Bandarella

@@Madam Reverie, anti-bandwagon would be more like it, lol. @@2muchfun are you all fired up this morning?? @@LipstickLady all weapons are permitted as long as you are nice

Rant and Rave away, per these guidelines: Be polite. LapBandTalk.com has a zero-tolerance policy for rudeness. Dissent is normal in any discussion. All members have the right to express their viewpoints. All members can expect to be treated with respect. Personal attacks are unacceptable. Anyone can join the boards. To protect yourself and others, do not post your private, personal information. Also, do not publicly post any private messages. Respect others’ experiences and opinions, even if they are different from your own. Violating these rules can get you banned from the board.

@DrHekier@Trace Curry I recently received my surgical report from my band removal. The removing surgeon stated that the band was found 2-3 cm above the GEJ rather than 2-3 cm below. There was a thick "rind" of scar tissue under the band and the band was covered in a remarkable amount of adhesions. I had my band about 2.5 years, had two fills of 2.5, .5 and two unfills of 1.0 and a complete unfill after which my symptoms accelerated in scope and severity. My esophagus is severely dilated, despite being completely compliant with eating instructions and diet and being on a soft/liquid diet for 9 months following unfilling the band. It wasn't until my manometry results of 0% motility that it was recommended to remove my band. At band placement I had a hiatal hernia repair using pledgeted sutures. The band appears to have been placed just below the diaphragm. Is it possible that my band moved there or in your opinion was it placed there? I'm not interested in this for any legal recourse....I just need to figure out how this happened. Over the 2.5 years I experienced severe vomiting 3 times. I had a stomach virus at 18 months out, then had GB removed two weeks later. Appx 6 months prior to removal I had influenza A, then 2 weeks later, Influenza B. In both cases I had a fever causing prolonged and violent vomiting. Could this have caused the band to slip up over the GEJ and have this much scar tissue and adhesions???

A concern with RNY is that malabsorption of calories only lasts about 2-3 years post op. This is why so many regain a significant amount of weight with RNY. The malabsorption of nutrients (Vitamins and minerals) continues even when calories are absorbed, so raking vitamins and supplements must be continued. With sleeve, there is about a six month post op window when reflux happens. It's thought that the stomach needs about this much time to reduce the amount of acid it produces. Most sleevers take a ppi for the first six months and them taper off. A virgin sleeve is much different than a revision sleeve....if someone is wavering between band and sleeve, I will recommend sleeve, since many with bands revise to sleeve...why not get it first? I was on a ppi for 10 years pre band for gerd, went off of it for about a year post band, but the gerd returned with a vengeance. Almost a year post removal and I'm still on it. I cannot revise, but hope the info helps in making your decision. Best of luck to you!

It's normal for anyone having surgery, especially elective, to have tremendous buyers remorse a few days later...the "OMG! What have I done?" moment. Someone who posts about these regrets, doubts and worries needs support and encouragement. If you (not OP) are someone having these doubts, go ahead and post....

Post removal diet is much like a post fill progression; liquids, soft foods then solids. This is based solely on others I know who've had removal. I was on soft foods for 8 weeks due to damage from a mis-placed band.

Great advice. I have a cautionary note to add: beware of low glycemic sweeterners, such as high fructose corn syrup. It doesn't spike your gb because it's not metabolized by the pancreas. It's metabolized by your liver and over time can cause a "fatty liver". Here's a list of foods and their numerical glycemic load: http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsweek/Glycemic_index_and_glycemic_load_for_100_foods.htm

I've heard all kinds of theory about fickle bands, fussy bands, etc. If food is coming back up, things aren't right. Regurgitation is a sign of being too tight and you most likely need an small adjustment. Breakfast is the wake up call for your metabolism, gets things going and skipping it leads to increased hunger later...call your surgeon for an adjustment. You're in the yellow zone, maybe on the edge of red.

I didn't have to do a preop diet for removal, since I hadn't been able to eat much of anything for months leading up to the surgery. The reason for this is to make the liver less slippery so the instrument that grasps it and keeps it out of the way is able to do so. It's a key part of laparoscopic surgery. Best of luck to you!!!

On the other hand, often people who post opposing opinions are often called "trolls" or "basher" without any dialog having taken place. It might be just someone sharing their opinion with a member who has asked for it. If a member asks for advice about which wls to get, they need to hear from opponents as well as proponents. Posting about a true experience that was negative isn't negativity per se, as long as it's within posting guidelines. On the side bar, there are lots of status updates, topics posted and they may be in a forum that isn't relevant to our particular situation or for a different WLS. It might be good, at least on the Lapband forum, that the sidebar topics be related to Lapband topics only.

I don't know what was wrong with the original premise of the show...seems like they're reinventing the wheel they just reinvented.

The initial hair loss is related to general anesthesia, more than the WLS type and is temporary. The extent of the hair loss can be affected by the length of time you're under... Since sleevers don't malabsorb, they don't lose more or less than banders. RNY pts who don't keep up with their Vitamins can suffer malnutrition and resulting hair loss. I lost a lot of hair (1/2) with my band, a little with my gallbladder and a lot again with my band removal, a 3.5 hour surgery. It is starting to come in again and I think it's because I'm eating better post band.

I recently received a pm from a troll member, telling me I was the recipient of $8.6 million....I reported the member and the message. It was funny, because the members name was Helen and the profile pic was a man in a suit, lol.

At this stage there are just a few things to focus upon: Eating no more than the amount of food and the type of food per your doctors post op eating plan. Eating twice as much because you feel like you can, is a dangerous thing to do. If you're still hungry, wait a half hour to an hour and eat something else, hopefully with some Protein in it, but no more than a half cup. Even though you can't feel it, you do have a band and some stitches and you might not be aware of the damage you could cause. If you're on purées there are some great options to include protein in your diet. Cook up and season a pound of 99% lean ground turkey and run it through the food processor till it's very small crumbles, but not pasty. Add it to lunch, dinner and Snacks consisting of puréed Soups, like black bean, split pea or a favorite of mine, costco carries Stockpot broccoli cheddar Soup, has 5 carbs per cup and a decent amount of protein. Eat a half a cup of the soup/turkey at a sitting, gradually adding more turkey as you progress to solids. Soft scrambled eggs are a good choice, add a bit of cream to keep them soft. Egg salad Tuna salad, add pickle juice to the mayo to flavor and keep mushy Dannon light and fit Greek yogurt Refried Beans, with cheese, salsa, and light sour cream. Ditch the mashed potatoes, your body needs protein to heal and you need to feel satisfied' not full. Protein is going to help you do this on 1/4 - 1/2 cup of food 3-6 times per day (that was my plan and I lost 1.5 lb per week in the first 3 months before my first fill eating the foods I mentioned above). Logging your food on my fitness pal takes less than 3 min per meal and helps keep you accountable...they have phone and tablet apps. Best of luck to you.

Thank you for that @@2muchfun, it means a lot to me. After 2 years of starvation mode and now adding the cardiac meds, which induce weight gain, my body is hanging on to every calorie. I'm worse off now than before, metabolically speaking. It's a bitter pill, but at least I CAN swallow it now

@@cindyb163 she may not be "overeating". Some of us have developed pseudo achalasia from our bands and the first bite or even liquids can get stuck in the esophagus. Just want to avoid assuming this person doesn't have a true complication. I'm sure people thought I was bulimic in the months prior to band removal, if they didn't know what was going on. I lived on puréed cream soups, protein shakes and ice cream and lost weight because even that could get stuck because the valve at the bottom of the esophagus wouldn't relax and let food into my stomach. In my case it was because my band was placed too high, but it happens more often than we think.

She's probably not bulimic, but her band may be a bit too tight and food cannot get through. When this happens there's no place for the food to go but up. Also, the foods you mentioned are "slider" foods that go thru even a too tight band easily. She needs to see her bariatric surgeon.

Another type of unacceptable post: Your first mistake was....then listing what the OP should have done, said, eaten, not eaten, etc. The "insert wls type here" never failed you, you failed it

Is that your honest opinion? You seriously believe that you can either A. Have friendships in which nobody should ever acknowledge your weight loss or B. Don't have friendships but people can then acknowledge your hard work... ?! Sounds pretty ridiculous to me. As rediculous as it might sound, yes, it could come down to that. You didn't feel comfortable sharing your surgery with her, she's either oblivious to your loss or respecting your privacy by not saying anything. You say this is a very close friend of over 20 years, but you don't see each other more than once per month, and you're upset about her not noticing. If you bring this up with her, you risk the friendship. If you don't, you're going to have to deal with it until she finally notices. I lost 100 lbs. All but one of my close friends live far away. I told them I was having the surgery, but when I saw them, there was no "OMG" moment. I didn't care...I was happy to see them.

IMHO, you have to decide what is more important, the friendship or your need to be acknowledged for your wls...

Green zone meant I could eat 1/2 - 3/4 cup of dense protein and veggies, not feel stuck or uncomfortable and not get hungry for 3-6 hours. Usually I'd plan meals for 8 am, noon, a protein snack at 3-4 and dinner at 7pm.

Maybe her remark about another friend losing 10 lb was her opening the door to you sharing with her??? I'd be hurt if my BFF didn't trust me enough to share a huge lifestyle change with me...she's waiting for you to share. One of my BFFs had breast augmentation, didn't tell me. I could tell, but I wasn't going to remark openly to her. I waited till we were alone and told her she looked great. She apologized for not telling me, but wanted it to be no big deal. Get over the hurt feelings...share your accomplishment (if not your tool) with her. If you're going out to eat with her, she's gotta know something is up.

Clorox wipes. Doorknobs, phones, etc wipe everything down constantly. Use rubber gloves....I got it once when my 1 yr old grandson puked on my hand where I had a tiny scratch... Also get a Rx for the anti nausea meds.

When I saw your topic, I wasn't sure you posted in the right place. I had surgery for this when I was almost 12. I was very ill from the anesthetic (ether), don't remember a lot of pain. If you have any specific questions please pm me.