AlienBandit

My doctor leaves it up to the patient whether they want to stay or not. He doesn't charge extra for the hospital stay so if you stay one night and want to stay another he says that is ok ( ie if the gas bothers you, pain bothers you etc). I stayed over night and my doc wanted me to stay a few more days but I had to go back to work. I know a few of his patients that stay a few hours and then go home. It is possible to go home a few hours after surgery if you want, but yes sometimes doctors prefer you to stay over night.

Well I might be a good person to talk to because I always seem to get the short stick in life. I too have PCOS and I have battled my weight for years. In Canada I spent mega bucks thousands of dollars on weight loss diets ( ie dr berstein diet) but the weight always came back. Before I was super overweight again, I decided to have the band surgery while I was living in Korea. Things went great at first. Though I had pcos I worked hard with my band and went to the gym etc and lost about 50lbs in 4 months. One night however I drank Water too fast and it gave me 12 hours of acid reflux. Then came a strange pain and I could feel my tubing from my band to my port, then I had a strange but light pain in my stomach ( my actual stomach not the port area). I went to the doctor for a check up already scheduled and mentioned my problems. He found my tubing was too close to the surface of my skin and I needed a revision. Just to be double safe he decided to give me a full check up including an endoscope check ( camera down my throat) and found erosion.... YES erosion 4 months after I was banded!! I was heart broken and confused why did it have to happen etc. I had 2 choices, to unfill the band for months until I healed or remove the band. After 2 weeks of being unfilled my erosion was almost healed, my doc wanted to stitch it, but i wanted the band out. It was removed Feb 2010 and I was without a band until July 2010 ( when the lapband ap series was k fda approved here) and then I got rebanded. I would NEVER consider getting the gastric bypass ( my bmi was not high enough to begin with and was about 27 when I lost my band) and the sleeve I might consider if something happens to this band. Over all with all the bad things that have happened ( I have also been through over fill hell etc) I still love my band and don't regret getting it. If I could I'd keep it forever. Lets hope nothing else bad happens. If you want to read more details about my erosion you can click on my blog and go back to Feb 2010 and March 2010 as I documented it there. Right now life is good. No erosion ( that I know of, I have a check up this weekend because I have been banded this time around for a whole year ) My BMI is 25, I am 10 lbs from goal ( might settle here) and my band and I get along most of the time.

I have had the swedish band VG ( I believe it is called) which is the version before the realize band ( So same band stucture) and the lapband ap s ( 7 baffles around the band) and I honestly liked the swedish band more. I had to have a bigger fill in my swedish band but my foods were not limited ( could still eat breads, Pasta, rice so there was some willpower needed). Now I have the lapband and with a smaller fill I have more restriction but this band seems so much more tempermental then the swedish band. I have had more problems with food getting stuck, pbing and being overfilled. It is hard to judge which band will work better for you, so do you research and see what you think would work better. For me I miss how easy it was to eat with the swedish band but like how the lap band reminds me to be careful ( but that is a pain too). My doc doesnt do realize, so I couldn't get that one specifically. Really, there is no answer to which band is better. People are different, their stomachs are different and their doctors are different. It's like asking whether granny smith or macintosh apples are better. Realize has pros and cons, lapband has pros and cons. There are also other bands out there like the swedish band, the midband etc but not all are offered in North America so luckily your choices have already been taken down to two.

I hiccup when I eat too fast and the food is getting stuck. I burp when I am almost too full.

My doc did this to me too with my second band. I could feel a difference when I woke from surgery, it felt like something was tight around my stomach but I could get liquids and food down. I was even eating almost a whole horse so I thought it was because my band was empty. When I went for my first fill I asked my doc are you sure you didnt put anything in my band. He said no I didn't but then poked me and voula 4cc came out. He checked the records and sure enough there was a little note but he forgot (he never puts fills in during surgery but since I was rebanded he did because the band was loose apparently). Anyways it was no problem for me, just a little surprise

I had my band removed last year and it didn't slow me down. I don't drive, but I did go back to work 2 days post op and it was basically like nothing happened ( except I was in liquids for a while). We all heal differently but I don't think you will be bed ridden for days.

1.The band might take away your stoamch hungry ( after you have good fills) but you will still battle head hunger 2. What foods do you stay away from? Can I never have fries again or pizza? You can eat pizza and fries again ( I just had poutine the other day had to try it just couldnt say no) SHOULD you eat those things though? no. But it won't kill you and everyone is different. 3.HOW DOES food GETTING STUCK FEEL?? CAN YOU BREATHE?Ok have you ever eaten food so fast that it gets stuck in your throat and you drink Water to push it down? Sometimes stuck is like that but you cant drink water. Solution: left arm above your head should work or take enzyme pills or something or just dont get stuck in the first place. Sometimes I get stuck when I am out eating dinner with my friends. No one knows I am banded so I just quietly sit there and wait for it to pass, I lift my left arm and play with my hair which often helps ( somehow your left arm helps your stomach) if it doesnt i go to the bathroom and get rid of the problem. No biggy. Big stucks I have trouble breathing and simply feel like I am gonna puke so I go to the bathroom. One big painful stuck I had because of a Vitamin gosh that was the worst!

FYI the midband is kind of like the realize band. It is a one balloon band. They do not stitch it to your stomach and the port doesnt get stitched to your muscles. It mostly used in Europe but there are a few doctors that use it in the US. I met an Aussie doc that is trying to get it KFDA in Korea. Here is a link to a photo of it with the bands my doc uses at his office. http://alienbanditinkorea.wordpress.com/2010/08/15/bands-very-important-please-read/

I hope everything goes well with you. I am sorry to hear about this but it really makes me wonder about dysplasia. Since it is the pre cancerous cells, it should be easy to remove and isnt cancer yet. How seriuos is your doctor treating this? You can get dysplasia cells in your body and sometimes the doctors say it is no big deal. To get a little off topic when you get paps your doctor is checking for dysplasia and if you have it they just do a simple 5 minute in office procedure to take it out and then your fine. My doctors in 2 different countries chalk it up to be nothing serious as long as you have it removed. I recently was told I have dysplasia after a pap and had the cells removed and was told not to worry about cancer etc. Are you considering removing the band because of this?

It depends on the guy I am out on a date with to whether i tell them about the surgery or not. Since none of my friends or family knows, I generally keep it a secert. However I was on a date with a complete jackass who thought fat people were basically stupid and that weight loss surgery shouldnt exist because they dont deserve the easy way out etc and I just lost it on him. His response why do you care youre not fat and thats when I told him. Did he care i had surgery well no but by then I was not interested in seeing him again even though he didn't care about the surgery. Other guys I have dated I didn't tell them because I wanted to wait and they didnt stick around so I am glad I didn't tell them.

I have PCOS and have had the band over a year total. My highest weight was 225-230 maybe. I got banded at 210 and was down to about 170 by my 4 months post op. I am no at 150 lbs though I would love to be at 140 but I am not sure if I can get there. I might just settle for 150 which isn't bad for 5'6. Is life with the band easy? well no but if you work out and eat right you can do this!

I know everyone thinks they need last suppers but really once you are banded you can eat almost anything in smaller portions. I'd die if I couldnt eat rice ( rice is in EVERY meal here) I can't go a week without eating Indian I have a huge love for cheese ( and yes I eat pizza sometimes) Vietnamese is a weekly meal ( the rice wraps and veggies etc) etc I am banded but no one knows I am banded and I am able to appear normal and eat where everyone else eats ( unless its red meat I'm a fakatarien).

I sometimes forget during days when i am busy and out with friends that I have the band. I have had it for so long and food doesn't get stuck often, I am at my sweet spot ( a tad overfilled that is what reminds me), and I enjoy any foods in smaller portions. It won't always be on your mind, controling what you eat etc. You will get used to be and learn to live with it easily.

I never put anything on my band scars and 6 months post op my doc and i couldnt find them. Small scars heal really nicely. I even wore a bikini last summer and none of my friends noticed the scars and that was 6 weeks post op!

Not all doctors require a preop diet. My doc doesnt but my BMI was low so my liver wasn't a problem. Sometimes he has patients that have fatty livers but he still doesnt require a pre op diet.

With my first band, my doc wanted to give me a fill at 4 weeks post op. Since I was still losing weight and just had a bad stuck episode with a Vitamin I decided to wait. I then made an appointment for 2 weeks later but then changed it to 3 weeks later. THEN when I went for my first fill, my doc wanted to give me a fill of 7cc and I talked him down to 4 (maybe 5 I cant remember cc) So not only did I delay my fill I also reduced my first fill by almost half. Did I have much restriction.... no but the band is a tool not a magic wand. I wanted to learn how to use it a little more before I started having good restriction. In the end I never regretted waiting for my first fill. I still lost nearly 30 lbs in those 7 weeks

If your tubing has come disconnected from your port, an easy way to check would be to try to take all the saline out of your band and then put it back in. My doc takes all my saline out and then puts in new saline plus a little each time I have a fill to check how much saline I have (if there is a leak there would be less then there should be), to check the colour (could be a sign of erosion,infection etc) and to make sure that the saline can come out ( if it doesn't it could mean the port disconnected, there is a kink in the tubing etc). Has your doc tried this?

Different drinks make me feel differently when I have them. A cold coffee or a drink like milkshake or something thick ( ie Protein shake) I am full for a while. Water, I use to help curb my cravings ( ie sweets) like the person said above because we can't eat until 30 minutes after drinking, when I am craving something or think I am hungry I drink water and wait to see how I feel. This really helps with my sweet tooth. Carbonated drinks, help me when I am head hungry. The carbonation makes me feel full and bloated and then I have no desire to eat. Alcoholic drinks, don't make me feel hungry or full but do cause me to graze while eating ( Koreans serve food and drink together, maybe why they can drink so much)

I fly all the time and no one knows I am banded. You should be fine eating normal foods and since you won't probably have a fill by then, most food won't get stuck. You might even be in bandster hell then, meaning you'll be hungry and want to eat more then you should. The people above posted great tips like Protein powder, but there are also Protein Bars you can pack and I am sure there would be places close by the hotel to get fruits or something to keep with you. As for the band and flying, like I said since you probably won't get a fill by then, you should have no problems eating on the plane though take it easy Have fun

Generally doctors like the bypass more because it is less post op work for them. Therefore many of them push for gastric because they dont need to see you for fills etc and your results will come faster = less complaining. Yes you have to work with the band but how does losing the weight faster ( with bypass) make it better. I have done a diet before where I lost lots of weight with no effort and then when it came time to maintain my weight I couldn't because I never learned HOW to lose the weight. I just basically sat there ( and got lots of Vitamin shots) and the weight just fell off. NEVER AGAIN My doctor has a love hate relationship with bypass. He likes the band because he can help his patients through their journey and struggles and they HAVE to come see him often. However he likes the bypass as well for patients who have a lot of weight to lose and the band might be hard to do on them. For me with a low BMI my doctor would never let me get the bypass. He said with the same over all weight loss amount after 3 years, the band would make more sense. I would really research both surgeries and see how you feel in the end.

If the stomach stretches and doesnt go back to a smaller size when you eat less, then whats the point of the doctor doing a complete unfill when they find your stomach is stretched too much? When you find out you have a stretched stomach they don't say oh lets give you a bigger fill, they take your fill out. Therefore I think a while on liquids, smaller portions and will power your stomach would get a little smaller. I am always paranoid of over eating so for a day after I have a meal where I over eat I really reduce my portions and then go back to my 1/2cup max per meal. Sometimes we screw up no big deal, accept it, remember it and continue on with your journey.

If things don't get better, you might want your doctor to open you up. I know someone who had problems with her band, she could barely eat at all during the day. She was getting dehydrated so she kept needing to go back to the hospital for iv fluids. The doctor removed her fill but she still complained about not being able to eat and drink etc. He did an endoscope and things didnt look out of place, it looked like she has some restriction even without a fill but thought it was because there was fat around her stomach. Finally she gave up after months and asked for the band to be removed. The doc took it out and found she has an infection around her stomach on the outside causing all the swelling and problems with the band. It was a serious infection and she needed a drain through her nose for days for things to get better. It finally did and she was ok. Then she wanted a new band but had to wait a min of 3 months. The doc checked her again after 3 months and her stomach still was not perfectly healed because of all the problems the infection caused and the scar tissue etc. This could be serious and I hope you figure it out.

Yes, Koreans love tofu and have it in many things. If you like spicy things you can do a tofu Soup with kimchi, or yes as simple as tofu with soya sauce etc.

Why did your doctor say its not a good idea? I was rebanded after I had stomach erosion. It was my doctors idea even after I asked about the sleeve.

If I give in to a little sweets I am screwed. I will crave something, go to the store to buy it and leave with a million things. I now take my dogs if I go to the store that way I dont have the hands to carry many things. Since everyone loves my dogs it works out well. Now my solution when I am craving sweets or something bad is this. Depending on my craving/feeling I try Peanut Butter (and sometimes with a banana), soda ( it fills me up good and then I dont want food), or popcorn ( I have flavoured powder to put over it). Now I even try pudding. Another thing I do is drink lots of liquids if I am craving something so then I would have to wait the 30 minutes before eating. Usually by the time I stop drinking and the 30 minutes is up, it is time for bed so I just go to bed.