including surgery to fix the problem. Now let’s go back to the antibiotic example. An allergic, anaphylactic reaction to the antibiotic can be fatal without prompt medical treatment. That’s a complication, and it’s far worse than the original condition.
So in the context of all that, it seems strange to me when bandsters long for side effects like regurgitation (PB’s), stuck episodes, and sliming. Instead of looking for more subtle clues from their bodies (like early and prolonged satiety), they go looking for problems, and worse than that, they tend to “test” their band with foolish eating and/or overeating, hoping to provoke a side effect that will signal to them that they really do have a band in there. One of the many problems with that approach is that it can also provoke a complication. And that brings us to the final myth in today’s article:
#6 – THE MORE FILL, THE BETTER
I’ve heard bariatric surgeons comment that some band patients seem
to be addicted to fills. I can identify with that because I had a good relationship with my band surgeon who not only administered my fills but gave me a lot of encouragement as well as answers to my many questions. I left each fill appointment with a renewed sense of commitment and hope. How can you not get hooked on something good like that?
The problem with equating fills with weight loss success is that more fill is not always better. In fact, too much fill (which varies from one patient to the next, and also varies in a single patient as time goes on and the patient’s body keeps changing) can be downright dangerous. An overfilled band, and the side effects it causes (see #5 above), can lead to a complication like a band slip, esophageal dilation, or stomach dilation. While complications can come out of nowhere, most bariatric surgeons agree that too much saline in the band puts too much pressure on the stomach. Eventually something’s got to give. That’s often hastened by the patient’s efforts to eat around the problem, and it is absolutely not a guarantee of weight loss. I gained weight several times because of what’s called Soft Calorie Syndrome. My band was too tight and I was dealing with it by consuming mostly soft and liquid calories that offered little or no satiety.
The human body is an incredible organism, capable of amazing feats of growth and healing that we take mostly for granted, but it’s not endlessly forgiving. Too much fill in your band, too many eating problems, too much inflammation and irritation in the upper GI tract, can compromise your body’s ability to recover from a complication like a band slip. Sometimes a complication can be treated conservatively, with an unfill and rest period, but sometimes it requires a surgical fix, including removal of the band. And after all you’ve gone through to get that band wrapped around your stomach, shouldn’t you be doing your utmost to treat it (and your body) with respect?
Finally, the fill myth can cause us to overlook a very important guest at your WLS party….you. If you are going to succeed with your band, lose weight and keep it off and keep that band safe and sound inside you, sooner or later you will have to take personal responsibility for your success. Expecting your band alone to carry you to your goal weight is like expecting your car to safely deliver your child to school without anybody in the driver’s seat. And I sure hope that you are a very important person in your life!

It's a strange and scary feeling to be doing what you did. At least for me. I recently did the same, sort of. I put all of the clothes that are hopelessly to big in a bag. I was scared I would just gain the weight again. I've been wearing the too big clothes like a crutch. Considering my pants literally fell off of me today, it looks like I still kept some crutches. If anyone is wondering I was at home, not in public.
In any case, good job and thanks for the motivation to throw stuff out.

I did the same thing. I tried on some of the clothes I thought I could still wear but my husband helped me to decide which ones looked ridiculously big and some that I had refused to donate before in hopes that they would fit and they do! I also shopped in a department store for myself for the first time in YEARS! It was a great feeling.

Today I am re-organizing my closet. I do this every summer, but this time the process is different. In the past, I would always take my clothes that didn't fit because they were too small to the basement closet, with the hope that I would someday be able to wear them again. Sometimes I got back into them, but it was usually only for a very short time period because I would always gain the weight back.
This time, I am clearing out the clothing that's too large, and I am NOT taking it to the basement but rather giving it away. It feels very strange to be doing this.
I'm optimistic, yet at the same time, I hope I am not making a mistake.

yay ELIZABETH this is fantastic

I forgot to mention those sweaters that I bagged up for donation were my smaller sweaters I bought last winter, now they are too big!

I've been doing the same. I had put away sweaters when the weather got warm and yesterday I bagged them up to be donated. I have also been buying a few sweaters on clearance and putting them away for the colder weather. It's going to be great having a new wardrobe when the weather gets cooler!

Yes others in the group seem to have gone silent. I do hope they are all doing well and just lurking in the shadows. Seems like ppl are viewing the posts and just choose not to share. That's ok too. Maybe our posts help them as well.
There was a time when I would weigh myself everyday and then I just decided to stop. Wasn't easy but my mood for the day was based on a number. Ended up more often depressed because it didn't seem to matter how hard I tried, the scale wouldn't budge. Now I swing between daily weigh ins and waiting a few days before I step on. Seems to help and I try very hard to Celebrate even the smallest loss.
Since my surgery I've had a lot of time to think about my own self image. I've lost almost 30 lbs and not one person other than my sisters (who are aware I had WLS) have noticed. I've had to question why this bothers me. Am I more concerned with how others see me, or is my own self image more important. Have I not lost enough for it to even be noticeable? The questions and self doubt can consume me if I let them. I did this for me, not for others and how they see me. I want to feel good in my own skin. Move around without the burden of 50 extra pounds dragging me down. No one but me felt that. They may have seen it, but they didn't feel it. I haven't shared my surgery with hardly anyone, thank goodness. I'm pretty sure they would be watch and waiting for drastic results Silently judging me in the process.
As you know I'm a hair stylist so I work with people everyday. I may only see my clients once every 6 weeks but many times during the year. We share and over time bond with our clients. I found it amazing how the over weight clients seemed to bond with me. We had something in common. On the other hand, my skinny minnies would avoid taking to me about things like their diet or exercise programs feeling like I couldn't relate. Sadly, I can relate to both sides as I wasn't always this heavy. It will be funny to see how this shifts as my body changes. I'll be the same person I am now, but I know I will be treated differently by both groups. I won't even start about the whole dating scene. That's a whole layer cake of dysfunction. Sadly, our society sees heavier people as being weak which is anything but true. We are each determined in our own ways, far stronger than we give ourselves credit for and should be proud of our smallest accomplishment. Yep, I'm proud of my loss but perhaps I need to focus not on what the numbers are but on who I am becoming in this process. I think we will all grow differently on this journey but I feel each of us with transform not only physically but mentally as well. It will be enlightening to watch and share.
Ok, maybe too much coffee this morning and too much alone time to reflect and ramble. Time for Julz to shut down her mind and move into her day.
Back to your regularly scheduled program
cheerio my friends,
j~

Mentally, I'm at a low spot right now, and I am about to write a whiny post, which I don't like to do. I am normally a positive person, but I am also realistic and "choosing my attitude" doesn't seem to be working for me, so I am hoping for some encouragement.
I am hungry almost all of the time, though I am following all of my guidelines. And it's not mind hunger because I do feel full for an hour or two after I eat. I am doing lots of exercise but the scale isn't budging, and I am questioning why when I am working so hard.
Frankly, if my surgeon doesn't give me a fill the next time, I am going to tell him I have been questioning why I even had WLS. If it weren't for the scars on the surface of my stomach area, I sometimes temporarily forget that I have been banded. On one hand, I am happy that I am having no physical problems as a result of WLS. And I truly didn't expect to be "cured" of my hunger issues. However, I obviously did anticipate life would be easier with the band than without or I wouldn't have pursued surgery.
I have seriously been considering taking a Phentermine tablet to help get me through this. On the day of my surgery, when I questioned whether I could still take it after surgery, my surgeon said I could, but I could tell he didn't want me to. He said I wouldn't need to. Therefore, I don't want to let him down. My goal is to make it to my next doctor appointment, which is July 27, without an appetite suppressant.
I am hoping each day for a weight loss. I know I shouldn't weigh every morning when I am in a slump like this, but I'm obsessed with the scale; normally it is a great motivator when I am working hard. I got up to walk this morning at 4:30 so I could get my 10 miles in before the heat becomes unbearable, but as we all know, it's so hard to stay motivated to exercise when the scale isn't moving. Hopefully, it will happen soon.
I am done ranting (just writing about my frustration has helped) and do have a question. How much of a difference did the first fill make in your hunger? Could you tell a slight difference or nothing at all? I understand this will vary from person to person due to the many variables. On the day of my surgery, my surgeon said it would likely take six fills for me, so I am not expecting a huge difference. However, I do hope it's noticeable.
Thanks!

I read this topic about fills a long time ago and thought it was very useful information. I hope it helps you, too.
http://www.lapbandtalk.com/topic/40496-how-the-lap-band-actually-works-fills-and-refills/page__hl__why%20need%20fills

I hope you don't mind, but I am going to copy from another post because I think a lot of it could help you. Best wishes.
----------------------------------------------------
It seems to me there is a lot of misunderstanding out there when it comes to restriction. Over and over, I read post after post of the following statements:
"I have had fills but can still eat whatever I want"
While some people do have issues eating certain foods, there is absolutely no truth that you shouldn't be able to eat foods like breads, Pasta, and rice. If you are following a low carb diet that's one thing, but being banded doesn't mean you shouldn't be physically able to eat them anymore. Many of us can still eat absolutely everything we ate before surgery.
"I have had fills but I can still eat more than 1 cup of food"
This may be true, however, just because you can eat more than a cup of food doesn't mean you should. More often than not, if you eat slowly and stop after eating no more than 1 cup of food, you will find that you are satisfied and no longer hungry despite the fact you could still physically eat more. Quit trying to test your band to see how much you can eat, because the only one that will fail the test is you, not the band.
"I have had fills but I don't feel full"
Big misconception- the band will make you feel full. Wrong. It's true some people do feel full but it's a different full sensation than we had before banded. In fact, it's almost uncomfortable. The band is not supposed to make you feel stuffed full, it's supposed to make you feel satisfied with less food for longer periods of time. If you keep getting fill after fill because you don't feel stuffed full, you are going to end up one of the many people who have bands too tight and slips as a result. Being satisfied means you are no longer hungry, not that you feel as though you just ate a seven course Thanksgiving dinner. Quit trying to feel full and start listening to your body because it will tell you when it's satisfied.
I encourage everyone to educate themselves on the Lap-Band, what it does, and what it doesn't do. Too many people are walking around banded completely ignorant to the facts and I fear many will have complications and slips because of it. It's your body, take responsibility for educating yourself on it.
Be well all

I think the dress is too tight. The shiny fabric is going to reflect the light & make you look heavier in photos, too. I'd look for something in one size up. Lace, chiffon, crepe fabrics will flow over your curves.
Also, with your complexion I'd go with a color (hot pink and turquoise would make you look absolutely radiant) rather than silver/grey or black.
I don't know where you live but have you ever looked at Goodwill? I live in the suburbs of Miami and our Goodwills around here have incredible stuff. I got my band 2 years ago and have gone from a size 20 to a size 6 and Goodwill has been my savior because I could find nice clothing (banana Republic, Ann Taylor, etc) in very good condition (sometimes still has the tags on it) for $5 or less a piece. Who wants to spend a bunch of money when you're only going to wear the item for a couple months, right?
They usually have a great selection of formal and semi-formal gowns and dresses as most people ony wear these items once or twice.

I Was told yesterday by a co worker that I was dwindling away!! I just smiled and said "and I'm ok with that" ???ƒ

I'm sorry to hear that the band has been a mixed blessing for you. Some people just cannot tolerate the band or the experience of restriction, and despite many fills and unfills, never get to a happy place. It would be wonderful if we could predict that kind of outcome in advance of having surgery, but we can't.
I guess you have 3 choices now.
1. live with it as it is
2. have all the fill removed from your band
3. have your band removed

I'm sorry that the band life is not what you expected to be. I would encourage you to give it another try. I could see when we are at our lowest that the idea of the band is appealing and you feel like you would be willing to do anything to just be normal and healthy....but I guess with time, when you are some what normal and healthy, the honeymoon phase can wear off andfor some the realization that food will never mean the same to you as it did before can be a hard pill to swallow. I guess this is a lesson to those making the decision to remember... this isn't a short term committment....it truly is making a lifestyle change for the rest of your life. It isn't a decision that should be made lightly or in 2 weeks.
It sounds as if you haven't been under the care of a band surgeon in a long time. I would encourage you to seek one out and get a check up. Some of your issues may be resolved with a slight unfill. And since you seem to feel you have your eating issues under control and could do this without the band, this might give you a little more freedom to eat some of the things you are missing such as salads. Im not insensitive to you being self pay....I understand that it can be expensive to maintain the band....but you knew that going into it. That is something else self pay patients should consider.......even those whoes jobs are fragile....the band must be maintained!! Or serious issues could develop.
Anyway...I'm sorry for your buyers remorse I know it can be very flustrating and I hope that you will be able to maybe change your mindset and remember that excitement that you had when you first started this journey. Plug yourself back into this site and finish up the journey that you started.....The band is what you make of it. It can be a rope holding you back or a rescue devise pulling you to safety.
Good luck.

Sorry you have had such a hard time. But you will probably live longer and you sound like you have been having some adventures. You have done great with your weightloss.
food is just not as important as we try to make it. We have to change our mindset eat to live instead of enjoying every bite we put in our mouths. It is a work in progress for me anyway.
I have had my band 3 years. Did you use Dr. Spivak? He was my Dr. and has since retired and moved.
Maybe getting some therapy would help you deal with some things. I wish you all the best. I think it helps when you have support of people going through the same daily things you are going through as far as with the band. I would be happy to talk to you anytime.
Cheri

Fortunately you are in a minority. As Pink Dahlia said: "I'm so stinkin thrilled with my weight loss I don't care what I can't eat". I feel the same way. But you would rather weigh 400+ lbs than have the band? Yikes? I guess I value the quality of my life more than that.
tmf

It seems that most can lose weight, but maintaining that weight loss or the strict diet required to lose weight without the band is not realistic. I have lost weight many times, but whenever I come off whatever diet I was on, I gain all plus more back.
In the beginning if you want to lose weight, you have to diet. Some do not diet and wait until they hit the green zone and then the band kicks in and helps.

I would also have mixed feelings in your shoes. People of very few words should not work in medicine! I guess by the same token though I have sat for hours in a doctors office waiting for my daughter to be seen because he wouldn't shut up, he kept stating the same thing over and over again but in different ways! I guess there has to be a happy medium.
My thoughts are if you are hungry while on vacation eat. Don't wait to eat because it is not "time" to eat. Listen to your body and eat when it tells you to, just be sure to eat what you are supposed to and keep the serving sizes to "bandster" size servings. My first several weeks I would eat about 5X's a day but small portions. It worked with my work schedule and helped me from getting too hungry. Now that I am able to eat more at a sitting I try to keep it down to 3X's a day but sometimes I do put a snack in there, usually because I end up working late and need something to help me along the way.

Had my Dr. appointment today, can not believe i lost 3.8 lbs i am shoked my scales at home had not moved all month. Needless to say i didnt get my butt chewed he was very happy with my progress. I did get a fill of .5 so now i have 2.5 cc in my band. Back on liquids for 24 hours than soft foods for another 24. maybe if i work real hard this month i can met make another bench mark, and get my turtle bead.

Still feeling like a turtle here but I'm moving forward. Lost another 1/2 lbs this last week which put me just below 190, FINALLY!
If anyone is wondering where I've been lately... I've been in the process of moving into my own little place. First time in my life I've lived completely alone so its been a little strange. I've always had my babies at home with me but now it's just me. Good thing about this is I can really focus on eating healthy and not be concerned about what the family eats. Needless to say, my kids are on a different diet than I should be on.
Went shopping yesterday and purchased all healthy foods. Between that and my Protein Shakes it should be easier now to stay on course.
Do turtle walk? Is that the proper term for a racing turtle? If it is, this turtle is on a steady but slow drive to the finish line.
Hope everyone else is focused and doing well.
j~

As i said i was going to buy a pandora bead for each 10 lbs lost... I got my first 2 today and hope to order my 3rd one by friday... so thought i would share it with everyone..