DaChanginQueen

The difference between a restrictive WLS and a malabsorbtion WLS..(IN MY OPINION) is that initially you will lose weight during the first 18mnths relatively easy with a malabsortion WLS ...even if you are not learning new eatting habits.

With the Band you must begin to learn new eatting habits from the beginning...it takes a period of time to get to a "sweet spot" and during this time you must diet to lose weight.

After the first 18mnth "honeymoon" period I've noticed that with the malabsorbtion WLS weight gain happens with some people because they never changed the things they were eatting...except for maybe the exclusion of sweets because of the dumping syndrome experienced.

The band can be a slow process but IMO a better result in the longrun because it can be tweeked forever and when weight loss slows you can evalutate if it's because of wrong choices or needing a adjustment.

It seems there is a window of opportunity with malabsorbtion WLS and if you don't learn new habits during this initial window the weight WILL come back on. For this reason I am glad I chose the Band.. I may have lost more weight with another surgery by this point but I feel I have learned better eatting habits and have a tool that I can adjust for a lifetime if need be.

Try drinking your liquids warm..tea, coffee etc. Warm liquids seem to relax things and when I cannot keep anything else down it works for me. If you cannot even keep the warm liquids down then I would be worried. The more things come up the more swelling will occur. It doesnt take long to get dehydrated.

I don't crave the carbs as often anymore..but when I do it's nice to be able to, you're right!

I had HUGE issues with Splenda. I had horrible abdominal pains..like ridiculous. Ive had 2 big 9lbs+ babies naturally and this pain was almost as bad..lol I also retained Fluid and swelled up really bad, had headaches and all disappeared when I removed splenda. Its like poison to my body. Google dangers of splenda and you will be surprised.

I was 441lbs when banded. I have heard of Dr suggesting that larger people do not do well with the band but IMO thats a bunch of crap. The weight definetly comes off faster with bypass but studies have proven that like 3 yrs out banders and bypassers have the same results. Bypassers have a window of opportunity (usually like 18mnths) and then have to be very careful to maintain. Banders lose slower but can be adjusted forever. Slow and steady wins the race!

My Dr is aggressive with fills also. First fills with her are usually up to half of what the band will hold. I have a 14cc band and got almost to half on 1st fill. Her logic is that most people can handle it and why wait months to get to restriction. It is hard to stay motivated for sooo long. According to her stats only like 5% come back for an unfill. Just make sure and stay on liquids for the day and mushies for a day or 2 after so you wont cause any more swelling than the fill itself will cause.

You can add a couple snacks..it doesnt take much. Have some string cheese, greek yogurt is great and filled with Protein, some almonds, deli meat and cheese rolled up anything to add a few hundred more calories a day.

Hi Megg,

I think you are not getting enough calories..especially with all the exercise you are doing. Your body thinks it's famine time and is conserving all the energy it can and you won't lose a thing until you eat more.

I know it sounds crazy and the exact opposite of logic but up your calories to about 1200 and see what happens!

Ok so I have have the LAP-BAND® for a little over a year now and, for the most part, everything's been great. I've lost almost 100 pounds and don't regret doing it, but for the last three months I feel like I've had problem after problem. It started when I went for a fill, then got home and couldn't eat of drink anything. I went for an unfill and it was better. Then for the next three consecutive fills, I had the same problem where I'd have to go for an unfill right afterwards. During this time there was a lot of vomiting during the last two, too tight episodes pain in the stomach area. I then went on vacation after getting a fill, everything was fine but ten days later I couldn't eat or drink anything and the pain was back. I went to the ER, had an x-ray where the surgeon I say, not my regular surgeon, said the band had slipped. He took out all of the Fluid waited a few hours and then had me do a barium swallow and pronounced that the band had righted itself. A month later I go back to my regular doctor (this was today) tell him the story and he fills me up (6 cc's, the er doc had taken out 7cc's). Now I can drink just fine, I can't try food yet, but I have the intense, throbbing pain in my chest, stomach area. It won't go away despite me taking pain medication. Anyone ever have these issues?

Haven't had those issues myself but the fact that you are in pain is a problem. Definately make them take a look an see whats going on in there. It's not normal to be in pain. Sorry you're going thru this...good luck.

I'm sure that quite a few of us pay attention to that show for obvious reasons. I'm currently exercising a good deal and taking in about 800 calories a day. The scale is MAYBE nudging downward these days but barely (my 3rd fill is in 2.5 weeks), so how do those people regularly lose 10 pounds per week? I know they exercise all day long but I still feel that there's something about the band that causes you to lose weight more slowly that you would if you were eating and exercising this way without it. Or am I missing something?

I'm totally thrilled with the band so this isn't a complaint. Just an observation.

It sounds like you are not eatting enough calories. 800 calories is not alot especially since you are exercising alot. You can make you body hold on to fat stores because you are not eatting enough. Try adding in a few hundred more calories a day. When your body realizes it's gonna get enough nutrition everyday, the scale will most likely start to move again. Good luck!

Hello everybody, does anybody know when bloating subsides after surgery and does it effect weight? Have been on liquids for 5 days and haven't lost an ounce. thanks for any feedback.

You've been hooked up to IV's and pumped full of fluids so it will take several days for it all to pass thru your body. It will definately show up on the scale so do yourself a favor and stay away from the scale for a while...lol

Every Dr is so different in what they require pre-op. I had to do 2wks of replacing 2 meals with Protein Drinks and a small dinner..3oz of chicken or fish and some non starchy veggie. I've heard of some doing up to 4wks of completely liquid diets and some that had no pre-op diet other than stop eatting at midnight b4 surgery day.

The point of the pre-op diet is to shrink your liver..most overweight people have fatty or enlarged livers...and that makes it really hard to do the surgery since they have to move the liver first. A fatty liver is an easily damaged liver.

My PCP told me I could get the same liver shrinking results with just following a no carb diet also.

I'm not suggesting that you not following your Drs orders but if you are gonna cheat make sure it's Protein only.

After 3-4 days of a low carb diet your cravings will subside dramatically and that will help.

I know it's tough but you can do it and you will be happy you did when it's all said and done!

Congratulations!! I wanted to hit 100lbs by my 1yr also but it's coming up next week and I don't think I'm gonna...but I am very close so I can't complain. You are doing great and you have figured out how to use your tool in a way that works for you. I think that's the secret..we all try and compare ourselves to what others are doing..and sometimes I think that's helpfull and sometimes I think it can make you nuts..lol Great job!

EAS!!!! I buy it in the powered form and I also buy EAS AdvantEdge carb control pre-made drinks for when I'm on the run. They are low in calories and carbs and have several flavors to choose from.

When you can be satisfied with 1/2 - 1cup of food and not be hungry for 3-4hrs. Thats what my Dr says is a good amt of restriction. Personally I've never been able to be satisfied with 1/2 cup but some are...I'm at more like 1c - 1 1/2 and satisfied for 4hrs or so. I am steadily losing..not as fast as some but I am happy with that.

I don't know how many calories you were taking in before the unfill but it might be possible that even at 1500 cal you are eatting more now. If you were too tight and not taking in enough calories you may have been in starvation mode and now that you're getting enough calories you body just has to regulate itself. Once your body realizes that it's gonna keep getting enough food it won't hold on to all those calories. The body is a funny thing isn't it? lol

You've been thru alot lately. Not only has your life changed..your body is still healing...and if you're anything like me you ate to cope with feelings and your not getting that fix right now. Things will get back to normal soon. Down 30lbs :thumbup: Great job!!

It may be a slider food for you but it is also mostly carbs as well..the corn and potato. Carbs always set me up to be more hungry earlier than if I ate a Protein only meal.

Until you start to get restriction you can eat most things...after each fill be careful when you start solids to see what reaction you have to different things. Everyone is different.

Have you tried looking at the types of food you are eatting? Have you let too many carbs creep back in? That can definetly awaken the appetite. Are you drinking too soon after eatting? It looks like you've been doing great so far so you obviously know what to do so maybe log what you are eatting and look for a pattern to see whats triggering your appetite.

BTW I would call and try and get in asap. I just had a fill last Thursday and scheduled my appt b4 I left for 1mnth. After getting back on solids I realize there is no change in restriction so I just called this morning to bump it up to this coming Monday. No sense waiting IMO. Good luck!!

The feeling of fullness is not the same after you get banded. If you wait till you feel that "old" full feeling you will have eatten way to much and will most likely be in pain. You are stretching your pouch when you do this and that is not a good thing. You have to measure your food and make sure to stop at that. Even if you have to have a Protein snack later..it's better than stuffing your pouch at one sitting.

The time before your get good restriction is called Banster Hell for a reason...you are relying on mostly willpower to get you thru. It's something we all go thru and of course it's not an easy thing but it is part of the process.

If you are hungry between meals make sure you snack on something that is Protein. Never eat more than the measured amount your Dr recommends. Once you get good restriction 1/2c - 1c will statisfy for 3-4hrs.

While your waiting to get to that sweet spot is the time to begin practicing the band rules as it relates to amounts of food..types of food...chewing well and making good choices..protein first etc.

Keep positive and know that you can get thru this and it WILL get better as you get your scheduled fills.

The sweating and shaking can be symptoms of low blood sugar. If you can't tolerate the Protein Shakes now..try again later after you're done healing. There's not alot on the list for 1wk post op...sounds like you're on reg liquids if you're allowed Protein drinks. At that point I was eatting things like runny cream of wheat, creamy Soups, Jello, popsicles, yogurt. Once you get to the mushie stage you will start to feel better.

There are some protein drinks that look and taste more like juice. nectar has alot of flavors you might tolerate better.

I can't feel my band but it is normal for the port to appear to be shifting...it's actually stitched to the muscle but the fat and skin obviously changes as we lose weight so it seems like it's shifting around. Early on I joked with my Dr that I should get a bullseye tatoo over my port so it would make fills easier and she told me that it would change as I lost weight.

If you are chewing well and having no problems I would say don't worry about it. When you get more restriction it will take you longer to eat. My Dr never told me to take 30 min to eat...she did however tell me not to eat for MORE than 30 min. If I still have food left after 30 min to just stop. After 30 min your pouch will begin to empty and you will be able to eat more than you should.

Eatting solid foods to early can set you up for complications down the road. Your stitches, internally on your stomach, have not healed yet. The contracting action that the stomach does to digest solid food can rip those stiches. You may think you are tolerating it but you have no idea what you are doing to the stitches inside. I know it's hard...we've all been thru it...but risking a band slipping in the future because you ate too soon is NOT worth the moment of food too soon. Please think about the fact that you need to heal on the inside as well as the outside and stick to the Drs orders...they arn't trying to torture us..there are reasons for what they ask us to do.

To the OP ask your Dr if you can move on to regular liquids..I had to be on Clear Liquids only 1 day..then reg liquids 2wks...reg liquids would at least allow Protein drinks..very runny cream of wheat etc.