Bandarella

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.

Support YOURSELF! I read several WLS boards daily and I'm truly amazed at the helplessness and lack of power some of us have. I've been there myself, having dealt with seasonal depression, early childhood abuse and growing up with a mom who had Borderline Personality Disorder. In my 20s depression reared it's ugly head in a big way and the weight gain started. I'd weighed around 150 and at 5'5" that was close to ideal. I finished my 3rd decade weighing about 225, despite getting psychological support. In my 40s after getting up to 260, I sought counseling to deal with unresolved issues with my mom, who had passed away 10 years before. This helped me deal with relationship issues I had on many levels with pretty much everyone in my life, and I dieted my way down to 190. I felt in control and powerful. That was a great feeling. Today I read a post laying out strategies for success in losing weight. It listed a few good ideas and some that were a bit impractical, but the point I got out of it was in order to succeed, we must support ourselves; get the trigger foods out of sight, etc, but I think it missed a key point. It's not about hiding bad foods...it's about keeping healthy foods available in the moment we are being tempted and taking back our power over temptation. This is where I've been missing the boat recently, a technique I know works, but in my blue mood, had forgotten. The strategy I've used is positive affirmation. You visualize how you'll feel, look, walk 20, 30, 40 lb lighter and create an inner dialog of positive statements: I'm enjoying shopping for clothing one size smaller. It feels great to take a walk without my knees hurting so much. This chicken Greek salad tastes so fresh and it's providing my body with nutrients and Protein to support my healthy lifestyle. You create a positive environment within your mind to support your goal of being healthier. You replace the negative inner dialog, you KNOW what I'm talking about, with positive self talk. It's a habit you develop over time, usually about 6 weeks. It's a known fact that thinking positive thoughts while developing a new habit helps in establishing the desired behavior. You focus on the new behaviors, not on overcoming the old behavior. If you find yourself berating, chastising or otherwise having a negative inner dialog, you stop, breathe and replace that dialog with a positive affirmation: I am worthy, I am powerful, I am in control and move on. I did this throughout my band journey, including the 3 month supervised term and especially during the year I was struggling with the complications. In the last few months, I'd let the negative self talk sneak in...the fear of regain, feeling vulnerable, powerless and depressed. I forgot the mantra "If you believe it, you'll see it" and I did...30 lb of regain since September. So go ahead and hide the Cookies, better yet, leave them at the store, but don't forget to visualize yourself 1, 2 or 3 sizes smaller, congratulate yourself for every accomplishment and forgive a misstep. You are worthy, you are powerful, you are in control. Bandarella????

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

I'm several months out from Lapband removal surgery now and realizing that I've been grieving the loss of my tool. To see my history, just read some of my activity over the last few months on here. 1. Denial and Isolation: in the months leading up to my removal surgery I struggled between being ready to give up my tool because it was causing me so much pain, anxiety and fear and trying desperately to keep my tool because I was unwilling to risk regaining the weight I'd worked so hard to lose. I stayed away from surgery forums, for the most part...I couldn't read about others doing great, struggling, being overjoyed at approval without feeling like I'd just been a fool for thinking I'd ever attain a BMI under 30, my realistic goal. I was undergoing test after test trying to understand what was going on inside my body. I felt like crap at the lowest weight I'd seen in over 15 years. I felt cheated out of the chance to enjoy the smaller clothes, but I desperately wanted the doctors to tell me the band was ok, it was easy to fix whatever was wrong or that I could revise. After removal, I was overjoyed at being able to eat again, not bring up absolutely everything that went down. In the first 3 months, I gained 3 lb, no biggie. I felt good, normal again. I was in denial about regain. 2. Anger and Depression: a few months ago, the regain started in earnest. I had always suffered from depression in the fall my entire adult life. Relocation to the northwest doesn't help that. With my band I didn't worry about my fall depression, it was still there, but with my tool, the eating was under control, I was in control. I used a blue light and it helped. This last fall, I felt like my emotional world was crashing down and the pounds were piling on...25 of them. I was totally pi**ed off! I've lost my tool, I can't revise, my surgeon f'd up my band by placing it too high...I felt angry, betrayed and miserable. I was so angry I'd allowed myself to become emotionally vulnerable and feel more normal. I coped with obesity by compartmentalizing my emotions...the self loathing, blaming, excusing had been gone. I'd allowed myself to let go of that part of my psyche, set it free...now it's back. 3. Bargaining: as Fall turned to Winter and Winter to spring, I devised different plans to deal with my regain. No carbs, low carbs, DASH diet, blood type diet, no diet, etc. I'm struggling in every sense of the word, physically, emotionally and spiritually. I'm so disappointed in myself, I feel stupid for not recognizing my symptoms for what they were earlier, despite my surgeon and PA telling me everything was fine. Every morning and night when I take my meds (8 total, 2 new) I tell myself I'm going to get control, lose what I regained and follow my wls eating plan. I've done great some days, most days...eating 1200-1400 calories, getting a bit of walking in (I'm disabled, so this is limited), logging my food, etc...still I gain. I'm out of options, but I keep thinking maybe I can still revise...my husband has been so supportive, but he's scared I will try to revise. My bargaining days are over... Acceptance: I'm still struggling, but I'm becoming more resolved to find a long term solution for my problem. I've lost a lot of time on this endeavor. I've got to figure out how to make it meaningful, not a waste of time and resources. I'm going to see a naturopathic physician and I'm considering counseling too. I've got to get a handle on the situation, because in 6 months, it's going to be the dark season again...wish me luck!!

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.

Well, that's depressing...

You ate tuna, green beans, broccoli, salad, chicken, crab and string cheese at 10 days post op?