GettingHealthyAgain

Hi Maysters! I'm glad I found you guys. From looking at the weight loss to date for people with a similar starting point (my start weight was 219), I'm not so terribly slow at the weight loss as I thought - currently my weight ranges from 202 - 207, despite having had two fills. Now at 1.5 ccs in a 4 cc band. But I have very little restriction, just some difficulty with bread (I try to eat only whole-grain), and need to chew meat really well. Yay! for all of you who are losing so quickly! That must be so exciting! I'm hoping eventually that I get to the right fill level and can start losing again (can you tell I'm getting a little bummed?).

Hi Susan - Trying to think of any more possibilities. Are ulcers etc. still an issue? If so, seems like that could change your sensations of hunger and fullness in some way. Since you have to eat frequently in order to not feel nausea or pain, that implies something out of the ordinary is going on inside that is short-circuiting the effectiveness of the lapband - the hunger sensor isn't getting switched off for some reason. I could imagine that having an ulcer or similar issue might mess with the signals the brain is getting from the stomach. I understand that the drug Acomplia has recently been approved for use in much of Europe, and is expected to be approved in the U.S. soon. That drug's supposed to help people experience satiation more easily. Maybe that avenue might be effective for you, since it sidesteps the stomach. Keep us posted on what you find out. Hope you can get it figured out! Good luck! Julie

Hi Princess - what's this about the longterm band option resurgery and the ticking timebomb? I haven't heard about needing resurgery...why would that be necessary? Julie

Hi Susan - I just got banded on May 24, and got my second fill this week, but still only 1.5 cc in 4 cc band. Still have very little restriction, so am hoping doc will let me get another fill sooner than the originally planned 6 weeks. All that by way of saying that I'm not in "the sweet spot" yet. However, part of the reason that I got the band is that a friend's fiance was banded 2 years ago, and is now at her goal weight, and she was full, satisfied, on very little food. For example, she said that she occasionally gets cravings for potato chips, but 10 chips satisfies the craving, instead of 1 or 2 whole bags. So there's at least one real person who is satisfied much more easily with much less food. She said the most difficult behavioral change was not drinking with meals. I believe you when you say you know what diminished hunger is, because I also had that experience when I was on Phen-Fen. I ate, felt satisfied with very little food, and stopped eating because I didn't want anymore food, and lost weight almost effortlessly ("almost" because I plateau'd at 165 lbs, and needed to really kick up the exercise to continue losing weight). Once you know what it's like to be free of the constant cravings, once you know it's possible to feel satiated, it's hard to settle for anything less, because anything less feels like such a constant battle. It's exhausting. I'm hoping that when I get to the right fill point I'll have some of the freedom from the food battle again. I hope you do, too. Well, I don't have any helpful advice, but did want to let you know that I personally know of one person for whom the lap band worked as advertised:-). Julie P.S.: I also get rather tired of being told to "stick to the diet", since (1) most of us know the lapband diet guidelines and know a tremendous amount about dieting in general, and (2) the point of getting the lapband was to make it easier to "stick to the diet" by helping us feel full easily and hungry less often...so if the lapband isn't doing that, it's not helpful to be told to stop eating so much....I didn't need to go through surgery to be told that I should stick to a diet, that's the same advice we all have been hearing all our lives...grumble, grumble....okay, sorry, wanted to get that off my chest.

I'm about 2 months post-surgery, have had one 1cc fill, and have lost 14 lbs. I've got very little restriction currently, so am going in for another fill next Monday. Hope it helps me feel full faster! Julie

Hi Diva - my doctor's office says that when looking at the statistics, it's important to remember that the complication rate varies tremendously depending on the experience of the doctor doing the surgery. My doc's office (in Fresno, CA) reports a much, much lower complication rate than the general average. Plus, we need to know more about what was considered a "complication" - are they talking issues that require hospitalization, or just discomfort, like PBing? Julie

I believe that all five had the lapband surgery, but the Today show host referred to it as laparoscopic gastric banding (I think)...isn't that the same as the lapband? Julie

Bettina - Yes on the list of all the diets and dates and weight loss and exercise programs. Fortunately the doctor had a checklist that included at least 50 possibilities, and I had tried most of them. Ditto on the phen-fen! Only problem is that I don't think any has been manufactured legally for years, so quality control and expiration dates would be a concern. Julie T

Hi Rachel - I also had no luck on Meridia, as have mentioned a number of other folks. If you don't have high blood pressure, phentermine might be a possibility, if you only need to lose ten pounds before surgery. Phentermine only remains effective for about 2 weeks before you develop a tolerance and it becomes ineffective, and there can also be withdrawals such as tiredness and headaches when you stop. And, yes, phentermine was one half of the now infamous phen-fen (which I LOVED! It was heavenly freedom from the desire to overeat...but then I didn't develop heart problems), but the fenfluramine is the drug that was taken off the market, and phentermine is still totally legal and available. Another possibility is Acomplia, which is now available in Europe and England, and is presumed to be close to approval in the U.S. by the FDA, but just when that will happen is anyone's guess. Don't know how you feel about flying to Europe.... A question: why do some docs require patients to lose 10 lbs before surgery? My doc didn't require a pre-surgery weight loss. Seems odd to require people to do the very thing that they've been unable to do and are having the surgery in order to do.... Julie T

Hi - It's actually a relief to read your posts about this subject, since I'm having the same experience. I had surgery May 24, and about 3 weeks after surgery, started being able to eat quite a bit without feeling full. Had my first fill (1 cc) at 4 weeks, a little early, because I was getting ready to leave on 2 weeks vacation, and my doc was then going to be gone for 5 weeks, and I was afraid that if I waited until he got back, I'd have regained the 12 lbs or so that I'd lost since being banded. After the fill, I felt a bit of restriction, such that I lost 2 or 3 more pounds while on vacation, but now have regained those. Will be getting my next fill on May 31. It is indeed nervewracking! I too wondered if the band had slipped or busted or has a leak. Trying to be patient, remembering what I've read that for some people it takes 2 or 3 fills to get adequate restriction. Just so looking forward to only being able to eat small amounts, so there's not the worry about gaining weight, and hey, getting to lose a bunch of weight! Patience, patience... BTW, this is my first post here, so hello! I'm so glad to have found this group. My doc's office has an on-line support group, but most of his patients have the RNY bypass, so they're losing 50 lbs in the first two months, and have a different set of concerns and worries. I needed to find more lapbanders! So thanks to you all for being here and sharing, Julie T. And here's the stats: Dr Felix, Fresno, CA 5/24/06 224/207 or so/135?