meggs353

Joeyellen, I would put your question in a new thread. No one will see it at the bottom of this thread. I don't know the answer to your question, but there is a forum dedicated to insurance where you might find some info.

Yes, I've watched those videos, they're great! In the 8 Golden Rules video, the doctor says that it's fine to drink with meals, and that the idea that it washes the pouch out is out dated (his words, not mine). He talks about it in the video Part 3 of 4 starting around 7:10. His only guidance is to wait to take a sip of liquid in between bites because you need to let the food pass. I don't remember what the other website says. I've read different things on different surgeons websites (when I was researching this). I don't know that they all agree! Sorry to derail this thread into one about liquids!

Thanks for the input! It's always nice to hear from others. It also sounds like the 30 second timer might be a "rule" specific to my dr only.

Diane - I think it's the same! If you like decaf tea, then go for it! It's better to get it all in and enjoy it than force yourself to drink plain water if you don't like it. It will hydrate you just the same

Like you, I didn't follow the "rules" until I had to, but then when it came time to do it, I was terrible at it! If I could go back I would have worked a lot harder at following the rules when I didn't have to since it takes a lot of practice! I recently had to get an unfill from a too tight band. But, in talking with my surgeon, if I had been following the rules the band might not have been too tight afterall! She did loosen my band a bit, and I'm following the rules carefully, mainly that I'm waiting a full 30 seconds after a well-chewed bite before taking another bite. I had been eating slow, but not that slow! With my new looser band, could I eat faster? Maybe, but I'm not even going to try. This is the new normal. I asked my surgeon about drinking during meals and she said the reason they advise not to drink is because when your band is adjusted the food takes time to pass through and drinking can cause you to throw up. She said it's not true that it washes out your pouch. (For the record, my NUT told me the opposite, so who knows! I imagine there are different theories on the issue). Good luck! My suggestion is to try to practice the rules you were given as often as you can!

Good luck with the decision! It's not an easy one. Perhaps ask your dr to walk you through the pros and cons of each. It's impossible to predict the future, so we can't know how you will do with another band, or with the sleeve. It's just about working with your healthcare team to determine what is best for you based on the information you currently have. Neither the band nor the sleeve is perfect. If you decide not to have either though, then it's back to dieting the old fashioned way, which failed many of us. There is a specific forum for lap-band to sleeve revisions and you might be able to get some insight there as to what was good and bad for people who had that experience: http://www.bariatricpal.com/forum/394-band-to-gastric-sleeve-revisions/ Good luck!

I'm so grateful for this post. It's so reassuring to see long-term successes!

Congratulations! Great work!

@Drband14 - tell us how things go with your Dr appt next week. I am in a similar situation as you. I can't eat breakfast, can barely eat lunch, and am usually okay by dinner time. My band is pretty tight. Some days I can eat everything and some days I can't anything. On those bad days I'm throwing up every bite I eat. It's really discouraging and embarrassing in public (luckily I haven't puked on anyone, but constantly going to the bathroom during a meal makes people wonder what's going on). Also, like you, even though my band is tight, I still get intense hunger pains. If I wasn't hungry, I wouldn't worry about the high level of restriction since I wouldn't need to eat anyways. But, I get upset sometimes because I'm soo hungry, but I can't eat! I have been losing weight regularly though, so it was easy to put up with. I finally decided to go back to the docs and get a tiny unfill. I just need a little bit of relief and breathing room. I was okay dealing day to day (getting stuck a few times a week, and maybe only having 1 bad day in a week where I really couldn't eat), but I had a vacation last week, and out of my element and normal habits I just kept getting stuck and sick all the time. I lost 2lbs, but I couldn't eat anything, and most nights I went to bed hungry. I also have a hard time eating fruits and veggies, and drinking enough water, so I want to make sure I can physically eat and drink a balanced diet. Talk to you doc about where you are, and see what he or she says!

Sorry to hear you feel like you're hitting a wall. I wouldn't worry about filling the whole band and not having any restriction unless you actually get there. Some people need more fill volume than others, and you still have ~40% left of your band to fill up. Try to focus on foods with lots of Protein and fiber, to fill you up and keep you full, and make sure you're getting in all your Water. Also, keep working with your dr to get the band where it needs to be. It's very frustrating when you don't feel the dimmed appetite that the band provides, but you'll get there. Remember that the main way the band works is by making you feel more full with less food. It doesn't help by preventing you from physically eating by being too tight. Here are some links from @@Bandista that are very helpful in case you haven't seen them yet: Eight Golden Rules of Lapband: http://www.bariatric...dr-paul-obrien/ The Lapband is not about Restriction: http://drsimpson.net...estriction.html Good luck!

I also had surgery by Dr Ren (I didn't realize Alex did too!) I've been in touch with at least 2 other people who used the practice (another who had surgery by Dr Ren, and one who had surgery by her husband Dr Fielding) and they are all happy as well. One of the woman I am in touch with has had follow-up appts with Dr Schwack and said he is really nice. I'm happy with the practice and the support they offer. Good luck!

I had surgery November 2014. I'm down 18 lbs, and counting. For the first few months after surgery I didn't lose (I gained back some of my pre-surgery loss too). I was very relieved to read on these boards that this is normal. It took me time to get my band adjusted, and once it was I started losing 0.5 lbs/week and I am thrilled (some weeks I lose 1.5 lbs, some weeks I gain 0.5 lbs, some weeks I stay the same but it averages to 0.5 down each week over time). I would love to lose faster but I eat so many foods I love (in small quantities) that I'd rather eat what I want and lose slow than try and be stricter and lose faster. My whole life I struggled to lose any weight, and even when I tried I often ended up gaining, so this consistent loss over time is wonderful. I hope this post helps people who are starting out or losing slow!

Thanks for the tips! I decided to try it. I snuck an oyster into the bathroom (the small joys of lap band, lol), and I chewed it (which I thought would be weird, but was not) and I swallowed without issue! I took a few drinks of water just to make sure it went down and all was good. Phew!

I see - I don't have any noticeable GI reactions to certain types of foods, aside from getting stuck as I mentioned. Glad to hear you're feeling back on track!

I think when people say this about "eating foods they shouldn't", they are referring more to texture like TheProfessor says. I think people mean if they take a bite of bread, or dry meat, or something that doesn't breakdown easily, the band lets them know they shouldn't have eaten it by causing an uncomfortable stuck incident. The experience is clear and immediate: message received, I should NOT have eaten that! It doesn't necessarily apply to any foods that are high calorie and nutritionally empty (candy, chips, ice cream). Those foods are actually really easy to eat with the band, so it won't do any anything to stop you. I recommend reading the articles Bandista mentioned, they are very helpful. They explain how the band works to make us less hungry (as you noticed when you ate less "junk" than you would have in the past). But it's still up to us to have to make decisions about what we eat. I find that having small treats makes me feel like I'm living a healthy, balanced life and not restricting myself on a diet. If you had a small amount of what you call junk food, don't worry too much. Focus on healthy food as much as you can, and enjoy treats in moderation too. Hope these replies help! Good luck!

Hi there. This is the time that you need patience and lots of work with your dr. I learned from reading these forums that weight gain after band surgery is normal! If your band isn't properly adjusted, then it's not dimming your appetite yet. I gained weight for the first couple of months after surgery, then I stopped gaining and maintained, and finally after about 5 months of getting fills (and a couple of unfills) every 3-4 weeks I finally found a comfortable spot where I was losing weight consistently. Good luck on your journey and do NOT be discouraged. It takes some time and work to get the band in the right spot. But for me, that flexibility and personalization was one of the reasons I chose the band.

I'm 6 mo out from lap band surgery and I'm finally in a comfortable green zone. I do have some fairly significant restriction from the time I wake up until dinner time. I have to follow the band rules carefully regarding slowly eating small bites, and chewing well, or else I'll be stuck. I've only had this level of restriction for about 6 weeks, so I'm still getting used to it (I'm getting better at it, but I'm trying to re-work decades of old habits). I was explaining the lap band to one of my close friends, and telling her about the requirement for eating carefully. She then asked a question that took me off guard - she asked if I enjoyed my food more now I was taking my time and eating slowly. It took me off guard (surprisingly!) because the first reaction in my head was no! I'm slightly paranoid when I eat, and when I chew I'm intently focused on the texture of the food in my mouth to make sure it is okay to swallow. Then I'm carefully paying attention to how it feels in my esophagus. Is it passing through the band? Is it building up? Can I take another bite? I told a white lie, and said I was enjoying food more, since it hadn't occurred to me that eating was a task to be completed carefully, not a leisurely experience. I'm suspecting that this is due to the fact that I'm still getting used to the band at this level of tightness. Hopefully as these new habits start to become second nature, I'll be able to focus more on the pleasure of the experience. It was an interesting wake-up call too, so that I can start paying attention to the enjoyment of eating, not just the mechanical process. I'm wondering if anyone else went through this transition. Thanks!

Thanks all for the responses and support. It's nice to hear from others who are having similar journeys. I'll work on goal #1 first which is to permanently change my eating habits so that they become second nature. Then I'll work on goal #2 which is to sit back and enjoy the experience.

I don't know much about the logistics of a flipped port, but I hope you're doing okay and recovering well from the procedure!

Good luck! Let us know how it turns out. I agree it's good to have the doc check to make sure there's no infection (which might have nothing to do with the hike, and may only be a coincidence). Good for you for being active!

Wow - you are doing great! Keep up the great work. I also struggle to stop eating once I've had enough - but it's a skill that will get stronger with practice.

It's very strange getting used to the feeling of the band. I didn't feel restriction right away after my surgery, but everyone is different, and some people never need a fill because the band on its own dims hunger enough that it doesn't need to be any tighter. Did your surgeon add any Fluid to the band during surgery? If so, that could contribute to why you are feeling restriction without any fills. Like Kate says, make sure you're following the banding rules of eating small bites slowly and carefully. For me, every bite I take needs to be thoughtful, and chewed carefully. I also need to take time between each bite to make sure the food has passed through the band before taking another bite.

Congrats on your success! You are doing great. My surgeon advised me that 0.5-2 lbs/week is normal weight loss. For me, the first couple of months after surgery I gained weight, since the band wasn't helping to dim my hunger yet. It took me about 6 months of fills before I finally found my sweet spot, and now that I'm there I'm losing about 0.6 lbs per week - right on track. It's slow, but it's so much better than the 5-10 lbs/year I was gaining year after year pre-band while desperately trying to lose weight. My point is that you're doing great, and there is a wide range of weight-loss scenarios that are all still successful. As long as you feel good, and you're losing weight week after week, I would say you're on the right track.

For me, still being in the early stages (I'm about 7 mo out, but I still feel like it's early since I only found my green zone about a month and half ago), I find that it's all thanks to the band. Before the band I was on a path of gaining weight year after year, even though I was desperately fighting a losing battle to lose weight. Having the band is still a lot of work. It's work to change years (even decades) of eating habits for the new banded lifestyle. It's work to eat healthy foods (finding them, buying them, preparing them, eating them). But it's work that would be in vain without the band.

Sounds like something to check with the doc. I've had tenderness at my port (if I eat too much, it feels like it's being pulled), but never intense sharp pains. I don't think any part of this process is supposed to be painful (it may not always be easy, but you shouldn't be suffering). So if you are experiencing pain, I would insist to your dr that they work with you to resolve it. If you live with it, it could turn into a more serious matter later, depending on what's causing the issue. Good luck!