Jack

I've been wondering about 'what if' I have my own Band removed. Obviously I'm gonna have to read more. Good luck OP, hope all goes well.

I tracked everything I ate for 3 years running & didn't lose an oz. Tight control of 1800-2000 calories. Various issues such as Barrett's esophagitis came & went....mostly. At 70 ++ I'm mostly convinced the Band not only saved my life but continues to help despite moments pondering whether further surgery has likely benefit. Haven't followed much here lately.

Last weigh in a few weeks ago was 281. This seems to be a gravitation issue rather like the hold Saturn has on the tiny satellites about the ring formation. I've had a 'keep the Band/rip it out' debate for the last few years. Still down from my highest weight by 90 #; not enough as my 'size 42 pants' didn't quite happen. Size 44 lasted for years, as did size 46. Now 48 seems a little more snug. Yet I managed a 1.5 mile walk last week, & continue remarkable daily activities. I spent several years as virtual house bound as other skeletal issues must be accommodated. Daily focus on Health helps.

Continue to be mostly satisfied with results. Band is still moody at times. Life is good

wonderful topic.....it was years ago that I realized My Actions or Failure to Act produced a lot of my own 'guilt'. Somehow I've moved beyond those cloying disappointments and energy drains. The more 'active participation in my OWN life' I undertook, the less guilt I had to drag around. 'Guilt' for me was like 'credit card debt'. I cut up them things in 1994 and haven't looked back. As a result my own 'discretionary income' seemed to rise as my debt load dwindled.....no sin of overspending, no guilt/sorrow/poverty of spirit. In any case, the motivator for personal growth was that dank compost-cake of disappointment and despair with a thick frosting of guilt. Some of the reason I was able to break free of that emotional sugar/fat/overload, was taking the WLS steps and early support from Lap Band Talk.

"Being morbidly obese is just an outward manifestation of behavior and beliefs that are unloving to us." Spot on Ms. Keenan! IMHO of course.....

.....the sensation of being NOT hungry and NOT eating The sensation of being NOT controlled by food anxiety, anticipation or fear of growing hungry. Yes, fitting sizes I outgrew in 1964 also is pleasing.

Thanks a TON for posting this kind of article. It strikes squarely at a point rarely discussed. "Sometimes they are uncomfortable being the object of sexual desire for the first time in their adult lives." Once in my pre-Op life circa 1972 or so I had undergone at considerable effort and a large outlay in therapy/pills/various quackery of the era, sufficient toning/fat loss to generate a noticeable wake of something resembling pheromones attractive to a far wider range of females than I had previously been aware. It had considerable effect on my fledgling confidence and I felt on-the-spot as an object of former-cold-contempt by having opportunity to make something of my own appearance. Without being able to verbalize such I felt drawn back to the safety of the Old Fat Habits and in short order managed to once again reside in the Zone of Morbid Obesity. I've managed to recover from that unwelcome shock, and fortunately along the way had the burden of any desire for alcohol lifted from me, by nothing less than what I can attribute to Divine Grace. Thanks again for your bravery in broach a complex subject. Cheers in your Journey

I've finally learned what "not hungry" is.....the most wonderful result of my Band teaching something never learned preOp. I was a 'eatEatEAT until fullFullFULL' victim of poor eating training. Why be concerned about 'full' or not, if 'not hungry' is far more satisfying? Love your goals.

AT now-nearly 10 years postOp, I'm finding it DELIGHTFUL to actually SIT down and eat a real meal, with defined time-of-day set aside for doing such. As a life-long grazer, the old grab-a-gulp on the dead run was way difficult to change. Nor do I eat while driving, or at fast food joints. Thanks for the tips.

re: " I am having to learn to eat slowly now and that is one of my down falls. I have been a very fast eater for many years." I too was a Gulper-wash it down with a BIG swig of fluid....a fundamental Error of Eating for sure. Glad to hear you are doing well now. Retraining that Gulp method doesn't take as long as I thought it would either. Learn to nibble-nibble-nibble. My first 6 months it would take about 10 minutes to eat a soda cracker....but the habit of tiny vs Gulp has served me well. Cheers on your journey.

One of the rewards of our New Life as Bandsters, is finding new ways to do things we never could attempt preOp. I too encounter obstacles regularly that I have to figure a way to overcome. My son told me in the Marine Corp he was taught "Improvise-adapt-overcome" or some such. It helps me in those down moments, to find ways to through the Mountains of Opportunity to keep headed toward my own goals. Frustration of doing one way can be used to generate enthusiasm to do it another. Water finds its way to the ocean no matter how many landslides and curves in the terrain. The gravitational aspect of our INTENT to achieve can be harnessed to great results. Cheers on your journey.

can you sip just a tiny amount without throwing it up? Are you getting gastric juices or just slime & Water? Is there any kind of fever or sign of infection? If you have physical signs call your physician at once, or the ER. If it's just the unknown mechanics of early postOp, your ability to sip/sip/sip will be tolerated....but NOT "swallow" as preOp. It took to my own 5th day to be able to drink even a cup of tea while it was still warm, as I could only tolerate tiny tiny sips....not even a whole liter in 12 hours, I was tight, and concerned as well. It's a little like learning to ride an unbroken horse....each Bandster has similar but different reaction to such a proceedure. Do you have someone around to help assist you and able to make observations? Do you have any kind of elevated temperature? Sip/sip/sip/sip....one whole cup may take an hour. The 3-4-5 days are way better....but YOU have to make a determination of your status. Please post more details of your current condition if you want a little better understanding.

I've tried to understand exactly where this 'starvation mode' and 'slow metabolism' is actually measured quantitatively. Never seen enough supportive research that makes those terms meaningful enough to know what they really meant. As part of my own preparation & ongoing studies, at one point I had prepared for over a year, to go on a long fast. Eventually I extended my 'total food fast' into a stretch 27 days long. I went through the bad breath and coated tongue of ketosis, along with managing continued bowel function with appropriate technique. The result was loss of 38 pounds.....suggesting my body had not found whatever that 'starvation mode' slow down might have been. On the last day of my fast, I cut, split and loaded 2 full cords of firewood, with no loss of energy noted. There had been some interesting sensations other than the sense of physical capacity, although I was 31 at the time and the essence of being 'fit'. I won't complicate this discussion with the fleeting sensations of sensory nature. There certainly is alteration of bodily metabolic processes, for one in the complex Kreb Cycle of energy derived via the glyconeogenesis or the glycolytic route. That itself is worth a lengthy study in consideration of whatever the notions of 'metabolic slow down' may include. Digestive physiology is a complex subject full of those who leap to conclusions not necessarily accurate. The related an equally complex process of bowel function and waste elimination can be somewhat modified by as simple as adding or withholding a couple of liters of Water during the day as well. Short term observations on a limited sample size are notoriously unreliable. Despite a career as a health care provider, I am unable to offer my own certainty these terms accurately convey much helpful real information.

kflan: welcome to your Quest to Find Normo eating style! I've been banded over 7 years; without it I probably would have died due to multiple complications of morbid obesity. I too had the same fears and reservations you post. Even given some rougher moments, my worst postOp Band day has remained better than the best preOp day the 10 or 15 years before I finally went for my own surgery. Yes, ask questions, do your research, find out all the options, and satisfy whatever inquiries you may have. There are more options now than when I did my surgery, as at that time only RNY or the Band was available. I remain over 100# down from my Largest Person size: 30 I lost pre consult, another 20 post consult, and over 50 directly due to the Band. I was 59 at surgery and continue to feel about 30 years younger than preBand. Life is full of all kinds of choices. Find your path and set your actions in that direction. Cheers

beware grits!!!! Even though I was about week 7 or 8 IIRC, I had a mere taste of grits mixed with a little egg and had major PB episodes over the next 300 miles...yes, we were traveling down the coast & I left a trail.... The mushy phase served me mostly very well but caution, patience and going very slowly is advised.

Of course there's lots of "what if" and "why not" and "should I"..... The 'out of pocket' cost will pretty much be recovered by what you save in junk food the first 6 months. I was size 56 pants before all the other 'same stuff as you' added up, plus more medical issues, to finally going for the Band. I'm 7 years postOp. It isn't a diet. It's a Life Awareness involvement. Nothing tastes as good as being healthier feels. I was off CPAP in 10 months after 10 years on the Nose Hose. Took a bit to get used to NOT having the hiss & the straps etc. My WORST day postOp has been better than my best day the last 10 years before the Band. YMMV. Do your research. Cheers on your journey.

This is a most important question about our Bad Old Habits vs recognizing WHO and WHAT led us to those decades of over consumption. It is opportunity to face ourselves, and to learn what it takes to make Good New Habits. Much of what we have done in the illusion of 'having a good time' really wasn't....and we carried our mistaken belief into the XXXXXL size clothing stores. Even now after years postOp, at times I will suddenly realize my eating is approaching some form of autopilot unrelated to actual hunger. I too grew up with the notion eating/drinking/socializing all meant OVER indulgence and license to just eat/drink till it was all gone. Lap Band is the opportunity to learn how to train our Rational Brain so it is capable of running our Irrational Belly. Good luck.

I find when I heed the "satiety' vs "full" sensation my ability to respond rationally to Bad Old Overeating Habits improves dramatically. Cheers on returning to the New Life. I'm on the way myself. Stay busy with meaningful little chores, my own Nibbling App seems to activate when I'm just sitting around....

I agree we all are a bit different in our response to LB surgery. Not only that, but so is our response postOp in our new Life in learning how to eat like a normo. My own pain level was virtually non-existent as of Day 2...however the 'anxiety' part was maxed out. In my own 7 years of various LB episodes of "what NOW?" and "THIS isn't what I expected" etc, the really great results is the Band has helped tremendously. Sometimes its easier than others, yet there hasn't been a day the first 6 years I wasn't grateful and willing to do whatever it took to succeed and reach my goal. I did drop from BMI 47.5 down to 34, and managed to weigh less than I did since 1963...although that was still "25#" above my goal. I have been a Happy Bandster. Recently some issues have required imaging studies, which were done today. Pending results from that, I'm STILL a Happy Bandster. Good luck to all in their Journey.

I'm in my 7th year postOp and beginning to have concerns with possible slip issue. Going in tomorrow for imaging. Do not 'slip' back into old back eating habits no matter what! I once had to have all fill removed for about a year. Too tight is not good. Sometimes it's hard to decide. I think many Bandsters try to get too filled too quickly and cause themselves grief....at least that's my own impression.

cheers to the Bandsters 'of a certain age".....I'm now 67 & about 7 1/2 yrs post op. Life is good!!!

I spent the day doing yard chores and cleaning up my Jeep. We're still in recovery mode from the last snow storm a couple months ago, lots of tree damage. Also, the garden needed attention. Good thing I'm retired, I wouldn't have time to slave away at the honey-do list.

There's considerably different experiences for one Bandster to another during this period. For me adapting to the actual absence of 'physical hunger' the first few weeks was a blessing. I had long been unable to tell when or whether I was "hungry" so had adapted to the strategy of "eating so I won't get hungry". Strict adherence to the 3 weeks liquids/3 weeks mushie phase taught me considerable about what I needed to learn in how to recognize what was and what wasn't 'hunger'. Probably my experience is considerably different than your journey will be. In any case, you can do it, and you can find your way. Just make sure each day to take a step in the right direction. Cheers on your journey.

Best of luck in your post-band life. I hope all becomes as you hope and you enjoy your European trip. Please post your "return to non-band land" experiences. I'm 7 years in to my Bandster Life, and sometimes wonder whether I could/should/might want to have it removed myself....although not very often and I haven't had all THAT much trouble compared to others.