Worth the read

[Cocoabean 430]

I think when you eat too fast and get pain the food is not entering the pouch fast enough and the pain is from it sitting in your esophagus. I think the stuck/pain/too full feeling comes from the esophagus instead of the pouch.

I can drink while eating but if I am eating something like bread and I take a drink, I risk the bread swelling up and getting into my esophagus and creating the pain. That is why I stick to the no drinking for 20 min after eating rule. Drinking after eating makes no difference in the length of time that the hunger is gone.

This is my theory.. no facts to back it up.

Interesting theory, Leigha, but what would make it back up into the esophagus? Just the fact that the upper pouch is so small? So it would take time for the food to find a spot inside?

Again, all theorectical talk, as it appears even the scientists aren't very clear!

[Thin_thoughts82 0]

Wow, really good info!

[elcee 3,340]

I have been told by my original surgeon's practice and the new one that I have seen that the food does not stay in the pouch for as long as it was originally thought - that it actually passes through quite quickly.

This makes sense to me if we consider how quickly we feel stuck. I could never understand how if the food was supposed to sit there for a while why it hurt so much when you take too big a bite or whatever.

But it does not explain how it creates the sensation of fullness. I have read somewhere that it is something to do with pressure on the vagus nerve which the band helps to create but I can't remember where I read it or what the exact explanation was.

Also if the food does pass through so quickly then how is it possible to slime and PB food back up for so long afterwards when you get stuck.Surely only the stuck bite should come back not all the ones before it????

It seems that there is a lot about the way that the band works that is not yet fully understood. However I think this is true of many medical things.Yes I would love to know how and why it works but for me it is more important that it DOES work.

[elcee 3,340]

Gastric Bypass Surgery News Links

Interesting article which goes some way to explaining the relationship between the vagus nerve and weight loss.

[Melissannde 41]

Gastric Bypass Surgery News Links

Interesting article which goes some way to explaining the relationship between the vagus nerve and weight loss.

Thanks for sharing that.. very interesting.

love to know how and why it works but for me it is more important that it DOES work.

yes, yes, a thousand times, YES!

[Melissannde 41]

My friend on another support group saw Dr. Simpson (the author of the article in the original post) yesterday and she questioned him about the "no drinking for a period of time after eating" rule.

Here's what she reports:

"I asked him, if the pouch empties within just a few minutes of eating, why do we need to wait an hour to drink anything? His answer was that he doesn't tell people that any more. (ever since it was learned that it empties so fast anyway.) He says you just don't want to wash your food down with liquid. It's even ok to sip something while eating. That made a lot more sense to me."

So, there's one doctor's opinion on the subject. YDMV (your doctor may vary). As always, follow your doctor's rules/guidelines as best you can. :thumbup:

[ElfiePoo 109]

Melisannde,

I never did buy that whole 'don't drink cuz it will wash the food through more quickly' so you'll be able to go 5 hours between meals. I mean, logically, the first drink you take after that 30 minutes will wash it through anyway.

I wait 30 minutes because if I drink sooner, I start PBing. I have a theory that it's because it's moving things around in the pouch and something is getting stuck. Plus, I also think by waiting 30 minutes, we're able to feel full enough to put down that fork instead of continually washing the food through and never reaching that feeling of 'enough'.

.

[LarraineM 6]

I went four months after banding before my first fill. My Dr. told me I might be one of the lucky ones whom the banding is enough to cause the fullness feeling without fills. I believe he said that like 8 % of those banded never need a fill. It changed for me during month five and I had my first fill after looseing 50 lbs without any fills .

[elcee 3,340]

Another piece of info from the LAP-BAND® site.

Creating a sense of fullness. The gastric band presses on the stomach, which makes the brain think that the stomach is full and therefore requires no more food.

and this from AOL Health

1. The small amount of stomach above the band contains the satiety stretch fibers. When they are stretched out, your brain feels full.

2. The outlet from the upper, smaller section of stomach above the band to the lower stomach is formed and controlled by the band that separates them. As the band tightens, the emptying is slower and the upper stomach stays stretched for longer with food. Thereby, you are kept fuller longer.

The restriction with both the band and the bypass procedures is essentially the same. In essence, there are only two factors at play:

1. To feel full, you must stretch out the upper stomach and trigger the satiety fibers to signal your brain that you are full. In the bypass, this is done by filling the pouch, and with the band, this is done by filling the stomach above the band.

2. To stay full, you must adjust how long the satiety fibers in your stomach stay stretched out. In the bypass, this is done by keeping a small outlet from the pouch. With the band, this is done by adjusting the band itself to bring about slow emptying from the upper stomach.

It's that simple. In both procedures, we use a very small part of the potential size of the actual stomach. In the bypass, we section off most of the stomach and separate it away. With the band, we segment off the top part of the stomach above the band.

Edited October 26, 2010 by elcee

[elcee 3,340]

I think that something most of us forget when we are banded is that having food in your stomach makes you feel full too!

Plus preband most of us probably ate way too fast. I know I did - I always finished way ahead of everyone else. We are constantly being told that we should eat slower as it takes the brain 20 minutes or thereabouts to register that we have eaten enough. The band forces you to do this so this is probably a big part of the equation too.

[Phranp 46]

Another piece of info from the LAP-BAND®® site.

Creating a sense of fullness. The gastric band presses on the stomach, which makes the brain think that the stomach is full and therefore requires no more food.

and this from AOL Health

1. The small amount of stomach above the band contains the satiety stretch fibers. When they are stretched out, your brain feels full.

2. The outlet from the upper, smaller section of stomach above the band to the lower stomach is formed and controlled by the band that separates them. As the band tightens, the emptying is slower and the upper stomach stays stretched for longer with food. Thereby, you are kept fuller longer.

The restriction with both the band and the bypass procedures is essentially the same. In essence, there are only two factors at play:

1. To feel full, you must stretch out the upper stomach and trigger the satiety fibers to signal your brain that you are full. In the bypass, this is done by filling the pouch, and with the band, this is done by filling the stomach above the band.

2. To stay full, you must adjust how long the satiety fibers in your stomach stay stretched out. In the bypass, this is done by keeping a small outlet from the pouch. With the band, this is done by adjusting the band itself to bring about slow emptying from the upper stomach.

It's that simple. In both procedures, we use a very small part of the potential size of the actual stomach. In the bypass, we section off most of the stomach and separate it away. With the band, we segment off the top part of the stomach above the band.

Now THAT makes sense, and is definitely worth the read.

Thanks a bunch Elcee!

~F

[ssankofa73 2]

I still want a scientific or medical reason why food staying in the pouch for only a few minutes provides a lasting sense of fullness. I need to know the biology behind this statement.

Also, why the "no liquids before or after eating" then?

This is from Bariatric.US

• Laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB), also known as gastric banding or LAP-BAND® surgery, is a type of bariatric surgery that promotes weight loss by restricting the amount of food that can enter the stomach at any one time. By slowing digestion, it also helps to control feelings of hunger and increase the feeling of fullness after eating a meal. Gastric banding offers obese individuals a bariatric treatment that is less invasive and safer than gastric bypass surgery.
  

I too, like to understand things from a scientific point of view when it comes to my body so I question my Dr's staff regularly. One of the PA's in my Dr's office told me that there are rugae on the inside lining of the stomach that help us to digest food. The rugae has lots of folds and bumps that connect via sensory neurons to the pituitary gland and when they are stimulated by the food that we eat the pituitary glad releases hormones that tell the hypothalamus that we have eaten so the body can begin to do its job of using stored energy (fat), carbs, nutrients, etc. When we drink liquids, the rugae doesn't get stimulated enough to start the message sending process to the pituitary gland and other parts of the brain. Liquids pass by the rugae too quickly and have very little viscosity so it doesn't rub up against them enough to start that chain reaction. When you eat solids that have been chewed up and mixed with saliva it forms a thick and heavy bolus. The bolus has the viscosity needed to press against that rugae long enough to start sending messages of satiety to parts of the brain. It takes the average person about 20 minutes for the entire chain reaction process to occur but only takes a minute or so for it to get started by the rugae in your stomach.

Please let me know of this explanation helps anyone. Reading the original article (which is lapband gold) and typing out this info helped to remind me of why the lapband AND paying attention to my body's signals are of the utmost importance.

[Humming Bird 275]

I noticed that way down in the article it says

If the band is properly adjusted, the appetite will be dimmed for several hours.

To me, that means with proper RESTRICTION.

Some of the stuff rings true for me and some does not.

[ssankofa73 2]

Hummingbird,

You're right on the money with that one. When you get the proper restriction you need (and everyone's body is different) that's when the chain reaction begins.