EEsMom

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!

I tell my wife everyday and she gives me the finger and walks away that's her way of saying I Love You LOL
Surgery Anniversary 7/30/12

Oh I'll tell him how much I lose but not the starting point. Lol. He's best friend has a creepy way of figuring out what I weigh. Ugh.

I now weigh less then my husband AND son!

That is awesome! I started dating my bf almost a year ago and weighed 15 lbs more than him. I started dieting pre-surgery, he started dieting and exercising and started losing weight super quick (men suck like that, lol) and I finally have lost more than him. I haven't ever told him my weight and I won't until I get below 300 lbs.

My wife has drop 24 lbs just from watching me go though WLS. She's only 5 feet tall and not much to lose but she like it.and it shows our youngest how to eat health and not over indulge.
Surgery Anniversary 7/30/12

RNYTalk Newsletter
By
Hey, RNYTalk members!Summer vacation’s almost over, and for most of us, it flew by! If you have children, they’re probably getting ready to go back to school or even back in school already. As you keep working toward your own weight loss goals, don’t forget to include your children in your healthy lifestyle! Have fun being a great role model as you teach them a few healthy habits like loving their fruits and vegetables and staying active! With the business of the late summer, this newsletter aims to keep you on track. Here’s what’s coming up.

Member Spotlight: Meet Panda!
Bypass Challenge: It’s Time for a RNYTalk.com Mixer!
Are You Ready for Labor Day? Do’s and Don’t’s for the Barbecue Party
Reminder – Keeping Track of the Latest Weight Loss Surgery News
Let’s get going with the newsletter! Whether you’re reading it on your laptop, desktop, iPhone, kindle or Android, we hope you love this newsletter. Let us know what you think about it or anything else related to RNYTalk.com. I love hearing from our members and value your suggestions! Thanks as always!
Sincerely,
Alex Brecher
Founder
sleep apnea. She’s even been able to treat her depression by exercising daily!
Panda says that her biggest problem has been her own self-doubt. She still sometimes wonders whether she can continue to exercise daily, make the right food choices and continue with her self-discipline. She says that RNYTalk.com has been “my happy place as well as my support system.” She comes to RNYTalk.com daily. She gets motivated by others’ successes, and learns lessons from others’ hard lessons.
Panda’s advice to others is to believe in yourself. This highly religious woman believes that all things are possible through God. She herself is grateful to her surgeon and her current path. Thanks, Panda, for sharing your story and being in our shake things up a little. We know you each have your own routines when you visit the boards. You go to the same discussion sub-forums daily. Occasionally, you update your profile, blog or photo gallery.
Your challenge for this newsletter is to vary your habits just a little. You might try visiting and posting on a section of the board that you don’t usually visit. More experienced members might try going back to the “pre-surgery questions” board, or newer members might check out some of the groups. Another idea is to introduce yourself, using the private messaging system, to one or more members whose stories grab your attention or whom you want to get to know better. Now’s your chance!
Let us know how it goes in the Proteins, such as fat-free hot dogs, extra lean ground beef or turkey burger patties, shrimp skewers, salmon steaks and skinless chicken breast.

Be a good guest. If you’re not sure that the host will be offering foods that are on your diet, bring your own. You can even bring enough to share – you’ll be surprised at how many people will be grateful for your healthy option.
Eat your veggies. Enjoy corn on the cob (without butter, of course), green salad and other cut vegetables. Just go easy on the dip and choose low-calorie salad dressing.
Watch your portions. As a weight loss surgery patient, you need to limit your portions even when you’re eating healthy foods. If you’re not careful, it’s all too easy to eat at a barbecue without realizing quite how much you’re eating.
Have fun! Play volleyball, go swimming and run relay races with the kids. The more you move, the more you’ll lose and the better you’ll feel.
Be sociable. You’re hanging out with your friends and family to enjoy their company…so enjoy their company instead of focusing so much on food.
Don’t:

Go for high-fat meats, such as T-bone steak or prime rib, full-fat ground beef patties, pork or beef sausages and turkey legs with the skin.
Let the sauces, dressings and dips sabotage your diet. Choose low-calorie options, and avoid coleslaw, potato salad, egg salad and other dishes with mayonnaise. Use onions and ketchup instead of cheese for toppings.
Munch on chips, nuts and other high-calorie appetizers without even realizing it. They will barely fill you up and you can eat way too much. They can even make you feel sick later because of their fat.
Drink your calories. Soda and beer are empty calories. Beer is worse because it reduces your ability to make good judgments. You might end up eating more than you intended if you drink beer at the barbecue.
Endulge in ice cream sundaes. For dessert, have a spoonful or two of ice cream if you really want it. Otherwise, assess whether you are truly still hungry. If you are, have some watermelon.
Hang out at the food table.
Eat the leftovers while you watch television later.
These dos and don’ts are pretty easy to follow. With these tips, you can start planning your own end-of-summer parties without worrying that you won’t be able to stick to your diet. Have fun!
Reminder – Keeping Track of the Latest Weight Loss Surgery News
We know that many of our members like to know the most recent news and information on the gastric bypass procedure and weight loss surgery and obesity in general. That’s why we have the news forum. It gets updated daily with the latest news on weight loss, bariatric surgery and health. Check it out and discuss your own opinions in the News Forum!
That piece of information brings us to the end of this week’s newsletter. Thanks so much for reading it and for all of your participation on the forums! The Newsletter Forum has all of the old newsletters in case you missed one or want to talk about them.
Until the next time, take care of yourself and each other,
Alex

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Tomorrow is my last day of real food. I plan on having some sushi for my last meal

In our 10 years together I have never weighed less than my husband until now!!!!! And he made this goal even harder because he has lost 25-30 lbs himself since I started this whole process!!!!

Definitely feel no one understands what I've been through since my surgery... It's good to know you're not the only one.

The same happened for me and I had a few week stall in my second month. It will start coming off, just keep doing what you are doing and you will start losing again. Your body has to adjust to the changes in your body and needs a break. You are also still healing. Do not feel defeated because this is just the beginning and you will start losing again. After the stall I have never totally stopped losing, but I have gained and lost weight. I now average about a 3 pound weight loss a week, which is slower than many but it is consistent and it is working for me. I am now halfway done to my weightloss goal and will be 3 months on the 7th. Just be patient and consistent and it will start moving again. Remember this is a marathon not a race, and the slower the weight comes off the better you have for having less flapping skin- at least that is what I keep telling myself .
Drink enough Water, get enough Protein, get enough sleep, up your exercise and get those Vitamins and there is no way you will not get past this stall.
Best of luck and relax it is all good~
P.S. sometimes when you are in the stall you are losing inches all over, so measure yourself and check that every week as well, you might be amazed, I know it helped me.

Just keep doing exactly what you're doing. Stay focused on following the protocol, stay active, and stay away from the scales for at least a week and longer if you can stand it. Stalls are frustrating but perfectly normal. Trust the process. You'll be glad you did and you're gonna love the new you!!

Yay!! September is here!! Now I can officially say NEXT MONTH I WILL HAVE SURGERY!!

My surgery was in 6/4. My weight then was 245. I am currently 198. Surprises....
1. Gas pain was worse than incision pain... Hot liquids, gas x and walking helps.
2. Hormones.... They start to go a bit crazy as they release from the fat. Ride it, try to remember why you did this. Trust me, each day is like my life is starting new. I am so happy
3. Burping and farting.... Lol
4. Runny nose
5. You must drink as much Water as possible, sip, sip all day
6. Stalls... You will hit one at about 4 wks. Just stick with the program, it will happen more than once.
7. Take measurements... You will be amazed
I love the new me and I am only 3 months out. I have lost 47 lbs, the men are coming out of the wood work, and I truly think this was the best thing I have ever done. It is not easy, use this forum. We are all here for you, good luck !!!

Weight 153 pounds there is no need to lie about my weight. I ran into a friend who weights (I think she said) 139 she then said really your 153? I said yes. She said how? I'm smaller then you but not in weight in size. I said I'm shorter then you. She's 5'4 and I'm 5 foot. is it possible for two people to weight the size but look totally different? Now I feel my goal weight should be less if I'm going to look fat at 125. Idk I look good when I was 140 but that's less then 15 pounds away. I'm not looking slim. Slimmer yes but not slim.
I exercise & eat healthy. No greasy food no fried food and I eat under 800 calories which isn't good but can't fit much food for 3 months.

I really want grilled scallops with home made Alfrado sauce and angel hair Pasta
Surgery Anniversary 7/30/12

There is a post here for taco soup which was good and easy but mine came out more like a chili.
http://www.rnytalk.com/topic/281-taco-soup/page__hl__%2Btaco+%2Bsoup
Homemade soups are really much easier than you think - and lots healthier! Basically you could make a good chicken soup by browning some chicken pieces, adding onion, garlic, some carrots and celery and broth.
You could do the same thing with veggies but add tomatoes and green beans and beef if wanted.
If you don't want to do all that, low sodium soup would be a good option but just remember things like low sodium soup and lunch meats are still actually high so shouldn't be done every day!
Good luck with cutting breads out, I would kill for some bread right now!

I started this process in January!
Got my date today
10.4.12!!
So excited.
See my other post "ready for this"

I so I want to put a pic this is the only way I can tell I have lost a few pounds. Am 5 weeks post-op.

The one from the left was the night before surgery n the one from the rite was on Sunday

Mami, I have two special needs kids...I know how tough it can be. If I can be any help, please let me know.

Im from norway

I'm from High Point, NC, 3 weeks post op tomorrow! Hoo y'all...

Thanks Jen! That makes me a little less stressed. I don't know why I'm getting myself so worked up. I'm not a very good waiter...
I hope they have the answer on Monday!
Thank u for all the great info!

Sorry to hear who you work for Lady K. Hope you dont have to finger print much freight it is good exersice. But you have to deal with Union grocery wharehoues employes again sorry did that don't ever want to do that again would rather go though RNY again. After 35 years in a big truck I'm ready to give it up but I got a great paying some what local driving job working for a non union over night company the money is to good to give up. And I'm 7 years 348 days 12 hours way from retirement give me a min and I can get that down to the seconds for you
If you like who you work for thats all that matters
The only advise I can give is ( You can always change the company you work for but the crap still taste the same no matter where you go)
Be happy and keep lossing the weight