Well I have recently been approved for lap band surgery and I have not set up the surgery date because I am not 100% convienced it is something I want to do and the assistant at the dr.office suggested I join this site so I can talk to others who are "like me" or were like me at some point. I have researched this surgery for about 6 years and thought about it for that long before I decided to talk to a lap band center.

This is not a rush decision by any means and I know there is hard work ahead. Finally this year I decided to at least try and get approved and then I could decide if I wanted to go through it. I do have some health issues like diabetis, high bp and high cholesterol so I feel as I am triple whammied and should just go for it and change my life but this whole "no white foods" thing is kind of bothering me so I wanted to elicit some feedback from the group to see if it is a reality. I know I need to make some changes and I am actually ok with changing the way I eat. I mean my eating habits and lack of exercise is what got me here. I just want to know what to expect from real patients that have had the surgery. I probably need to lose about 80 pounds in all actuality so that makes me think maybe I just need to hire a personal trainer and get to work. I just don't know but I have to make up my mind quickly because my approval letter ends December 31st. Help.... I know I can do it but do I have to take this route for 50 to 80 pounds. If any one else has felt like this please let me know your thoughts.

Thanks guys. Syrup71Fort Worth, Texas

L12

Your post totally inspired me

My question to you is.....I understand how the LAP-BAND® works and that it SHOULD curb your appetite and people like you are what keep me going in this journey to be banded - however, how come so many people actually FAIL?

What is it that I need to know to be like You - a success.....?

I'm not sure why so many people fail or have problems--I think there are probably a variety of reasons. I thought

I'd either be a REALLY slow loser, or have to be satisfied at a higher weight loss goal, but it's been amazingly easy. I am hypothyroid, have PCOS and other crazy hormone issues, and had terrible foot problems that prevented me from exercising for the first half of my weight loss journey (but now I'm a runner!). My weight loss was minimal and veeeeery slow until I reached my sweet spot; after that I never hit a plateau. I was patient though, and I went in KNOWING I had to be patient and that it wouldn't work like it should until I got good restriction. I do think I am lucky though; I've never been too tight, no complications of any kind, and my band even helps me out with so-called slider foods. I've also never kept a food journal since being banded; I did that for years before my surgery, and was sick of it, plus I KNEW what I should and shouldn't eat, knew portion sizes, etc. (as opposed to popular belief, not all fat people are ignorant on nutrition :thumbup:) I just had to use what I knew, which was much easier with the band.

I have two friends who were also banded, both about three years before me. Neither one has ever reached their weight loss goal, but they both drink a lot of their calories, eat a lot of slider foods, eat very few vegetables, and rarely exercise. I would never dream of lecturing them, and I don't know if changing their habits would solve all of their problems, but it does seem that the only permanent change they made was being banded. I think the entire experience needs to be embraced as a life change--the band can't do it all, but it can REALLY help and support you if you don't purposely try to see what you can get away with.

Renee1003..your questions to L12 are helping me a lot. I too wonder why people fail at this? From what I understand is that with the Lapband your stomach can no longer in-take a lot of food. So for the people that fail do their bodies just get used to less food and stay at a plateau or do they eat small amounts of highly caloric food and drinks and don't add any exercise to their daily routine. I am a size 16 and want to be at least a size 8. I am willing to watch what I eat, exercise, and eat smaller amounts. If I do this everyday with an occasional slip of maybe eating 1 brownie (I am human and I know I will allow myself to be rewarded and do this in moderation) would I be successful? Another question. Do you ever want more after you eat a half of sandwich? Are you really full like you ate dinner at an Italian restaurant and cannot possible fit anything in your stomach because you have that full feeling? What do you feel?

Renee1003..your questions to L12 are helping me a lot. I too wonder why people fail at this? From what I understand is that with the LAP-BAND® your stomach can no longer in-take a lot of food. So for the people that fail do their bodies just get used to less food and stay at a plateau or do they eat small amounts of highly caloric food and drinks and don't add any exercise to their daily routine. I am a size 16 and want to be at least a size 8. I am willing to watch what I eat, exercise, and eat smaller amounts. If I do this everyday with an occasional slip of maybe eating 1 brownie (I am human and I know I will allow myself to be rewarded and do this in moderation) would I be successful? Another question. Do you ever want more after you eat a half of sandwich? Are you really full like you ate dinner at an Italian restaurant and cannot possible fit anything in your stomach because you have that full feeling? What do you feel?

The band helps you eat smaller amounts of food.It does not force you to make healthy low calorie choices.

Reasons for failure include.

Choosing low nutrition high calorie foods.

Eating constantly throughout the day.

Drinking calories.

Not exercising.

Yes sometimes you will eat half a sandwich and be satisfied. Sometimes you may eat the whole sandwich or you may find that you cannot eat a sandwich as some bandsters cannot tolerate bread.

Once banded you do not get that full (stuffed) feeling in your stomach. It is a different sensation that is usually felt in your throat or chest.It can range from being mildly uncomfortable to so painful that you feel like you are going to have a heart attack.

Sometimes you will get relief if you cough the food back up (its different from vomiting) sometimes you will just have to put up with it until the food passes into your stomach.

If you stick to the guidelines that your dr will give you, make healthy choices, exercise etc then there is no reason why you shouldn't be successful. Very few of us are perfect and i am sure that most have a small treat every now and again.

HTH

I agree with a previous poster for most people it's not about the losing it's the maintanance. This is the fourth time in my life I have lost 100 pounds. The first three times I gained it back plus more. I think a "no white food" rule is misleading. Many people on this board would say not to have a steady diet of "white" because it tends to be high in carbs thus sugar. Also at restriction many people have trouble eating slices of bread; they get gummy in the pouch. Others will tell you they occationally have Pasta and or toasted bread. The word being occationally.

Do I wish I had the surgery earlier yes. At 39 I had a mini stroke; doctors don't really know why but said they could'nt rule out my weight.

How many of those people on the news or magazines that lost a lot of weight keep it off? Do they have a life long weight problem; or did they gain because of an illness/injury, or suddenly changing their work lifestyle. For the former I'd bet the weight will be back in a year; the latter most likely it will stay off.

Thank you Elcee and Honk...this really helps me in making a decision to do it. A few more questions: Do either of you have pain or problems with your band? Do you feel it inside of you? Is the port area painful. Is it painful to get a fill. What is the "sweet spot?" :rolleyes2:

Thank you Elcee and Honk...this really helps me in making a decision to do it. A few more questions: Do either of you have pain or problems with your band? Do you feel it inside of you? Is the port area painful. Is it painful to get a fill. What is the "sweet spot?" :rolleyes2:

I hope you don't mind if I answer here too.

I've never had pain with my band.. once I got over the immediate post-op period. I do have a weird stretching/pulling sensation at times in my back, but it's not pain. No one knows why I feel this and I can't relate it to eating, exercising, or any behavior. I've had an upper GI to make sure the band is in good position.. it looks fine on xray. Just my anatomy I guess.

I guess the stretchy/pulling sensation is the only way I "feel" it. Most of the time I could almost forget it's there.

Port area isn't painful, again, once past immediate post-op stage. It is the area that is usually the most tender and usually takes the longest to return to normal.

My first fill was a bit of an ouch because I was still tender. Since then they've been pretty much a breeze. I lie down, they swipe the area with an alcohol wipe, quick stick.. sometimes I have to do a mini "crunch" .. inject Fluid, remove needle, sit up, drink Water.

At the beginning before I lost so much weight, they used an ultra-sound machine to help locate the port. I know some doc's use flouroscopy.. which can be bad & good. I personally don't want that much extra radiation or expense.

As I understand what the sweet spot is.. is where your appetite is satisfied on a small meal and you stay satisfied for a reasonable amount of time (3 hours or longer). I think it's probably the same as or very similar to the "green zone" that you'll see on the lapband site.

Hope this helps some.

To answer your questions.

No I do not have pain or problems with my band. the only time it hurts is when I am not doing things the way I should be - eating too fast, too big bites, food that is too tough etc.

No I can't feel it inside me except as above. If you are stuck then yes it hurts.

No the port area is not painful.

No it doesn't hurt to get a fill - it's no worse than having an injection or having blood drawn.

Search for threads on the sweet spot and read what is written. There are some people that swear by it and others that never find what they believe it to be. Once you have read some of them if you have more questions ask !

I am three months out and after 3 fills am starting to get restriction. Other than starting to feel fullness on smaller amounts of food than presurgery I don't really feel anything. I would'nt say I am at the sweet spot yet; I stop eating because the food I measured out is gone. You can't feel it squeezing your stomach; and you don't feel the tube from the port to the band moving around (that would wig me out). My port is pretty deep so I can't feel it easily from the outside.

Now that I have healed my port area does not hurt. I had a pretty easy recovery period. The only pain I did have was in the port site and only when I went to sit down or stand up. I did not use perscription drugs once I came home.

The only time I've had pain when eating was when I ate some baby carrots to fast and apparently did not chew enough/at all. Passed pretty quickly like 20 seconds.

The fills really don't bother me. My doctors office does not even have a numbing shot that some use. One of the nurses was better at finding my port than the other.

The mental/emotional changes are important to think about. I had 8.5 months from the time of my first consult to surgery. I try to live by the 80/20 rule: if I eat correctly 80% of the time I can have some flexibility the other 20. Once a month I go to costco and pick the best samples and eat them. I don't keep pizza in my house but once a month I can have a 1 inch sample. So delicious!

Thank you ladies, for sharing your experiences, and giving me some honest answers. I am going in for required testing this Sat. Still chewing on the idea of getting banded. However, I like the answers I have heard. I don't want to make a hasty decision.