Birinak

I only had my surgery 9 months ago and I have no experience with band complications yet. I'm sorry that you're dealing with this. All that I can say is that, if I were to have a slip that requires surgical correction, I would take the money that would be spent on such a surgery and get the sleeve. Multiple new studies show that long-term complications with the band are relatively high and each year with the band increases the probability of a complication. In terms of money, the conversion from band-to-sleeve can be done by reputable surgeons in Meksico (if I spell the country correctly, the word appears as a hyperlink to a surgery site) for about 5000-6000 dollars. This includes band removal. You'd have to research surgeons carefully and consult those on the VSG board before you can assess the surgeons' reputations. There are a few very popular ones. The band cost my parents 16000 dollars and, although I'm pretty pleased with the results thus far, I wish I had considered the sleeve more carefully before getting the band. I heard that band removal surgery will cost nearly the same as the original procedure, and it seems that many people will have their bands removed sooner than they expected. I explained on another thread that, aside from its relatively low cost, the sleeve doesn't require post-op maintenance (you don't need fills or annual visits with your surgeon). Also, the sleeved stomach is difficult to stretch out unlike the band's pouch or the bypass stomach, and I've never heard of post-op complications long after surgery. The only sleeve complications of which I've read were peri-operative and rare, but once you've recovered, you don't have to fear a slip or other complication in five or some years. You'll also always have the same amount of restriction right from the beginning (your restriction won't suddenly go away until you get a fill, and you won't be tighter some days than others) and the sleeve doesn't involve malabsorption, unlike the bypass. Obviously, you can still cheat with the sleeve (milkshakes etc.), but you can do the same with the two other procedures. Another reason that I wouldn't get a slipped band surgically corrected is that the probability of having a slip is high when you've already had one. I hope that your surgeon informed you of this before you paid for the second surgery. You really couldn't afford to have yet a third surgery just for the band to slip again. Finally, if you check out the vsg board, they just seem happier and less confused than people do on this board. Their weight-loss seems to come easier, especially since they don't have to go through "sleever-hell" or worry about losing restriction, as I mentioned. I hope you found this advice helpful. To those who are overly fond of their band and sensitive to criticism of it: I'm not saying this to the OP because I personally dislike the band. I've had good results with it so far. If I could keep the band for the next decade, I probably would as long as there were no complications. However, 1) the OP needs honest advice; and 2) we should all, even we happy bandsters, give thought to our plan B if our band slips, if we regain our weight, or if we need the band removed a year or ten years from now.

If she really did say it in a sarcastic tone, she was being rude. I agree with those who are saying that she's probably just a hater. She wants to emphasize that, as opposed to the OP, she's losing weight on her own and, therefore, she deserves more credit for her weight-loss than the OP does for hers. When it comes back on, she might regard the band differently. Also, maybe she thinks the OP was self-pay and she's bitter that the OP could afford to have the surgery while she can't. To the OP: The best thing to do is to not over-react. While maintaining a professional attitude in all necessary interactions with her, keep an emotional distance going forward. Don't bother being social. You can expect her to make more comments along those lines if the topic comes up again, especially if she gains the weight back.

This hardly constitutes harassment and we have no reason to believe that it'll ever progress to that point. Her comment was rude because of its implications, but not everything is cause for litigation.

I'd hate to tell you that you absolutely can't drink a latte if it wasn't causing you any problems. Do you find that it's keeping you from losing weight? Or, even if you can fit it into your daily caloric budget (as you technically can with most things in small enough portions), is it taking up room in your daily diet that would be otherwise occupied by more Protein or veggies? In other words, are you getting all of your nutrients and staying within your caloric budget WHILE drinking this latte in the morning? If I were in your situation and I could fit it into my diet healthily, I'd keep drinking the latte if I really enjoyed it over the alternatives. There's common counsel against drinking your calories and it's good. People can easily have several very high-calorie drinks without being conscious of how much they've consumed or feeling full. Also, popular drinks often have a low nutritional/protein status relative to some solid foods in the same calorie range. However, I see the "don't drink your calories" as a general rule and I consciously break the rule twice a day, while observing it for most of my meals. I drink a high-quality and relatively low-calorie Protein shake two times a day. I rarely drink juice or any other drink, unless it is had as a treat. Especially as a vegetarian, the protein shake has made my diet much easier and helps me reach about 100g of protein a day, while staying below 1100 calories. There's no reason (that I'm aware of) that I should take this Protein Drink out of my diet. I'm losing weight more quickly now than I was before I started the protein drink (this is likely in thanks partly to the drink and partly to my stricter diet). In my opinion, you should analyze the drink, yourself, in terms of its nutritional status and find out how many calories you are consuming in a day while the drink is in your diet. Also, you should examine your diet for various nutrient targets that you need to be reaching (e.g. potassium, Vitamin A); this will tell you if you need to take the drink out to make room for other foods that are high in particular nutrients. Good luck deciding! EDIT: I should say that you can find out if you're reaching your nutrient targets with a food tracker. myfitnesspal.com is the one I use to keep track of calories, fats, protein, and various nutrients.

Hey there, I'm also 24 years old (1986). Your post-op experience is pretty normal. Some people claim that gas drops/strips etc. help with gas pain, but I personally think that the treatment may just be having a placebo effect on that minority. The pain that people feel even a week or two after surgery is usually what is called "referred pain" in the left shoulder, which is actually really coming from an issue at the band-site (and not the intestines nor the left shoulder). Gas strips and walking would be able to help with gas trapped inside the intestines, but not with the left-shoulder pains that afflict many bandsters post-op. I also felt more pain at the larger incision, which is the site of the port. Even now, 9 months after surgery, it's still a tiny bit sore when I press down on the scar. I didn't mind broth on the first day, but I couldn't stand it by the next. You just have to stick through it until the thick liquids phase. Then, you'll have many more things to eat (i.e. strained and blended Soups like lentil and cream of mushroom, or fruit/protein shakes). For now, maybe expand your list of fruit juices (as long as they're clear liquids). How about V8? Have you tried any other kinds of broths, such as vegetable broth? You shouldn't have to worry about over-doing your portions if you're following the guidelines that should've been given to you by your band-practitioner. I think about half a cup (maybe even a cup, I don't quite remember) is usually permitted. At this stage, your pouch should be able to accomodate a relatively large amount compared to later on in the process (after several fills). Just stick to the list of permitted foods, eat slowly, and be reasonable about your portions. The feeling of fullness with the band is somewhat different than before, but it's nothing to fear. Plus, right now, you're only consuming liquids. If you eat slowly, it would be difficult to get that stuck feeling on liquids. Just after surgery, you likely don't have a very tight band since you've had no fills (except for some in surgery, possibly). Your band probably feels tighter now than it will in a month, but that's because of swelling from surgery. Especially if you're consuming enough food, you'll soon regain your energy. Many people go back to work after a week or less. I still had some shoulder pain two weeks after surgery, especially each time I ate food, but I was largely recovered by then. Hope you feel better soon and make sure to ask your practitioner about how much you should be eating at each stage.

I'm from Toronto, but in September I'm moving to Nova Scotia for the school year. There's another bandster from Ottawa. It seems like most people here are from the southern states.

You're not the only one who reacts this way to male attention. I'm a very upfront person usually, but I don't know how to act when guys flirt openly. I'm not used to it and I become embarrassingly shy. It's so uncomfortable that I end up coming across as stand-offish or awkward. The other day, I was walking to campus and some guy calls out to me: "Hey, honey. How are you?" I turn and see that the guy is cute and young, unlike the older creepers who usually hit on me when I was fatter. I quickly reply "I'm good," and continue on my way without turning back. The rest of the way, I'm thinking, "Why did he say that? Do I have something on my face? Why didn't he say anything to anyone else also walking on the sidewalk?" Everytime a man gives me attention now, I have to psycho-analyze him for ulterior motives because he can't possibly be genuinely interested in me. I think I'll still feel this way when I'm at my goal weight. Growing up fat messes with your self-esteem and the entire way you interact with people. I also don't flirt back because I don't want to lead guys on when I know I won't let it go any further. I wouldn't have gone to the club either!

Yep, I have one of those stories. It only took the removal of 0.25 of a CC to bring me from coughing up Water every morning in my sleep and vomiting to being restricted and losing quickly without any discomfort (and hardly any effort, to be honest).

Maybe I misunderstood; are you only having one Protein Shake and water in a whole day? If so, aren't you concerned about not getting in any veggies and the rest of your protein? I know where you're coming from to an extent--obviously, since I started this thread--and I'm glad that you're enjoying your lessened appetite, but I think you should try to consume more than that and get your protein to an adequate level. Otherwise, your health, including your metabolism and muscle-mass, will decline severely. This is why CheckYes and I are somewhat concerned about our lack of appetite. I find using a calorie-counter useful because it tells me how much more I need to eat to reach certain nutritional targets. Calories and potassium are the only targets that I'm having a hard time meeting.

I make sure to get enough protein and I take a high potency Multivitamin for vegetarians, plus a Vitamin D pill every day. Unfortunately, most of my protein is now coming from Protein shakes. Relying on vitamin and protein supplements goes against much of what I feel to be a healthy approach to food and I feel that I ate healthier pre-band (except for the massive portions) than I am eating in this last month. I'm thinking this is just a phase. As I mentioned, if I weren't forcing myself to eat more, I'd usually end the day at about 500 calories. Today, I've eaten 368 calories according to my calorie counter, with 40 grams of protein, mostly from a high quality whey isolate powder. Before I go to bed, I'm going to have another scoop of protein with a full cup of 2% milk to bring up the caloric and nutritional content. And I'll definitely have some fruit and veggies. That'll bring me up to 650 or so calories. Tomorrow, I'm going to try to eat more calorie-dense items that don't take a lot of time to prepare or eat, but those are somewhat difficult to find for a vegetarian looking to keep fat intake down to 24g a day. The problem with losing interest in food is that you can't be bothered putting an effort into preparing and cooking when you don't really want to eat. CheckYes, I think you should purchase a really high quality and good tasting Protein Powder if you haven't already. I find Protein drinks really easy to consume even when I don't want to eat anything. On days when I manage to eat 800 calories, I can usually get in 100g of protein largely with the help of whey. There's obviously a limit to how much people should get from supplemental sources as opposed to whole foods, but at least we'd be getting our protein until our appetites come back.

There are quite a few Protein powder threads on this forum. Check out the food and Nutrition section and also some of the older pages in this section. I use Optimum Nutrition 100% whey Gold Standard. It has 24 grams of protein, 130 calories, and 4 grams of carbs. Both body-builders and people taking protein powders for weight-loss speak well of ON 100% Whey on various forums. I have the "Mocha Cappuchino" flavour and it tastes like chocolate milk if you use it with milk. This flavour is one of the most popular flavours of ON powders. The other top flavours are "Double Rich Chocolate" and "Delicious strawberry." Many people also like "Tropical Punch." I'd suggest that you stay away from "Cookies and Cream" though; while some people absolutely love it, most people say it's horrible. When I need to keep my calories low, I use half a cup of milk, half a cup of Water and ice, and 1.5 scoops of the protein powder to make it thicker and stronger in flavour. Otherwise, I just use one cup of milk and 1 scoop. It doesn't taste bad with water only, but I'm particular about taste. It mixes well with just a spoon (I never have to bother with a shaker or blender) and it's pretty much my snack at times. I've tried other whey protein powders before and while they all weren't bad, they had a bit of a weird after-taste. Some people don't care about taste though. The good thing about whey isolate is that it digests quickly, which means that it's used by your body sooner, it's a good after-workout shake, and it causes less bloating. Also, whey isolate has an excellent amino acid composition. For ON 100% Whey, the ingredients list is simple and it doesn't come with a lot of the unnecessary filler that some other powders contain. A 5 lb container costs about 80 dollars and a 10 lb container costs 130 dollars. It may be expensive, but you don't want to go cheap on your protein powder unless it's still a good one. Hopefully, someone can point you to a similarly healthy and tasty protein powder at a lower cost or maybe you can look out for this brand when it's on sale. Good luck! EDIT: One of the reasons that ON is more expensive than others is because it is made of 100% whey isolate. If you would like a cheaper whey powder, look for whey concentrate/blend. They aren't usually as high quality as whey isolate and they digest slower, but they also have the benefit of being thicker and keeping you full longer. I also just read that you can find 10lb ON on ebay for $70 instead of $130!

I intended to vote up your post, but my laptop touchpad is sensitive, my hand slipped, and I ended up voting it down by accident! Sorry, dude. Can someone vote up her post to neutralize my vote and its effect on her "reputation score?" Thanks!

I was banded on August 26th, 2010 and I haven't had a fill since Feb 15th (I had a small amount of fill removed on Mar 8th). In the first weeks after surgery, I often had little interest in food. I mentioned in the topic description that this post has more relevance to people a few months or more out of surgery because it's quite normal to lose your appetite soon after a major operation. My current post is unrelated to that usual loss of appetite. Nine months after surgery, I've now suddenly lost interest in food. For a few weeks at the end of April, there would be days when I'd only eat something like 2 eggs and a 30 cal rye crisp for the whole day. That's it. I started eating normally a week later (at about 1100 calories, which is my daily target). For the past two weeks, I'm finding again that, by each day's end, I've only eaten about 500-600 calories and I have to make an effort to then get to 800-900 calories. It's common for people to have a day or two like this, particularly when they're busy and they forget to eat, but I'm not even busy! I should be snacking like crazy because it's my summer break and I'm not working this summer. I spend most of the day at home near two fully stocked fridges. I'm not doing this intentionally to lose weight. I know that some people eat only 700 calories/day on their diets, but I would rather lose slower (1-2 pounds/week) and be closer to meeting the 1200 cal/day health guideline for females. I also know a fair amount about biology and I'm cognizant of the risks of eating poorly. While I'm not seriously concerned for my health in the long-term (as this is probably just a weird phase and I'm still making an effort to meet my nutritional needs through supplements), I'm just wondering if anyone else is going through the same thing months or more after surgery.